The Rotary Foundation


Caroline Bourke


Polio on the way out thanks to Rotary What is Foundation


Foundation is Rotary International in action as a major international humanitarian and educational NGO. Foundation is a core part of the structure of Rotary International. By joining a Rotary club you become a participant in the Rotary Foundationʼs programmes.


How are the programmes delivered? They are delivered by Rotarians themselves through the network of 32,000 clubs around the world.


What is the scope of the programme? International and local humanitarian projects, international educational exchanges and scholarships, high level education and training in peace studies and conflict resolution.


How are the projects funded, and who decides how the funds are spent?


Funds are collected from donations by Rotarians throughout the world. They are allocated to clubs which have humanitarian service projects here or abroad, or to participants in an educational exchange or scholarship sponsored by a club.


What makes Foundation special? • Every humanitarian project supports Rotariansʼ service activities


• The core humanitarian projects and the educational programmes bring clubs and participants together across national and cultural boundaries


• Operations are entirely driven by grass roots initiatives from clubs


How do I contribute?


Every Rotarian is asked to contribute at least $100 per annum, either personally or through collections by their club.


Who can tell me more about the projects Foundation is supporting?


The chances are that your club is, or has been, involved in a Foundation funded project or educational exchange or scholarship. If not other clubs in your District can tell you about how they have extended their service activities with support from Foundation. Contact the Foundation Team to come and speak to your club. For more information on Foundation programmes go to www.rotary.org.


Foundation is not just another charity. It is Rotary in action promoting world peace and understanding through its 32,000 clubs around the world


The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.


Polio Eradication ‑ Thanks for Life ‑ US$ 200 million Challenge ‑ US$6,000 per Club by 30th June 2012


Do you know how much your Club has contributed towards the US$200 million Challenge? How close are you to the US$6,000 request/target? If you don't know, simply drop me a line and I'll happily bring you up to date.


In short, 7 of our 74 Clubs have achieved their target, 17 are ahead of schedule and close to the finishing line and 50 are behind schedule (including 3 that have contributed NOTHING!). One big effort in 2010‑11 should see us close to our goal. Please make this the year we "bop 'til we drop!" ‑ well, not literally!!


PDG Howard Caskie, RRFC Zone 17, District Polio Challenge Coordinator, District "Thanks for Life" Coordinator


Foundation news


Ambassadorial Scholars coming this summer:


Each scholar is expected to present to at least 10 clubs so get your club on the list. Contact Annie Raftis (Dublin Central) for the list of the scholars.


Please invite them to speak at your club and make an effort to meet them at conference.


Alumni database A new database of alumni is being done – contact Gerard OʼReilly (RC Clonmel) for details of Alumni in your area.


Postal Measurement Survey


The postal survey continues. Currently the Survey administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers are looking for participants from all areas of The State. Should your Club have Rotarians, or indeed friends, etc of Rotarians, who wish to participate please contact: Alan Jones – Rotary Club Dublin North at email – alan@alanjones.ie telephone – 01 8499 842 for detailed description of the Survey.


District Simplified Grants and Matching Grants….


Please be sure to send your grant applications for both types of grants to Monica Robertson (Dublin Central) for 2010/2011


GET YOUR GRANT APPLICATIONS IN EARLY!!


Ambassadorial Scholar in headlines Aoife O'Donovan a Rotary Ambassadorial


Scholar is the first Irish person to win a Branco Weiss Society in Science fellowship, according to Cormac Sheridan in the Irish Times We know stress is bad for the cardiovascular system, but Aoife is studying whether stress also affects the ageing process. The question is whether our psychological state can influence our immune systems.


Aoife is currently pursuing postdoctoral research in psychobiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), working at the intersection between psychology and immunology. Her work looks at connections between psychological states, such as stress or anxiety, and ageing processes that occur at a cellular or molecular level. “Weʼre at the stage where weʼre trying to discover mechanisms mediating the relationship between psychological experiences and physical health outcomes,” she says.


The fellowship programme, which is funded by the Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Branco Weiss, who died recently, and administered by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, is particularly focused


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Polio Plus / Thanks for Life: bands I hope that every club has identified at least two schools to get involved in Thanks for Life for 2011. It will run the week before and week after Rotary Day 23rd February.


There are some purple silicone bands still in stock so if your clubs needs them then contact Caroline Bourke or Werner Scheel. All bands will have to be paid for before they are given out. Cheques are to be sent to District Treasurer Werner.


€125 or £125 for 500 bands €250 or £250 for 1000 bands VAT is extra


Donʼt forget to keep an eye on the


www.thanksforlife.org website for news and ideas.


on interdisciplinary work. It will provide Aoife with a generous level of funding for up to five years. “What this allows me to do is become independent at the earliest possible stage,” she says.


Aoife is ideally placed to probe the links between psychology and physical health, having completed BA and MA degrees in psychology at UCC and NUI Galway respectively, before undertaking interdisciplinary PhD studies at UCD under the joint supervision of psychiatrist Kevin Malone, immunologist Cliona OʼFarrelly (now at TCD) and psychologist Brian Hughes of NUI Galway.


On some days, she recalls, she would conduct psychological evaluations of patients in the morning, followed by high‑tech molecular analyses of their blood samples in the afternoon. She moved to UCSF for part of her PhD research on a Fulbright/Rotary International Fellowship. Although now working directly with research mentors Elissa Epel at UCSF and Thomas Neylan of the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, OʼDonovan also counts 2009 Nobel prize‑winner Elizabeth Blackburn as a collaborator.


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