Music For Ukraine

The Ithaca Rotary Lunch Club is sponsoring a benefit.  Please support them.
Music For Ukraine 2023-01-19 05:00:00Z 0

Volunteer Surge-All District 7170 Rotarians

Dear Rotarians and Friends of Rotary,
 
I have an exceptional and extraordinary request of you, and all the members in our District, to join the fight against COVID-19. What if there was a way to help, from the safety of our homes, and make a real difference?
 
Our District is one of several leading in an extraordinary new effort, and your immediate participation is critical to its success. This program will be announced via a press release soon (CNN, NYT and other major news coverage), and will be adopted by Rotary Clubs across the nation in a few days.
Volunteer Surge-All District 7170 Rotarians 2020-04-15 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute of the Week of January 6, 2019

Fighting Disease
 
In Tamil Nadu, India, two doctors, both members of the Rotary Club of Srirangam, discovered an alarming trend in the remote city outskirts of Trichy, women dying of breast cancer. They partnered with Rotary members in Maryland, USA, to purchase a large van, with the help of a Foundation global grant, and equip it with X-ray equipment. The “mammobus” has administered more than 2,500 free breast cancer screenings, and detected and treated early stage cancer in six women.  Read more of the story and browse health-related projects on Rotary Showcase.
 
Happy New Year to you and your families.
Foundation Minute of the Week of January 6, 2019 David Bensley 2020-01-06 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation  Minute for Week of June 24

To ensure strong grant projects that encompass sustainability, The Rotary Foundation has a network of Rotarian volunteers available to provide expertise and advice.  They are called the Cadre of Technical Advisers. With a database of 700 experts in Rotary’s six areas of focus as well as other specialties – mediators, diplomats, obstetricians, engineers, bankers, and agronomists, for example – there is sure to be someone who can help if an obstacle comes up.

 

Cadre members play an important role in ensuring that donors’ funds make a long-term impact. On behalf of The Rotary Foundation, cadre members do a technical review of the feasibility of larger grants before they are awarded and perform site visits to evaluate how the grants are being carried out. “Rotarians want to know if something is not working out or if they can do something better,” says Francis “Tusu” Tusubira, a member of the cadre from the Rotary Club of Kampala-North, Uganda. “The cadre is there to give as much support as possible.” 

 

Cadre members also perform random financial audits to help the Foundation ensure that grant funding is being used as approved. They provide accountability and quality assurance in general, and protect investors i.e. the people who donate – and also the beneficiaries.  In doing that,they also protect the Rotary brand. 

 

This is one of the ways in which your donation to The Rotary Foundation is guaranteed to be used responsibly. To donate go to Rotary.org/Give. Thank you. 

 

After 5 years of sending out these Foundation Minutes I am retiring.  Initiated by Past District Governor Bob Ross, we hope that these minutes helped our members understand how their donations and support benefited their communities and the world.  Thank you for your continued generosity in the past and in the future.  Lana Rouff

Foundation Minute for Week of June 24 Lana Rouff 2019-06-19 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of June 17

Everyday Rotary continues to “Do Good In the World!”  They look for ways to make a difference in their communities and in communities around the world.  They use their knowledge of local issues to identify areas of need, then apply their expertise and diverse perspectives to find solutions.  

 

In Korea they established a mentoring project to prepare students with autism and intellectual and emotional disabilities for careers in horticulture.  In Brazil, Rotarians offered Judo classes for youth to funnel their energy avoiding violence in the slums.  In Canada a Rotary club is helping Syrian refugees start new lives, and in Australia clubs are helping to end domestic violence.   

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Giving to the Foundation is much easier – just go to rotary.org/donate Thank you.  

Foundation Minute for Week of June 17 Lana Rouff 2019-06-12 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of June 10

 

There are 33,000 people with albinism in Tanzania – albinism is a congenital absence of pigment in the skin and hair which appears white and the eyes that usually are pink.  Over the years, superstitions have led to a wave of grisly albino killings, dismemberments and even grave robberies.  At least 76 Tanzanian albinos have been murdered in the last decade; 72 others have survived attacks, often with severe mutilations.     

 

In answer to this horrific circumstance, Tanzania-based Rotarians have partnered with local individuals and groups to dispel the myths that have led to so many murders through literature that has been distributed in primary schools across the country and have touched on nearly every aspect of the condition itself.

 

Club to club projects in several districts have supported albino students with mattresses, mosquito nets, vision aids, hats and sunscreen and financed livelihood-building projects in remote communities.  A current grant, active since late 2015 has focused on education. It  has supported more than seventy community outreach meetings and has focused on cancer prevention and treatment that affects the albino through training health workers and providing medical equipment. In five Tanzanian hospitals Rotary provided cryotherapy instruments and flasks of nitrogen, which are highly effective in removing precancerous lesions.  

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Giving to the Foundation is much easier – just go to rotary.org/donate Thank you

Foundation Minute for Week of June 10 Lana Rouff 2019-06-06 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of June 3

The Rotary Foundation is changing the world by providing grants for projects and activities around the globe and in our own backyards.  Sixty-five million dollars in grants have been given to clubs and districts to fight disease.  

Rotary makes amazing things happen, like:

Providing clean water: Rotary has worked with partners to provide more than 80 percent of Ghana’s people with clean water to fight Guinea worm disease.

 

Reducing HIV infection: In Liberia, Rotary members are helping women get tested for HIV early in their pregnancies. They used prenatal care to reduce new HIV infections in children by 95 percent over the last two years.

 

Ending polio: Rotary members have played a key role in bringing the world to the brink of polio eradication. Their efforts have not only ended polio in 122 countries but also created a system for tackling myriad other health priorities, such as Ebola.

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Giving to the Foundation is much easier – just go to rotary.org/donate,  Thank you.  

Foundation Minute for Week of June 3 Lana Rouff 2019-05-29 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of May 28

Posted by Lana Rouff on May 22, 2019

More than 775 million people over the age of fifteen are illiterate.  That is 17% of the world’s adult population.  Rotary’s goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, to reduce gender disparity in education, and to increase adult literacy.  

 

Rotary members in Afghanistan have opened a girls’ school to break the cycle of poverty and social imbalance. In the United States, Rotary has partnered with ProLiteracy Detroit to recruit and train tutors after a study showed that more than half of the local adult population was functionally illiterate.

Rotary has collaborated with the SOUNS program in South Africa, Puerto Rico and the United States.   It teaches educators how to improve literacy by teaching children to recognize letters by sounds instead of names.

And Rotarians are providing clean, fresh water to every public school in Lebanon so students can be healthier and get a better education.

Your financial support of the Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Giving to the Foundation is much easier – just go to rotary.org/donate

Thank you.  

Foundation Minute for Week of May 28 Lana Rouff 2019-05-22 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of May 20

Last April in response to emergency relief, The Rotary Foundation established a new support fund to receive contributions for disasters that strike around the world. Entitled the Rotary Disaster Response Fund, staff in Programs and Grants are now able to reach out to the affected areas and their districts to assess the need and desire for funding.  Upon a qualified response - much like a district grant - the affected district will be awarded funding in increments of up to $25,000, consulting the TRF chair as needed.  Only districts in the affected country may request a grant.  

 

To date four such grants have been issued and the fund is now depleted.  The Foundation encourages donations to the fund so that when disasters occur, Rotary will be able to help.  

(The fund will accept DDF contributions and those in cash will be credited towards a club’s Annual Giving Goal and per capita giving calculations.  However the donations will NOT apply to SHARE or the DDF calculation. )  Thank you for your help.  To donate go to rotary.org/donate.  Thank you.  

 

Foundation Minute for Week of May 20 Lana Rouff 2019-05-15 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of May 13

Basic information about Rotary:

 

Rotary International is a global organization that operates in nearly every country in the world and deals in twenty-nine (29) currencies.  Rotary takes stewardship of its funds very seriously.  Money is spent on life-changing, sustainable grants, as well as programs and services that support its members’ transformative work. Three billion dollars have been invested in thousands of projects over the past 100 years.

 

Rotary International is a member organization and is overseen by its Board of Directors.  As a separate part of RI, the Rotary Foundation is organized as a public charity operating exclusively for charitable purposes and is governed by a Board of Trustees. RI and TRF are both tax-exempt organizations.  (The former is new for RI)

 

 

The headquarters of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation are in Evanston, Illinois, USA. There are associate foundations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, German, India, Japan and the United Kingdom.  

 

Contributions to The Rotary Foundation enables Rotary to carry out its live saving work.  Giving to the Foundation is much easier – just go to rotary.org/donate.

 

Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week of May 13 Lana Rouff 2019-05-02 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of May 6

As of April, 2019, nine cases of polio have been reported in the world specifically within the endemic countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan.    Polio continues to spread in these countries due to the unchecked borders where movement of people threatens efforts to eradicate the disease.

 

The numbers of those affected have decreased dramatically since 2014, however polio is still found in the country.  In response to that, the government of Pakistan has increased the number of manned permanent transit posts across the Pakistan/Afghanistan border where children can be vaccinated against the virus.  Conflict, political insecurity and remoteness of areas, combined with a highly mobile population and logistical challenges are significant obstacles to Pakistan’s effort to eradicate polio.  

 

The difficult geographical terrain in Afghanistan has been responsible for polio outbreaks.  Areas of the country, which are home to nomads, seasonal and economic migrants and agricultural laborer families, make it hard for immunization teams to reach them.   

 

Rotary along with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and other NGOs continue their efforts to eradicate this dreadful disease.  Your financial support will support them – until the battle is finished.  Giving to the Foundation is much easier – just go to rotary.org/donate

Thank you.  

Foundation Minute for Week of May 6 Lana Rouff 2019-05-02 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 29

ROTARY MAKES HIGH-QUALITY HEALTH CARE AVAILABLE TO VULNERABLE MOTHERS AND CHILDREN, SO THEY CAN LIVE LONGER AND GROW STRONGER.  ROTARIANS WORK TO ACCESS QUALITY CARE, SO MOTHERS AND CHILDREN EVERYWHERE CAN HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES FOR A HEALTHY FUTURE.  AN ESTIMATED 5.9 MILLION CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE DIE EACH YEAR BECAUSE OF MALNUTRITION, INADEQUATE HEALTH CARE AND POOR SANITATION – ALL OF WHICH CAN BE PREVENTED. 

 

HAITI HAS THE HIGHEST MATERNAL AND INFANT MORTALITY RATE OF ANY COUNTRY IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.  ROTARY PROVIDED A FULLY EQUIPPED MEDICAL JEEP TO VOLUNTEERS AND MIDWIVES TO REACH MOTHERS AND CHILDREN IN REMOTE AREAS.

 

IN CHENNAI, INDIA, WHERE THERE IS A HIGH MORTALITY RATE OF WOMEN WITH BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER DUE TO A LATE DIAGNOSIS, ROTARIANS PROVIDED A MOBILE CANCER SCREENING UNIT AND AWARENESS TRAINING.

 

AND IN NIGERIA, ROTARY MEMBERS LAUNCHED A $3 MILLION, FIVE -YEAR PILOT PROGRAM TO SAVE THE LIVES OF MOTHERS AND CHILDREN DURING HOME DELIVERIES.  SINCE 2005, THEY’VE ALSO REPAIRED 1,500 OBSTETRIC FISTULAS RESTORING DIGNITY AND HOPE TO VULNERABLE MOTHERS.

 

YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ROTARY FOUNDATION ENABLES THIS TO HAPPEN.   GIVING TO THE FOUNDATION IS MUCH EASIER – JUST GO TO ROTARY.ORG/DONATE,

THANK YOU. 

 

Foundation Minute for Week of April 29 Lana Rouff 2019-04-24 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 23

It takes more than installing sanitation facilities for a water and sanitation project to succeed in the long term.  It’s also important to cultivate healthy habits.  Good hygiene practices can reduce diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and pneumonia by nearly 50%. Washing hands with soap can save lives.  

 

The Rotary Club of Box Hill Central, Victoria Australia, facilitates Operation Toilets, a program that builds toilets and delivers sanitation education to schools in developing countries including India and Ethiopia.  The group constructs separate facilities for boys and girls to ensure privacy, and Rotary members teach students how to wash their hands with soap. Workers in each school are instructed in how to maintain the facilities.

 

In the Philippines, the Rotary Club of Puchong Centennial Malaysia sponsored several speakers to instruct students about oral hygiene, hand washing and the importance of frequent bathing.  After each presentation, students were given kits that included toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, combs and other toiletries.

 

And in the United States, members from the Rotary Club of Ithaca in Ithaca, New York, visit schools within their district to instruct youngsters about the importance of handwashing and how to effectively wash their hands.

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Giving to the Foundation is much easier – just go to rotary.org/donate

 

Thank you.  

Foundation Minute for Week of April 23 Lana Rouff 2019-04-17 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of April 16

The lack of access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene resources is one of the world’s biggest health problems – and one of the hardest to solve.  Rotary has worked for decades to provide people with clean water by digging wells, laying pipes, providing filters, and installing sinks and toilets.  But the biggest challenge has come after the hardware is installed.  Too often, projects succeeded at first but eventually failed.

 

Rusted water pumps and dilapidated sanitation facilities are familiar sights in parts of Africa, South America, and South Asia – monuments to service projects that proved UNSUSTAINABLE. 

 

That is why Rotary has shifted its focus over the past several years to emphasize education, collaboration and sustainability.  Now TRF requires clubs and districts that apply for grants in other countries to show that local residents have developed a project plan that includes the above.  In doing so, projects are successful.

 

Your contribution to TRF enables this to happen.   Giving to the Foundation is easy – just go to rotary.org/donate,   Thank you.   

The lack of access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene resources is one of the world’s biggest health problems – and one of the hardest to solve.  Rotary has worked for decades to provide people with clean water by digging wells, laying pipes, providing filters, and installing sinks and toilets.  But the biggest challenge has come after the hardware is installed.  Too often, projects succeeded at first but eventually failed.

