By: Sarah MacGillivray, Secretary and Public Image Coordinator,
District Foundation Committee, RC of Bath Sunrise
Happy New Year! We hope everyone enjoyed a lovely holiday season, and we send best wishes for a bright and productive new year!
We have so much to cover for the District’s Foundation Committee, a number of thank yous, and some important information we hope you will all find helpful:
(1) A note of thanks from Ron Smith, our District’s Major Donor Chair:
(2) An uplifting message from Jeff Slaton, our District’s Annual Giving Chair:
(3) Important information from our District’s Fund Development Chair, Brenda Cressey, about a zoom training on The Rotary Foundation to be held in February. Your input is needed!
(4) A note from David Taft, our District’s PolioPlus Chair, with an update on the growing membership of our District PolioPlus Society;
(1) A note from Ron Smith, a member of the Fryeburg Area Rotary Club. We cannot say it enough. Donors like you make our Rotary Foundation one of the best charities in the world with over $350M in contributions and awards in 2021. See our Rotary International Annual report: Rotary 2021 Annual Report. These results are made possible by your generosity and put our Rotary Foundation at the
top level by Charity Navigator. With over $92 of every $100 you donate funding our humanitarian
works, our foundation is among the most effective in the world.
Please see the video Our Rotary Foundation. It is a powerful message showing the impact of our Rotary Foundation.
Rotarians in our own District are putting your contributions to work in inspiring and impactful ways. See
examples below:
District 7780 District Grants (Totaling $50,000 in 2022)
Local
- Assisting Immigrant Families
- At Risk Youth
- Assisting Incarcerated Women Re-enter the workplace
- Sex Trafficking Awareness and Education
- Medical Equipment for Teen Mothers
- Environmental / education projects
International
- An Outreach Team is traveling to Zambia
- Assisting Mothers and Children in Colombia
- Literacy Effort in Guatemala
- Empowering Women in Senegal
District 7780 Global & Disaster Grants (granted or in process with partners)
- Ukraine Relief ($25,000)
- Rescuing Street Children in Kenya ($100,000)
- COVID 19 Relief in India / Colombia / Zambia ($200,000)
- Mothers and Children Burundi / India ($150,000)
- Water & Sanitation Projects
- Disease Prevention
Your past donations are certainly hard at work and very much appreciated!
(2) From Jeff Slaton, a member of the Rotary Club of Saco Bay: “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one!” - Brad Paisley
With 2023 upon us, it is time to remember how lucky we are to have each other. Rotary is more than a club; it is a way of life and family. Whether you realize it or not, we change lives together, break bread together and live with one common goal; to make the lives of others better, now and in the future. Long after our physical beings have turned to dust, our good deeds will live on.
Write a good one,
With deep gratitude,
Your District 7780 Annual Giving Chair, Jeff Slaton
(3) Brenda Cressey, with the Ogunquit Rotary Club, asked that we share information on an incredibly helpful hour that you won’t want to miss! Join us via zoom on Tuesday, February 7, from 7:00-8:00 pm, for Foundation Basics 101. This evening is not just for Club Foundation Chairs and Club Presidents, it is for all members! Even those who have been involved with Rotary for a long time. There is so much information to share! Also, we would like to hear from you about any areas where you might need extra information or topics you would like to have discussed. Please send your questions directly to Brenda.
(4) From David Taft, a member of the Brunswick Rotary Club: We now have confirmed 50 members of the PolioPlus Society representing an annual donation to Polio Plus of $10,025! I have heard from several ADGs who have been passing the word as they present the certificates. We should all be proud to be Rotarians and for the combined generosity so evident. Thanks to all. Lots of opportunities for more members. Simply go to the District 7780 website, fill out the form and follow the directions. It is so easy that I can do it myself WITHOUT the help of any of my grandchildren!
So, that leaves me little left to say, except that YOU really do make a difference…in your community and around the world! Please take a look at what you give, not just in monetary amounts, but in your time. I think you will find that you have a lot to be proud of. I know that I am proud to be a Rotarian and proud to be a member with the likes of all of you! Happy New Year!