To: Club Presidents and Foundation Chairs:

I trust you are having a fulfilling and productive Rotary Year thus far.

With two months down you are well on our way, I am sure, to achieving your goals for the year, or at the very least, have a plan on how you are going to arrive at the finish line with many lives changed thanks to your efforts and those of your fellow Rotarians.

As you are aware, The Rotary Foundation is the mecha-nism that funds much of the work we do in Rotary in the form of Grants, without which many of the wonderful projects com-pleted around the world and especially in our district, would not have been possible. In District 7020 we are extremely fortunate that funds for projects within our district flow back to us 10 to 1 compared with what we contribute to TRF. Additionally, the more we give to the foundation this year the more funds will be available for DDF’s in the 2016-2017 Rotary year.

But I am preaching to the choir and I am sure you are giving the same speech to your club members whenever you have the chance. So what is the purpose of this email?

Well, November is Foundation month and I just thought I would give a little nudge to remind you, especially Club Foundation Chairs that you should be thinking about a plan, if you don’t already have one, on how you are going to make TRF feature in your club during Foundation month. Maybe you are planning a special fundraiser that is specific to TRF or maybe you can provide an incentive for giving during the month. Some clubs with plenty of foundation points offer matching point incentives for contributions received during the month of November. Maybe you are planning to give a presentation to your club at one of your meetings on the importance of giving to TRF, no matter how lit-tle, so that every Rotarian will have shared in building the success story that is The Rotary Foundation.

If you have a plan for Foundation Month that is unique, please share it with other clubs, with Kitty for inclusion in the District Newsletter or with me and I would be pleased to pass it on.

Whatever you are planning for November, I wish you the greatest success in your efforts. Strive to make your club an EREY club and together we will bring District 7020 closer to an EREY District. The greater our suc-cess the greater opportunity we will have to change lives.

Yours in Rotary,

Marston WinklesDistrict 7020 EREY

Sub Committee Chair

Students study at Randombe Kanishta Vidyalaya in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka. This is one of 20 schools rebuilt through the Schools Reawaken project after the 2004 tsunami. The Rotary Foundation, and Standard Chartered Bank supported the effort.

At the Bujo Primary School in Kasamu-Kyali, Mpigi District, Uganda, children enjoy a porridge lunch sponsored by the Humanitarian Project Against Malaria, Poverty, Hunger, and Illiteracy. The effort provides free lunch to children at this and other area schools five days a week during the school year. Carried out by the Rotary clubs of Muyenga, Uganda, and Genk-Noord, Belgium, the project is made possible by a Health, Hunger and Humanity Grant from The Rotary Foundation.

Joweriya Kigundu, a student in the tailoring class, preps her sewing machine. The class, which provides women with a vocational skill, also provides cheap school uniforms and mosquito nets for community members. Providing mosquito nets is one element of The Humanitarian Project against Malaria, Pover-ty, Hunger and Illiteracy at Kasamu in Kyali Mpigi District. The project is made possible with a Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grant from the Rotary Foundation, the Rotary Club of Muyenga, Uganda and the Rotary Club of Genk-Noord, Belgium. The major aims of the project include fighting malaria, improving general health, economic development, assisting farmers, helping orphans and the poor and fighting against illiteracy.