District Governor Greg Owen and his wife Valerie.
District Governor Greg Owen reminded us of the power of Rotarians locally, nationally and internationally as he reminded us it's Rotary's 100th anniversary.
Projects cover sanitation, book drives and wider visions. If you are a rotary member, you know that your passion for the underserved, needed or a good cause can get great support through the power of rotary. No other organization offers wide avenues of service.
Rotary's finest moment has been to help eradicate polio. Rotarians have given $1Billion to eradicate polio and teamed with Bill Gates and The Gates Foundation, who provided $355 million to complete our goal. We are expecting to meet our goal of eradicating polio off the face of the earth by the end of 2012. Rotary clubs around the world have the power to put the infrastructure in place to roll this out, and rotarians have participated in providing more than 30 million vaccinations, each kid needs 3-6 doses of vaccine to be protected.
You'll soon be seeing big tractor trailers with Eradicate Polio signs. Greg's company has allowed rotary to wrap his tractors which travel around the country. We have the opportunity to have a tractor at an event.
The Rotary Foundation goal is $200 per capital per year. Irvine Rotary Club meets and exceeds this goal. The IRC foundation is one of the top fundraising foundations in OC.
Do you contribute $1,000 during the year to rotary? If so, become a recognized donor, and half of all contriubted income comes back to our district. Currently $50,000 annually comes back to the OC district to contribute back in our community to nonprofit projects.
Dean Irwin is the speaker this year at the Foundation Dinner, plan to attend, information is being distributed to members.
Ways to Get Involved:
Makeup meetings can be done online thru the EClub, it's available 7/24. You can makeup meetings at home or during business. This online club is very appealing to those who have restructions and are unable to make meetings.
RYLA-kids leave the safety of their family and go for a long weekend to learn about leadership in the mountains in Idllywild, once a year. When they get back they don't want to get off the bus, they've made lifelong friends in a short time.
The International Rotary Convention next year takes place in Bangkok, Thailand. If you have the resources to attend, it is an amazing trip.
