It was Mother Theresa who said “Give until it hurts”.

It is our responsibility as Rotarians to support our Rotary Foundation. A Foundation trusted by Bill Gates and by many Governments around the globe.

We are in Rotary to give – give off our time, our money and our efforts to help alleviate the suffering of many around us. It is said that you never lose when you give. So true indeed – I have never lost and have always been the beneficiary of the Lord’s goodness, as the donation that we give, goes to serve the children of the Lord, who need help and succour.

Our Foundation is a foundation of hope and of trust. A foundation which helps us to serve in the Areas of Focus to reach beyond our contribution by the matching, unique to our foundation. Imagine contributing $ 1000 and doing a project of $ 1,16,000 for an Eye Bank project. Just one of the many examples of the reach of our projects only on account of the support from our Foundation.

Our Foundation is so well administered, that with a minimum administrative cost, the maximum is contributed to serving the communities in need. The 4 Star rating given by the Charity Navigator for the last 14 years is a testimony to the integrity and prudent financial management of the funds raised.

If you and I, as Rotarians don’t support our Foundation, all the benefits that we derive for the largeness of the projects that we execute through Global Grants will reduce, as is the case today. The support and funding come from our support of the Annual Program Fund. Is it too much for each one of us to contribute each year to support such a foundation of trust? Wearing a pin with pride calls upon all of us to support our foundation. Give, you and I must to the extent that we can afford. Every Rotarian Every Year is not a mere slogan but a mandate if we are to respect the pin that we wear. Let us not regret the reduction in support, only on account of our default in not supporting the Annual Program Fund.

The words of Winston Churchill put it so well: “We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.”

So let’s make a life by giving to the Annual Program Fund.