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Once again today's speaker was one of our own members Sandy MacKay who spoke on The Rotary Foundation. Sandy who needed no introduction was introduced by President Uwe.
Sandy began his talk by stating The Rotary Foundation (TRF) was a topic that is near and dear to his heart. He started out by giving a brief history of Rotary and the Foundation. Rotary was started in 1905 by Paul Harris and three other members of differing vocations. By the second meeting the group had grown to five members and because they rotated their meeting between the different member's offices, they called the club Rotary. Sandy reported that although we may think we are members of Rotary only our Club is a member of Rotary International. On the other hand, all Rotarians are members of The Rotary Foundation.
The Rotary Foundation began in 1917 when the 6th RI President Arch Klump used the surplus funds from his annual convention to create a fund to "Do Good in the World". Arch Klump believed that Rotarians should not live for ourselves alone but for the joy to do good for others. Arch Klump's original investment was $26.50 and over the next few years this fund grew until in 1927 it was officially set up as The Rotary Foundation. Since its inception, the fund has grown to over $2 Billions and given away around $3 Billion. One of the first grants of $500 was given to the March of Dimes Organization, which was the predecessor of Polio Plus. Over the years the foundation has given out numerous grants for humanitarian and educational projects. In 1998, our Club along with the Rotary Club of Calcutta received a $350,000 3H grant for the Indian Kolkata Villages project. Our Club and the Calcutta Club invested $12,000 each while the TRF contributed the remaining $326,000 to create a better Educational, Medical, Agricultural, Banking and Sanitation facilities as well as a connecting road for four small villages. The success of this project prompted Rotary International to use it was a template for future project.
Polio Plus is the foundation's largest project. RI's End Polio campaign advertise "We Are This Close", but to eliminate the last 30 case of Polio in the world will be the toughest and will take significant manpower and money. Today, Polio only exists in three countries, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Currently there are 5 cases in Afghanistan, 3 cases in Nigeria and 13 cases in Pakistan. One of the main stumbling block to administering the polio vaccine to eradicate the desease in these areas has been political. Organizations like the Taliban who resist immunization, have promoted misinformation and have gone so far as to killed Polio workers. With the conflict in Afghanistan along remote areas of the Pakistani border, people have been able to travel back and forth and transmit polio between the two countries.
Sandy advised if Polio is eliminated, there could be a savings of around $2 Billion per year in eradication cost.
2017 is the 100th Anniversary of The Rotary Foundation and as a result, Rotary International and our District is encouraging all Rotarians to participate by making donations to the foundation. They are encouraging more members to enrol in the 'Every Rotarian Every Year' (EREY) program where members commit to donate $100 per year to the foundation. In addition, they are encouraging members to make a special donate at least $26.50 to Polio Plus.
Sandy then went on to talk about Paul Harris Fellowships (PHF). To obtain a PHF, you must contribute $1000 US to The Rotary Foundation. Once a member has achieved one PHF, they continue to be recognized for each additional PHF until they have achieved 8 at which time they become a Major Donor. Currently our club has 39 members who are Paul Harris Fellows. Sandy the went on to explain that if a member wishes to become a PHF for the first time, it will only cost them around $400 to $500 US. New members who joined in the past year receive 100 points from District 5360, our Club will then contribute 500 points to a member who is willing to make up the remainder. If you have been a member for a few years, unfortunately, you don't qualify for the 100 points from District but will receive 500 points from the Club. To contribute to The Rotary Foundation, members can log into the RI website and go to the Givings section and make donations or set up an automatic payments. The other option is to fill out paper forms and mail them in to Rotary International. If you have any question in this regard, you can talk to Sandy or Doug Fleming and we can provided you with the forms or directions to start the process. The Rotary Foundation is an excellent foundation and we encourage all Rotarians to contribute to this fund to Do Good in the World.
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