Rotary Foundation

Jeff Wells introduced Sigur Whitaker, our Club’s Foundation Chair, who filled the dual roles of Rotarian of the Day and Presenter. In recognition of Rotary Foundation Month, Sigur provided the club with an overview of both the Norfolk Rotary Endowment and the Rotary International Foundation.

 

Starting in 1992, our Club’s philanthropic effort benefits from the Norfolk Rotary Endowment. The Endowment, currently valued at more than $800,000, will provide $26,500 to the grant pool for the current Rotary 2021-22 Year. During the previous COVID-19 impacted year, the Endowment played a major role in allowing our club to fund $50,000 in grants to local non-profit organizations.

 

The Rotary International Foundation, founded in 1917 with $26.50, currently exceeds $1,000,000,000 and helps fund projects locally and globally. Sigur shared that our club has 89 Paul Harris Fellows and 12 Major Donors. Paul Harris Fellows have been recognized by the Rotary International Foundation for contributions of at least $1,000 while Major Donors are recognized for exceeding $10,000. PDG John Padgett shared that the RI Foundation is organized to allow meaningful funds to be used for District Grants. Our Club routinely applies for and receives these grants to fund projects. President Michael Desplaines has set goals for the club to contribute $23,000 to the Annual Fund of the RI Foundation and $2,000 to Polio Plus.

 

To illustrate the impact of District Grants, Rotarians Ann Baldwin and Bill Moore talked about their favorite projects. Ann reminded us of the Katrina Book Drive in 2005-2006 which provided approximately 150,000 books to students and schools in areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The effort involved contributions from numerous organizations in our region as well as logistical support in the Katrina impacted areas.

 

Bill relayed the story of how our club first engaged with The Hunton YMCA in 2018. This led not only to a District Grant involving 5 Rotary Clubs which upgraded The Hunton’s Food Service capability, but also an ongoing relationship with The Hunton which has resulted in a Little Readers Library, Recreational Equipment, and a modern Audiovisual System.

 

Three Rotarians were recognized for significant milestones in their support for The RI Foundation:

 

Sigur also let us know that November 30th is the RI Foundation’s Giving Tuesday. Contributions by Rotarians who are not Major Donors will have their online contributions of up to $500 matched with Rotary points to accelerate their status as Paul Harris Fellows. Contributions MUST be done through the Rotary International website. To wrap things up, PDG John Padgett shared that $0.94 of every dollar collected goes to fund projects around the world.

 

 

As this was the first meeting of the month, we celebrated Birthdays, Wedding Anniversaries, and Rotary Anniversaries. President Michael reminded us that it was Election Day and there was still time to participate in the electoral process and have our voices heard. A few Save the Dates were shared:

 

Brian McGuire was unable to give the Visitation Report as he, himself, was under the weather and not at the meeting. Tom Ambler’s wife, Martha, is recovering from foot surgery. Colin McKinnon’s daughter, Chris, has been transferred to a new rehabilitation center.

 

We had three guests attending this week. John Cameron brought his wife, Dr. Abby Voorhees. Chris Bugg hosted Earl McFarland who will be retiring from the Navy very shortly. Lauren Labonte’s guest was Matthew Dennis from Northwest Mutual.

 

The School of the Week was Granby Elementary School.

 

President Michael enthusiastically inducted our newest member, Randall Garrett, into our ranks! Randall was sponsored by Bob Ash. Welcome, Randall! We look forward to getting to know you better.