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Another great day at the Palo’s Verdes Country Club to be a Rotarian, a lot to be proud of. We had the honor and pleasure of having past district governor Rick Mendoza speak on a topic he is very versed on and passionate about, the Rotary International Foundation. Founded in 1917 with an initial donation of 26.50 by founder Arch C Klumph, the then president, was used for a comfort station and a buggy for a doctor to do house calls.
- There are 6 areas of focus
- Basic Education and Literacy
- Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
- Maternal & Child health
- Disease prevention and treatment
- Economic and community development
- Water and sanitation
The most recognizable push has been in the eradication of polio in the world and we have made great strides. When the initiative started in 1986 there were 356,000 cases of polio per year around the world. In 2018 there have been 15 cases within only 3 countries in the world, incredible strides we can all be proud of.
The newest initiative is clean water. Many children in villages do not go to school even at a young age as their daily activity is composed of going to clean water sources and bringing it back to the village, day after day. These water projects have and will continue to change the lives of children around the world. Our club has always been a significant contributor to the RI Foundation being annually in giving in the top 3 clubs in our district and proud to be a 100% Paul Harris Club with numerous major donors. The best part is that after a 3 year period all the donations come back to our district that can be used in matching grants, something every club including ours should take advantage of.
We have in the past been involved in numerous international projects most recently in South Korea, Mexico and this year in Peru. For those that have the international flair or simply seek that “Rotary moment” these are trips that cannot be missed.