Bob Manchester, President of Rotary during the 1976-77 Rotary Year, had an answer. He gave it in his Presidential theme. His theme was simple. It was:

Though I know most of you, I don't know you all. But I suspect this is the personal philosophy of each of you here in this room. In fact, I believe I could say that this is the personal philosophy of all the Rotarians I know.

But what is Rotary? Our motto is "Service Above Self.”
But is Rotary just a collection of local civic clubs, each Club doing good work in their individual community???
Sometimes, when I speak about the accomplishments of our Rotary Foundation, --- about how it saves and changes the lives of some of the poorest people in the world, I've had Rotarians say to me:
“We have needs right here in our own community. --- Young people, old people, right here; mothers and children who desperately need help, Rotary's help. .....After all, shouldn't Charity begin at home?”

Yes, of course charity should begin at home. Remember, Community Service is listed before International Service in the objective of Rotary. The trouble is not that charity starts at home. The problem is, too often, Charity not only begins at home but it ends at home. When a Rotarian or a Rotary Club believes Charity should begin and end in its own community, that's our fault as Rotary's leaders!

Too many Rotarians only think as local Rotarians.
I was guilty of that! When I first joined Rotary in February of 1976, I did not understand Rotary existed beyond my home-town. Yes, I went to a fireside chat where they mentioned there were Rotarians in other communities around the world. But I still did not realize Rotary was organized beyond the club level. I didn't know, or care Rotary had a district organization that supported and involved my Rotary club. It's as if My Rotary Club's leaders kept it secret.

In July of 1976, when my mother's cousin, Bob Manchester, became President of Rotary International, I didn't realize Rotary had a President, much less that Rotary's new President was my mother's cousin. Oh Yes, I got the Rotarian Magazine, but though I looked at the cover, and flipped through the pages, I didn't really read it. I didn't pay much attention to Rotary's President until over a decade and a half later, when I became my Club's President.

Until then I didn't know much about Rotary's Foundation. Oh, I knew Rotary had a Foundation because my club gave what they called a Paul Harris Award. Two or three were given annually by my club to outstanding Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike for their years of community Service.

Yes, they made me a Paul Harris Fellow, but I wasn't ever asked to give to our Foundation. I was a great Club Rotarian! But I didn't really understand what being a being a good Rotarian meant.

Even today, too many Rotarians are like I was. Just good Club Rotarians! Again, last year, less that 13% of all Rotarians gifted $100 or more to Our Rotary Foundation's Annual Fund. If we are going to reach our goal of: 'Every Rotarian, Every Year' by 2005, we sure have a long way to go!

In introducing his theme "I Believe in Rotary" to Rotarians in the July 1976, President Bob Manchester stated in the Rotarian magazine :
“I believe…..
..... that each individual Rotarian must be adequately informed and personally active in the program of Rotary International;
..... that Rotary International expects of each member service along the Four Avenues of Service
and fellowship with all other Rotarians;
.... that each Rotarian should, at all times, demonstrate the highest of moral and ethical standards in his own vocation or profession; and that Rotary has a destiny to bring about Unity of Purpose in the world to secure health, dignity, and freedom of mind for all.”

Bob Manchester was right then, and he's right now!
We must take Rotary's story — Our Foundation's Story — to the Club Rotarian.
We Rotary leaders must do a much better job communicating what our Foundation does.
We must show them how Our Foundation Saves and Changes Lives.
We must share our successes.
Rotarians must understand the power and leverage generated by Our Foundation.
.... leverage that is generated when the time, energy and contacts of Club Rotarians, across the world, are added to the dollars given to Our Foundation.
We must not hide our successes.
We must share them with all Rotarians.
We must communicate more effectively.
We must go to Rotary Clubs and tell Rotarians about the power of our Foundation’s leverage. Rotarians must know that it is because of this leverage our Foundation can sponsor up to 30 cataract surgeries in India for $500. Just $500 ....because of the time donated by surgeons at sites where local Rotarians have used their contacts and time to organize the surgery, secure donated facilities, and to encourage non-Rotarians to work with the doctors as volunteers.
....In other places with fewer medical resources, Rotarians travel the world at their own expense to provide surgeries and all the support services necessary to give sight to the sightless and provide a myriad of other health services to those in need.

That’s why we can save 1000 children from dysentery with just 100 dollars, delivering 10 cents worth of electrolytes with Rotary organized volunteers in Haiti.
That’s why — for $500 — we can provide artificial limbs to 12 people in Cambodia, 12 People who lost their limbs to land mines. Now they can earn a living. No longer will they have to beg for a living! And all for just $500!

That's just five sustaining members!
That leverage is why we can provide clean pure water, fish farms, schoolbooks, schools, quality low cost shelters, all at the best possible price because Rotarians have the knowledge, experience, leverage and contacts to be more efficient than any government sponsored programme. Money from our Rotary Foundation plus the time and contacts of Rotarians all over the world can save and change many lives. With more money given to our annual fund, we can save and change many more lives.

Yes, Rotary has a dream! Rotary dreams of a wonderful world!
It’s a world where little children never go hungry.
....Where children are warm and secure.
....Where they grow up!
....Where they grow up healthy and strong.
.... Where polio, aids, malaria, dysentery, and all the diseases that cut short young lives are gone!

In this dream there are no selfish Warlords, only Peace Lords.
In this dream every child can read, write, calculate, and use a computer.
In this dream everyone believes in helping others, especially those who are less fortunate.
In this dream no matter how humble their origins, each child has the opportunity to be educated, to succeed, and to rise as high as their abilities can take them.
....With no walls and no ceilings, they have no barriers.

