Last month I noticed in a Rotary Foundation report that someone in the Ketchum-Sun Valley Club had made a substantial contribution to the Endowment Fund. A donation to this Rotary Foundation fund usually means one thing: someone has passed away. And indeed that was the case. Martha Lee Orwig (Marty) left this earth a year ago on Oct 14th. I didn’t know Marty personally, but from her obituary and from reading the sentiments of her friends and family, I’ve come to believe that she lived the life she wanted to live.
There was something else about Marty. She wanted to leave something to help others less fortunate. By joining The Bequest Society in 2010, she made a commitment to do just that and she bequeathed $10,000 to the Endowment Fund of The Rotary Foundation in her estate plan. Only the earnings on Endowment Fund investments are spent, and by assigning those earnings to Annual Fund-SHARE, Marty made sure that the Rotary Clubs of District 5400 will have some choice about how those earnings will be spent going forward. Marty was a member of the Ketchum-Sun Valley Rotary Club for 22 years. Although she died too young, her spirit will live on in the legacy she left to further the humanitarian work of Rotary. Thank you, Marty! Think about joining the Bequest Society yourself, committing a piece of your estate to The Rotary Foundation that your Rotary legacy of Service Above Self also may live on.
Contact PDG Bret Vaterlaus for more information about the Endowment Fund of The Rotary Foundation and how to join.