Newsletter Date: March 10
Comments by: Art Norwalk
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION:
DOING GOOD IN THE WORLD
Since we got snowed out last week, there’s no news to report. So I’d like to ask for a moment of your time to think about The Rotary Foundation.
Did you know there are two foundations that make it possible for Rotary to do good in the world? And that both of these foundations rely on donations from Rotarians to do good in the world?
We’re all familiar with the Providence Rotary Charities Foundation, the charitable arm of our club. Member contributions and corporate sponsorships of special events have built a fund that has supported programs to benefit children in Providence for decades.
The Rotary Foundation, which many of us like to call the international foundation, supports the worldwide activities of Rotary to advance health, sanitation, education, community and economic development, and world peace through understanding.
The Rotary Foundation is not someone else. It is us -- and the members of every other Rotary club in the world. That’s why Rotary International has established a goal for every Rotarian to give $100 to The Rotary Foundation every year. It’s called EREY for short – Every Rotarian Every Year.
What can your $100 donation do?
- It can buy ten mosquito bed nets to prevent malaria for families in Uganda.
- It can buy four Bunsen burners to teach new mothers in Paraguay how to safely warm breast milk for nursing their newborns.
- It can buy a tiled water tub to assure clean water and help prevent the spread of dengue fever in a village in Indonesia.
Donations to the Annual Fund of The Rotary Foundation can also help support service projects by our club here at home through the District Grant program.
$100 a year works out to $8.33 per month (and you can give it in monthly installments).
So when you see that small charge on your credit card statement every month, think about the children and families you’re helping somewhere in the world.
As I approach the end of “my year” as your president, one of my personal goals is to encourage every Providence Rotarian to give at least $100 a year to The Rotary Foundation. It really feels good.
I’m very proud to announce that every member of the club board has already donated or pledged to donate to The Rotary Foundation this year. I thank them and I hope you’ll join them.
Thank you very much.
Our club received a District Grant from The Rotary Foundation to help pay for the dictionaries we gave to all third graders in Providence this year. I can tell you that the kids at Community Prep really appreciated them.