 

Rusted water pumps and dilapidated sanitation facilities are familiar sights in parts of Africa, South America, and South Asia – monuments to service projects that proved UNSUSTAINABLE. 

 

That is why Rotary has shifted its focus over the past several years to emphasize education, collaboration and sustainability.  Now TRF requires clubs and districts that apply for grants in other countries to show that local residents have developed a project plan that includes the above.  In doing so, projects are successful.

 

Your contribution to TRF enables this to happen.   Giving to the Foundation is easy – just go to rotary.org/donate,   Thank you.   

Foundation Minute for the Week of April 16 Lana Rouff 2019-04-10 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 8

In response to emergency relief, The Rotary Foundation recently established a new support fund to receive contributions for disasters that strike around the world.  Entitled the Rotary Disaster Response Fund, staff in Programs and Grants will reach out to the affected areas and their districts to assess the need and desire for funding.  Upon a qualified response - much like a district grant - the affected district will be awarded funding in increments of up to $25,000, consulting the TRF chair as needed.  Only districts in the affected country may request a grant.  These districts can apply for more than one grant, and should some of the allocation not be used – the funds will be returned to the Disaster Fund.  Should requests exceed available funds, the General Secretary of RI will triage requests until additional funds are available.  

 

(The fund will accept DDF contributions and those in cash will be credited towards a club’s Annual Giving Goal and per capita giving calculations.  However the donations will NOT apply to SHARE or the DDF calculation. )  

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation and their new fund exemplifies RI’s mission to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional and community leaders. Giving to the Foundation is easy – just go to rotary.org/donate

Thank you.   

Foundation Minute for Week of April 8 Lana Rouff 2019-04-03 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 1

Foundation Minute for Week of April  1

 

In Eastern Ukraine, thousands have died and millions have been displaced by the fighting between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian military.  Children, many of whom have lost a parent or sibling, are among those affected by the violence, often suffering deep emotional scars.  When the conflict in Ukraine began in early 2014, Rotary members throughout Poland stepped up to help.  Working with Rotary’s Poland-Ukraine Intercountry Committee, (Poland, Ukraine, Sweden and Slovakia.)  Rotarians began an annual two-week camp that allows kids to enjoy games, field trips, and outdoor activities while receiving support from mental health professionals.  It’s a peaceful place where they can begin to heal from the trauma of war.

 

Children who experience violence can be prone to violent behavior themselves.  This camp shows them a different path.

 

More than 100 children have attended over the past four years.  At first, some endure sleepless nights or nightmares.  A few withdraw and emotionally shut down. But over the two weeks, many relax, learn coping strategies, build connections to others with similar experiences and, perhaps most important, rediscover how to be kids again. 

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week of April 1 Lana Rouff 2019-03-28 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of March 25

Posted by Lana Rouff

Foundation Minute for Week of March 25 –

 

Clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education are basic necessities for a healthy environment and a productive life.  When people have access to clean water and sanitation, waterborne diseases decrease, children stay healthier and attend school more regularly, and mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families. 

 

Through water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs, Rotarians mobilize resources, form partnerships, and invest in infrastructure and training that yield long-term change. 

Rotary has partnered with the US Agency for International Development in Ghana, Madagascar, and Uganda to implement such programs.  It has done the same in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, India, and Kenya.  Since 2013 the Foundation has invested in more than 1000 such programs in more than 100 countries. 

 

2030 is the year Rotary hopes to finish providing everyone with safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.  Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you for your generosity. 

 

Foundation Minute for Week of March 25 Lana Rouff 2019-03-21 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of March 18

Posted by Lana Rouff

Foundation Minute for Week of March 18

 

Mobile phones and simple text messages are not only used by us to update appointments, trace stock quotes, sport teams or your spouses’ where-abouts – they are now being used for the victory in the world’s largest public health initiative:  the eradication of polio.  As the disease retreats from the global stage, thriving in only a few remote areas in three countries, it’s up to health workers to deliver vaccines and share information with speed and accuracy.  Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are strengthening lines of communication by giving cellphones to health workers in Pakistan and Nigeria where a single text message can save a life.  

 

Community health workers across Pakistan have received more than 5, 000 phones through a partnership with Rotary, its government as well as Telenor the country’s second-largest telecommunications provider and Eycon a data monitoring and evaluation specialist.  Cellphone technology signals tremendous progress in polio eradication. It gives governments and polio eradication leaders an advantage in the decisions needed to make to eliminate polio. 

 

Your continued support of Polioplus enables this happen.  Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week of March 18 Lana Rouff 2019-03-21 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week March 11th

Foundation Minute for Week of March 11

 

Nearly 800 million people live on less that $1.90 a day!  Rotary members are passionate about providing sustainable solutions to poverty.  Rotarians and its foundation work to strengthen local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women in impoverished communities.  It provides training and access to well-paying jobs and financial management institutions. It creates opportunities to help individuals and communities thrive financially and socially.

 

In Guatemala the Rotary Club of Guatemala de la Ermita helped 400 local women complete financial literacy courses, so they could pool their money and fund their own microlending program.  In Esmeraldas, Ecuador Rotary members helped grant more than 250 microloans, and train more the 270 community members in sewing, baking, plumbing, microcredit, business management and leadership.

 

And in West Cameroon, Rotary members gave farmers skills to improve soil fertility, control soil erosion, and market their produce resulting in increased crop yields and profits.

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enabled this to happen.  Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week March 11th Lana Rouff 2019-03-11 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of March 4th

Foundation Minute for Week of March 4

           

A project to provide clean water to all of Lebanon’s schools is uniting leaders from many of the country’s diverse religious, cultural, and political divisions!

 

In 2011 Rotary members in northern Lebanon decided to install new tanks and water filters in a few nearby schools with the help of a Rotary Foundation grant.  The idea caught on and two years later one giant water project that would reach every school in Lebanon and involve all 24 of the country’s Rotary clubs developed.

 

While clean water was the main objective, the leaders also saw the effort as a means of helping heal Lebanon’s long history of sectarian strife. Working alongside Rotarians of various faiths to promote the project deepened understanding of those with different religious or political views. 

 

This project exemplifies the mission of Rotary which is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.

 

Your financial support enables this to happen.  Thank you. 

 

Foundation Minute for Week of March 4th 2019-02-27 05:00:00Z 0
Foundation Minute for Week of February 25 2019-02-20 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of February 18

In 2011 Hong Kong native Spencer Leung applied and was accepted for a three-month Rotary Peace Fellow program for professionals in agriculture. His dream was to launch an organic seed operation in Thailand.  He believed that demand for organic food would continue to expand, and he wanted to do something good.  He states, “The more I looked in to it the more I believed organic agriculture could be a powerful peace building platform.  So he established Go Organics.

 

Go Organics aims to improve productivity and sustainability for farmers who cultivate less than five acres of crops, based on the belief that creating economic stability for small farmers will help cultivate peace.  It works to improve the marketplace for these farmers and to provide simple and cost-effective technologies that helps improve operations.   It offers farmers through microfinancing an affordable cold storage unit that will keep crops fresh up to ten days longer thus opening market opportunities.  Go Organics also guarantees the sale of a certain amount of their produce.  It introduced technologies to dry produce properly, to package them safely and to prevent the growth of mold. 

 

The mission of Go Organics is to channel the work to those who are in need and to bring these people into the workforce.  Small farms produce around 80% of the world’s food and make up 90% of the world’s 570 million farms.  Leung says, “If we can raise their standard of living – its sustainability – we’re going to make a lot of changes the whole world – it’s going to be amazing.”

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you

 

Foundation Minute for Week of February 18 Lana Rouff 2019-02-13 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of February 11

Our health is everything. Yet 400 million people in the world can’t afford or don’t have access to basic health care. We believe good health care is everyone’s right.

Disease results in misery, pain, and poverty for millions of people worldwide. That’s why treating and preventing disease is so important to Rotarians. It leads efforts both large and small. It sets up temporary clinics, blood donation centers, and training facilities in underserved communities struggling with outbreaks and health care access. It designs and builds infrastructure that allows doctors, patients, and governments to work together.

As Rotarians our members combat diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and polio. Prevention is important, which is why we also focus on health education and bringing people routine hearing, vision, and dental care.

Your contribution and support of The Rotary Foundation enables to happen.  Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week of February 11 Lana Rouff 2019-02-06 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of February 4

Through the Rotary Foundation amazing things happen!

In Afghanistan, Rotary members opened a girls’ school to break the cycle of poverty and social imbalance.  Rotary members in the US partnered with ProLiteracy Detroit to recruit and train tutors after a study showed that more than half of the local adult population was functionally illiterate.  

 

Rotary members helped develop the SOUNS program in South Africa, Puerto Rico and US which teaches educators how to improve literacy by teaching children to recognize letters by sounds instead of names.  

 

And Rotarians are providing clean, fresh water to every public school in Lebanon, so students can be healthier and get a better education!  

 

According to Rotarian Mark Wilson, “When you teach somebody how to read, they have that for a lifetime.  It ripples through the community, one by one.”

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you.  

Foundation Minute for Week of February 4 Lana Rouff 2019-01-30 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of January 28

Joi Burton, a member of the Rotary Club of North Garland County, Arkansas proves how a small club can make a difference in the world.  Through Rotary, Joi experienced a great love for the country of Kenya, and after her first visit she was invited by a friend to live a few weeks in a village a day’s drive from the Nairobi airport.  Before she left, the Rotary Club of Arlington South gave her $500 to do a project in the village that was comprised of a few houses, several huts, a school and a church – no electricity, no water and was located several miles from the nearest road. 

 

The day after she arrived she told Moses, the man that accompanied her, that she had a “little bit of money” from her club and asked if there was something they needed.  He told her they needed concrete to replace the floors in the school as the children were getting their uniforms dirty from having to sit on the floor all day.  She and Moses went to the nearest town and purchased gravel, sand, and cement – the villagers then completed the floors in all the rooms. 

 

The next week, she again told Moses that she had a “little bit of money” and asked if there was anything else they needed.  They needed glass to replace the broken windows in the school.  She and Moses bought large plates of glass and were able to place windows in the entire school.  The following week, she again told Moses that she had a “little bit of money” left – what else do they need?  They then purchased metal paint and brushes to paint the rusted tin roof.  And with a little more of that money left – they were able to make ladders with sticks and rope to paint the roof!  And on the last week that Joi stayed – she still had “a little money left” where they purchased school books and two cases of chalk!  They were completely out of chalk.

 

This experience built the foundation for other efforts including global grants for wells.  What a difference one small Rotary club can make with a little bit on money.  Thank you.   

 

Foundation Minute for Week of January 28 Lana Rouff 2019-01-23 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of January 21

Twelve generous supporters of Rotary's polio eradication efforts will have the opportunity to play golf with legend Jack Nicklaus, a Rotary ambassador for polio eradication.

 

Nicklaus plans to thank the next twelve (12) individuals who make a new donation of $250,000 or more to the PolioPlus Fund by inviting them to play golf with him at the Bear's Club in Jupiter, Florida, USA, on 12 March 2019. There, donors will be divided into three groups of four, and each group will play eighteen (18) holes of golf – six with Nicklaus. Donors who prefer not to golf may allow one friend or family member to golf in their place.

 

Space is limited to the first twelve (12) donors. To qualify, donors need to complete a gift intent form and make the full donation by 22 January 2019. Contact Harvey Newcomb III, Director of Principal Gifts at The Rotary Foundation, for more information. Please see the gift intent form for details.

 

What a super way to support the Rotary Foundation!!  Enjoy and keep your head down!

Foundation Minute for Week of January 21 Lana Rouff 2019-01-16 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of January 14, part 2

Recently, The Rotary Foundation was inducted into University of Oxford’s Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors for it continuous support of the university.  Since 1949 the foundation has provided scholarships to more than 200 Oxford scholars including a former American ambassador to the United Kingdom, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative reporter with the New York Times, and a Director and Senior Fellow at the Ansari Africa Centre.  For almost 70 years, this support has enabled students from around the world to benefit from all that Oxford has to offer. 

 

Membership in the Court of Benefactors is conferred by the Chancellor on those who have been outstandingly generous towards the university.    The Rotary Foundation joins a prestigious list of over 250 members including Thomson Reuters Foundation and The Skoll Foundation. The members are from around the globe whose significant contributions have assisted Oxford in being the world ‘s leading institution that it is today.  

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you. 

 

Foundation Minute for the Week of January 14, part 2 Lana Rouff 2019-01-14 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute of Week of January 14

Late in August, a family of eight migrant persons from Honduras arrived at a refugee shelter, where Giorgio Algeri, a former Rotary Peace Fellow, was serving as a short-term volunteer in Tabasco, Mexico, near the Guatemala border.  The family of three adults and five children, most below the age of 10, had fled their country for security reasons and was waiting asylum.  There, the son of their landlord came home drunk and threatened the family with a machete, forcing them to leave all their belongs behind.  The refugee shelter welcomed them addressing their basic needs such as food, clothing and personal hygiene kits.

 

This emerging migration crisis is apparent in such countries as El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. It is also found in Spain, Malta and Italy.  The decision of governments such as the United States to deny migrants and refugees denotes an alarming worsening of human rights and represents a violation of international humanitarian law for the repatriation of vulnerable migrants. Anti -migrant alliances are creating a climate of hate and violence against migrants and refugees. 

 

“The one thing most vulnerable migrants and refugees have in common,” says Algeri, “is a desire to live safely with dignity. Existing initiatives and programs such as the one in Tabasco, play a crucial role and provide a safe pathway for such vulnerable groups.”  

 

He states, “ Everyone has a responsibility to promote acceptance of the right of others!  

You don’t need to be a humanitarian worker to make a difference. Anyone can contribute by holding an event to commemorate the rights of refugees, or taking part in social media campaigns.  You can also volunteer in service projects that promote a culture of positive peace and create a more constructive dialogue between migrants, refugees and host communities.  It’s time to stand up for the human rights of migrants and take action now. “ 

 

Contributions to the Rotary Foundation will enable this to happen.  Thank you.  

