By: Sarah MacGillivray
District 7780 Foundation Public Image Coordinator
RC of Bath Sunrise
Over the last few months I have been highlighting some wonderful projects made possible through our District Grant program. Continuing our “Connecting the Dots” series, I wanted to share information about more incredible programs that are made possible through your donations to OUR Rotary Foundation.
These expedited disaster response grants will be used to supply water, food, medicine, shelter, and clothing. Rotary has made peace the cornerstone of our global mission, and is deeply concerned about the Ukraine crisis. During these difficult times, it is so clear that Rotary members are People of Action, globally and locally.
Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club is excited to be sponsoring a Rotary peace fellow, Cassandra Varanka. Chosen from among some 600 applicants across the globe, Cassandra will study at the University of Queensland's (Australia) Rotary Centre for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution starting in early 2023. Our District is proud to have Cassandra representing us and we know she will do good work in the world.
Rotary Peace Centers provide academic training, practice and an opportunity for global networking. Peace fellows like Cassadra are the catalysts for peace, as they are trained to become peace and development professionals. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and internship and field-study expenses. If your club knows of someone interested in studying peace and conflict resolution, now is the time to act. Applications are being accepted now through May 15. Click here for more information.
The amount of good that we are able to do around the world, made possible by your donations, is astounding. Most of our focus in these recent articles has been on district and global grants, the backbone of our Clubs’ work. Did you know that OUR Rotary Foundation gives districts a variety of other ways to put Foundation funds to work? Polio eradication, peace centers and scholarships, area-of-focus funds and endowment giving are among these.
About two-thirds of Rotary districts give some of their DDF (District Designated Funds) to Polio Plus, and our district is among them. Your Foundation Committee allocated $16,717 to Polio eradication in Rotary year 2020-2021, and to-date has sent $10,831 to PolioPlus in this fiscal year.