The Business Meeting, David Heritage & 'Revive', Rotarians & Peace, and the Rotary Foundation

Last Week

It was a Business Meeting and it was interesting to hear how much progress we had in the first six months.  The two learners we are sponsoring at McAuley House School had passed Grade 11 well and are now in Matric.  We have also continued to sponsor a candidate at the SA Guide Dogs for the Blind College of Orientation & Mobility.  This is a very important project as it is effectively training the trainer in the use of white canes and  other aspects of orientation in the rural areas.  What is surprising is that only Limpopo Province actively supports this training....not the richer Provinces.

The new collection system that has been introduced at Spar Norwood thanks to the suggestion of the former Orange Grove members has been an effortless great success.  Instead of collecting food products we are given a voucher for the value of the food that is donated by the public

.  This gives the various charities we collect for a monetary amount that they can use to buy what they require.  This has been very interesting as one particular charity bought toiletries in preference to food which just shows that our basic assumption of needs was totally wrong in the past.

The only disappointing aspect of the collection was the lack of support by the club.  Even though we didn't enjoy doing the turn out  for Makro was adequate.  This takes less time and we don't have to rush up to people and ask for their support, they automatically give so next time please support our Community Service Committee as the results were so good and Spar is more than helpful.

This Week

Our speaker is David Heritage.  I don't know much about him or his organisation, only what David Bradshaw has to say.

"He runs Revive a registered NPO company.They exist to serve and assist parolees and ex-offenders to reintegrate back into their families and communities as part of their journey of rehabilitation and restitution. David himself served I think 12-15 years in prison and has now dedicated his life to serving ex Prisoners."

The Board has approved a Vocational Service Award for him.

Picture Puzzle
Quite a few people tried to guess what last week's photo was, including the District Governor.  Everyone got it wrong!  Arancini was the correct answer but I would have accepted suppli because they look the same.  It's an Italian deep fried rice ball with ragu of meat and tomato inside....suppli has mozzarella instead.  Suppli is a Roman snack whereas arancini are from Sicily.  It's a handy way of using up risotto rice. 

This week it's guess the fish.

On 23 February, Rotarians will celebrate World Peace and Understanding Day – the 113th anniversary of Rotary’s founding.

Peace has been at the core of our organization from its earliest days. We established the Fourth Object of Rotary in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1921. We were in London when the seeds were sown for what became UNESCO after World War II. In Havana in 1940, we adopted a resolution calling for "freedom, justice, truth, sanctity of the pledged word, and respect for human rights," which became the framework for the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

We were active in the formation of the United Nations. In 1945, almost 50 Rotarians served as delegates, consultants, and advisers at the San Francisco Conference when the UN charter was written. Today, almost 73 years later, Rotary maintains the highest consultative status with the United Nations of any nongovernmental organization. A number of our Rotary Peace Fellows work in UN agencies. Rotary’s representatives to the UN also host a Rotary Day every November to celebrate our partnership for peace.

Today we also have a new partnership with the Institute for Economics and Peace, which was founded in Australia by tech entrepreneur Steve Killelea. The institute emphasizes what is called positive peace, based on eight "pillars": a well-functioning government, a sound business environment, equitable distribution of resources, acceptance of the rights of others, good relations with neighbors, free flow of information, high levels of human capital, and low levels of corruption.

Between now and June, we have the opportunity to participate in Rotary President Ian H.S. Riseley’s Presidential Peacebuilding Conferences in six cities across the world. Take a look online at rotary.org/presidential-conferences. We will continue to explore how the eight pillars of peace align with our areas of focus.

We also are joining with the University of Chicago to host Pathways to Peace, a series of talks featuring leading scholars, practitioners, Rotary Peace Fellows, and thinkers in the field of peace and conflict prevention and resolution. Watch the first one, which was held in September, at bit.ly/2j9cSUh.

Together with our partners, we will work to establish ourselves as global thinkers and leaders to advance understanding, goodwill, and international peace.

Let us work together on this journey.

Foundation receives highest rating from Charity Navigator

For the 10th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.

In the most recent ratings, the Foundation earned the maximum of 100 points for demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.

In a letter to the Foundation, Charity Navigator notes that "only 1 percent of the charities we evaluate have received at least 10 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that The Rotary Foundation outperforms other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets The Rotary Foundation apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness."

The rating reflects Charity Navigator's assessment of how the Foundation uses donations, sustains its programs and services, and practices good governance and openness.