Foundation Minute of Week of January 14 Lana Rouff 2019-01-09 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation minute for the Week of January 7

With 2017 -2018 behind us – The Rotary Foundation is pleased to report an outstanding year!  Its annual fund raised $131.4 million dollars, its endowment brought in $28.5 million with an 8% return, and the PolioPlus Fund brought in $143.6 million.  It has been awarded 4 stars by Charities Navigator for the 11th year in a row and has approved 503 district grants and its program awards totaled $27.4 million! 

 

Cumulatively, since 1985 Rotary has helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children against polio and as of June, 2018, had spent more than $1.8 billion toward global polio eradication.  Since 2002-2003, 1,245 fellows from more than 120 countries have participated in Rotary’s Peace Fellowship Program, and program awards for these fellows and the centers have totaled $4.0 million.  Since 2013-14, the Foundation awarded 5,677 global grants totaling $332.1 million and 2,466 in district grants totaling $126.1 million.  

 

Your generosity has enabled this to happen!  Happy New Year!  Thank you.   

Foundation minute for the Week of January 7 Lana Rouff 2019-01-02 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of December 17

 

  • The latest figures reflecting the status of polio in the world are disappointing. Globally there has been 28 cases of WPV (wild polio virus) and 98 cases of cVDPV (circulating vaccine derived polio virus) reported as of December 4th.  This time last year there were 16 cases of WPV and 80 cases of cVDPV.   
  • To address this, the 19th IHR (International Health Regulations) Emergency Committee including members, advisers, and invited member states convened to discuss the status of the international spread of poliovirus. The Committee unanimously agreed that the risk of polio spread continues to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and proposed an extension of Temporary Recommendations for an additional three months. The Committee expressed concern that complacency to achieving a polio-free world could now become the biggest risk to the effort and urged that all countries and partners regard polio eradication as an emergency.  “We have the tools, we need to focus on what works, we need to get to every child,” commented Prof. Helen Rees, Chairperson of the Committee.  “The reality is that there is no reason why we should not be able to finish this job, but we have to keep at it.”  Prof. Rees and the Committee urged countries, donors and partners to continue their support, until a polio-free world is achieved, cautioning that failure to eradicate polio would lead to global resurgence of the disease, with potentially as many as 200,000 new cases occurring annually within ten years.  “We have achieved eradication of a disease once before, with smallpox,” Rees concluded.  “The world is a much better place without smallpox.  It’s now more urgent than ever that we redouble our efforts and finish this job once and for all as well.”  

Despite an increase in cases, Rotary International continues to make progress in countries where polio is a threat to children.  – It is using innovative techniques to reach more children than ever before in some of the hardest-to-reach areas of the world, and its surveillance systems are continually becoming more sophisticated. -  As the organization that first had the vision of a world without polio, it can take pride in its work and commitment thus far.   It will continue to persevere until the day it fulfills its promise of a polio-free world.”

 

Thank you for your continued and dedicated support.  

 

There will be no Foundation Minutes for the weeks of December 24 and 31st.  They will resume on January 4 – Have a happy holiday season and a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.  

 

Foundation Minute for Week of December 17 Lana Rouff 2018-12-17 05:00:00Z 0

Haiti's YWCA Appeal

Happy Holidays to All of You!  As Global Grant Chair for our  Rotary District 7170, I recently received this following letter from Carole Coppins - ED for Binghamton's YWCA.  She had just returned from Haiti where she met with the Director of the YWCA in Port au Prince.  She had hoped to coordinate a district grant directed towards their needs, however because of the time constraint,  this won't be feasible.  So - Carole is asking that our local clubs consider this appeal individually.  The letter follows, and I hope your club and perhaps its individual members might respond generously.  Thank you -  Lana Rouff

 

To:  YWCA Binghamton, NY   -Mrs Carol Coppens  

Your Solidarity Is Needed To Help Us Sustain Our Programs

 

Dear Sister YWCA of Binghamton -  

The Young Women's Christian Association Haiti (YWCA Haiti) is proud to be an affiliated member of the global YWCA movement and to have helped empower thousands of young women over the years, gradually transforming the power structures in our society. The YWCA Haiti was founded on November 28th, 2008 and began to actively support girls and young women living in difficult conditions outside the city of Port-au-Prince after the January 12, 2010 earthquake.

Thanks to the generosity of sister organizations worldwide wanting to facilitate the healing process of earthquake survivors, the YWCA Haiti was able to address the enormous problems girls and young women faced. Later, we opened the Youth Center where we provide after school tutoring services and soft skills programming to girls and young women aged 6 to 18 years old. Our Center is considered a safe space, feeding nearly two hundred girls every day who come from the most deprived and marginalized areas of Pétion-Ville.  

Through the Leadership Academy program, we have trained approximately two thousand young women aged 19 to 35, who are better equipped to face daily life challenges, make important life choices and be more competitive in the job market. Many of these program participants come from areas such as Cité-Soleil and Martissant that are at the mercy of violent street gangs. They come from these areas where girls live in despair and danger every week determined to learn and to lead positive changes in their lives and their community.  

Today the YWCA Haiti is facing a very difficult financial situation. Yearly, around 20 to 25% of our budget relies on our fund-raising activities. Unfortunately, due to the instable financial, economic and political situation in Haiti in 2018, our fund-raising efforts have led to a poor outcome, leaving us with a gap of one-month worth of costs to be able to fully complete our year. 

Over the past decade, we have been successful in attracting funding from renowned donors such as USAID, World Bank, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), American Red Cross (ARC) and Horyzon Switzerland. As we approach our 10th anniversary, however, we are facing a severe financial crisis that puts the continuity of our daily activities in jeopardy. We need the help of our YWCA sisters more than ever to support our programs. While we are doing everything in our power to keep our Youth Center open in December, your solidarity would represent an important step in maintaining our programs, which are essential for the well-being of our girls.

To facilitate donations from anywhere in the world, a GoFundMe page has been created: https://www.gofundme.com/ywca-haiti-fundraising-initiative. Our immediate goal is to raise $10,000 but each contribution counts and will make a difference in the lives of our participants. To know more about the YWCA Haiti and our programs, visit our website: www.ywcahaiti.org.

We thank you in advance for your solidarity, your generosity and sisterhood.  

--

Sandrine Kenol Wiener
YWCA Haiti
Program Manager
Board Vice-President
509-3816-0555

skenol@ywcahaiti.org

 

Se Ave'm chanjman an komanse

Change starts with me

 

Haiti's YWCA Appeal Lana Rouff 2018-12-07 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of December 10

Rotarian Karin Davies, a retired pediatrician and a member of the Rotary Club of Del Mar, California, marshaled resources and connected key players to establish a curriculum for neonatal care at the University of Gondar’s College of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ethiopia,  which is helping reduce their high infant mortality rate. 

 

Davis led four vocational training team trips to Gondar between 2015 and 2017. The team, funded by a $107,000 Rotary Foundation Global Grant, trained 73 health care providers who now teach classes for midwives, nurses, and medical students on resuscitation techniques and post-recitation care for newborns.

 

She relates that she had just finished teaching a group of Ethiopian health care providers a life-saving technique for newborn babies, when a third-year obstetric resident came rushing in - “It really works,” he said. The night before, he had delivered an infant who was born limp and not breathing. After several unsuccessful attempts to stimulate the baby’s breathing, he used a technique, known as positive pressure ventilation, that he had learned only the day before. Within minutes, the baby was screaming. 

 

 “We saw the power of vocational training right before our eyes.”  Your contribution to TRF enables this happen!  Thank you

Foundation Minute for the Week of December 10 Lana Rouff 2018-12-07 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of December 3

Whenever a global grant is awarded – a global grant consists of a project’s budget over $30,000 up to $200,000, The Rotary Foundation provides technical expertise.  Called the Global Grant Cadre of Technical Advisors, it maintains a registry of individuals that serve in countries other than their own.  These Rotarians are qualified in areas of health, education, literacy, water, small business, micro-credit and financial auditing - in other words chartered accountants and certified public accountants.  Cadre members are fluent in a variety of languages which include French, Spanish, Portuguese and other language skills.  They conduct on-site project visits for two to three days with written reports upon their return.  This technique assures the validity of the project and its sustainability. 

 

The Rotary Foundation welcomes individuals who might join the cadre.  If you are interested contact the Rotary Foundation at 847-866-3000.   Thank you.  

 

Foundation Minute for Week of December 3 Lana Rouff 2018-11-30 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of November 26

Now that the holiday season is upon us – many of us are scurrying around trying to find the best gift for our families, our neighbors, teachers and more.  Here is an idea that will save all of you a great deal of time and give you an enormous feeling of satisfaction!  

 

In place of that gift, why not give the gift of Rotary thorough The Rotary Foundation?  A $100 contribution can help provide textbooks for one elementary school in Zambia, provide a hearing aid for a deaf child in Pakistan, buy de-worming tablets for 112 children in the Philippines, pay for cataract operations for three blind people in India, or provide 230 blankets for the elderly in the winter months of Korea! And there are many more opportunities even within our own country!  

 

For more information contact The Rotary Foundation at 866-9 ROTARY (866-976-8279).  Thank you for your generosity.  

Foundation Minute for Week of November 26 Lana Rouff 2018-11-26 05:00:00Z 0

We Need Your Help!

We need your help!  As part of a grant awarded to our district to address opioid abuse within our communities -  thousands of flyers listing the signs and symptoms of opioid abuse as well as flyers listing the drugs that can become addictive - were printed.  To date over 75,000 flyers have been distributed within our district - BUT we still have more.  You can help with this distribution!   
 
Last week Robin Alpaugh from Senator Askar's office took 16,000 to be distributed to government agencies - hundreds were given to social services and more to area hospitals!  Can members of your club help - can you ask area schools - banks - universities - medical offices - local papers -  gas stations - supermarkets - if they would distribute the flyers. Go back to places that originally took them and see if they need more.
 
The flyers can be mailed to you - at no cost to your club.  Please let me know how many you would like and they will be sent immediately. 
 
Opioid abuse continues to plague our communities - Rotarians such as yourself can help by educating our population on how to address this epidemic.
 
Thank you for your help.  Lana Rouff & JoAnn Wickman


 
We Need Your Help! Lana Rouff 2018-11-13 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of November 12

In today’s world one in four victims of slavery are children, and 10 million children are considered slaves!  300,000 child soldiers are forced to fight wars, 700 million women alive today are married as children, and 17.2 million children are working as domestic workers.  A new partnership with the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery and Freedom United is giving Rotarians a chance to do something to stop it.   Freedom United is a nonprofit organization that has mobilized millions of partners, activists and advocates through online campaigns to convince governments and companies to end slavery. 

 

Through its website, Rotary clubs of any size can sign up to form “freedom rings,” which raise community awareness of slavery while sharing information with one another through an online platform.  Freedom United helps Rotary clubs plan a two-hour community event by arranging speakers that can include experts, survivors, and representatives of local nonprofits that are already fighting modern slavery.  One of these rings in Chattanooga, Tennessee is planning a gala fundraiser; in Raleigh, NC a walk/run to raise awareness is planned.  And another ring is organizing a “red sand project,” where volunteers sprinkle red sand in the cracks of city streets to represent all the people in the world who are enslaved.  And in Johnson City, New York – purple pinwheels were planted in a major traffic circle.

 

Support from People in Action to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you.   

Foundation Minute for Week of November 12 Lana Rouff 2018-11-09 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of November 5

Communities around the world are making a difference at home and across the seas.  Right now, they feed the hungry, tutor disadvantaged children, maintain parks and playgrounds and more.  Since the installation of more than 175 solar lights, families living on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, USA can now read, work, and study long after the sun sets.  Rotary helps Tanzanians with albinism find safe futures.  It offers Judo for Brazilian youth as an escape from the slums;  in Canada, Rotary clubs help refugees start new lives and in Australia clubs help end domestic violence.

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables these projects to happen.  Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week of November 5 Lana Rouff 2018-11-01 04:00:00Z 0
Foundation Minute for Week of October 29  Christine (Chris) Haase 2018-10-24 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of October 22

Last week we talked about various projects that were accomplished through Rotary’s global grants in the USA.  Here are a few more:

 

1.     Dental Equipment and oral healthcare services were provided by Rotarians to low-income residents in Ventura, Cty, California.

2.    In Pittsburgh, PA and Richmond, California, Rotary provided free longitudinal care for 75 patients at two Rotacare Free medical clinics.

3.    It provided a baseball clinic with a focus on teamwork and anti-bullying among youngsters ages 7-16 in Yonkers, New York.

4.    It developed and implemented a school based dental model within two schools in Cabell County, West Virginia.

5.    And it created a “Kids Club Literary Project” to promote age/grade level reading for children living in Loveland Housing Authority apartments in Loveland, Colorado. 

 

These projects had a budget of over $30,000 and were initiated by clubs and districts within the United States with financial support from countries outside the US. Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enabled this to happen.  Thank you.  

 

Foundation Minute for the Week of October 22 Lana Rouff 2018-10-17 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of October 15

In 2017, the majority of The Rotary Foundation’s global grants were awarded to clubs and districts outside the United States; however many of our US districts have recognized immediate needs within our own country.  Working within the grant process:

 

1.     A health service center was created in Salinas, California to assist homeless residents in their community and helped them obtain references to healthcare professionals.

2.    In Greensboro Alabama, Rotary provided financial literacy and small business development trainings for at risk youth.

3.    Rotary provided a social and job skill training program targeting unemployed and underemployed residents of West Coconut Grove, a Bahamian founded community in Miami, Florida.

4.    It equipped a mobile vision unit to serve patients in a region of rural Appalachia.

5.    And in UpState New York, it developed a grant to address the severe epidemic of opioid/heroin abuse.

 

Your generous contributions to The Rotary Foundation enabled this to happen!   

