Rotary Foundation Day
LEXINGTON, KY – The Rotary Club of Lexington held its weekly meeting Thursday, June 2, at The Mane on Main, Chase Bank building on Main St. Each year the Rotary Club of Lexington presents a Foundation Day program where we review the good work that The Rotary Foundation does worldwide and to recognize our new Paul Harris Fellows and major donors. This year’s program was lead from the Podium by Past President and current Rotary Foundation Chair Paul Chewning.
This meeting was also be on Zoom. For the Zoom link please email, [email protected].
If you would like to have lunch, please contact [email protected] to reserve your meal.
The Rotary Foundation was established in 1917 as a nonprofit corporation with a mission to support the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs. Since its inception, The Rotary Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects in pursuit of that mission, with a special focus on improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty. In 2020-21 alone, the Foundation awarded $330 million for global service initiatives. Of that amount, $150 million was spent in support of PolioPlus, $73 million went to global grants, and $8 million was provided for critical disaster relief efforts. In addition, $27 million was returned to the local communities where Rotarian live and work in the form of districts. Each year the Foundation helps connect 1.4 million Rotarians worldwide and leverages forty-seven million volunteer hours! This all is possible because of gifts from you, large and small. A donation of just three dollars can fully protect one child from polio and a gift of $50 can provide clean water to help fight waterborne illness.
This year’s program will feature District 6740 Foundation Chair, Dr. Rakesh Sachdeva, who will talk about polio eradication efforts. Since 1979, when children in the Philippine Islands received the polio vaccine, cases worldwide have been reduced by 99.9 %. He will be joined by 2022-2023 District Governor Dr. Seema Sachdeva, who will discuss the impact that donations to the Rotary Foundation have on the thirty-eight clubs across our District. Our own Dr. Jack McAlister will provide an update on our Club’s Global Grant project to provide clean water and septic tanks in southeastern Kentucky. And, to conclude the program, nine Paul Harris Fellows and two major donors to the Rotary Foundation will be recognized.
Be sure and note on your calendars our upcoming District 6740 Rotary Foundation Event to be held on June 10, 2023, from 6 pm – 8:30 pm. We will be celebrating the good work of our Foundation at seven sites in our district simultaneously. For Lexington Rotarians, this event will be at the Club House at Rabbit Run located at 1920 Fort Harrods Drive in Lexington. PDG Keith Key will serve as Site Leader.
