The Rotary International Foundation
Rotary Club of Westfield
Jeannie Tsukamoto recently spoke to the Rotary Club of Westfield about the International Charitable arm of Rotary: The Rotary International (RI) Foundation. This Foundation has received the highest rating of 4 stars from Charity Navigator, an organization which rates charities, for 17 years in a row.
Jeannie Tsukamoto is the Rotary District Chair of the Major Gifts and Endowment Foundation Sub- Committee. She has been a Rotarian since 2007. She was President of the Rotary Club of Madison, Assistant District Governor, Governor’s Aide, District Membership Chair, and District Business Networking Chair. She is a former Madison Borough Council President, Morris Habitat for Humanity Board President, and the American Red Cross fundraising chair.
Jeannie pointed out how the Rotary International Foundation has impacted the Rotary Club of Westfield. Every year, the RI Foundation provides grants directly to the Westfield club which have been used locally to feed the food insecure, and to help homeless veterans. During Covid many of the counties soup kitchens were shut down, so the RI Foundation provided a Disaster Grant to provide 1 million meals to the Rotary District, including thousands in Westfield. During the Covid shutdown, Dr. Michael Hart, secretary of the Westfield Club and District Foundation chair, arranged grants of $160,000 to purchase 10 ventilators and a high-tech hospital bed for area hospitals: Overlook Hospital in Summit; Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth, and Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in Somerset. The Rotary Club of Westfield secured a Matching Global Grant from the Foundation to supply a medical clinic in Nigeria with $34,000 worth of supplies. A previous Westfield Matching Global Grant was used to fund a vocational school in Thailand in partnership with the Westfield Area Y.
But the charity is not all directed to New Jersey. The Rotary Club of Westfield participates in many projects overseas. In the fall of 2022, the Club raised $15,000 in a fundraiser to help the Ukrainian refugees going to eastern Europe. These funds were cycled through the RI Foundation Disaster Grant Program. The club has donated to the Shelter Box program. This program provides a box with everything a family who has lost their home needs to survive. It includes a tent which sleeps 12, sleeping bags, pots, cooking utensils, school supplies, etc. The most recent example is for the people in the Turkey earthquake who have lost their homes. Another project is called Clean Water for the World. One Westfield member, Byron Miller, went to Haiti to install water filters in 250 schools to provide clean drinking water after the devastating earthquake in 2010.
The signature project of Rotary International is to wipe out the Polio Virus from the entire world. The Foundation is a worldwide leader in the efforts to eradicate Polio through its partnership in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Since 1988, Rotary and its partners in the GPEI have immunized over 3 billion children, reducing the incidence of polio by 99.9% and eradicating it from all but two countries. Rotary has contributed more than $2.1 billion and thousands of volunteer hours to eradication efforts. In 1988 there were 350,000 new cases every year. After continuous 38 year worldwide vaccination programs, there are now fewer than 100 new cases per year, and the world is nearing complete eradication of the disease. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provides Matching funds to the Rotary effort, because they understand that vaccination is a very cost-efficient method of public health.
The Rotary Foundation’s mission is to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace. Rotary Foundation grants promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water and sanitation, sustain mothers and children, improve education, and strengthen local economies. The Foundation also funds training of peacemakers through the Rotary Peace Center program. Most recently, Rotary’s Disaster Response Grants are making it possible for Rotary members to respond effectively to local recovery efforts as they unfold, and Covid-19 was recently added as an eligible activity.
The Rotary Club of Westfield meets the first three Tuesdays of each month for lunch at noon, at Limani Seafood Grill on North Ave. Guests are always welcome. For information check out the website westfieldrotary.com or contact club secretary Dr. D. Michael Hart by email at drmhart@yahoo.com
