Rotary Club of Franklin Shelterbox Project
Shelter Boxes, containers which are packed with emergency care equipment such as tents, water, a privacy screen, warm blankets, stoves, and other items, are sent to a variety of places where people need help from various disasters.
Started by Tom Henderson, a retired British Navy diver in England, the Shelter Box program has helped over 600,000 people in over 45 countries with donations totaling $60,000,000.
Some examples of disaster areas where Shelter Box has been helpful include 200,000 people aided from the 2004 tsunami in Sumatra and also those affected by a dam break in 2007 in North Korea.
For those wishing to donate money to the project, a contribution of $14.40 buys a shelter box. Rotarians contribute half of Shelter Box aid. Also watch for matching club incentives to help fund the purchase of a shelterbox. For more information about the program contact Shelterbox@usa.org or contact Rotary Club of Franklin’s Bill McGaha.
(article by Co-Public Relations Director Austin Bridges from the August 8th, 2012 Flywheel)
Rotary Club of Franklin C.A.R.T. Fund Project
Each week Rotary Club of Franklin members are asked to donate any spare change they may have toward the blue buckets that are placed at each table during the regular meetings as well as our annual roy Rickman Fundraiser. It may be just small change each week, but it all adds up. Monies donated goes toward research for a cure for Alzheimers. Recently Rotary District 7670 paid out more than $350,000 toward Alzheimer;s research.
The Rotary Club of Franklin Bridges to Prosperity Project
Bridges to Prosperity is a District wide project to provide suspension bridges in Latin America where standard bridges are untenable due to seasonal flooding. These bridges are constructed with local people assisted by Rotarians and visiting engineers. The process is intended to teach construction methods to the local builders allowing them to have the knowledge to repair and build additional bridges. For more information on this project and if you would like to get involved see Rotary Club of Franklin Project club champion Stacy Guffey.
Rotary Club of Franklin Project Panama
Since 2004 The Rotary Club of Franklin has partnered with Rotary Clubs in Sylva, and Cashiers along with the club in Boquete, Panama to help in the restoration and repair of the El Banco de Palmira school located in the remote area of the Chiriqui Province of Panama. Rotary Club of Franklin Co-International Director Sandy Frazier along with Rotarians from Sylva, Cashiers and Boquete, Panama, assisted by non-Rotarian US volunteers, local parents and students, built and painted two new bathrooms for students, a new dining and meeting area and a remodeled sleeping room with a new bathroom and shower for the school’s teacher. The Rotarians also refurbished the kitchen, installed a water purification system, made improvements to the single classroom, painted and cleaned the premises and provided laptop computers and furnished school supplies. Boquete Rotarian, Hector Sanchez, served as project manager for this year’s project. Sanchez previously was responsible for the installation of electric service and Internet in the school. For more information on this project club liason Sandy Frazier!
(From the September 19th, 2012 edition of the Flywheel)
Rotary Club of Franklin Polio Plus Project
PolioPlus is the flagship international program of Rotary International. We have worked with many agencies and foundations (notably the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) to eradicate Polio in the world and have assisted it the raising of over a billion US$. Currently, only three nations have Polio as a continuing disease. They are Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, Many may not realize that these PolioPlus drops also contain vaccines to fight childhood diseases configured to the area where the PolioPlus vaccines are administered. That is the Plus part of PolioPlus. For more information see 2017-18 Club President Judy Chapman.
The Rotary Club of Franklin Wheel Chair Project
Thus is a continuing District 7670 project which was started by Past District Governor Dennis Sanders when he was serving as Governor in 2001-02. The program provides wheel chairs and the training to use them to disabled people around the world. This past year, The Rotary Club of Franklin, Frabklin Daybreak Rotary, Sylva Rotary, and the clubs in Highlands and Cashiers partnered to provide approximately $35000 worth of chairs to Bolivia.
The Rotary Club of Franklin G.S.E. Team Project
Group Study Exchange is a Rotary wide program which exchanges groups of young professionals (25-40) among Rotary countries. Typically a team consists of 5 professionals guided by a Rotarian fromthe host country. Our GSE committee is chaired by Larry Holiifield and consists of Stacy Guffey and Rich Peoples (long time GSE member and previous chair in Sylva). For more information on ths project, contact anyone of the G.S.E. committee team members.
The Foundation
In 1917, RI President Arch C. Klumph proposed that an endowment be set up “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” In 1928, when the endowment fund had grown to more than US$5,000, it was renamed The Rotary Foundation, and it became a distinct entity within Rotary International. Of course, the foundation’s size and processes have changed over the years but the goals have not. Today’s Rotary Foundation continues to support Rotarians as we advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, the improvement of water and sanitation, and the development of communities and economies.
But, the foundation only works if Rotarians support it thru their tax deductible contributions. In our clubs, each Rotarian is expected to contribute at least $100 annually. For each $1000 contributed to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus, or an approved Foundation grant,, Rotarians (or a person they designate) earn the distinction of being named a Paul Harris Fellow. Additional contributions of $1000 earn additional Paul Harris Fellowships. Anyone who contributes US$100 or more per year to the Annual Fund is automatically recognized as a Rotary Foundation Sustaining Member. If every club member contributed $100 every year, Rotary could nearly double its efforts to help people worldwide and support the continued growth of its programs. Every dollar contributed is used for humanitarian purposes. The small administrative costs are paid by income from the account.
Members may become a Benefactor by making the Permanent Fund a beneficiary in their estate plans or by donating $1,000 or more to the fund outright. Benefactors receive a custom certificate and insignia to wear with a Rotary or Paul Harris Fellow pin. Couples or individuals who have made commitments of $10,000 or more in their estate plans, such as in a will, living trust, or through whole or universal life insurance, can become Bequest Society members. All Bequest Society members receive recognition from the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation.
The foundation supports club and district project through various grant programs. In July 2013, the Rotary Foundation has launched Future Vision which should simplify the grant process and get more funds into the hands of local Rotarians. See Foundation Chairman Mike Norris for additional information or questions.
Franklin Rotary also has a Charitable Foundation which allows the club to receive funds from sources other than our normal fund raising efforts. The club’s charitable foundation allows members or community donors to make bequests to the humanitarian efforts of the Franklin Rotary Club. See John Short, Chairman of the Charitable Foundation of the Rotary Club of Franklin for additional information.