Pictured L-R: Karen Oakes and Greg Jones
A wonderful presentation was made today by Past District Governor Karen Oakes today. Greg Jones introduced Karen, who joined Rotary in 1995, and has been involved with the Rotary Foundation for many years since she first joined. Karen was also a Charter Member of the Paul Harris Society, and has received many awards and accolades.
Karen opened by saying how honored she was to be here today especially on a day when a Paul Harris Fellow award was given.
According to Rotary.org's website, during the past 100 years, the Rotary Foundation has spent $3 Billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.
At the 1917 Rotary convention, outgoing Rotary president Arch Klumpf proposed setting up and endowment "for the purpose of doing good in the world." That one idea, and an initial contribution of $26.50, set in motion a powerful force that has transformed millions of lives around the world.
The financial structure of the Foundation works like this: The Foundation is organized as a public charity operated exclusively for charitable purposes and governed by a Board of Trustees. The operations of Rotary International, a member organization, are overseen by its Board of Directors.
Here's how the funds are allocated:
Karen stressed the Top Priority for Rotary is to end Polio, now and forever! In 1988, cases were reported in 125 countries. In 2017, the number of countries reporting a case of Polio shrank to 3. For 2013, 416 individual cases were reported, while only 14 were reported in 2017. While that is wonderful news, it's not enough, and Karen stressed that Polio needs to be eradicated entirely. And with our financial help, that will someday become reality.
In conclusion, Karen asked that we all "Make a Difference - Support the Rotary Foundation".