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2017 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 773
Commending The Rotary Foundation.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 20, 2017
Agreed to by the Senate, January 26, 2017

 

WHEREAS, The Rotary Foundation, the charitable arm of Rotary International, is marking 100 years of doing good in the world during its centennial celebration in 2017; and

WHEREAS, The Rotary Foundation taps a global network of Rotarians who invest their time, money, and expertise in priorities such as eradicating polio and promoting peace, and tackling the worldwide challenges of poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition; and

WHEREAS, what would become The Rotary Foundation was started as an endowment fund in 1917 by Rotary International President Arch C. Klumph, who proposed a fund for the purpose of “doing good in the world”; it officially became The Rotary Foundation in 1928; and

WHEREAS, over the past 100 years, The Rotary Foundation has supported thousands of projects that provide clean water, fight disease, promote peace, provide basic education, and grow local economies; and

WHEREAS, eradicating polio worldwide is a top priority for The Rotary Foundation and since 1988, Rotary International and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative have immunized over 2.5 billion children, reducing the incidence of polio by 99 percent and eradicating it from all but three countries; and

WHEREAS, The Rotary Foundation turns generous donations into grants that fund the work of Rotarians from 34,000 clubs around the globe as they develop and carry out sustainable humanitarian projects and provide scholarships and professional training opportunities that support advancing world understanding, goodwill, and peace; and

WHEREAS, based in Evanston, Illinois, The Rotary Foundation began with an initial contribution of $26.50 in 1918 and in 2015 the organization’s total revenue was more than $318 million; The Rotary Foundation also boasts a stellar charity rating, strong financial oversight, and a unique funding model; and

WHEREAS, The Rotary Foundation is celebrating its centennial with a year of festivities that began in Korea at the 2016 Rotary Convention and culminates at the 2017 Rotary Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, in June; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend The Rotary Foundation on a century of doing good in the world by changing lives and improving communities all over the globe; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Kalyan Banerjee, trustee chair of The Rotary Foundation, as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the organization’s commitment to funding charitable work that creates positive, lasting change in local communities and worldwide.