November is Foundation Month in our Rotary World – Our Rotary Foundation. The best Foundation in the world, in my opinion, for a very simple reason. We – Rotarians – decide how to spend our charitable donations. We, Rotarians, are the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation, and we, Rotarians, manage the staff that helps us care for these donations with honesty, ethics and transparency. We see half of our donations returned year after year for us, Rotarians in our Clubs, to determine where we are spending the dollars we have already donated. We, Rotarians, chart how our donations change lives, improve lives – save lives. The Rotary Foundation should be named Our Rotary Foundation as we, the Rotarians, donate the funds, dictate the policies, drive the solutions, demand transparency, determine the rewards and deserve the recognition.
I’ve shared a video about the Grand Slam – our new district recognition for those who are Major Donors and members of the PolioPlus, Paul Harris and Bequest Societies. You’ll read elsewhere in this newsletter about our latest members of the Arch Klumph Society. But – what does our money actually do? Saving lives sounds wonderful, but how does my money matter?
Take a moment, and please go and turn on any faucet anywhere around you. Now, imagine that for only $24, someone in the world without clean water can receive that same blessing. Clear water saves lives. It’s that simple. Or what if you donate $51.50 to PolioPlus? That will pay for 365 doses of vaccine. 365 kids that won’t get polio. That won’t become crawlers, as they are called in some parts of our world.
How about $100 – and knowing that you just provided vocational training that enables someone in our world to gain a livelihood, a way to support his or her family? Maybe stretch your budget a bit, and donate $320, and fund a student in the ways of making peace, not war. Would possibly waging peace instead of war be a better use of your donations?
Every dollar you give helps, by itself, when combined with others, now, when you pass into the next world. Every donation of any amount makes a difference for someone, somewhere.
Every donation you can scrounge out of your budget is simply a part of being a Rotarian. And that’s why we are always asking for money, because Service Above Self includes giving not just of our hearts, but of our resources.
Yours in Rotary,
Steve Wright
Rotary International District 5150 Governor 2024-2025