December 10, 2007

Raffle winner turns down $30,000 prize

What would you do if you won $30,000? For Marc Jacobson, the answer was easy: Give it back.

Jacobson bought the winning ticket in an annual charity raffle sponsored by the Rotary Club of Northbrook, Illinois, USA . When Joe Cavolick, the club member who sold him the ticket, called with the news, Jacobson immediately said, "Donate it back."

"Marc, the prize is a new car or $30,000," Cavolick told him. "Why don't you take a few minutes and give me a call back?"

Jacobson, 43, consulted with his wife, Lauren, and phoned Cavolick. "Joe, I don't take money from charities," he told him.

Jacobson, who owns a financial services company in Northbrook, says he's been buying raffle tickets from Cavolick, a client of his, for five years. The club sells 800 tickets for $100 each and gives the proceeds to scholarships and local charities. Jacobson, who is not a Rotarian, is the second person to turn down the grand prize.

The club honored the Jacobsons for their generosity at a weekly meeting in November. "I believe donating money has always felt much better than [keeping] found money. This is found money," Marc Jacobson said before the event.

Jacobson says he's looking forward to buying a raffle ticket next year. He already knows what he'll do if he wins.

Spread the word about the Gates Foundation challenge grant

Rotarians are strongly encouraged to share the news of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's US$100 million challenge grant to Rotary International with their local media. Rotary has pledged to match the Gates grant dollar for dollar over the next three years, which will provide a much needed total of US$200 million to intensify the push to finish polio.

Here are four tools that can help publicize this shared commitment:

• Press release - You can tailor this release to your own community by describing your club or district polio eradication activities, submitting photos of local participation in National Immunization Days, or including comments from local Rotary leaders pledging continued support for this vital effort.
• PolioPlus Headliner Kit and fact sheet - Though not specific to the Gates Foundation grant, this resource can be used by clubs to publicize polio eradication. The kit contains a sample news feature, a press release, an opinion piece, and a letter to the editor, all easily adapted to local communities. (For additional languages, please e-mail pr@rotary.org )
• Public service announcements - Designed for print and broadcast media, the PSAs are an effective supplement to the news release and op-ed piece. These PSAs focus on Rotary's commitment to finish polio and can be easily localized by adding information about club or district eradication efforts and club contact information. Many clubs have members who work in the local media or have strong media contacts. These Rotarians can often place PSAs with their communities' newspapers and television and radio stations.

The challenge grant is one of the largest ever made by the Gates Foundation and is a tremendous validation of the approach and success of Rotary's PolioPlus program. By getting the word out to the media and public about the grant, Rotarians can help keep the momentum going in the global battle to rid the world of polio once and for all.