By: Sarah MacGillivray, Secretary, and Public Image Coordinator, District Foundation Committee, Rotary Club of Bath Sunrise
 
Another busy month with lots of information to cover, but I wanted to start by thanking Christine Johnson for her winning bid on the Imagine print, proceeds from the auction have been sent to PolioPlus.  A great way to show support for OUR Rotary Foundation, thank you, Christine!
 
1. Did you miss the District Grant Training that was held last month?  Not to worry, there are still options for your club to have at least two members take the training, which is one of the requirements if your club wants to submit a District Grant this spring. Click here and read the full article below for details!
 
2. Don’t miss the District Assembly on April 15! Click here to register.  
 
3. Our District Governor-Elect, Marion Cheney, with the Dover Club, asked me to remind our PEs to please enter your Club’s Foundation goals into RI Club Central asap. Please reach out if you need any help.
 
4. Bob Gravino, District 7780 Rotary Peace Fellowship Subcommittee Chair and member of the Bath Sunrise Rotary Club, wanted to make sure that we have some important information on Rotary Peace Fellowships.  See the full article below for Bob’s message and his contact information if you have any questions.
 
5. And lastly, click on the full story below for a lovely video that you might also consider sharing at a club meeting, and other information that was shared from OUR Rotary Foundation.
It is always my goal to share information with the District that will Connect the Dots on how OUR Rotary Foundation works, and how our donations to it help to make it possible for all of us to do good work in our communities and around the world.  The first way to do good work is through District and Global Grants.
 
1. Did you miss the District Grant Training that was held last month?  Not to worry, there are still options for your club to have at least two members take the training, which is required each year as part of the Club qualification process for District and Global Grants.  Click here to access three modules which are videos of the live training that took place via Zoom in March.  Thanks to all who were able to attend the training, and a huge thanks to the team who put it together.  What a lot of work!  I learned so much and am certain everyone else will too.  One item that impressed me was that we have 29 open grants in our District 7780 Global Grants. 
 
If you are watching the grant training modules, you must take a quiz after watching all three to qualify and mark yourself as having completed the training.  Might I suggest that these videos would be great to share during a club meeting?  How handy to have more than two members of your club have grant knowledge.
 
The last option you have to complete the training is on April 15 at the District Assembly Training at Westbrook High School.  The full day runs from 8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., with wonderful speakers and over 30 breakout sessions.  The Foundation Committee team will offer the final chance to participate in the grant training.  We will also have a couple of other breakout sessions on all things Foundation, including a fun Jeopardy - Rotary Edition!  As well as a special Foundation Update with RI Trustee Marty Peak Helman, to learn more about the wonderful Foundation events that are changing the world.
 
2. District Assembly Training registration can be done online easily by clicking here. As mentioned above, there will be exciting speakers and very informative breakout sessions.  It is a highlight of our Rotary year, and I would highly recommend sending as many members from your club as you can. 
 
4. Bob Gravino, District 7780 Rotary Peace Fellowship Subcommittee Chair and member of the Bath Sunrise Rotary Club, wanted to make sure that we all know that Rotary Peace Fellowships equip peace and development leaders from communities around the world to become effective catalysts for peace.  Applications for the Rotary Peace Fellowship program are being accepted until May 15.  Bob feels that we would do well to attract candidates from Africa for the 12-month certificate program at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Please contact Bob with questions or potential candidates.
 
5. If you haven’t seen this lovely thank you video from OUR Rotary Foundation, I would also recommend it as something that could be shared at a club meeting.  Contributions to OUR Rotary Foundation directly support Rotary member-led service projects that supply clean water, promote peace, support education, develop communities, prevent disease, and more.
 
With our donations, Rotary members around the world are making sure that wells work in Haiti, offering scholarships for Afghan refugees, transforming basic education in low-income schools in Ecuador, providing crucial resources to an underserved community in the United States, and committing to advancing health during a global pandemic.  
 
Below is other information that RI has shared, which I thought was nicely put together, so I am sharing it just as they sent it.  If you serve your club as the Foundation Chair, maybe you could take each point and share it as a Foundation Minute at your meetings once a week, or once a month.
 
1. We fight disease around the world
For decades, Rotary has been a leader in the battle against polio and has kept the pressure on as worldwide cases plummeted from 350,000 in 1988 to only 22 cases so far this year. We’re closer than ever to ending this devastating disease.
 
Your impact will be even greater, thanks to a 2-to-1 match from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Your donations to end polio will be tripled, providing critical funding to our work to create a polio-free world.
 
2. We teach people to read
Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults through mentoring, scholarships, teacher training, and access to learning opportunities.
 
3. We build peace
Each year, armed conflict and persecution displace, injure, or kill millions of people. More than 90 percent of them are civilians, and half are children.
 
Rotary projects provide training that fosters understanding and provides communities with the skills to resolve conflicts. Our members are taking action to address the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, inequality, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.
 
4. We provide clean water, sanitation
The statistics are alarming. Worldwide, one person in every 10 does not have access to safe water, and 2.3 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. One consequence: 900 children under age five die each day from diarrheal diseases.
 
Having clean water and sanitation is a human right. Rotary members integrate water, sanitation, and hygiene into education projects. When children learn about disease transmission and practice good hygiene, they miss less school. When people, especially children, have access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, they lead healthier and more successful lives. Rotary is helping to make clean water available to everyone by 2030.
 
5. We grow local economies
Nearly 800 million people live on less than $1.90 a day. Rotary is working to strengthen local entrepreneurs and community leaders.
We know that one solution doesn’t fit every problem, so we work with people to help them help themselves.
 
We help Tanzanians with albinism find safe, healthy livelihoods. In Ecuador, Rotary has made 250 microloans and trained more than 270 people in job skills and business management. In Arkansas, USA, we worked with Heifer International to extend the growing season for farmers and help them find new customers.
 
6. We save mothers and children
An estimated 5.9 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, inadequate health care, and poor sanitation. More than 800 women die every day from birth- and pregnancy-related complications.
 
Rotary is saving lives by supplying birthing kits, immunizations, neonatal care equipment, and medical training.
 
With access to quality care, mothers and children live longer and healthier lives, and Rotary is providing that care.
 
7. We protect the environment
 
We are committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment. We empower communities to access grants and other resources, embrace local solutions, and spur innovation to address the causes and reduce the effects of climate change and environmental degradation.
 
We do this by enabling Rotarians to take actions in the following ways: protecting and restoring land, coastal, marine, and freshwater resources; enhancing the capacity of communities to support natural resource management and conservation; supporting sustainable agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture practices; strengthening ecosystems and communities affected by climate change; supporting education initiatives that promote behavior that protects the environment; advocating for sustainable consumption to build an economy that uses resources more efficiently; and many more ways.