Foundation Minute for Week of October 15 Lana Rouff 2018-10-11 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of October 8

Rotary is dedicated to six areas of focus in order to build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever.

We learned about three areas last week and here are the others;

Saving mothers and children: Nearly 6 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation.  Rotary expands access to quality care, so mothers and their children can live and grow stronger.

 

Supporting education: More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate.  Rotary’s goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. And finally

 

Growing local economies: Rotary carries out service projects that enhance economic and community development and creates opportunities for decent and productive work for young and old.  Rotary also strengthens local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women in impoverished communities.  

 

Your support of TRF enables this to happen.  Thank you. 

 

 

 

Foundation Minute for Week of October 8 Lana Rouff 2018-10-08 04:00:00Z 0

V

Foundation Minute for Week of October 1

Rotary is dedicated to six areas of focus in order to build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world. Three of these focus areas are:

 

1.    Promoting peace: Rotary encourages conversations to foster understanding within and across cultures.  We train adults and young leaders to prevent and mediate conflict and help refugees who have fled dangerous areas.

 

2.    Fighting disease:  We educate and equip communities to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases like polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria.  We improve and expand access to low-cost and free health care in developing areas. AND

 

3.    Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene:  We support local solutions to bring clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to more people every day.  We don’t just build wells and walk away.  We share our expertise with community leaders and educators to make sure our projects succeed long-term.  

 

Learn about the other three next week!  Your contribution to the Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you.  

V Foundation Minute for Week of October 1 Lana Rouff 2018-09-26 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of September 24

In 2009, Salvador Rico stood in the waters of the Russian River in Northern California with other members of the Rotary Club of South Ukiah.  They were there for a river clean-up, during which they removed toilets, refrigerators, car parts, and garbage.  

 

After participating in the Russian River cleanup, Rico’s thoughts turned to the Ameca River which flows past his father’s farm in western Mexico.  That was where his oldest sister contracted polio which killed her in the 1960s.  He also thought of another river, the Lerma, which carried trash and toxic waste from Guadalajara.

 

With the help of Rotary clubs in Mexico and California cleanups were organized and the project eventually expanded to become Cleaning the Rivers of the World which has challenged Rotary clubs across the globe to clean up a river.  The initiative has been adopted by the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group as well as the Environmental Sustainability Action Group that have initiated cleanup projects in Colombia, India, Nigeria, Peru, Turkey and Venezuela, Mexico and in the US.

 

Your contribution to the Rotary Foundation supports this project and helps sustain a better world. Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week of September 24 Lana Rouff 2018-09-20 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of September 17

While many people would like to think that slavery was a tragedy of the past, the truth is that it still exists today, with up to 46 million people enslaved worldwide.  The Rotarian Action Group Against Slavery has a strategy for fighting this horrible problem, working at the local level:

 

In a village in northeastern India the action group is tackling the problem of debt bondage.  With the help of 13 clubs, a district grant from the Rotary Club of Binghamton, New York, and other sources, the action group provided $36,000 to the Schools4Freedom which works with local partners to battle debt bondage. 

 

Poverty, illiteracy, innumeracy, and natural disasters that destroy crops or homes can leave villagers vulnerable to debt bondage in rural villages.  When people don’t have enough to eat, or a roof over their head and their family is quite literally alive, they will often turn to whatever means are possible for survival.  Families may seek an arrangement with a business owner who asks them to sign a contract that they can’t read and therefore can’t understand, and they inadvertently trade their freedom for survival. 

 

Within a three-year period, The School4Freedom establishes a school inside the village that educates those enslaved of their basic rights and often gives them a trade.  It helps bring the once enslaved village to a position of strength resulting in their freedom.

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week of September 17 Lana Rouff 2018-09-17 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of September 10

Through academic training, study and practice, The Rotary Peace Centers program develops leaders who become catalysts, for peace and conflict prevention and resolution in their communities and around the globe.  Each year, up to 100 Rotary Peace Fellows are chosen to participate in a master’s degree (lasting 2 years) program or a certificate program (lasting 3 months) at one of our partner universities.  Fellows study subjects related to the root causes of conflict and explore innovative solutions that address real-world needs.  

As of 2016-17, there were 1247 Rotary Peace Fellows working around the world.  Peace centers can be found in Bangkok, North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tokyo, England, Australia and Sweden.  

Your contribution to TRF enables this to happen.  Thank you.  

Foundation Minute for the Week of September 10 Lana Rouff 2018-09-10 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of September 3

We’re so close to eradicating polio.  But to fully eradicate this deplorable disease we still need $1.5 billion to finish the job.  Why?  Even if the last case of polio is identified this year, a huge amount of work will remain to ensure that it stays “GONE”, which means vaccinating children for at least three more years.  To ensure that polio is truly eradicated forever it must be detected.  This requires continuous surveillance that is complicated and costly: first doctors and community health workers must monitor children for acute flaccid paralysis and second is the process that involves local authorities collecting samples from sewage systems or in places that don’t have adequate sanitation facilities, including rivers or bodies of water near a large group of residents. 

 

In addition, large scale vaccinations are enormous undertakings that require money as well as thousands of volunteers on the ground.  And in places where the vaccination programs have been successful, the challenge is to locate and vaccinate that small percentage of children who have been missed.  The vaccine itself isn’t the biggest expense, it’s the distribution of the vaccine – i.e. transportation and staffing.  A vaccination campaign is almost mind-bogglingly complex.  Rotarians’ contributions pay for planning by technical experts, large-scale communication efforts to make people aware of the benefits of vaccinations and the dates of the campaign, plus support for volunteers to go door-to-door in large cities as well as in remote areas that may not appear on any map. 

 

Yes, we are 99.9% there.  Now is the hardest part and with your help our goal to eradicate polio will be accomplished and celebrated.  Thank you for your support. 

Foundation Minute for Week of September 3 Lana Rouff 2018-08-29 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of August 27

In Vancouver, British Columbia there exists a Police Tactical Training Center a state-of-the-art facility complete with firing range, simulation rooms, gymnasium, and classrooms. A Rotary Peace Fellow named Bryan Nykon, has put his police experience and his education as a Rotary Peace Fellow to work in this facility.  He trains police members to de-escalate unpredictable situations and to use words in place of force, when possible, to control confrontations.

 

Bryan’s duties include teaching high-yield, low-risk judo combined with the tactical police judo, focusing on control tactics best suited to street-level policing and self-defense. The approach incorporates empty-handed control and defensive tactics like arm-grabbing or using pressure points.

 

The highest risk of violence generally occurs during an arrest. Bryan teaches his students that risk can be avoided by something as simple as altering your arm grip. One grip gives the person enough room to swing around with a kick, while another can prevent that from happening. Everyone’s safer when a fight is avoided.

Law enforcement agencies have policies that guide the use of force, describing an escalating series of actions to resolve a situation. Police officers are instructed to respond with a level of force appropriate to the situation. The policies acknowledge that the officer may have to move from one part of the continuum to another in a matter of seconds. This is a key area where Bryan’s training at the Rotary Peace Center influences how he instructs recruits and experienced police officers.

The use of words, or when necessary open hand control, can reduce the need for a baton or Taser-like device, thus avoiding interactions that can intensify into prolonged confrontations with a community lasting weeks.

Byran has learned at the Rotary Peace Center, that critical listening is the most important lesson which he uses now in training police officers. “Police officers need to listen to find out what is happening, how they can help, and who is responsible before applying any kind of force, whenever possible … “You need to really listen to understand what the person is saying. Do they understand what is happening, is there a language barrier, drugs, or a cognitive challenge?”

It is rewarding to see a Rotary Peace Fellow applying their skills, experience, and training to reduce the need for the use of force in the community.  Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you.

Foundation Minute for Week of August 27 Lana Rouff 2018-08-22 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of August 20

The Rotary Foundation has a unique funding cycle that utilizes contributions for programs three years after they are received.  The three-year cycle gives districts time for program planning and participant selections, and allows The Rotary Foundation to invest the contributions.  The earnings from those investments help pay for the Foundation’s administration, program operations and fund development costs. 

 

At the end of the three year period – say in 2021-22, ½ of district’s contribution made in Rotary year 2018 – 19 is returned to the district for district projects while the other half is placed in the World Fund which is used to match project expenses and support the fight to eradicate polio. 

 

This approach of using donations wisely has won a four star rating from Charity Navigator for many years. 

 

Please consider supporting The Rotary Foundation now and get involved in planning future projects.  Thank you. 

 

Foundation Minute for Week of August 20 Lana Rouff 2018-08-15 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of August 13

About three years ago, on the nightly news in Berlin, Rotarian Pia Skarabis-Querfeld saw refugees arriving in Berlin after fleeing war, persecution, and poverty in their home countries. Wanting to help, she gathered a bag of clothes to donate and headed to a nearby gym filled with refugees.

 

When she arrived at the gymnasium to drop off her donation, Skarabis-Querfeld found sick children, most of them untreated because hospitals in the area were overrun. Helpers were not allowed to give out pain relievers or even cough syrup due to legal constraints. All they could do was send people to the emergency room if they looked extremely ill.

 

Seeing this, and knowing about the treacherous journeys the refugees had just made across land and sea, Skarabis-Querfeld, who is a medical doctor and Rotarian, returned that same afternoon with medical supplies and her husband, Uwe Querfeld, who is a professor of pediatrics and also a Rotarian. The couple spent most of that holiday season treating patients in the gymnasium. 

 

“The suffering of the people, their bitter fate, … wouldn’t let go of me,” says Skarabis-Querfeld.  “You just don’t forget.”

 

What began as a single act of charity eventually evolved into an all-encompassing volunteer project: Over the next three years, Skarabis-Querfeld would build a nonprofit organization called Medizin Hilft (Medicine Helps) and run a network that, at peak times, would include more than 100 volunteers helping thousands of refugees at community centers, tent camps, and other shelters across the city.  Today, her nonprofit continues to treat patients who have nowhere else to turn.

 

The Rotary Club of Berlin-Nord was quick to support Skarabis-Querfeld’s nonprofit. National media took notice of her efforts, and other Rotary clubs, including Rotary Club of Berlin-Tiergarten, joined the effort.  A Rotary global grant of $160,000 made it possible for Medizin Hilft to run an open.med clinic as well as information campaigns.

 

People of Action continue to make a difference in the world and your support of The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you.

 

Foundation Minute for Week of August 13 Lana Rouff 2018-08-08 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of August 6

Ricardo Roman was shopping with his wife at a department store in Chile in 2012 when a woman in her early 20s approached him.  He didn’t recognize her – for two good reasons – he had last seen her more than a decade earlier and her smile had changed drastically! 

 

Roman, a member of the Rotary Club of Renaca, Chile, is the national coordinator of a program that has helped thousands of children in Chile with cleft lips, palates, and other birth defects – including this stranger who now wanted to give Roman a hug. 
 

She told me, “This is my Rotarian smile,” Roman recalls, his voice full of emotion, “It was a very gratifying moment.”

 

Since 1993 Rotarians in Chile and the United States have teamed up to provide life-altering reconstructive surgeries.  The project was started by California Rotarians and has evolved into a nonprofit organization that has since sent teams to 26 countries. 

 

This is another example of Rotary’s People of Action and how Rotarian’s ability to give works!  Thank you

 

Foundation Minute for Week of August 6 Lana Rouff 2018-08-01 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of July 30

A quote:  “What we as Rotarians do is touch other people … open the horizon to them … say “You matter.”  You see, the five men who chose me to become an Ambassador Scholar are gone … but they’re not.  They never will be. Because along the way, I will in my own share with others – and have what those five men and the 60 members of the Marshall (Texas) Rotary and the tens of thousands of other members of Rotary did in 1956 when they said, “Bill Moyers, you can matter.  This quote was said by Bill Moyers, TV journalist and commentator, and former Deputy Director of the Peace Corps.

 

Although Ambassadorial Scholarships per se are no longer available– Rotary still offers a myriad of scholarships for secondary, undergraduate or graduate study through club, district and global scholarships.

 

For more information about scholarships - contact your club president or district governor. Your continued financial support enables this to happen.   Thank you.

 

 

Foundation Minute for Week of July 30 Lana Rouff 2018-07-25 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of July 23

During the past 100 years, the Foundation has spent $3 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.  With your help, countless lives have been made better in your communities and the world.  The Rotary Foundation impacts communities through its grants program which offers two opportunities for funding:

 

District Grants fund small, short term activities that address needs in your community and communities abroad.  Each district chooses which activities it will fund with these grants.

 

And Global Grants that fund large-scale international activities with sustainable and measurable results that support Rotary’s six area of focus.  Activities include humanitarian projects, scholarships and vocational training teams. 

 

As a Rotarian you are eligible to participate in any one of these programs where it interests you.  Just contact your club and/or District Foundation chair. 

 

Thank you. 

 

Foundation Minute for Week of July 23 Lana Rouff 2018-07-18 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of July 16

The Rotary Foundation was founded in 1917 by Rotary International’s sixth present, Arch C. Klumph as an endowment fund for Rotary “to do good in the world.”  It has grown from an initial contribution in 1917 of $26.50 from The Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri to more than $4.4 billion dollars in total contributions. The Rotary Foundation made its first grant of $500 to the International Society for Crippled Children in 1930, and to this day, it continues to “do good in the world” in the name of Rotary.Sixty-eight years later, Rotary launched its PolioPlus program, the first initiative to tackle global polio eradication through the mass vaccination of children. Rotary has contributed more than $1.7 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. In addition, Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by donor governments to contribute more than $7.2 billion to the effort.
Foundation Minute for Week of July 16 Lana Rouff 2018-07-18 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of July 9

Over the next year, a short weekly message about The Rotary Foundation, its programs and the need for your support will be shared with you.  To begin – here is a quote from Paulo Costa, Past President of Rotary International in 1990-91.  “Rotary International’s masterpiece is The Rotary Foundation.  It transforms our dreams into splendid realities … it is the most generous expression of Rotarian generosity that not only brings benefits but also brings help and cooperation to solve the problems that affect mankind. The Rotary Foundation achieves the best that mankind can possibly achieve.”

