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Top five reasons to support The Rotary Foundation

By Antoinette Tuscano

There are as many reasons to support The Rotary Foundation as there are ways to do good in the world.

By contributing to the Foundation, you advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.

Here are a few ways your contributions are making change possible.

5. Fighting hunger

In Romania, orphans and sick children have eggs, milk, and meat because of a Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grant that benefits local farmers. The farmers are able to buy everything from animal feed to packaging materials. There is one stipulation: They must donate a portion of their products to children’s hospitals, schools, and orphanages.

In Alaska, USA, the Rotary Club of Anchorage East is also fighting hunger by distributing food to low-income families through a mobile food pantry.

4. Reducing child mortality

The Rotary clubs of Jaela-Kandana, Western Province, Sri Lanka, and Madras Northwest, Tamil Nadu, India, are helping to reduce child mortality by providing improved sanitation facilities for 15 families in a small community in Sri Lanka. With a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant, the clubs have built 14 toilets, helping to prevent diarrhea and other diseases related to poor sanitation.

According to the World Health Organization, 1.8 million children die of diarrhea every year, making it the second leading cause of death among children under five. Proper sanitation can reduce the rate of child mortality in many communities by up to a third.

3. Promoting peace and conflict resolution

Watching civil war tear apart his homeland of Côte d'Ivoire instilled in Rotary Peace Fellow Kouame Remi Oussou a passion to resolve conflict.

He is now working for the United Nations Development Program in the Central African Republic, a country that weathered periodic internal fighting before a comprehensive peace accord took effect in 2007.

Rotary Peace Fellows are leaders in promoting national and international cooperation, peace, and conflict resolution. Help support the Rotary Peace Centers.

2. Giving the world hope for just US$2 a week

Foundation Trustee Chair Glenn E. Estess Sr. paraphrases Mother Teresa in explaining what keeps the Foundation going in the face of overwhelming need. "We must do what we can, where we are, with what we have," says Estess. "Through our Foundation, we are able to pool our resources and achieve even more. And the stronger our Rotary Foundation becomes, the greater the scope of the tasks we will be able to undertake successfully. We will be able to do far more good, in far more lasting ways."

By giving US$100 a year through the Every Rotarian, Every Year (EREY) initiative, you become a Rotary Foundation Sustaining Member. Contributions to EREY are the primary source of funding for Foundation programs.

1. Eradicating polio

Around the world, Rotarians are taking millions of steps in walkathons, diving into icy ocean waters, and participating in other fundraisers to help Rotary fulfill its promise to rid the world of polio. Si Burgher, of the Rotary Club of Bloomfield, Indiana, USA, raised almost $1,600 by having his shaggy eyebrows shaved.

Rotary launched its PolioPlus program in 1985. Since then, eradicating polio has been the organization's top priority. End Polio Now and help fulfill its promise.