Rotarians must not be just dreamers. We can, we must become ‘Dream Makers.' Never have Dream Makers been more important! The only way to end terrorism forever is to teach tolerance to the intolerant, to provide hope to the hopeless, good dreams to those whose lives are a living nightmare, and to give opportunity to those who are sure they have no way but violence to improve their sad lives. Never was it more important to make Rotary’s dream a reality!

And NEVER has the work of Rotary and Rotarians been more needed.

If Rotary’s dream is to come true you, each of you — each of us — must lead the way!
Each of us must be generous, and each of us must be vocal about our giving, encouraging others to give too! We must lead the way in our Rotary Clubs and in our districts.

We must all be part of this dream — Rotary’s Dream! — Our Dream !!
But we must not be just Dreamers.
Each and every one of us must become ‘DREAM MAKERS’.
Each and every one of us must encourage others to become Dream Makers as well.
Together, we must grow our Foundation as the engine that will drive our Dreams of Peace, Good Will and Understanding throughout the world !

We should all support a Foundation Speaker's Bureau in each of our Districts, comprised of those of us who are passionate about our Rotary Dreams.
We must see that Foundation Programs get into each Rotary Club three or four times a year. And that takes a appointing a new District Foundation Sub-committee chair — a Foundation Information officer or a Foundation Speakers Bureau Chair whose sole job is to make it happen — To see that every Rotary Club in your District has 3 to 4 Foundation Programs a year. The Foundation moment — little stories about the Foundation told at each club meeting by Rotarians — are also a great way to excite club members about our Foundation. To make it work each Rotarian in the club is assigned the responsibility on a rotating basis to find something our Foundation does that excites them, and tell Rotarians about it at an assigned time during the meeting. If they can't make the meeting they must switch with someone else or be finded!
This means they have the opportunity to research Foundation Programs on the website, in the Rotarian Magazine, or somewhere else to find something they like. In short bursts they and their Club members learn what turns other members on about our Foundation.

And each and every one of us must encourage Club Rotarians to participate in Foundation programs in our district. There are many opportunities for participation. Rotarians can participate in support of GSE, Ambassadorial and Peace Scholars, Matching Grants, District Simplified Grants. Rotarians who participate become Foundation advocates. By participating, Rotarians will see — with their own eyes — how our Foundation saves and changes lives. That's important!

Remember, people don't give for logical reasons.
They give because they feel the benefit.
They give, if asked, because what is being done excites them.
We must tell our Foundation's story with excitement and passion
— and we must ask for every Rotarian's support.

And that does not mean bring boring Foundation programs to Rotarians. Programs should have:
...... 2-5 minutes to introduce the speaker and tell how our Foundation helps make their project possible.
...... 12-15 minutes of sizzle — Telling how the project saves and changes lives ..... 5 minutes summarizing and letting Rotarians know how much more we can do if only we have more support for the Annual Fund!

Yes, we must tell, and we must ask. Every one of us must be active, vocal supporters of ‘Every Rotarian, Every Year.’

And every one of us here must actively support the Permanent Fund Committee. At the very least we must be the eyes and ears of the Permanent Fund Committee, and your committee must not just be a one-man band.

The district Permanent Fund must function as a committee, identifying those Rotarians who believe passionately in the work of Rotary's Foundation and who have the financial ability to become Major Donors or Bequest Society Members.
Those of us who have the time should become Permanent Fund Committee Members. And each of us here should at least become Bequest Society members, if not Major Donors. We must lead the way by our example, as many of us have already.

Next year, when we gather again at the Zone Institute, I hope each of you who can, will have become at least a Bequest Society Member. There is no better way to assure that the work of Rotary will continue long after we are gone!
If "Every Rotarian, Every Year" is to succeed, we must all be active vocal sustaining members.

If you and I do not, who will?

One Hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of car you drove.
It will not matter what kind of House you owned.
It will not matter where, or how many times you played golf.
It will not matter what kind of clothes you wore, or where your vacation was.
It will not matter how much you accumulated in your life!

What will matter is how you and I each used the resources and talents at our disposal.
It will matter what kind of world we leave our children and grand children.
What will matter is whether you chose to be a dreamer or a dream maker.
It will matter whether you helped bring our world closer to lasting peace, tolerance and understanding.

Now I know I've been preaching to the choir;
The people who need most to hear this message are not here, are they?
You are the Rotarians who care enough about our International Foundation to give up this Saturday morning for it.
You are our Zone's Foundation Choir, aren't you?

Are You? .....Yes or no?

Then let be this Zone's Foundation Choir.
Go back to your Districts, to your Rotary Clubs and sing the song of Rotary and its Foundation and sing it with enthusiasm.
Tell others how important it is for each Rotarian to give to Our Rotary Foundation each year as sustaining members.
Ask the help of those who believe in Rotary and can afford to support the Permanent Fund of our Foundation with a Bequest or Gift.
Tell all Rotarians how much our Foundation does.
Help Rotary make a difference in our world.
Be Dream Makers, not just Dreamers.
Together we will make a difference!
We Must Make A Difference,
....for who else but Rotary can succeed in this noble endeavor???

Now I know no better way to end this Foundation Seminar than to have the Zone Institute Singers sing "Peace on Earth". Listen carefully to the words and then join in when they sing it for the second time. Clearly, this song is about Rotarians at work!

“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me ..................”

Our thanks to Mac for an outstanding presentation that so ably and eloquently represents the views of Rotary and Rotary Foundation supporters the world over.

John M. “Mac” Leask II, PDG 7980
Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
Rotary Regional Foundation Coordinator, Zone 31-32