 

It is an honor to belong to Rotary International and to be part of such an organization that not only makes a difference in the world and our communities, but as People of Action serves above self.  

 

Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week of July 9 Lana Rouff 2018-07-05 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of July 2

Posted by Lana Rouff

What does The Rotary Foundation do with its money?  It spends its charitable contributions on multiple programs – from the eradication of polio, to scholarships, vocational training teams, Rotary Peace Centers, and humanitarian projects.  The funds are used for programs and projects about which Rotarians feel passionate. With a four-star rating by Charity Navigator for ten years in a row and over 1.2 million Rotarians over-seeing the funds at a grassroots level, its funds are in amazing hands doing amazing work in our communities and abroad.  

 

Your contributions enable this to happen.  Thank you

Foundation Minute for Week of July 2 Lana Rouff 2018-07-05 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation minute for the week of June 25

The Rotary Foundation was founded by Arch Klumph is 1916 and left us with these words: “The Rotary Foundation is not to build monuments of brick and stone.  If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we work on brass, time will efface it;  if we rear temples they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds, if we imbue them with the full meaning of the spirit of Rotary … we are engraving on those tablets something that will brighten all eternity.

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation will make this happen.  Thank you.  

 

Foundation minute for the week of June 25 Lana Rouff 2018-06-25 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of June 18

What is a Paul Harris Fellow?  First of all, Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary and in 1957, under the direction of Arch Klumph, President of Rotary in 1916-17, the Paul Harris Fellow was established.  The recognition is given to individuals who contribute financially, or have contributions made in their name, of $1000 to the Annual Fund, Polioplus, or an approved foundation grant.  Recognition consists of a certificate and a pin.

 

Paul Harris Fellows can also be given on behalf of someone through Foundation Recognition points or through a combination of points and outright donations.  Points are given for every dollar contribution to the Foundation. Since the creation of the Paul Harris Fellow over 1.6 million people have become Paul Harris Fellows.  

 

Join your fellow Rotarians in financially supporting The Rotary Foundation by becoming a Paul Harris Fellow.  Thank you.

 

Foundation Minute for the Week of June 18 Lana Rouff 2018-06-15 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of June 11

What Is the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund?  It is the primary source of unrestricted support for the programs of The Rotary Foundation.  From digging clean water wells for villages in Africa to teaching basic literacy skills to children in Latin America, during any given moment in a day, thousands of Rotarians volunteer their time and expertise to ensure that all contributions given to the Annual Fund are spent wisely on quality Rotary projects.

 

In the 2016-17 Rotary year, a record US $140.2million was donated to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund.   Rotarians completed over 30,000 Rotary service projects and dedicated 24.3 million hours to volunteering in the communities that need us most.

 

The Annual Fund is comprised of donations from Rotarians, friends of Rotary corporations, and workplace giving vehicles.  These donations can be matched by corporate gifts to leverage donations.  There is even an online resource that allows Rotarians to see if their company has a charitable matching program … check it out a Rotary.org/matchinggifts.

 

Your generosity has made it possible for Rotarians to stay hard at work Doing Good in the World. You have until June 30 to make your gift for 2017-18.  If you haven’t contributed this year – please do so – and give generously. 

 

Foundation Minute for the Week of June 11 Lana Rouff 2018-06-15 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of June 4

Rotary’s commitment to eradicating polio worldwide won Best Nonprofit Act in the Hero Awards of the One Billion Acts of Peace campaign, an international global citizens’ movement to tackle the world’s most important issues.

 

The campaign is an initiative of PeacejJam Foundation and is led by 14 Nobel Peace laureates, including the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Rigoberta Mencu tum, with the ambitious goal of inspiring a billion acts of peace by 2020.

 

Each year, the campaign picks two finalists in each of six categories for their work to make a measurable impact in one of the 10 areas considered most important by the Nobel laureates.  Winners are chosen by people from around the world.  

 

Rotary and Mercy Corps were the two finalists in the Best Nonprofit Act category.  Rotary and the five other winners will be recognized at a ceremony on June in Monaco.  Betty Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for her advocacy for peace in Northern Ireland will present the award.  

 

We all should be proud to be a Rotarian!  You are People of Action and Make A Difference in the world.  Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for the Week of June 4 Lana Rouff 2018-06-15 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of May 28

Foundation Minute for Week of May 28

 

The Rotary Foundation celebrated its centennial with a year of festivities that began at the 2016 Rotary International Convention in Seoul, Korea, and culminated at the 2017 convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Throughout the year, members organized celebrations, educated their communities about the Foundation’s impact, raised funds for the Foundation, and shared their own centennial projects on social media.  In the US, the Rotary Club of Austin, Texas packed more than 22,000 meals for people in need.  In South Africa, the Rotaract Club of Durban Berea celebrated Diwali by handing out boxes of treats to children, police and maintenance workers.  And in the Philippines, the Rotary Club of Midtwon-General Santos visited a retirement facility to serve lunch.  

 

In 1917 Rotary President Arch Klumph proposed an endowment fund dedicated to “doing good in the world.” What started with an initial contribution of $26.50 has grown into a foundation that has invested $3.95 billion in programs, projects, and scholarships.  

 

Your contribution to TRF has made this possible.

            (Annual Report – 16-17)

Foundation Minute for Week of May 28 Lana Rouff 2018-05-23 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of May 21

Turkey is home to more than 2.7 million Syrian refugees, according to the United Nations.  To promote understanding among Syrian and Turkish schoolchildren, the Rotaract Club of Izmir Ekonomi trained young students to become partners in peace.  Working with the Council of Europe, European Law Students’ Association, the UN, and child psychologists, the Rotaractors hosted two workshops, asking the children to express their feelings through painting.  The artwork revealed that the students had a lot in common.  Club members also taught the children conflict resolution skills.

 

For establishing peaceful relationships in the community, the Izmir Ekonomi club received the 2016-17 Rotaract Outstanding Project Award for Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.  

 

This is Rotary at work – its mission is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, good will and PEACE through its fellowship of business, professional and community leaders.  

            (Annual Report 2016-17)

Foundation Minute for Week of May 21 Lana Rouff 2018-05-16 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of May 14

Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation are separate legal entities that comply with

the laws and accounting standards of the countries in which they operate.  Philosophically and practically, however, they function as one organization.  

 

As a global organization that operates in almost every country of the world and in 29 currencies, Rotary takes stewardship of its funds very seriously.  Stewardship begins as funds are received around the world through its prudent investment practices and continues as funds are spent to provide life-changing and sustainable grants, and programs and services for members. 

 

You as a Rotary member support Rotary International with your dues, and The Rotary Foundation through your voluntary contributions.  We Rotarians are passionate about making positive, lasting changes at home and abroad. Clubs and districts direct the funds provided by the Foundation into grant projects that serve humanity.

 

Rotary is well positioned to remain the world’s foremost membership and service organization while continuing to serve its members.  

 

Be proud that you are a Rotarian.

                        Annual Report – 2016-17)

Foundation Minute for Week of May 14 Lana Rouff 2018-05-11 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of May 7

The Rotary Club of Leogane, Haiti, brought electricity to the Respire Haiti Christian School in Gressier – and with it, education for children and adults.  The school serves 500 orphans, disadvantaged children, and restavecs(child domestic servants).  For a long time, its six buildings had no electrical power, forcing teachers to rely on the sun as their primary light source and preventing the school from offering evening classes to address the community’s high adult illiteracy rate.

 

Using funds from a Rotary global grant, the Leogane club and its international partner, the Rotary Club of Parker, Colorado, installed a hybrid energy system, featuring locally sourced solar panels, to power lights, computers, and even the school’s water pump. Teachers received training in adult literacy instruction so the school could offer evening reading and writing classes in Creole and French.  Now both young students and adult learners are receiving the education they deserve. 

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you for your support.  

                                                (Annual Report – 2016-17)

Foundation Minute for Week of May 7 Lana Rouff 2018-05-02 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 30

Posted by Lana Rouff

Like most rural communities in Papua New Guinea, the village of Kurt has relied on water from rivers and other unprotected sources.  Contaminated water and poor sanitation increases the risk of illness and raises infant and child mortality rates.

 

To improve conditions in Kurt, the Rotary Clubs of Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea, and Centralia, Washington worked together on a multiphase global grant project.  They used grant funding to install and maintain a 36,000-liter rainwater harvesting and distribution system, and built toilet facilities at the Madan Coffee and Tea Plantation, the area’s economic center. The project also provided systems to turn toilet waste into fertilizer, reducing the spread of water borne diseases. Today residents have sustainable access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation.

 

The clubs’ work will not end there.  Members are planning economic and education projects to continue supporting the Kurt community.  

 

Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you.

                                                                        (Annual Report 2016-17)

Foundation Minute for Week of April 30 Lana Rouff 2018-04-25 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 23

In August 2016, Nigeria reported its first polio cases in two years.  They occurred in Borno
State, where ongoing conflict had prevented health workers from reaching some children.

 

Working with the nation’s government and Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, Nigerian Rotarians traveled from across the country to join the emergency response team, which immunized one million children in the weeks after the outbreak. By December, an additional 60 million children had been immunized.  

 

Resolve in Nigeria remains strong.  “Polio eradication is about national pride and honor,” said Nigerian Health Minister Isaac Adewole.  “ We will not let our citizens or the world down.”

 

This year there hasn’t been a single polio case in Nigeria.  However ,6 cases have been reported in Afghanistan, 3 in the Congo and 1 in Pakistan.  

 

Over 400 million children are immunized against this dreaded disease every year and 16 million people are walking today who otherwise would have been paralyzed.

 

Your continued support towards polio eradication enables this to happen.  Thank you.  

                                                (Annual Report 2016-17)

Foundation Minute for Week of April 23 Lana Rouff 2018-04-19 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 16

Posted by Lana Rouff on Apr 11, 2018

In Brazil's Riberia Valley, a neonatal intensive care unit faced a problem.  It didn't have nearly enough equipment.  With only seven incubators, the unit at the state-run Dr. Leopoldo Bevilacqua Regional Hospital filled up quickly.  Newborns often would be transferred to another facility - a harrowing journey that the tiny, fragile patients sometimes didn't survive.  This factor contributed to the hospital's high mortality rate.

 

The Rotary Club of Registro, Sao Paulo, stepped in to help, partnering with the Rotary Club of Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan, on a global grant.  They raised funds to purchase equipment, including incubators, cribs, ventilators, and monitors, and launched a publicity campaign about the importance of prenatal care and breastfeeding.  The clubs also provided training for at-risk pregnant adolescents and education on maternal-infant health.

 

The new equipment doubled the capacity of the unit, which now provides care t o220 of the community's newest and tiniest residents each year.

 

Your continued support of The Rotary Foundation enabled this to happen.  Thank you.

                                (Annual Report 2016-17)  

Foundation Minute for Week of April 16 Lana Rouff 2018-04-11 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 9

Posted by Lana Rouff on Apr 04, 2018
Did you know that Rotary not only offers you a chance to help others, but as a member you can also receive benefits .  Rotary’s Global Rewards program is its benefits program designed exclusively for Rotarians and Rotaractors.  The extensive collection of discounts and special offers cover the types of goods and services that members care about most – for getting a project completed or just treating yourself after a job well done.  
 
Categories include entertainment, travel, business services, insurance, dining and retail!  There are also opportunities to give back to Rotary – for instance when you shop Amazon Smile – 6% of your purchase will be sent to The Rotary Foundation. 
 
 For more information go to rotary.org/globalrewards or download the Rotary Global Rewards App
 
Foundation Minute for Week of April 9 Lana Rouff 2018-04-04 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 2
 

Posted by Lana Rouff on Mar 28, 2018
Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease found in tropical climates, causes high fevers, severe headaches, fatique, and vomiting.  In Surakarta, Indonesia, the Rotary Club of Solo Kartini and its international partner, the Rotary Club of Estport, Connecticut, decided to tackle dengue head-on by interrupting the lifecycle of carrier mosquitos.  The insects breed in standing water, including in waste areas and bathtubs. 
 
First, using funds from Rotary global grants, club members lined more than 3,500 dark cement bathtubs, which are common in Indonesian households, with white tiles so mosquito larvae would be easier to see and remove.  Then, they began edu cating the community about properly cleaning the tubs, closing the lids on water contains, and burying waste to limit the places where mosquitos can breed and grow. 
 
Surakarta’s public health department plans to expand the white-tile project to other parts of the city and continue to fight dengue fever.
 
Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enabled this to happen.  Thank you.    
Foundation Minute for Week of April 2  Lana Rouff 2018-03-28 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of March 26
 

Senior Annual Giving Officer Steven Solomon recently visited India and a community development program partly supported by gifts to Rotary’s Annual Fund. Through a Rotary global grant, Rotarians implemented an integrated program in Piyali India with health and dental care, sanitation, solar utilities, safe drinking water, adult education, tree planting and vocational opportunities with micro-credit.
 
This project has helped decrease the human trafficking of young girls and has improved the lives of the whole community.  Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation helped make this happen.  Thank you. 
Foundation Minute for Week of March 26  Lana Rouff 2018-03-21 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of  March 19
 

Posted by Lana Rouff on Mar 14, 2018
Nearly 800 million people live on less than $1.90 a day.  Rotary members are passionate about providing sustainable solutions to poverty.  Along with the Foundation they provide training and access to well-paying jobs and financial management institutions.
 
Rotarians make amazing things happen:
 
The Rotary Club of Guatemala de la Ermita helped 400 local women complete financial literacy courses so they could pool their money and fund their own micro-lending program.
 
