Rotarians mark 100 years of its foundation funding this spring.
Members of Rotary from District 5020, Vancouver Island and Western Washington State, met at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel for a centennial celebration dinner to recognize The Rotary Foundation’s centenary.
“The Rotary Foundation, by virtue of contributions made by the 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide, is the funding arm, by way of grants, that allows clubs to carry out sustainable humanitarian projects, provide scholarships and promote peace,” said Rotary Club of Oak Bay member Joan Firkins, who organized the event. “It also is the driving force behind eradicating polio which is our global program that started in 1988 when Rotary promised the children of the world that we would eradicate polio. We have now spent over $4 billion dollars toward this end and we are close – only 37 cases of polio on the world last year, compared to 350,000 a year in 1988.”
The evening honoured and District 5020 centennial donors who collectively contributed a total of $694,468 in cash or bequests to support and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of our Rotary Foundation. These funds will help to ensure the programs of The Rotary Foundation are carried on in perpetuity as they continue to “do good in the world” the Rotary Foundation motto.
“It is a major accomplishment of how much good can be done in the world through the generosity of those contributing to our foundation. Our work will never be done and we must continue our mission for at least another 100 years,” Firkins said.
The foundation was established with an initial donation of US $26.50 and is a not-for-profit corporation funded solely by voluntary contributions from members and friends of Rotary who support its mission to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace. In 2015-2016 the Foundation received donations totalling US $265.6 million. The cumulative contributions since inception now amount to US$ 4.1 billion.
“The club has made good use of grants from the Rotary Foundation – providing eco stoves and compostable toilets in Rwanda; providing computer facilities and classrooms for a girls school in Malawi; providing medical equipment for a hospital in East Timor. The list is long and includes many projects right here in the Oak Bay community,” Firkins said. Local projects include the Rotary water park in Carnarvon Park and the Neighbourhood Learning Centre at the new Oak Bay High School.
Visit rotary.org/en/about-rotary/rotary-foundation for more information.