November, 2019

 

Don Meyer, District 5970 Foundation Chair

 
Foundation First newsletter
November 2019
 
 
 
Dear Rotarians,
 
Things are happening across District 5970 this fall!  We hosted three One Rotary Summits, celebrated World Polio Day last month, funded a Global Scholar scholarship for Connor Roth to begin her studies at the University of Sussex, and here we are at November and it’s Rotary Foundation Month!  Thanks to those of you who attended the One Rotary Summits.  It was great to hear Rotarians from clubs around the District share their fundraising ideas and the different ways they promote the Foundation in their clubs.  Those meetings are always a wonderful exchange of how Rotary is alive in our communities.  Keep it going!
 
World Polio Day October 24
 
Thanks to the efforts of many clubs who celebrated World Polio Day in their communities.  I was fortunate to attend World Polio Day on October 24 with the Guttenberg Rotary Club.  They invited me to hear the touching story of one of their community members who shared his story of how he survived polio.  The local newspaper was there and the Rotary Club and its effort to eradicate polio received a lot of good public image that day!  On top of it all, the club presented me with a check for $450 to the PolioPlus Fund.  Congratulations to the Guttenberg Rotary Club for celebrating World Polio Day in such an impactful way! 
 
Remember November!
 
Many of you have already scheduled a presentation to your club on the Rotary Foundation.  I know other clubs will be launching their Foundation campaigns among their members.  If you are still looking for ways to promote the Foundation and raise funds, please let me know, and we’ll arrange for that to happen.  There are lots of resources available at www.rotary.org as well.  Some clubs are emphasizing the Paul Harris Society—those Rotarians who have committed to giving a $1,000 per year to the Foundation.  Others have committed to being part of a Global Grant that support medical clinics here in Iowa.  Please make every effort to promote the Rotary Foundation in your club this month. 
 
Did You Know? 
 
This is a feature in each newsletter that will better inform you about Rotary and The Rotary Foundation.  These nuggets come from The Rotary Foundation:
 
            WHAT CAN YOUR $100 DONATION TO THE ROTARY FOUNDATON DO?
 
          Your $100 contribution to The Rotary Foundation can                  help provide textbooks for on 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.
 
            WHAT CAN YOUR $500 DONATION TO THE ROTARY FOUNDATION DO?
 
Your $500 contribution to The Rotary Foundation can help provide a watch repair business for six disabled workers in the Philippines, purchase safety equipment for a boat providing public health services to isolated river villages in Peru, provide prosthetic limbs for 12 disabled people in Thailand/Cambodia, or buy five small sewing businesses to give poor mothers in Mexico a better ability to lead self-sufficient lives. 
 
Please consider a gift to The Rotary Foundation by December 31 to start making a difference in people’s lives. 
 
 
New Hampton District Grant Project
 
The New Hampton Rotary Club received a grant to build a shelter at the trail head of the new bike trail.  This project would not have been possible without District grant funding and the help of the local Lion's Club.  Remember, a portion of your gift to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund comes back to the District to help fund community projects like this!
 
                     
 
 
                   
 
Yours In Rotary,
 
Don Meyer
District 5970 Foundation Chair
 
                                   
 

Donald Meyer

District 5970 Foundation Chair

donald.meyer@wartburg.edu