In Esmeraldas, Ecuador, Rotary members helped grant more than 250 microloans and train more than 270 community members in sewing, baking, plumbing, microcredit, business management, and leadership.
 
And in West Cameroon, soil erosion and loss of soil fertility have significantly reduced farmers’ harvests.  Rotary members gave farmers the skills they needed to improve soil fertility, control soil erosion, and market their produce.  The results: increased crop yields and profits.
 
Your support of The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen. Thank you.
Foundation Minute for Week of  March 19  Lana Rouff 2018-03-14 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of March 12
 

Posted by Lana Rouff on Mar 07, 2018
The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. Many of these projects are directed towards conflict and violence that has displaced millions of people each year.  Half of those killed in conflict are children, and 90% are civilians. 
 
Rotary refuses to accept conflict as a way of life.  Its projects provide training that fosters understanding and provides communities with the skills to resolve conflicts. 
 
In the past Rotary and its members have helped Tanzanians with albinism find safe futures.  It helped a university professor and a Rotary club fight Boko Haram by helping those women who were kidnapped find a new life.  It has helped Brazil’s youth escape from slums by offering them judo and helped end domestic violence in Australia. 
 
A Rotaract club in the Philippines conduct anti-bullying campaigns in schools to teach children how to handle conflict peacefully from an early age, and local Rotarians in Louisiana dealt with domestic violence – the fourth highest incidence of death in the US -by helping a shelter provide food, clothing, legal advocacy and counseling to over 500 women in one year.  
 
Rotary supports peace – with your help our foundation can continue to promote peach through projects and education.  Thank you.  
Foundation Minute for Week of March 12  Lana Rouff 2018-03-07 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of  March 5
 

Posted by Lana Rouff on Mar 05, 2018
The Rotary Foundation, its districts and clubs invest in our future leaders and philanthropists by funding scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study.
 
The Rotary Foundation offers scholarships for college graduates and professionals to study peace and conflict resolution as well as water and sanitation. 
 
District grants can be used to sponsor secondary school, undergraduate or graduate students studying any subject, either locally or abroad.  The scholarship may cover any length of time, from a six-week language-training program to a year or more of university study. 
 
 Rotary clubs and its districts can also apply to The Rotary Foundation for global grants to support scholarships.  These grants are for graduate students studying in one of Rotary’s six areas of focus:  Promoting peace, fight disease, providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene, saving mothers and children, supporting education and growing local economies.  Scholarships last from one to four years and can include an entire degree program.  Global grant scholarships are funded using cash or District Designated Funds, which are matched by Rotary’s World Fund. 
 
 
Rotary clubs offer scholarships for secondary, undergraduate and /or graduate study.  They are open to anyone except Rotary members and their families. 
 
In the past over $7.5 million on average have been given each year for over 350,000 scholarships. Contact your club, district or The Rotary Foundation for more information. 
 
Your contribution to TRF and its Peace Center enables this to happen.  Thank you.    
Foundation Minute for Week of  March 5  Lana Rouff 2018-03-05 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of February 26
 

For the 10th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.
In the most recent ratings, the Foundation earned the maximum of 100 points for demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.
In a letter to the Foundation, Charity Navigator notes that "only 1 percent of the charities we evaluate have received at least 10 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that The Rotary Foundation outperforms other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets The Rotary Foundation apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness."
The rating reflects Charity Navigator's assessment of how the Foundation uses donations, sustains its programs and services, and practices good governance and openness.
Be proud that you give generously to the Foundation!  And please continue giving. 
Foundation Minute for Week of February 26  Lana Rouff 2018-02-21 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of February 19
 

Posted by Lana Rouff on Feb 14, 2018
According to Bill Gates, “ We are achingly close to getting rid of polio – more than 99% of the way there.  Finishing the job is a big challenge, but it is very doable if we keep up the effort.”  Your generous contribution will enable us to immunize 400 million children against polio every year.  It will improve the ability of surveillance and monitoring systems to diagnose new cases and detect the wild poliovirus.  It will help hire more than 150,000 health workers to go door to door to find every child that needs to be vaccinated and will also be used to track the virus in water,  and sewage and provide National Immunization Day materials. 
 
Polio is Rotary’s #1 priority!  If polio is not eradicated, hundreds of thousands of children could be paralyzed.  Global health costs will rise dramatically, and many children’s quality of life will be drastically diminished.
 
Your donation will save lives and give a child a chance at a prosperous future.  
 
Thank you for your continued support!  We are almost there and once there we shall celebrate! 
Foundation Minute for Week of February 19  Lana Rouff 2018-02-14 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of February 19
 

Posted by Lana Rouff
ElsaMarie D’Silva of Mumbai began her career as a flight attendant, eventually rising to become vice president of a planning network for one of India’s largest airlines.  Learning about the fatal 2012 gang rape of a young woman in Delhi, an unusually heinous crime that led to public outrage, D’Silva made a dramatic career change.
 
She is now the founder and CEO of the Red Dot Foundation which works with nongovernmental organizations in India, Nepal and Kenya to address street harassment and violence against women.  In addition to community workshops, the foundation empowers women to document catcalling, groping, and other incidents through an online crowd mapping platform called Safecity. 
 
D’Silva was a Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorm University in Bangkok.  There she learned that the work she does is actually peace building.  Through her foundation she is trying to help people understand gender stereotypes that reinforce toxic masculinity on a daily basis.  Safecity gives victims a safe space to discuss this and understand each other’s point of view.  I also helps them navigate these complex issues and become agents of change. 
 
Your contribution to the Rotary Peace Fellows enables this to happen. Thank you.  
Foundation Minute for Week of February 19  Lana Rouff 2018-02-07 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of February 5

Posted by Lana Rouff on Jan 31, 2018
Through the efforts and expertise of The Rotary Foundation our clubs and districts have accomplished a great deal around the world.  There is still much to be done and many of our clubs labor with the problem of funding these projects.  Some clubs and districts are able to pay entirely for the project through fundraising events, such as charity dinners, walkathons or online auctions.  These events will not only help you raise money for your project, but also build awareness for Rotary and The Rotary Foundation.  Some other ideas are:  Hold a raffle, Skip a meal at your club meeting and donate the cost; organize a walkathon, bike-a-thon or skate-a-thon.  Honor a special person in your life or your community.
 
And many clubs struggle to find an international partner.  To help TRF has created an International Service Chair.  Zone 28 & 29’s chair is Craig Leiser from District 5960.  Don’t hesitate to contact him at Craig@RotaryCraig5950.com.  He will be happy to help.
 
And don’t forget:  When you focus on making a difference in other people’s lives, your life is the one that improves the most.” (Quote by Roxanne Emmerich).  Thank you.  
Foundation Minute for the Week of February 5 Lana Rouff 2018-01-31 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of January 29
 

Posted by Lana Rouff
In the past few months there have been many disasters that have taken people from their homes, displaced families, ended in death and left individuals with no hope for the future.  As Rotarians we want to help – BUT before you do so – keep this in mind:
 
Do your homework before you give!!  In the wake of repeated national disasters here are tips for giving wisely!
 -  
 Donate money to a charity that you respect, rather than shipping goods that may go to waste!   (Like Rotary)   
 
 Donate to organizations, that are on the scene.  Groups operating in the midst of the disaster can direct money and other aid to the people who need it mostly.  (Think Rotary!
 
Established organizations (Rotary!) are most apt to have staff, experience and infrastructure in affected communities.  Look for national organizations such as Rotary and the Salvation Army, or a local community foundation.  Do your research at charitynavigator.org or guidestar.org before sending your check!
 
Maximize the speed of your gift.  Texting a donation seems fast, but wireless companies tend to wait until you pay your bill before passing that money along.  Online donations with a credit or debit card can be faster.
 
Thank you for caring and for your generosity.                    
Foundation Minute for Week of January 29  Lana Rouff 2018-01-24 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of January 22, 2018

According to Mark Little, founder of the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery, the Rotary Foundation has just approved a global grant for the biggest anti-trafficking project to date.  Two District 5180 Rotarians from California masterminded the project.  They partnered with districts in the Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and Argentina.  The project addressed the need for education both for those who were most vulnerable and also for the general community population. 

 

The grant will consist of a sex trafficking education program rolled out to selected teachers, administrators and students in 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th grades within their district as well as a 30 month human trafficking public awareness campaign aimed to make their communities aware of these atrocities. 

 

Raising awareness of the existence and extent of human trafficking and slavery is the raison d’etre of the California project.  As Matt Friedman (CEO of the Mekong Club and author of his book “Where Are You?”) states,  “ If we don’t know about a problem, we can’t care about it.  If we don’t care about it, we will never act!  If we don’t act, it is inevitable that the problem will continue to exist or more likely get worse.  So we need to raise awareness on this issue of modern slavery to increase the number of those people who care …”

 

With the help of The Rotary Foundation, and your contributions, Rotarians - People of Action- have taken on the responsibility of opening the eyes of as many people as possible to the unseen world where millions languish in slavery everywhere because of poverty, corruption and greed.  As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. “ Thank you. 

Foundation Minute for Week of January 22, 2018 2018-01-18 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for week of January 15

Posted by Lana Ruff on Jan 10, 2018
  • According to Rotary International the African country of Nigeria has only one physician for every 2,500 individuals.   In rural communities people seeking health service have make long, arduous trips to find treatment which results in many not receiving care.  While it would be ideal to get more doctors in remote regions, it would take years.
  •  
  • To solve this problem, Dr. James Gude of Sebastopol, California and Mikel Cook of the Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise brought technology to bear by using telemedicine.  This is the use of information technology to provide health care from a distance –virtually bringing doctors to patients.  Thanks to a global grant from TRF, a team of health care professionals from Nigeria has been trained in this process.
  •  
  • Telemedicine allows physicians to connect with patients remotely as well as consult with colleagues all over the world.  At its simplest, it consists of a chat via online video, but it can also allow a physician to examine a patient remotely using a robot.
  •  
  • Telemedicine technology and training is used in several hospitals around the world, allowing health care for the underprivileged, for the underserved, in remote areas.  Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen.  Thank you. 
Foundation Minute for week of January 15 Lana Ruff 2018-01-10 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of January 8, 2018

Posted by Lana Rouff
  • In September, Hurricane Maria pummeled Puerto Rico, the strongest storm to make landfall on the island in 85 years.  More than three months later, people are still struggling to recover.  The immediate response from Rotarians in District 7000 was quick and precise.  Several clubs around the island began to provide humanitarian aid to those affected.  The help included non-perishable food, water, hygiene kits, water filters, solar lights and power generators. 
  •  
  • Now local Rotarians are focusing on recovery and reconstruction.  Plans are underway to work with pumping systems for renewable energy projects in communities without potable water, the installation of water filtration systems, and the rollout of community economic development projects for the most affected areas.  Disease prevention efforts in areas affected by the hurricane are also taking place among other initiatives. 
  •  
  • Rotary International has established a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) of the Rotary Foundation to support projects for the recovery of Puerto Rico.  Given the great work that remains ahead, contributions from Rotarians to this fund will be essential to help Puerto Rico get back on their feet.  Visit District 7000 website to learn more.  Your contribution will make a difference in lifting Puerto Rico.  Thank you.
Foundation Minute for Week of January 8, 2018 Lana Rouff 2018-01-08 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of April 17

Posted on Apr 12, 2017
Composed by PDG Lana Rouff

Foundation Minute for Week of April 17
 
The needs and concerns about opiate use weigh heavily on Rotarians throughout District 7170 in Upstate New York.  Last year in response, the District leadership added a discussion session to their district conference agenda so individual Rotarians could articulate their concerns.
 
The discussion revealed significant disparities in general knowledge related to the field of substance abuse and the availability of prevention, treatment and recovery services among the communities of the district.  Recognizing the enormous complexity of the heroin/opiate abuse epidemic, session participants concluded the meeting by requesting that a small core committee of district Rotarians and non-Rotarian professionals with a variety of experiences/skills in substance abuse and other relevant areas were charged to design a plan for a global grant to meet the needs identified in District 7170.
Foundation Minute for Week of April 17 Christine (Chris) Haase 2017-04-12 04:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of March 6
 

Composed by PDG Lana Rouff

The Rotary Foundation’s district and global grants support Rotarian’s efforts to change lives and serve communities within their own neighborhoods and throughout the world.
 
In 2015-16 the Foundation approved 494 district grants, and the program awards totaled $25.5 million. These grants supported smaller scale, short-term projects related to the Foundation’s mission.
 
And during the same year the Foundation approved 1,165 global grants, which totaled $70 million. These grants fund large-scale international activities with sustainable and measurable results that support Rotary’s six areas of focus. Activities include humanitarian projects, scholarships and vocational training teams. 
 
Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation enables this to happen. Thank you. 
 
Needed support:  The Rotary Club of Point West Sacramento is seeking funding for a sustainable project in the Sacramento region to combat human trafficking.  Contact bobdeerings5180@gmail.com for more information.
Foundation Minute for the Week of March 6  2017-03-01 05:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for the Week of 21 November 2016

Composed by PDG Lana Rouff
 
Suzette Ramdanie-Linton was almost ready to give up on a clean water project that her Rotary club had initiated in St. James, Jamaica, last year, because the funding simply wasn’t there. 
 
She and fellow members of the Rotary Club of Montego Bay Sunrise in Jamaica did a community assessment in 2015 and found that 11 schools and one children’s home in rural St. James were in desperate need of new bathroom facilities. The club contributed nearly $4,000 to get the project off the ground; unfortunately this was far from enough.   
 
Her district governor then encouraged her to promote the project on Rotary Ideas, a vehicle that showcases potential projects that are in need of support. Two weeks later she received an email from a member of the Rotary Club of Central Cayman Islands who contributed $8,000 towards the $40,000 goal. Their generosity and partnership pushed the project forward, which is now expected to be completed in July. 
 
