International Projects and Rotary Foundation Activities of the  Normal Rotary Club of Normal, Illinois

International Projects and Rotary Foundation Chair: Bill Brouwer

Every Member, Every Year contributing to The Rotary Foundation – Alan Chapman, Chair; Members: Joe Van West and Dick Wagner.  (The Rotary Foundation, TRF, is the mechanism whereby Rotary carries out much of its international work.  Ideally, every member will contribute to TRF every year, above and beyond their contributions to the Normal Rotary Club.  See World Community Service below as an option to giving to the Foundation.)

The Normal Rotary Foundation – Gene Gudeman, Chair.  Members: Joe Van West, Kathy Alexander, Becky Goeckner, and Rod Wiegelmann. (The Normal Rotary Foundation was established to accept donations and gifts to our Club, and is tax exempt.  It is separately incorporated from the Normal Rotary Club.)

International Projects – Every year our Club supports one or more international projects.  In the recent past we have supported in Nigeria: a school supplies project and water well; in India: desks and school supplies for a school in Sankatch City, and eye services; in Zambia: a hospice; the Polio Plus Project of Rotary International; and the efforts to counter malaria by promoting the use of bed nets, among other approaches.  Click here for one perspective on Rotary Against Malaria.)

World Community Service – Gordon Bidner chairs the District WCS Committee and is our representative on the Committee.  Secretary Ralph Dude coordinates communication for the District Committee.  By working together on the clubs in the district can support specific international projects.  Examples of these projects are:  Brazil Catalytic Communities; Ghana Projects; Malaria bed-nets worldwide; Malawi Water Project; Nigeria Water Wells Project; Zambia Water Wells Project.  Persons can contribute to The Rotary Foundation and their funds can be directed to one of these or other WCS projects at the District Level. 

RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) – Connie Gentry, chair. (Three sophomores from area schools will go to RYLA training in the spring, at our expense.)

Rotary Youth Exchange – Last year we sent three area high school students abroad for foreign study. This year we are hosting a student from Chile . Rob Cranston is Chair, Dale Strassheim is our Rotary Youth Exchange Officer and Alan Chapman is the Counselor for out inbound student. See Rotary Youth Exchange Program for more on this very successful program.

World Affairs Seminar – Sharon McGinnis, chair.  (Every year we send a high school student to the World Affairs Seminar in Waukesha, WI.  Then in the fall we have that student visit the Club and report on the event.  So far, every report has been very positive and uplifting.)

Ambassadorial Scholars – Marcia Dennis, Coordinator.  (Ambassadorial Scholars are college age students who Rotary sends abroad for a few months, or a year of study.  They benefit by having a host Rotary club in the country of study.)

Rotary World Peace Fellowships – Chair:  Bob Hunt (This is a relatively new program funded by Rotary International to support persons with experience to obtain a masters degree in one of a few select schools to study peace and conflict resolution.  To see the handbook go to: http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/087en.pdf For an application go to: http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/083en.pdf

Group Study Exchange - Surinder Sethi, Chair. Members: Becky Goeckner, Radha Radhakrishna, and Ray Ropp (Rotary Districts sponsor Group Study Exchange Teams of five persons to visit another country for about thirty days.  When we send a team abroad a team from that country visits us.  In spring 2008 we exchanged with a team from South Korea.)

return to the master page of the Normal Rotary Club