Hernandez: How Rotary can help civil servants and professionals who have recently faced program cuts

Growing Resilience: Finding Hope, Community Connection, and Purpose in Rotary for Civil Servants and other Professionals who Recently Faced Program Cuts 

We are living in a time of large-scale downsizing of the federal government workforce, while also facing local business, education, health, and community economic development challenges in our border communities. 

It feels like doors are closing, opportunities are diminishing, and personal finances are shrinking. 

At the same time, our region faces weather-related disasters and dwindling resources to address recovery efforts, as well as hunger, poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, and illness.

For professionals with a humanitarian heart of service, how do we find our way through these changing times, reinventing ourselves as community leaders, while strengthening resilience in those directly impacted by misfortune?

Rotary and Rotary Clubs may provide a venue for making new connections and finding new opportunities that reinforce your sense of identity and purpose.  

Rotary International is the largest volunteer service organization in the world, with over 1.2 million members globally, all of whom believe in “Service Above Self.”  The vision statement of Rotary International is “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change, across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

Here in South Texas, District 5930 is comprised of 49 local Rotary Clubs and 5 Rotaract Clubs, all opening their doors to new members who want to be of service to their community while also building new friendships, accessing free online training, and becoming part of a world-wide network of like-minded individuals.

Rotary service projects are not about charity.  They are about co-creating resilience, healing division, and recognizing the power that each individual possesses to overcome adversity and create a better tomorrow.

Our District, in collaboration with Rotarians in District 4130 in northeast Mexico, are hosting an International PEACE Summit in Brownsville, October 17-18, 2025, designed to advance regional binational peace, build relationships across the border, and connect the dots between crisis and recovery, and between relief and resilience.

More details will follow.

Please contact me at ehernandez2125@gmail.com if you would like to learn more about joining Rotary and participating in our International PEACE Summit. 

Rotary welcomes all those who want to “Unite for Good” and whose moral compass leads to “Service above Self.”

Editor’s Note: The above guest column was penned by Dr. Elaine Hernandez, district governor for D5930, Rotary International. The column appears in the Rio Grande Guardian with the permission of the author.

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