November is a special month on the Rotary calendar, focussing on our own charity, the Rotary Foundation.  Through our many projects and initiatives in Rotary, we work tirelessly to raise funds for many charities and community projects, supporting other non-profit organisations in their fund-raising efforts.  I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you all of the valuable work of our own charity.

Our Foundation provides valuable funding for a wide range of important humanitarian and education programmes globally, including providing unique opportunities for the personal and vocational development for youth and young professionals.  Our club has been very active with the Foundation, sponsoring and supporting Jamie Andersen in his involvement in the 2008-2009 Group Study Exchange (GSE) programme to Sweden as well as supporting our newest recipient of an Ambassadorial Scholarship, Roland Dillon in his endeavour to pursue post graduate studies in the US.

In order to continue our club's valuable work with these initiatives and many others in the future, we need to continue contributing funds to the foundation.  Globally, Rotary has an annual goal of raising US$96 million during 2009-2010.  So far, this year Rotary has raised US$13.6 million through the fund raising efforts of clubs like ours.

Our contributions to the Every Rotary Every Year (EREY) - formerly known as the 'Centurion' - programme, touches the lives of people in need all over the world, providing a bridge to a better life for people in need.  In El Salvador, a US$17,600 Matching Grant  provided funding to build three bridges that improved the lives of approximately 2,500 people.  Sponsored by the Rotary clubs of San Salvador Cuscatlán, El Salvador, and Warwick, Virginia, USA, the bridges increased agricultural trade, economic growth, and access to health care and education.  An unexpected benefit of the project: During excavation for one of the bridges, a high-quality water source was discovered, and residents can now access it -- by crossing the bridge.

Your annual tax deducible contribution of A$ 150 through the EREY can provide mosquito nets for 50 children in Tanzania; or it can contribute towards the provision of $1,000 microcredit loans for 23 women in the Philippines; $10,000, two water wells to serve villages in Haiti; or $100,000, 100 dairy cows and 50 flocks of chickens to farmers in Romania to produce milk and food for area orphanages.  Let's work together as a club to enable the important work of the Foundation to continue to fund the very worthy work of these and many other humanitarian and educational programmes.  For less than the cost of a cup of coffee every week, we can each make a difference to change the lives of individuals in our community as well as transforming communities less fortunate than ours around the world.  In District 9800, we have a goal of collectively contributing at least USD$100 per member, per club towards the Rotary Foundation.

Thank you very much to all of you in our club who have already pledged your commitment to the EREY Centurion programme.  For those of you who are still considering joining the programme, November being Foundation month is great time to start!  At our Foundation night this Tuesday, let's make this a reality by becoming a Centurion.

Below is a link to the EREY Centurion membership form:

http://www.rotarydistrict9800.org.au/uploads/downloads/Downloads/Centurion220609.pdf

To streamline our club's effort to support the Foundation, I will be collecting completed membership forms at the conclusion of the meeting on Tuesday to submit them to our District 9800 Foundation administrator.  Please feel free to contact me before the meeting if you have any questions about the EREY Centurion programme.

Let's make Every Rotarian, Every Project and Every Contribution, make a difference Every Year in supporting our Foundation through the EREY Centurion Programme.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday!

Rotary Foundation Thought

This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about becoming a Paul Harris Fellow or what a US$1000 dollar contribution can do.

A contribution of US$1000 helps provide seven toilets in Sri Lanka. More than 2.6 billion people still lack access to proper sanitation. Most people in the developed world do not think about their sanitation system unless it is not working properly, but in Sri Lanka many people lack access to proper sanitation facilities. The Rotary club of Ja-Ela Kandana, Sri Lanka partnering with the Rotary Club of Madras Northwest, India took the matter into their own hands and obtained a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant to provide sanitation to a small community comprising 15 families. They built 14 toilets providing the families with proper sanitation. This will insure a reduction in illness and increase the health and wellness of this community. Rotarians meet the needs of the world by working through the Rotary Foundation.