What is the Rotary Foundation?

The Rotary Foundation is Rotary's own charity and along with Rotary International it has six main areas of focus, they are:

Peace and Conflict prevention/resolution

Disease prevention and treatment

Water and sanitation

Maternal and child health

Basic education and literacy

Economic and community development

The Foundation is supported by voluntary contributions from Rotarian's, friends of the Foundation and generous donations from the general public who share its vision of a better world. The Mission of the Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarian's to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education and the alleviation of poverty. It has become one of the foremost non govermental foundations with the educational support programme being the largest private scholarship endowment in the world.

The Rotary Foundation has made Polio eradication its top priority since 1985. Since 1988 Rotary International with partners has spearheaded the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

The final push to eradicate polio from the world is under way and Rotary is campaigning a $200 Million challenge to part match a $ multi million challenge grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Meanwhile Polio is only an air flight away from Great Britain and Ireland, there was an outbreak of 476 cases in the Russian Federation in 2010