This week's program: The Rotary Foundation
This week's speaker, Jim Prusak, was introduced by President Chris Correia. As the Chairman of the Cloquet Rotary Foundation committee, Jim's topic was the Rotary Foundation - what it does and how we are a part of it.
He explained that the Rotary Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes understanding, goodwill and peace throughout the world. It is made up of 3 funds: The Annual Program Fund, The Permanent Fund, and the Polio Plus Fund. Most of us recognize the Polio Plus Fund, but the Annual Fund provides matching grants and awards to clubs for club projects. The Permanent Fund is an endowment in which only the interest is used for projects such as World Peace Fellowships, Ambassadorial Scholarships, and Group Study Exchanges. The Polio Plus Fund has helped reduce the number of polio cases around the world by 99%. How can we help support these funds? We can join the Paul Harris Society, named after the person who founded Rotary in 1905, by making donations on a regular basis. In our club, 25% of our members are already Paul Harris fellows. Many levels of giving exist. It is a goal of our club and our District to have all members participate at some level. Today Jim Prusak presented 3 Paul Harris pins to Paul Nordvall, Ryan Micke, and Joanne Treviranus-Glowacki, who received a double sapphire pin representing the 3,000 point level. Jim encouraged us to talk to him about how we can be part of the Rotary Foundation, too.