Still Time to Donate to The Rotary Foundation Before End of 2018 Tax Season
December 13, 2018 – Foundation News from District Foundation Chair, Dave Raese
* Donations to The Rotary Foundation or Polio Plus for 2018 tax purposes, must be postmarked no later than Dec. 31, 2018, and processed by the bank no later than Jan. 7, 2019. Checks can be mailed to The Rotary Foundation, 14280 Collections Center Drive, Chicago, IL 60693. Mark on the check if the money is to go to the Annual Fund (which funds district and global grants), or Polio Plus.
You can also pay online with a credit card by going to www.Rotary.org/en/donate before midnight, CST, on Dec. 31, 2018.
* Zone, 33, is ranked among the top five in worldwide rankings for total giving, annual fund giving, annual fund per capita, Paul Harris percentage and Polio DDF/cash giving.
* District 7530 increased its total annual giving last year by 23.8 percent, garnering the district third place in the 15-district Zone 33. I hope we can maintain our top three position for next year, our last as 7530.
* It’s been 40 years since Rotary started its fight against polio. It began when Philippine Rotarians initiated a project in 1979 to rid the disease from its islands. It took them five years to do it but it was completed.
In 1985, Rotary decided to take the show on the road and made eliminating polio from the world its mission. Thirty-four years later, we’re close but we still have a long way to go. It is vital then that Rotarians don’t lose heart. We can’t allow ourselves to begin to tire “of hearing about polio.” We’ve reduced polio cases by 99 percent since 1988 but until we get that last one percent we can not rest or pause. We can’t look at the children of the world and say because we are tired and need to take a rest in working to prevent you from getting paralyzed and shunned by the rest of the people in your country.
If we stopped now, the number of children contracting polio would increase dramatically over the next 20 years and prevent us from saving the world $40-$50 billion and countless damaged human lives.
We have the vaccine. There are no technological or biological barriers remaining to stop us from completing the mission. Only political and societal barriers remain.
We should all feel a sense of accomplishment in what Rotary has done over the years. Let’s rise above the temptation to pause or rest. The real test of character is not when things are easy, but when we face a challenge or obstacle. Four hundred million children in 60 countries and the three endemic countries where the virus is present are counting on us. Let’s not let them down.
* As of November 20, there have been 27 polio cases reported arising from the wild polio virus. You can access the current number of world polio virus cases in the world at any time by going to www.polioeradication.org and hovering over Polio Today on the banner on the top of the page. Then click on “This Week” in the “Polio Now” menu. Nineteen of the new cases were reported in Afghanistan and the other eight in Pakistan.
Let’s have the greatest year ever for Giving this year, the last year for District 7530.
Rotary Club of Fairmont Recognizes Four New Paul Harris Society Fellows
Jeremy Radabaugh
Julie Sawyer
October 25, 2018 – Four new Paul Harris Fellows were recognized by Rotarians George and Judy Foster, who inducted the new Rotary Foundation award recipients. Four new Paul Harris Fellows were recognized, however, due to an unanticipated conflict one could not be present, so only three were presented their pins and certificates this week.
The recipients were Rotarians, Jeremy Radabaugh, Julie Sawyer and Julie Sole — and a non-Rotarian recipient, Jake Hutchinson.
The four Paul Harris Fellow recognitions were awarded by the Fosters to recognize each of the individuals for the manner in which their personal and business lives serve as public examples of the ideals of Rotary.