My fellow Rotarians and friends of Rotary,
How is our club benefiting from The
Rotary Foundation this year?
There's a reason Rotarians donate to The Rotary Foundation: It's a simple
way to achieve your philanthropic goals - whether it's supporting clean
water, the eradication of polio or a particular global grant. Any gift can
be donated to a specific fund - End Polio Now, an individual global grant or
one of Rotary's focus areas. You can also leave your gift unrestricted so
that the Foundation has the flexibility to use the money where it is needed
most.
When the Foundation awards a grant to fund a project, how does it ensure
that your money will have a lasting impact? "Sustainability begins with the
community assessment," explains Philip J. Silvers, a past RI director and
chair of the Foundation's Cadre of Technical Advisers.
Six
elements of sustainability must be addressed in the design of a global grant
project:
The Rotary Club of Strathfield uses The Foundation funding for four of our
great projects this year.
-
The Strathfield Rotary Club aims to empower communities to support
fundamental disparity in education and increase adult literacy. We are
embarking on a program by PREPARING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES FOR THE
WORKFORCE through the Technical and Life-skills Training Program to
achieve our goal. The Foundation provides the necessary funding from a
philanthropist donor who has given The Foundation a Direct Gift of AUD
50,000 for this particular worthy project for the indigenous community.
-
Global Grant Project on COVID-19 and Maternal Health in Northern Sri
Lanka to provide medical equipment worth USD 90,000 for an Operation
Theatre and Covid-19 Treatment Centre at Chavakachcheri Base Hospital.
-
Global Grant Project on COVID-19 and Basic Health in Southern India. Due
to COVID, pregnant women cannot travel to Tiruvannamalai General
Hospital; as such, they are equipped with these remote primary health
care centres to save lives. Primary Health centres will be provided with
medical equipment such as Ultrasound, Fetal Doppler, Autoclave,
Multi-parameter etc. The total cost of the project would be
approximately USD 45,000.
-
The late Peter Smith scholarship is to commemorate Peter's life work and
his tireless support for young people. Our District 9675 is providing
the District Grant this year to provide the necessary funding for this
significant new project. The award aims to promote youth empowerment and
community service. It will be granted to outstanding individuals who
demonstrate leadership in their fields and offer significant
contributions to the community. Nominations are open to any youth under
the age of 25.
We have a longing to be significant. We want to make a contribution, to be a
part of something noble and purposeful. But many people assume significance
is unattainable. They worry that it is too big for them to achieve. They
think that they have to have a fantastic idea, be a certain age, have a lot
of money, or be powerful and famous to make a real difference.
The good news is that none of those things is necessary to achieve
significance and create a lasting legacy. The only thing you need to achieve
significance is to be intentional. And to do that, all you need to do is,
start. You can't make an impact sitting still and doing nothing. Every major
accomplishment that's ever been achieved started with a first step.
Sometimes it's hard; other times, it's easy; but no matter what, you have to
start somewhere if you want to get anywhere in life.
An unintentional life
accepts everything and does nothing. An intentional life embraces only the
things that will add to the mission of significance. - John C Maxwell
Yours in Rotary,
Thaya Ponnia
