Hello Rotarians,
Our next meeting will be held at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6th, at Pat's Pizza, 6 Pleasant St., Bar Harbor.
It’s November and that means it is Rotary Foundation month. I thought it might be helpful for all of us to understand a bit about the Foundation. This is just a summary, but if you want to know more and have the time, then you should attend the webinar today Nov. 4, at 7:00 p.m. Stefanie Muscat and Joanna Clarke will be attending this seminar, and hopefully I will join them. Stefanie has agreed to show the webinar at her workplace, Acadia Family Center in Southwest Harbor, and she will provide some appetizers. Please join us; the more the merrier!
The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotary members and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world. This support is essential to make projects possible, funded with Foundation grants, that bring sustainable improvement to communities in need.
The Foundation was created in 1917 by Rotary International's sixth president, Arch C. Klumph, as an endowment fund for Rotary "to do good in the world." It has grown from an initial contribution of $26.50 to more than $1 billion. It has one of the largest and most prestigious international fellowship programs in the world.
Evolution of Foundation Programs:
- 1947: The Foundation established its first program, Fellowships for Advance Study, later known as Ambassadorial Scholarships.
- 1965-66: Three programs were launched: Group Study Exchange, Awards for Technical Training, and Grants for Activities in Keeping with the Objective of The Rotary Foundation, which was later called Matching Grants.
- 1978: Rotary introduced the Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants. The first 3-H Grant funded a project to immunize 6 million Philippine children against polio.
- 1985: The PolioPlus program was launched to eradicate polio worldwide.
- 1987-88: The first peace forums were held, leading to Rotary Peace Fellowships.
- 2013: New district, global, and packaged grants enable Rotarians around the world to respond to the world’s greatest needs.
Since the first donation of $26.50 in 1917, the Foundation has received contributions totaling more than $1 billion.
Bed Races Saturday, Nov. 9th
If you will be out and about doing your early holiday shopping during the Pajama Sale this Saturday, don’t forget to cheer on the Interact Club in the bed races. Yes, Interact will be running the bed, and I believe past president and Membership Chair Steve Boucher will be joining them. It will be a fun and intense time. I was there last year and had a great time; hopefully, you can be there this year.
Holiday Party Wednesday, Dec. 4th
The Holiday party will be at McKay’s Public House on Wednesday, December 4th. I emailed the invitation with details to the club. We are looking for items for the silent and live auctions. I believe we all know someone who owns a business in Bar Harbor or nearby towns. If each of us solicited one item from those businesses, we will have enough to make a successful holiday auction, and most importantly, to give back to the community. So let’s have a fun and joyful party on December 4th.
“We should not live for ourselves alone, but for the joy in doing good for others.”
Arch Klumph, founder of The Rotary Foundation
See you at Pat's Pizza on Wednesday night,
President Susy
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