Why We Should Support The Rotary Foundation

Speech during the TRF Dinner, Nov. 18, 2008, Manila Peninsula Hotel, Makati City

Fellow Rotarians, the goal we have set for our contributions to The Rotary Foundation this year far exceeds the expectations of many. In 2008-2009, we hope to raise some US$300,000 in contributions to the Foundation’s Annual Programs Fund and Permanent Fund. The task is ambitious – but – achievable if we put our hearts and minds to it. Many have beckoned to our call for support. This is why tonight we give honor and recognition to the district’s Major Donors to the Foundation. This is also why I have chosen to talk on why we should support The Rotary Foundation.

When RI President Arch C. Klumph sought to create The Rotary Foundation 91 years ago, it was for the purpose of “doing good in the world in charitable, educational, and other avenues of community progress.” He realized that need and shared it with the Rotary world. That need, my friends, continues up to this day. That need gave rise to the fund development efforts of the Foundation to enable the Foundation to do its work of changing lives.

Why do we Rotarians and our friends give to the Foundation? There are many answers that we can give. For, it’s like asking ourselves: Why do we buy a new pair of shoes even when our other pairs still look brand new? Why do we throw a party on our birthday? Why do we give roses on Valentine’s Day or on a wedding anniversary? Perhaps it’s because we want to feel good, or we are thankful to God and want to share our blessings, or .we want the other person to feel special or loved, or because it is the right thing to do, or we simply want to feel the joy of giving.

When we draw that $100 or $1000 from our billfold, what do we feel? What thoughts ot images come to mind? I see the birth of the PolioPlus program in 1978 right here in the Philippines when the late RIPD, then PDG Benny Santos and other Filipino Rotarians brought to the attention of the world the plight of children helplessly limping due to polio. I see children learning effectively from teachers using the Concentrated Language Encounter (CLE). I see a blind child using the Braille printer for the first time. I see hundreds of tricycles, computers, wheelchairs, hospital equipment, etc. that have been donated by Rotarians. I see water tanks, pumps and water stations that have been put up through Rotary’s water management projects.

We find that each contribution of $100 we gave to the Foundation has changed how we feel about ourselves. Each hundred dollar contribution of the club to the PolioPlus Challenge has given us more pride in being a Filipino. Then there’s that special feeling of pride and joy when you finally get your Paul Harris pin when the district governor comes to visit our club, when the RI zone coordinator honors you in a testimonial dinner like this one, or when the RI president or his representative gives you your pin in an international breakfast.

As a grandfather and a father, I love that feeling of a child getting heavier every day when I lift him or her. I feel even more exhilarated to realize that a malnourished child has become heavier and heavier because of a Rotary feeding program that has sustained him or her for the past four years. It is heart-rending to think that this has been made possible because Rotarians and non-Rotarians in our country and elsewhere in the world have made the decision to share their blessings. It is also reassuring to think that there are competent Rotarians who manage well the funds of The Rotary Foundation, to ensure that more people will benefit from the programs of the Foundation.

As a Major Donors to the Foundation, I find deeper reasons for giving. I believe in giving others the opportunity for a better life so that together we can build a better world. When people are poor and hungry, they clamor for change in their lives. They are restless and are vulnerable to the lure of crime and violence to attain a good life. This is why John Steinbeck once said, “Must the hunger become anger and the anger fury before anything will be done?” By giving opportunities to the less fortunate, we bring positive change to their lives. they become agents of friendship and peace.

I believe that when we give to the Foundation, we contribute to world peace. For many people on earth, peace is an elusive dream. How can we achieve peace when there is greed, hatred, and mistrust among peoples of the world? Through our contributions, we help the Foundation implement its peace programs.

I must add that my own personal experiences as a Rotarian in innumerable club and district projects as well as in international projects funded by the Foundation have deepened my passion for Rotary’s Foundation of Hope.

I have many other reasons for giving to the Foundation. But here’s one that is most special to me. There’s a certain magic that captures the heart every time you give to The Rotary Foundation. This magic fills the hearts of Rotarians and friends of Rotary who continue to give to the Foundation. What this magic is, I don’t really know. All I know is that deep inside me I feel that special joy of giving and the inner fulfillment of being able to share something I own to touch the lives of others. I feel that every time I give, my act of kindness lessens the tears in the eyes of those who benefit from it. I feel that somehow, somewhere in the world my contribution finds its way into Rotary’s humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. I don’t even have to look far for beneficiaries each time I give. Every day I see the less fortunate in our streets, under our bridges, and in squatter colonies scattered throughout the metro Manila area.

For ninety-one years, the Foundation has done so much for the world. But the need to do more is a continuing challenge that we must meet. Every minute, thousands of children are born into this world. Some 30,000 of them will not even reach the age of five. They will die of diseases that we can prevent. We must therefore support the Foundation so that it can continue to do its work of reducing child mortality and of helping people improve their lives to attain lasting peace.

How then can we support the Foundation?

We can support the Foundation in two ways: active participation in its programs and contributions to the Foundation’s Annual Programs Fund and Permanent Fund. At this Recognition Dinner, I shall focus my talk on contributions to the Foundation. There is an urgent need for us to help in the fund development efforts of the Foundation. Fund development secures the financial support the Foundation needs to conduct educational and humanitarian programs worldwide.

Let’s take a closer look at the Annual Programs Fund. It is the primary source of support for the Foundation. The money in the Annual Programs Fund is spent every year on Foundation programs, such as Group Study Exchange, Ambassadorial Scholarships, and Matching Grants. There are many ways to give to the Annual Programs Fund, but the most popular in the Philippines are through Individual Giving and Major Gifts.

Individual Giving is commonly done through Paul Harris Fellow and Rotary Foundation Sustaining Member contributions. In order to promote continuing annual contributions to the Foundation, Rotary has created the Every Rotarian, Every Year initiative, which encourages every Rotarian to contribute at least US$100 to the Annual Programs Fund every year. For one to become a Paul Harris Fellow, an individual contribution must reach at least US$1,000. And for a Major Gift of US$10,000 an individual is recognized by the Foundation as a Major Donor.

These, my friends, are the most common ways we can give to The Rotary Foundation. Let us continue to support our Foundation for two basic reasons: First, our fight against polio is not over yet. There are still four countries in the world with outbreaks of polio: Niger , India , Pakistan , and Afghanistan . And second, the other programs of the Foundation must continue to touch people’s lives. For as long as there is poverty, people who are sick, hungry or illiterate, for as long as there is no lasting peace in the world, and for as long as there are people in need, the Foundation must continue to live and change lives for a better world.