Foundation Minute for the Week of 21 November 2016 2016-11-16 00:00:00Z 0

Foundation Minute for Week of 7 November 2016

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase
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Composed by Lana Rouff
 
Every day Rotarians are improving lives in communities around the world through thousands of service projects.  Here are a few:
 
Affordable drinking water in purification stations has been supplied to 8,000 people in North Cambodia by Rotary clubs there.

Rotaract university students mounted a campaign in Zimbabwe for breast cancer awareness.

In Nigeria a Rotary club donated food items, clothes and toiletries to prisoners in Keje Prison to commemorate World Humanitarian Day.

And through a joint partnership with the Rotary Club Osada East and the Hospice of San Jose in the Philippines solar energy was provided for a school for special children.

These projects happen thanks to your donations to the Rotary Foundation.  Thank you.      

Projects found through Rotary Showcase
Foundation Minute for Week of 7 November 2016 Christine (Chris) Haase 2016-11-03 00:00:00Z 0
WIZARDING WEEKEND ITHACA NY 2016 2016-09-22 00:00:00Z 0
Ride for Rotary 2016-05-12 00:00:00Z 0
Wonderful Wheelchairs is an all-volunteer organization that cleans, repairs, and sells used wheelchairs. 2016-04-21 00:00:00Z 0
2016 Rotary Council on Legislation 2016-04-12 00:00:00Z 0
Pics from our 30th Anniversary Dinner 2016-04-11 00:00:00Z 0
We're Celebrating! 2016-03-24 00:00:00Z 0

Best in a supporting role

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From the March 2016 issue of The Rotarian

I believe I am safe in assuming that most of you are not regular readers of the Journal of Leadership Studies. Nor that you had the pleasure of perusing the article in that magazine’s Winter 2014 issue titled “Followership in Leadership Studies: A Case of Leader-Follower Trade Approach.” To save you the trouble, let me summarize the argument put forward by the author, Petros G. Malakyan:

While an abundance of research is devoted to leaders – an entire literature, in fact –almost nothing is written about followers.

The reason for this is not particularly elusive. From presidents to mob bosses, from generals to drug lords, we love narratives that center on figures who hold, or aspire to hold, absolute power.
 


Illustration by Bjorn Rune Lie

Best in a supporting role 2016-03-10 00:00:00Z 0

RI Theme for 2016-2017 Rotary Year Announced!

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase on Jan 21, 2016
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RI President-elect John F. Germ chose Rotary Serving Humanity as his theme for 2016-17. Noting Rotary’s unique ability to bring together committed professionals to achieve remarkable goals, Germ believes that “now is the time to capitalize on our success: as we complete the eradication of polio, and catapult Rotary forward to be an even greater force for good in the world.”
 
RI Theme for 2016-2017 Rotary Year Announced! Christine (Chris) Haase 2016-01-22 00:00:00Z 0

ITHACA SUNRISE ROTARY CLUB INTRODUCES NEW FORM OF MEMBERSHIP

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase
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A contemporary way to get involved in Rotary
 
Ithaca, New York – Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club is introducing the Rotary Navigator Membership. This is a contemporary way to participate in one of the world’s most recognizable service organizations, Rotary International. This newest form of membership is open to prospective members who live or work in Ithaca and the surrounding areas. Members work together volunteering their time and skills to give back to their local community and the world at large.
ITHACA SUNRISE ROTARY CLUB INTRODUCES NEW FORM OF MEMBERSHIP Christine (Chris) Haase 2015-11-18 00:00:00Z 0
SPAGHETTI DINNER MOVED TO BOYNTON MIDDLE SCHOOL CAFETERIA 2015-10-20 00:00:00Z 0
2016 Waterfall calendars are available! 2015-10-20 00:00:00Z 0

A Rotary Foundation Minute

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The Rotary Foundation exists to help Rotarians “repair” the world when things go wrong … and since things go wrong a lot, we’re very busy! If we’re going to repair the world we’ll need some tools and a toolbox.
A Rotary Foundation Minute 2015-05-29 00:00:00Z 0

Ithaca Sunrise Wins a Fun Award

Ithaca Sunrise Rotary was presented with a fun award by District Governor Pat Kriebel at our District 7170 Conference in mid-May 2015: Best Sergeant-at-Arms and Jokes Award. Hahaha!
 
 
We love it!
 
Want to see the presentation?
Ithaca Sunrise Wins a Fun Award 2015-05-26 00:00:00Z 0

May Club Visit to Oak Hill Manor

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Bob Nicholas, Amanda York and Christine Haase represented Ithaca Sunrise Rotary on Saturday, 9 May 2015 during our monthly visit to Oak Hill Manor on South Hill in Ithaca. The game Uno still appears to be a favorite among the residents. There were so many interested in joining in that a second deck of cards was located so that more could play. While Bob and Amanda played the game with their respective groups, Chris ran around to help some of the players with their cards and to take a couple photos--have you seen the bird cage out in the main hall? Click here to hear them sing!
 
   
May Club Visit to Oak Hill Manor 2015-05-12 00:00:00Z 0

Club Project: Hospital Magazines

Posted by Kathleen (Kathy) Larson on Mar 25, 2015
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Once each month or so the Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club distributes gently used magazines to the waiting rooms of the local hospital, and once every few months we go to Convenient Care.

Club members, friends, relatives, fellow workers, neighbors, etc. donate their magazines to our Club at the Royal Court. Frank Smith is the leader of the Magazine Gang. He gathers them up every week, and then when he determines that we have enough, he picks a date that we will meet at the hospital.

Frank will announce the date at our meetings and also sends out an email for everyone to join if they can.

Club Project: Hospital Magazines Kathleen (Kathy) Larson 2015-03-26 00:00:00Z 0

What is RYLA?

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase on Mar 11, 2015
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ROTARY DISTRICT 7170

JUNE 28 - JULY 3, 2015

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is Rotary's leadership training program for young people.  It emphasizes leadership, citizenship and personal growth for the exceptional young men and women who are selected to participate.

RYLA is one of the best and most effective programs run by Rotary clubs around the world. The first RYLA session was held in 1959 in Queensland, Australia. Planned around Queensland's centennial, it proved to be a extraordinarily successful event. Annual sessions took place in following years. And then the good news spread throughout the worldwide Rotary Community. 

RYLA came to District 7170 in the early 1980s, and a week-long conference was held at Golden Valley Sports Camp in Sidney, NY in the early years. Now it’s based on the SUNY Oneonta campus in Oneonta, New York.  This coming summer's program will be District 7170's 33rd annual event.

What is RYLA? Christine (Chris) Haase 2015-03-12 00:00:00Z 0
Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Featured in June 5, 2013 Edition of the Ithaca Times Christine (Chris) Haase 2013-06-12 00:00:00Z 0

All You Can Eat Spaghetti Dinner!

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase on Oct 23, 2012

It’s the 25th Annual…

All You Can Eat
Spaghetti
Dinner!

…brought to you by the Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club

Friday, November 9, 2012
5:00 – 7:00pm
Ithaca High School Cafeteria
1401 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca

All You Can Eat Spaghetti Dinner! Christine (Chris) Haase 2012-10-24 00:00:00Z 0

Ovalle Chile International Service project

Posted by Dalva Hedlund on Oct 19, 2012
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Ithaca Sunrise Rotary club is partnering with the Ovalle, Chile, Rotary club to build an English Language teaching facility in Ovalle.

Recently, Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club member Keefe Gorman traveled to Ovalle, Chile to review the Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club's world service project. Keefe was greeted in September by Ovalle Rotary Club members. Keefe and his daughters MaKena (14), and Sophie (16), toured the city of Ovalle and visited the location where the new English speaking lab will be furbished. 
 
Chileans residing in Ovalle do not have access to English language instruction beyond high school. This English teaching lab will be the first and only facility in Ovalle for adults to further their English speaking and writing skills. English is the most important  language for those wishing to grow their business with other English speaking companies.
 
The Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club through District Matching and International Rotary Foundation matching grants will be able to coordinate close to $25,000 to equip the English teaching lab in Ovalle, Chile.  Ovalle  is located in the Limari Valley, an area rich in agricultural production, especially fruits and also home to significant wine producers.  Ovalle, Chile, is a city of approximately 100,000 people, located four hours north of Santiago.  Also in the Limari area is mining for copper, gold and silver.

Ovalle Chile International Service project Dalva Hedlund 2012-10-20 00:00:00Z 0

Thought for the Day

Posted on Oct 08, 2012
It reminds me of that old definition of “love” that I heard long ago. Love is “the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing...another’s spiritual growth.” Love is that act of contributing time, energy, something useful toward the deepening and enriching of another person’s experience of life, assisting another to bloom and grow forever and to become more of the potential that is theirs to actualize and express. That’s love. The act of giving for the sake of making another life a little bit better, a little bit richer, a little bit more fulfilling and blessed. (A Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck, adapted)
Thought for the Day 2012-10-09 00:00:00Z 0

Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Helps Feed 916 Children

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase on Sep 26, 2012
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On September 8, 2012, ten members of the Rotary Club of Ithaca Sunrise worked a two-hour shift at Ithaca’s third annual Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack event, hosted this year at the First Congregational Church.


Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Helps Feed 916 Children Christine (Chris) Haase 2012-09-27 00:00:00Z 0

Welcome Jane Wang, Our 2011 RYLA Student!

Posted by Dalva Hedlund on Jun 17, 2011

Jane Wang, a Junior at Ithaca High School, was chosen to attend the District 7170 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program, June 26 - July 1, at Hartwick College. 

This is the first year for a long time that Ithaca Sunrise has supported a RYLA student. We hope to continue doing so! For more information about RYLA and Ms. Wang, see Ken Walker and review the RYLA material on the 7170 web site.

Welcome Jane Wang, Our 2011 RYLA Student! Dalva Hedlund 2011-06-18 00:00:00Z 0

New Gen Tompkins County Rotary Club is Looking for Members

Posted by Dalva Hedlund on Jun 17, 2011

From  the District 7170 Web Site --

Reynolds, Dave, Jun 11, 2011

District 7170 Mebership/Extension Committee is working on forming a New Generations Rotary Club in the Tompkins County area! 

This club will welcome young professional and business people to a newly structured club that will meet the needs of our younger generation.  Its emphasis will be "Service Above Self".  

If anyone in this geographic area is discovered to have an interest in becoming  chartered member of this club, please contact Janet Steiner of the Ithaca Noon Rotary Club.  <steinerjanet@gmail.com>


 

New Gen Tompkins County Rotary Club is Looking for Members Dalva Hedlund 2011-06-18 00:00:00Z 0

Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Wins Club Service Award

Posted by Dalva Hedlund on Jun 15, 2011
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District 7170 Governor Orville Wright awarded ISR  the District Club Service Award.

Club service involves all the activities Rotarians must perform to make their club function successfully.

The Club Service Award recognizes one Club that has the active support of the Club's programs from a majority of its members.

Congratulations, ISR Rotarians! 

 

Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Wins Club Service Award Dalva Hedlund 2011-06-16 00:00:00Z 0
District Governor Orville Wright says: Christine (Chris) Haase 2011-06-16 00:00:00Z 0

Belly Dancing at 7:30 in the Morning?!

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase on Jun 15, 2011
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If you missed today's meeting, then you missed a lot! Our program was Lucia Sciore, a local belly dancer whose stage name is Nura. Dressed in her practice outfit, she spoke about the origins and benefits of belly dancing and fielded many good questions from her captive audience. And what would a talk about belly dancing be without a demonstration? A few brave Rotarians got up for a brief lesson. What a fun and informative program!

Belly Dancing at 7:30 in the Morning?! Christine (Chris) Haase 2011-06-16 00:00:00Z 0

YEP, its a Party!

Posted by Dalva Hedlund on Jun 14, 2011
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 YEP, Its a Party! was a great success! 

 Wonderful food. Great music by Yumpity. Dancing and more dancing. Warm fellowship. An enticing silent auction! And the weather cooperated.

 Many thanks to Rita Rosenberg and helpers for organizing the party. And our appreciation to Roni Mays and helpers for putting together the Silent Auction.

 Financial results (approximate):

$1461 net for ISR from ticket sales.

$1,000 from the Silent auction for Camp Good Days.

 $465 from the Silent Auction for ISR Programs.

And a good time was had by All! 

 

YEP, its a Party! Dalva Hedlund 2011-06-15 00:00:00Z 0

Senior Luncheon, April 10

Posted by Dalva Hedlund on Apr 15, 2011

 Ken Walker, Karen Creenan, Lynda Myers, Doug Armstrong, Jo Ellen Hedlund and Dalva Hedlund served about 25 seniors with hearty ham and pot luck pickin's.

 The entertainment was the Lifelong Theater Group! About 10 seniors get together and write their own stories to perform individually. They are wonderful. Be sure to see them wherever they perform.

 Karen is the coordinator of this project this year. And she is there every month holding us all together. Thanks, Karen! 

Senior Luncheon, April 10 Dalva Hedlund 2011-04-15 19:06:33Z 0

Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club Honors Two Community Leaders

Posted by Dalva Hedlund on Apr 11, 2011

The Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club honored Ann M. Colt and Rev. Nathaniel Wright for their outstanding community service by recognizing them as Paul Harris Fellows. The motto of Rotary, with more than 33,000 clubs in over 200 countries, is “Service Above Self .” Honoring non-Rotarians as Paul Harris Fellows is one way of recognizing the value that individuals who live the ideal of service bring to our communities. Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary International. 

Since 1997, Ann M. Colt has served as the Chief Development Officer for United Way of Tompkins County. Under her leadership, along with hundreds of dedicated volunteers, talented staff members, thousands of generous donors, and numerous non-profit organizations, more than $25,000,000 has been raised to support health and human service programs. Ann is a member of the Ithaca Downtown Business Women, National Association of Professional Women, and the Finger Lakes Chapter of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals; serving on its Board of Directors for six years and as Chapter President in 2004. She has been a presenter for Leadership Tompkins, United Way Worldwide, and served on the Marketing Committee for United Way of New York State.  She currently serves on the Advisory Board at Museum of the Earth and in the past she served on the Board of Directors for the Human Services Coalition.  Ann was treasurer of the Lansing Central School District's Parent Teacher Student Organization, a Liberty Partnership Mentor, and served on the District's Shared Decision-Making Team. She was a member of the Town of Lansing Water and Sewer Board, responsible for getting municipal services for several areas in that community. For many years Ann and her family delivered Meals-on-Wheels throughout Tompkins County.

