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Past Rotary International Director Mike McCullough from the Trenton Rotary Club popularized the phrase “It’s not about the money, but what the money can do” throughout District 6400 and beyond. The message is clear: donations to the Rotary Foundation are turned into grant funds that provide help to those in need. They help in our fight to end polio, to provide disaster relief, to support peace, to complete humanitarian projects around the world and to support out on local communities.
Donations to the Annual Program Fund of the Rotary Foundation are the dollars that come back to Rotary Districts to allow them to engage in Humanitarian projects in other countries through global grants. Global Grants must involve two Rotary Clubs in two different countries, so that partnerships are created, and cultural information shared. Very often, more than one Rotary Club and more than one Rotary District are involved in a Global Grant, and even individuals and other Foundations have brought their resources to the table. This makes Rotarians powerful agents of change. Let’s look at the numbers for our District.
Currently, our District and / or our Rotary Clubs are involved in 37 active Global Grants with a total value of close to $6,000,000! That’s right six million dollars! This is the power of Rotary and the Rotary Foundation. Very clearly, the success of the Rotary Foundation is the foundation of Rotary success as it is what enable us to do good in the world. In addition to the above, we are involved with 9 other applications in preparation with a total value of close to one million dollars.
So what does the money do? Here is a short description of the three most recently approved Global Grants for which a D6400 club was a primary sponsor.
1. “Rural Women Empowerment” is the first Global Grant sponsored by the Rotary Club of Grosse Pointe as the International Sponsor. The host sponsor is the Rotary Club of Cairo -Sunrise in Egypt. This $32,400 USD project will help 50 underprivileged women in southern Egypt set up food production businesses.
2. “Global Scholarship for Francis Okpala” is the first Global Grant for the Rotary Club of Belleville. There partner is the Rotary Club of Brandon-Sunset. This grant will provide Francis, from Nigeria, with a master’s degree in environmental science. This $30,000 USD project was also supported by the D6400 Global E-Club and by D6400 as it’s “Global Scholar” for 2022-2023.
3. “Cataract Eye Surgery at the Palghar District” is co-sponsored by the RC of Detroit and Bombay Metropolitan. This $30,000 USD project will provide cataract surgery to those in need.
A final note. The Windsor (1918) Vocational Training Team just returned from Tanzania where they brought skills and equipment to rural, traditional birth attendants. Included in the equipment was an ultra-sound machine donated by Rita Rampure in Windsor.
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