Our History: From a Founding Idea to More Than a Decade of Service

Chiang Mai International Rotary Club did not begin with a website, a large membership base, or an established portfolio of projects. It began with people who believed an English-language Rotary club in Northern Thailand could bring together international and local experience to serve the community in a practical way.

2013–2014 | Service Before the Charter

The club’s service story began before its formal charter. In 2013, the founding group started work with Mae Tao Clinic. On 21 February 2014, Chiang Mai International Rotary Club was officially chartered as Rotary International Club #85590. Roger Lindley served as Charter President, with Nancy Lindley, Jerry Nelson and other early members helping build the structure and culture of the new club. From the beginning, CMIRC developed a distinctive identity as an international, English-speaking Rotary club focused on meaningful service in Northern Thailand.

2015–2019 | Building Long-Term Service Traditions

By 2015, CMIRC was already documenting two initiatives that would become part of its long-term service identity: children’s water safety and the annual Winter Clothing Appeal. By August 2019, the club reported that more than 1,500 children in Chiang Mai alone had received survival-swimming and water-safety training. The programme was also operating or expanding through Phrao, Phetchabun and Phuket with partners including the Swiss Lanna Society, Safe Child Thailand, the Australian Direct Aid Program, the British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy and Warm Heart Foundation.

The Winter Clothing Appeal also grew from an informal collection into a major community logistics effort. In the 2019 campaign, more than 20 truckloads of donations were collected. Volunteers drove more than 4,000 kilometres to reach ten secluded destinations in three provinces, including hill-tribe communities, schools and refugee settlements. CMIRC’s relationship with the B.K. Kee Patient House was already centred on regular Sunday visits and practical support, while the Teddy Trekkers initiative brought donated bears from Australia to sick and vulnerable children. The club archive traces the Teddy story back to at least 2018.

Mae Tao Clinic remained CMIRC’s oldest and one of its most visible projects. A 100-day fundraising campaign in 2019 ended on 8 September after raising 151,525 THB for the Mae Tao Clinic Child Protection Department and Child Development Center. At the same time, CMIRC’s work with BEAM was shifting from cultural exchange toward GED preparation, and a new Mother/Child Health initiative began supporting developmental screening with DSPM kits in Samoeng and Yang Moen.

2020–2021 | Resilience, Relaunch and New Pathways

The pandemic disrupted school-based and in-person service, but it also produced several important transitions. In April 2020, CMIRC launched an emergency food response with trusted local partners. The club explicitly described this as a temporary emergency donation effort rather than a formal long-term project; an initial one-week campaign raised nearly 60,000 THB, and later support provided thousands of meals and staple-food packages. A separate Roi Et water-retention and storage project was completed in April 2020. During the same period, the club began re-evaluating its broad Mae Tao project model and moving toward more focused child-protection support.

On 8 October 2020, the School Vision Screening Project formally launched at Wat Suan Dok Elementary School with support from Rotary Club of Spokane 21 and Rotary Club of Chiang Mai-Wattana. The first session screened 111 children: 12 prescriptions were written, five children received reading glasses and two were referred for more serious ophthalmological problems. The intention from the start was to build a repeatable annual programme rather than a one-off screening.

In January 2021, CMIRC established the Bob Carroll Memorial BEAM Scholarship Fund in memory of former member Bob Carroll, who had volunteered extensively with BEAM students. The fund initially helped pay GED examination costs and post-secondary tuition. By May, the Board was exploring a nursing scholarship and internship model linking a BEAM graduate with service at the B.K. Kee Patient House. In October 2021, CMIRC was invited by Rotary Club of Fig Garden in Fresno to become the local partner for Global Grant GG2233068, the starting point of the club’s later large-scale WASH programme with ITDF and other Rotary partners.

2022–2024 | Partnerships, Reach and New Pathways

As pandemic restrictions eased, school-based service resumed. On 14 June 2022, CMIRC restarted its Children’s Water Safety programme for the eleven Chiang Mai municipal schools and Wat Suan Dok School. The club’s COVID-era Food Initiative reached its natural close that month as Chiang Mai reopened, the need for supplementation appeared to decline and its project champions relocated to Phuket.

The next major scale-up came through education and WASH. In May 2023, The Rotary Foundation initiated payment for Global Grant GG2233068, releasing a first instalment of US$51,204.24 after partner contributions were assembled. By 17 August, the first three villages were complete, and by the end of 2023 the project had reported transforming access to water and sanitation for 812 people in six Northern Thai villages. In education, CMIRC continued funding GED examinations for BEAM students and formally approved a four-year nursing scholarship for Chan Myae Khin on 27 June 2023, strengthening the pathway from GED support into professional healthcare education.

