The Rotary Foundation

          CLUB ASSEMBLY - 21 JUNE 2022 - PLANNING FOR THE NEW ROTARY YEAR

I will continue to encourage our members to support the intitiative to donate annually to our very own Rotary Foundation. Rotary is immensely proud to tell the world that 91% of its funds are spent on the programmes and projects its members run. These include the long running Polio Plus programme as well as Mercy Ships, Sand Dams, Clean Water and group of worldwide Peace Universities including Bradford. Opportunities are given to Clubs to bid for funds through District and Global Grants and Aireborough has benefited recently from a District Grant enabling 479 pupils in 10 local Primary Schools to receive their own individual Usborne Illustrated Dictionary4Life.  The computer suite at Mnyakanya High School (linked to the Bambisanani Project) was also established with the help of a Global Grant and sister Club Eshowe Rotary in Kwa Zulu, Natal. All these efforts bring a sense of achievement to our Club.

We have resumed the weekly wine raffles with another £100 going recently to Foundation. Hopefully in the ensuing months I will be able to implement fresh ideas with the support of members and friends following on from last year's successful Garden Wander and plant sale.                 

                          REPORT FOR ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 27 APRIL 2021

Some success was achieved in getting a number of Rotarians to become sustaining members of Rotary Foundation but I would encourage other members to support this initiative whether it be for £10 or £20.

In addition some extra donations have been received from members and coupled with our absence of expenditure the Foundation budget remains untouched.

91% of Rotary International's Foundation funds are spent on Programmes and Projects it delivers worldwide and it is long term projects such as Polio Plus and Mercy Ships which bring a sense of achievement to our and every Club.

Bill Kerr's weekly fundraiser has been absent this year but we hope to raise more funds for Foundation through the Garden Wander taking place on Sunday 20 June between 1.30 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. with gardens to visit in Rawdon, Guiseley and Ilkley. Charge is £5 per car. Some plants and refreshments will be available at different locations at reasonable cost.

Hopefully in the ensuing months I will be able to implement fresh ideas with the support of Club members and the collaboration of the Club's other Committees.

John Moorhouse - Chair

The Rotary Foundation 2018/19

Contact details of Chairman

Polio Officer: as above

Plan for 2018/19    

• Complete the Global grant application and process to build an ICT suite at in . Staff and pupils from St. Mary’s, Menston will be making their annual visit in June as part of the Bambisanani Partnership
• Make one applications for District grant: Dolly Parton Imagination Library
• Continue Purple4Polio campaign in conjunction with Community Committee: crocus planting in schools and with ‘In Bloom’ volunteer groups
• Increase financial contributions to Rotary Foundation beginning with Purple4Polio BBQ, continuing with weekly wine raffles and looking at new ways to raise contributions
• Talk to new members about annual Foundation giving option
• Arranging a presentation from Foundation  

Successes previous year

We applied to the Yorkshire Flood Disaster fund to replace 350 metres of dead hedging washed away by the Boxing day floods at Rodley Nature Reserve. The application was for £1606.72. This hedging is now in place and the follow up paperwork has been completed.

The Global grant application to build an ICT suite at Mnyakanya High School in South Africa is now into its third draft. St. Mary's School, Menston in conjunction with its Bambisanani Partnership will be making its annual vist to the school in June, comprised of a party of students and teachers and we expect more quotes and paperwork to be completed on thier return. Implicit in the bid is that we have to work in conjunction with a local South African Club.

The Eradication of Polio programme continued this year with more crocus planting, selling of purple crocus badges, jam eating and tea drinking all helping to raise funds. Special mention should be made of St. Peter and Paul's School, Yeadon who raised £209 for a 'dress in purple' day after a presentation by Rotary members and the donation and planting of 500 crocus bulbs at the school.

Each year the Club has a target amount of funding to raise specifically for the Polio Plus Project but continues to contribute to Foundation in various ways. Bill Kerr runs his wine raffle at each weekly meeting and has raised regular funds through the Bags2Schools project. 

Big news on the eradication of Polio is that in early May 2017 worldwide there had been no cases reported for 10 weeks, the longest since the project began. A sobering thought is that 156 weeks is the target before Polio can be said to have been totally eradicated.

In 2017/18 the Committee intends to:

1 Complete the Global grant process with Heather Read and Foundation Chair Janet Kerr having attended the appropriate District training.

2 Make two applications for District grants for new projects - the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and the environmental re-cycling project Sal's Shoes.

3 increase financial contributions to Rotary Foundation beginning with the Purple4Polio BBQ in July.