Last month we got to share the successes of The Rotary Foundation and how fitting since it was “Foundation” month. Therefore, we looked at the successes internally. This month we have the opportunity to celebrate the external successes as seen by others about us. Here is a great “Did you know?” question for you. Did you know The Rotary Foundation was honored with a “Four Star rating” which is the top rating a charity can receive from Charity Navigator for the 17^th consecutive year? Charity Navigator is the independent charity evaluator in the country. Ratings are determined by Charity Navigator by a total examination of nonprofits specifically by how they use their funding, how they implement and sustain their programs and do they adhere to the industry’s standards related to transparency and accountability of the total organization.

Charity Navigator began providing their ratings in 2001 and have rated over 225,000 charities. As they state on their website, “The metrics inform donors of not just where their dollars are going but what their dollars are doing.

To be ranked in the top category is no small feat and to be there for 17 consecutive years says ab awful lot about our mission and the application of it but also speaks volumes about our consistency in achieving our goals and the standards we have set. Certainly, we can all be proud of this accomplishment. November was truly an outstanding month for the Foundation in our district, and we are well on the way to achieving annual goal for 2025-2026. Remember your contributions to the Foundation can be designated to either Polio Plus or the Annual Fund and both count toward your individual contributions. All of us working together makes a huge difference.

Let me change gears now and shift to a video I had the opportunity to view. The video is entitled, “Rotary’s fight against Polio: Global Progress and Updates from Pakistan.” There were three panelists on the video: Past President Rotary International John Germ, who is a friend of mine, Holger Knaack, also a Past President Rotary International, and Dr. Arshad Quddus of the World Health Organization. The video is moderated by Carol Pandak, the Director of PolioPlus. If you are new or newer to Rotary and would like to get a good understanding as to where we stand in the fight to eradicate Polio in the world, it is a must-see video. For those quite familiar with the fight, you won’t hear much by way of new information, but it will give you up to the minute numbers on where we are. Past President John reported as of November 11, 2025, that we have nine cases in Afghanistan and 30 cases in Pakistan of the wild-polio virus. In addition, there are 137 of what has now been labeled “the vaccine derived or the variant” most of which are in Africa giving a total of 176 worldwide, but that compares to 288 cases last year at this time, so the overall is a reduction of 39%. You can view the video by clicking this link.

They made sure to make the strong point of the tremendous partnerships we have in place today, the most significant being the partnership renewal with the Gates Foundation matching us $2 to $1. All of this is certainly good news for the fight and for leadership of the Rotary Foundation. So, the fight continues, but the prognosis is very good!! We’ll keep fighting together!

If I can personally assist you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via cell or email. I’m here to help and together we will….Unite for good!