Rev. Nathaniel Wright has been pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Ithaca, since 2004. In addition to his ministry to individuals and families in the community, he is known for his ability to facilitate communication and build working relationships between diverse groups.  He organized and continues to facilitate on-going peace conversations within the community after the 2010 Greenwood shooting. He participates in on-going discussions of  race equity issues between the Ithaca City School Board and the community at large and serves on the Equity and Inclusion Leadership Council. He serves on the Hospicare Board of Directors and the Cayuga Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors. In addition, Rev. Wright created an after school program at Calvary Baptist utilizing student volunteers from Ithaca College and Cornell University. He has hosted an eight week series of community workshops on how to manage your finances and a three part community health fair.  Rev. Wright was instrumental in joining Calvary Baptist Church with St. Paul's United Method Church to hold an annual Tear Down the Wall benefit concert to foster closer relationships between the Calvary and St. Paul's communities while raising funds for a mutually agreed upon charity. And he was instrumental in organizing a get out the vote effort that provided transportation to and from polling booths on election day for the elderly and those without access to transportation.

The Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club is proud to recognize the contributions of these outstanding individuals during its 25th Anniversary celebration.


Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club Honors Two Community Leaders Dalva Hedlund 2011-04-12 00:00:00Z 0

A Thank You Letter

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase on Feb 24, 2011
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[President Ursula read this to the club at our 2/24/2011 meeting.] 

 

Ithaca Sunrise Rotary

Ursula Russ, President

P.O. Box 6565

Ithaca, NY 14851

 

February 15, 2011

 

Dear Ursula,

 

We have just received your much appreciated donation of $101 toward the construction of the pedestrian suspension bridge in El Charcon, El Salvador. Since my presentation in December, the new bridge has been formally inaugurated with due ceremony and an all-day celebration. We hear that it has become the favorite youth hang-out. More than that, this bridge has made life easier and safer for the residents of this small rural community working so hard to create a better life for itself and a better future for its children.

 

Please extend this note of thanks to Ithaca Sunrise Rotary for your generous support of our bridge building project. It is deeply appreciated.

 

Sincerely,

 

Suzanne Geoghegan

for the Binghamton - El Charcon

Sister City Project

 

P.S. BECSCP is a 50l-c-3 organization.

A Thank You Letter Christine (Chris) Haase 2011-02-25 00:00:00Z 0

An invitation...

Posted by Ursula Russ on Jan 23, 2011
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You are cordially

invited to attend

 

the Ithaca Sunrise Rotary

25th anniversary dinner

 

on the fourteenth of March

two thousand and eleven

at the Country Club of Ithaca

which is located at

189 Pleasant Grove Road, Ithaca

 

$35 per person

Cocktails will be served at six

Dinner will be served at seven

 

Please RSVP by

the first of March

khruss@gmail.com

An invitation... Ursula Russ 2011-01-24 00:00:00Z 0

Uganda Water Project Press Release

Posted by Dalva Hedlund on Nov 21, 2010
   

Local Rotaries Announce Completion of Uganda Water Project!

 

 

 ENDICOTT, NY – The Endwell Rotary Club hosted a news conference on 11/10/10 to announce and discuss the completion of a 2-year project that now delivers clean, treated, piped water to 9 public water stands in the rural agricultural Asinge Village in Osukuru Subcounty of the Tororo District of Uganda.  Project partners included the Ithaca Sunrise, Nimmonsburg and Deposit Rotary Clubs as well as the South Central and Capital Rotary Districts.  The Tororo Rotary Club in Uganda is the “on-site” host project sponsor.  “Water, especially safe drinking water, is a genuinely life sustaining resource in East Africa,” said Tom Hranek, Project Coordinator, who visited the Tororo region for 7 weeks in 2008.  “Learning about the water and sanitation needs and the cultures of the people  within Uganda was an amazing, life-changing experience.  The Asinge water project is one of the outcomes of the trip.”

“International Rotary Projects often grow out of the relationships between Rotarians here and in distant lands,” said Carol Belva, President of Endwell Rotary.  “Tom’s first-hand relationships with the Tororo Rotary Club and his background as a licensed engineer gave our local clubs the confidence to invest in the Asinge-Osukuru Clean Water Project.  We’re delighted to see the pictures of our neighbors 8 time zones away and their completed public water stands.  Clean water is now available throughout  the village of 2500 and near its primary school.”

Precious bottled water was served.


 

Uganda Water Project Press Release Dalva Hedlund 2010-11-22 00:00:00Z 0

WANTED: Mentors for Youths in our Community

Posted by Roger Beck on Oct 31, 2010
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We have a great opportunity to improve the lives of young people in our community. The Learning Web needs mentors, and -- we can all be mentors! Here's a memo from Sally Schwartzbach, their Associate Director, who spoke at our meeting a week ago:

WANTED: Mentors for Youths in our Community Roger Beck 2010-11-01 00:00:00Z 0

Change of President-Elect

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase on Oct 27, 2010
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Due to commitments at her business, it is with great reluctance that Lynda Myers must step down as president-elect.

An election was held at our club meeting this morning and Karen Creenan was unanimously voted in as club president for the 2011-2012 Rotary year. Karen just returned from a wonderful trip to Italy and, along with her experience serving on the board of directors and as club secretary, is ready to take the helm next year. Congratulations, Karen!

Thank you, Lynda, for your work on the board and for your willingness to serve as club president. Don't worry--your time will come!

Change of President-Elect Christine (Chris) Haase 2010-10-28 00:00:00Z 0

Water in Asinge Village!

Posted by Dalva Hedlund on Sep 14, 2010
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 Thanks to (Ithaca Sunrise) Rotary, a permanent supply of drinkable water is available to Asinge Village, Osukuru Subdistrict, and the Oriyoi elementary school, Uganda. Photos and a series of email communication between Robert Shaka, President of the Tororo Rotary Club and Tom Hranek, Project Leader for the Endwell Rotary Club follow. Well done, Sunrise Rotarians!! We funded half of the cost of the project.
Water in Asinge Village! Dalva Hedlund 2010-09-15 00:00:00Z 0

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Posted by Jo Ellen Hedlund on Jul 20, 2010

Since Priscila will talk to us about Argentina, it is time to bring back Jo Ellen's quiz from last July. Don't cheat!! 

  

 Are you smarter than a fifth grader?


What do YOU know about Argentina?


Our Inbound student for the coming academic year is from

Posada, Argentina. Her name is Priscila Horrisberger and she will turn 18 on October 16 th . She is fairly fluent in English and we still need host families for her.


So, to start everyone thinking about Priscila and to build our base of knowledge regarding all things Argentinian, I

thought we could test our current knowledge base.


See how many of these questions you can answer without benefit of the Internet. No cheating!!!!


What is the capital of Argentina?


Name 3 of the 5 countries that border Argentina


What is the predominate language?


What is the "dance" of Argentina?


What is a gaucho?


Name a famous 20 th century revolutionary born there


What animal do tourists want to see wintering in Argentina?


Argentina is home to the highest peak in the Americas. Name it.


What is their currency?


What islands in the Atlantic do they claim?




Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Jo Ellen Hedlund 2010-07-21 00:00:00Z 0
Check Your Club Commitments!! Dalva Hedlund 2009-11-11 00:00:00Z 0
Bring your magazines to Rotary meetings! Frank M. Smith 2009-11-11 00:00:00Z 0
Hello from Pavan Dalva Hedlund 2008-08-18 00:00:00Z 0

Vote for Ithaca Sunrise Rotary's 1-Minute Video!

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase
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The Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club has been invited to participate in a video competition sponsored by the Tompkins Trust Company. We have a chance to win $1000 in this first quarterly round and advance to the final for an additional $5000. We will use the prize money to supplement our annual support of the Rotary Youth Soccer Program. They would like to acquire equipment for the older kids, which costs more.
 
Here is the link to view the contest and cast your vote: http://woobox.com/27jqr8
 
​You will need to log into a Facebook account and "Like" the page in order to access the contest. You can vote daily until the end of June!
Vote for Ithaca Sunrise Rotary's 1-Minute Video! Christine (Chris) Haase 0

WORLD POLIO DAY: MAKING HISTORY

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase
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Where are we in the fight to end polio? What have we accomplished? How can we make history together? Find out on World Polio Day. To mark World Polio Day on October 24, Rotary and Northwestern University’s Center for Global Health will host a live-streamed global status update on the fight to end polio, featuring invited guests including Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, celebrity ambassadors, polio survivors and Rotary members.

Thu Oct 24, 2013 6:30pm EDT — Thu Oct 24, 2013 8:00pm EDT

Please visit http://new.livestream.com/rotaryinternational/worldpolioday for more information and to tune in on October 24th!

 

WORLD POLIO DAY: MAKING HISTORY Christine (Chris) Haase 0

Spaghetti Dinner 2013

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase

Ithaca Sunrise Rotary

Spaghetti Dinner!


All you can eat: meat sauce or vegetarian.

 

Salad bar, garlic bread, drink, and dessert.


Carry out available.


Ithaca High School Cafeteria; Friday November 8, 5 to 7 PM.


Cabaret entertainment by Running to Places!


Only $8 for adults; $5 for kids 5 to 12 years; Under 5 free.


Proceeds from this event support Ithaca Sunrise Rotary youth programs.

Tickets are available from any Sunrise Rotarian

or at the door.

Spaghetti Dinner 2013 Christine (Chris) Haase 0

ISR Supports Camp Good Days and Special Times

Posted by Dalva Hedlund

The Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club presented Camp Good Days and Special Times with a $1,000 check in support of its programs for children and adults. Ithaca Sunrise Rotary raised the funds from a silent auction held in conjunction with the Youth Exchange Party at Oasis Dance Club. The silent auction was supported by the generosity of Ithaca area merchants. 


Image

Rotarian Roni Mays presents a check to Marcie Kreydt for Camp Good Days

ISR Supports Camp Good Days and Special Times Dalva Hedlund 0
Overwhelming Response to Send Shelterbox to Haiti Christine (Chris) Haase 0

Foundation Awards

Posted by Dalva Hedlund

Congratulations, Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Club!!!

Under the leadership of President Chris Haase, 2008-2009, Ithaca Sunrise Rotary earned two awards at the District 7170 Rotary Foundation Banquet.

The first award is for exceeding the $1,000 goal to match the Gates Foundation contribution to End Polio Now. We achieved a $2,000 plus total for the year!

The second award was for exceeding the goal of a $100 contribution each year for each Rotarian to the Rotary Foundation. Ithaca Sunrise Rotary gave almost $146 per person for the year.

Congratulations Ithaca Sunrise Rotarians. And special thanks to Past President Chris Haase for her leadership in this effort.

Let us keep up the good work.

Foundation Awards Dalva Hedlund 0

From the July 2009 ROTARYWORLD, Vol. 16, No. 1:

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase

"Not every Rotarian realizes that every dollar, pound, yen, and euro in our Foundation's accounts comes from voluntary donations. None of it—absolutely none—comes from dues."  — Glenn E. Estess Sr., 2009-2010 Rotary Foundation trustee chair, at the 2009 International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA

From the July 2009 ROTARYWORLD, Vol. 16, No. 1: Christine (Chris) Haase 0

ISR Sells Luminaries at Relay for Life

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase
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On Friday, July 10, 2009, Ithaca Sunrise Rotarians were at work doing what Rotarians do best: serving their community. Dewey Neild, Ursula Russ, George Sperry, Kathy Larson, Chris Haase, Lynda Myers and Dalva Hedlund were instrumental in handling the sale of Luminary Bags at the Tompkins County Relay for Life held at Lansing High School.

ISR Sells Luminaries at Relay for Life Christine (Chris) Haase 0

GSE Team is back from Peru!

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase
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Rotary District 7170's Group Study Exchange (GSE) team will be visiting us at our August 13 club meeting to share their experience in Peru. Please take a moment to visit their blog at http://www.perugse.blogspot.com/. They have included journal entries about their travels and some great photos. It is definitely worth a look!
GSE Team is back from Peru! Christine (Chris) Haase 0

The Final Inch

Posted by Dalva Hedlund
HBO Documentaries present The Final Inch, a documentary film on the eradication of polio. Go and watch http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/thefinalinch/video.html Word has it that it will only be there for free viewing for a limited time. I will guarantee that you will be committed to the cause after seeing this video.
The Final Inch Dalva Hedlund 0

Great Spaghetti Dinner!!

Posted by Dalva Hedlund
The famous Ithaca Sunrise Rotary Spaghetti Dinner was a rousing success!!

Thanks to Ken Walker for getting it done! What a wonderful job, Ken!

Last count was 214 dinners served and probably over $2,000 profit for Club projects.

Thanks also to everyone who helped - and there were a lot of folks: Sunrise Rotarians, students and staff from BOCES Career and Technical Education, Cornell Rotaract students, and the Boy Scouts.

This is a wonderful Sunrise Rotary tradition! Lets do even better - and have more fun - next year!
Great Spaghetti Dinner!! Dalva Hedlund 0
Rotary Radio Dalva Hedlund 0

Rotary Says "Good-bye" to Polio

Posted by Christine (Chris) Haase
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In the early 1980s, Rotary started planning and, in 1985, began its aggressive fight to rid the world of polio, a deadly and crippling disease that targeted mostly children in more than 125 countries around the world. Now, in 2008, there are only four countries - Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan - that are still endemic.

 

How can you help?

Rotary Says "Good-bye" to Polio Christine (Chris) Haase 0