In 2024, several newer strands of service took shape. The first phase of Nikki’s Apartments at Agape Home opened with 10 furnished rooms after Agape founder Avis Rideout received the US$100,000 “The ONE” award in 2022, with CMIRC as the nominating club. In April, CMIRC screened the vision of about 40 children at Agape Home; five needed optician follow-up. A new scholarship project also began supporting disadvantaged Thai and Myanmar graduates, initially including three Myanmar students at Chiang Mai University and one Thai student in a one-year nursing programme. Meanwhile, GG2233068 had completed water systems in nine of 21 planned villages by the autumn, with 28,535 metres of pipe laid, 318 households served and 1,348 people gaining access to clean water.

CMIRC was also strengthening the systems that make long-term service possible. Work to establish the Chiang Mai International Rotary Club Foundation began in January 2021, and the Chiang Mai Provincial Governor issued its certification in August 2022. Founded through the vision and personal commitment of Nancy and Roger Lindley, the Foundation created a Thai legal entity able to receive and manage gifts, donations and bequests for CMIRC’s child safety, health and education work.

The club’s ability to multiply community support was visible in other ways. A CMIRC nomination prepared in late 2019 led to Agape Home founder Avis Rideout becoming a 2020 semi-finalist and ultimately winning The ONE International Humanitarian Award in 2022, bringing US$100,000 to her project with CMIRC as the endorsing club. Fundraising also became increasingly public and community-based. The November 2023 Golf Ball Drop sold 177 golf balls, attracted around 30 balloon rides and generated 115,000 THB in net proceeds for CMIRC’s child-focused projects.

2025 | Measurable Impact After a Decade of Service

By 2025, two of CMIRC’s most established child-focused programmes had reached major milestones. The Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention programme marked its tenth year. During 2025, 391 fourth-grade students trained in Chiang Mai and 347 students trained in Phrao. The School Vision Screening programme completed its fifth year after screening 4,037 children and providing 786 pairs of glasses over its first five years.

The year also strengthened several longer-term pathways. CMIRC’s relationship with the B.K. Kee Patient House, which dates to 2015 when the club helped repair a storm-damaged roof, entered a new phase with a major library expansion. Construction began in April 2025 and the enlarged library officially reopened on 29 June, providing far more space for books, computers, creative activities and practical-skills training. In Rotary Year 2024–2025, CMIRC reported more than 1 million THB in scholarship support. By June 2025, 255,000 THB had been raised for two continuing students, two Thai students were being sponsored for practical nursing, and Rotary clubs in California and South Korea were collaborating on a four-year university scholarship. In October, Jeju-linked WASH Global Grant GG2574765 was approved for US$31,255, while companion grant GG2574718 was progressing through its final review.

2026 | The Next Chapter

The story continued to evolve. Three CMIRC-sponsored practical nurses graduated with honours from Chiang Mai University in January 2026, including one graduate who finished at the top of the class. CMIRC and ITDF also reached the final three globally in The Rotary Foundation’s 2026 Programs of Scale process for their proposed Pathways to Prosperity work linking clean water with community economic development. A Rotary Foundation review team conducted a site visit in January. Although another programme ultimately received the award, finalist status represented international recognition of the strength and scalability of CMIRC’s WASH partnership. Active Global Grants continued, including new collaboration with Rotary clubs from Jeju Island, South Korea. In July 2026, CMIRC and partners assessed Mae Waen Noi village in Phrao as part of ongoing WASH planning. On 26 June 2026, The Rotary Foundation and The Rotary Foundation Canada approved the US$30,000 Brighter Tomorrow Global Grant with the Rotary Club of Vancouver, creating nursing-assistant training pathways for eight disadvantaged young people at Payap University; by late July, the project was active and meeting with students.

Youth service also entered a new phase. The CMIRC-sponsored ACIS Interact Club was officially launched, and UCIS launched Chiang Mai’s first EarlyAct Club. In July 2026, the new Rotary year also opened with another School Vision Screening session at Wat Ku Kham Municipal School. At the Rotary District 3360 Awards, CMIRC received multiple recognitions across service, membership, Foundation and public image, including the Highest Public Image Award. Past District Governor Dr. Jarruwat Teechawut also personally donated 50,000 THB in recognition of the club’s membership growth, with the donation directed to CMIRC service projects. In August 2026, the Board adopted an updated Child and Youth Protection Policy, reinforcing safeguarding as the club continues working with children, young people and vulnerable communities. In September 2026, Bookworm Foundation founder Yoshimi Horiuchi, nominated with CMIRC support, was selected as one of 12 Semi-Finalists for THE ONE International Humanitarian Award.

A Living History

CMIRC’s history is not a list of isolated projects. It is a record of relationships built over time: with schools, hospitals, community organisations, Rotary clubs around the world, volunteers, donors, families and the people served by each initiative. The club’s Bulletin archive now contains hundreds of articles dating back more than a decade, preserving the details behind that story.

From a pre-charter service project in 2013 to a diverse portfolio of child safety, health, education, WASH, youth and scholarship initiatives in 2026, the common thread has remained the same: friendship turned into action, and action turned into lasting impact.