Foundation
We Promote The Rotary Foundation
Celebrating 100 years!
The Rotary Foundation is a our oldest charity, created in 1917, and supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation who share its vision. Our humanitarian activities, from local service projects to global initiatives may be financed in part or in whole by the Foundation and our club or district can apply for grants from the Foundation to invest in projects and provide scholarships. The Foundation also takes the lead on worldwide Rotary campaigns such as eradicating polio and promoting peace.
On a practical level our Club makes an annual donation to the Foundation, raised by personal giving or fundraising events. We also play an active role by entertaining visiting exchange groups of young professionals from other districts worldwide, and individual overseas students that may be studying under a Rotary Foundation scholarship at Essex University. In either case our visitors will be sponsored by their local Rotary Club and we have made useful links and learnt much about those sponsoring clubs, the individuals, and the area in which they live.
Rotary’s first major involvement with polio came in 1979 when clubs took on a project to buy and help deliver polio vaccine to more than six million children in the Philippines.Then in 1985 Rotary International launched PolioPlus, the first and largest internationally coordinated private-sector support of a public health initiative, with an initial pledge of US$120 million. By 1988 Rotarians had raised US$247 million for PolioPlus, more than double their fundraising goal. The World Health Assembly passed a resolution to eradicate polio, setting up the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, when at the time more than 125 countries were polio-endemic.
There are currently just three polio endemic countries left with 2.5 billion children having been immunised against polio from the start of the campaign.
It takes as little as US60 cents, to vaccinate a child against polio for life, and now all donations work even harder. From 2013 to 2018, every US dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will become three dollars, thanks to a 2-to-1 match from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (He of Microsoft fame).
You can help us meet our goal by giving generously when you see us collecting or by supporting one of our fundraising events. Thank you.
On 27th September we referenced World Polio Day on 24th October and that the following day we would be holding a Frugal Lunch to raise funds in support.
William Stevens as a Past President, Past Club Secretary and current Chair of the Foundation Plus Committee drew his team together and set out plans for our Frugal Lunch. As a result 30 out of 32 members, partners and friends who had secured places, attended William’s home to enjoy something more that what most would call a frugal lunch.
We were expecting a bowl of soup with bread and then maybe one or two sandwiches, but it turned out to be far more than that with the addition of individual home made apple pies and fingers of shortbread, with tea and coffee to finish.
In addition to the lunch itself a raffle was also held to further increase the income.
There are a number of Thank You’s at this point and hopefully I will get most of them listed here – apologies to those I might miss. Firstly it is a massive Thank You to William and Pam for opening up their home to us, then comes Sue and Dawn for the excellent catering, Carol for running the raffle and finally the support team that helped with the distribution of the soup etc.
The raffle had a variety of winners even though one or two might have managed to draw their own number – a sheer coincidence as they couldn’t see into the basket. There was also one club member who despite protestations that he doesn’t seem to win the raffle at club these days, was seen to come away from the prize table clutching a bottle. No names naturally.
And so to the most important point about the day – how much was raised? From the figures given to me the final total after minimal expenses was £500 and this will be forwarded via Foundation to support the ongoing work in trying to finally eradicate Polio in the world. At one point Polio was almost contained but more recently with events in the Middle East it has found a new emergence point and Polio prevention amongst the young can be seen in the reporting from the area. Until it is finally eradicated, the fight to beat it will continue.
In closing, there are a number of photos attached including one of Pam with a bouquet, which was our Thank You for letting us into her home.