Foundation Month
Posted by Bill Molesworth
Dean attended the Foundation Seminar in Barrie last week and stepped in to a vacancy today to mark Foundation Month.
He said that there are a few members of the Club who will remember 1985 as being a difficult year for the Midland Rotary Club. They bought land and built a cottage and auctioned it off and paid all their debts and were left with $85,000.00 to hand. But they had no goal and there was a long period of debate and discord over what to do next. It even cost the Club members.
You need a goal.
That same year Rotary International partnered with UNICEF and WHO to eradicate Polio. There was opposition from people who said it was to big an ambition. Dean took on the role of District Chair (with encouragement from Elaine) and he says it changed his life. That year there were 68,000 cases of Polio reported. This year there were 635. There are still problem spots, due mostly to war, but the borders are watched and refugees are checked and vaccinated.
Some people think polio has come to dominate Rotary and wonder 'how much longer' will this take? At the Seminar Dean heard that Internation is committed to 2010.
He distributed a fact sheet that listed the requirements and logistics associated with a world immunization day. He explained that the Foundation buys the serum and Polio Partners works on the Days, of which there are 4 or 5 a year. He said one of our members has participated in such a Day and describes it as 'the most moving' thing he's done.
He said that there are a few members of the Club who will remember 1985 as being a difficult year for the Midland Rotary Club. They bought land and built a cottage and auctioned it off and paid all their debts and were left with $85,000.00 to hand. But they had no goal and there was a long period of debate and discord over what to do next. It even cost the Club members.
You need a goal.
That same year Rotary International partnered with UNICEF and WHO to eradicate Polio. There was opposition from people who said it was to big an ambition. Dean took on the role of District Chair (with encouragement from Elaine) and he says it changed his life. That year there were 68,000 cases of Polio reported. This year there were 635. There are still problem spots, due mostly to war, but the borders are watched and refugees are checked and vaccinated.
Some people think polio has come to dominate Rotary and wonder 'how much longer' will this take? At the Seminar Dean heard that Internation is committed to 2010.
He distributed a fact sheet that listed the requirements and logistics associated with a world immunization day. He explained that the Foundation buys the serum and Polio Partners works on the Days, of which there are 4 or 5 a year. He said one of our members has participated in such a Day and describes it as 'the most moving' thing he's done.
The whole production is incredibly difficult.
There are new members of the Club who have no idea of the scale of the problem as it was then and the work that has gone into its resolution since but it still presents a challenge and a goal for us all to accept.
The Club from Orillia has challenged other Clubs to contribute $200.00 per member this year. In Joyce's year this Club achieved $100.00 per member.
There are District Designated Funds that can be used for matching grants. These funds are from interest earned over three years on donations the Clubs made so it is, in effect, our money, and we should take advantage of the opportunity.
Dean concluded by pointing out that there was a good article on all this in the current issue of the magazine and that attending the Seminar had been worthwhile because there had been so many changes over the years.
Jamie Tripp asked if Dean knew what the next focus might be and Dean said he'd heard it might be Literacy. He acknowledged that it was time for more diversity on the International Board, recognizing that a woman had recently joined, because the organization needs a new direction to attract new and younger members.
Steve thanked Dean for his presentation and commented that this is why we do what we do for Rotary.
There are new members of the Club who have no idea of the scale of the problem as it was then and the work that has gone into its resolution since but it still presents a challenge and a goal for us all to accept.
The Club from Orillia has challenged other Clubs to contribute $200.00 per member this year. In Joyce's year this Club achieved $100.00 per member.
There are District Designated Funds that can be used for matching grants. These funds are from interest earned over three years on donations the Clubs made so it is, in effect, our money, and we should take advantage of the opportunity.
Dean concluded by pointing out that there was a good article on all this in the current issue of the magazine and that attending the Seminar had been worthwhile because there had been so many changes over the years.
Jamie Tripp asked if Dean knew what the next focus might be and Dean said he'd heard it might be Literacy. He acknowledged that it was time for more diversity on the International Board, recognizing that a woman had recently joined, because the organization needs a new direction to attract new and younger members.
Steve thanked Dean for his presentation and commented that this is why we do what we do for Rotary.