Rotary Volunteers (RV) History
Rotary Volunteers
Rotary Volunteers (RV) Wear Many Hats
Rotary Volunteers was created in 1980 as part of the the Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants program which was launched in 1978 by The Rotary Foundation. Rotary Volunteers are individual Rotarians, Rotarian spouses and non-Rotarians that go to another country to locate an international service project and/or to do actual service. Once a project is determined, they often use their own skills and training or they may enlist their club members and/or others to help them make the project happen. These Rotary Volunteers help in many ways, such as:
- go to a country to determine what their needs are and how best to help them
- accompany materials to a project and help make it happen - such as digging a well(s)
- teaching them how to farm
- helping the hearing impaired to hear, many for the first time
- helping with speech therapy
- promoting literacy by providing supplies, setting up schools, training teachers
- teaching people how to setup a small business and making it work
- construct a play patio off a pediatric ward at St. Mary's Hospital in South Africa
- constructing a playground at an orphanage
- provide counseling to children orphaned by AIDS in Uganda
- training nurses in medical care
These are just some of the many things that Rotary Volunteers from District 7780 have done around the world. They often use their professions to help make it a better place for those less fortunate.
Over the years, District 7780 Rotary Volunteers have given of their time and often at their own expense to help those less fortunate. However, many have had some assistance from the Rotary Foundation via Carl P. Miller Discovery Grants, New Opportunities Grants or Volunteer Service Grants before they were phased out. There are members from 13 clubs listed as Rotary Volunteers so far. They have worked in 16 countries/areas that we know of. Our list covers from 1989 through 2009 – a twenty year period. Many people have been a Rotary Volunteer more than once! We have three spouses listed – Ellen Labrie, Elizabeth Fagan and Indrani Dennen. Ellen Labrie joined the Rotary Club of Portsmouth on November 21, 1996. Elizabeth Fagan was made an Honorary Member of the Rotary Club of Portland, ME on January 1, 2004. We have 18 volunteers listed who we know were assisted by a Volunteer Service Grant, one volunteer by a New Opportunities Grant and two volunteers by Carl P. Miller Discovery Grants. These people would all make wonderful speakers for your Rotary Clubs.
I apologize if I have left anyone off the list of Rotary Volunteers. The information that I have obtained from Rotary has not been as complete as I would like. If there is anyone that you know of that has been recognized by The Rotary Foundation as a Rotary Volunteer and not listed in the list of Rotary Volunteers I have posted to this site, please let me know who they are, where and when they went and what they did so they can be added. Hopefully, we will add to this list!
Marie A. Williams