Innsbrook (Richmond) Rotary - International Projects

The international aspect of Rotary is not unique to our organization, but no other civic club can claim the breadth or clout that rotary has achieved as a promoter of global service and peace. This capability was recently underscored by Rotary being selected to partner with Bill and Melinda Gates in a final assault to eradicate polio world-wide.

The established programs and credibility of Rotary world-wide enable us to contribute dollars through our Rotary Foundation gifts and fund raising efforts with full confidence that these hard earned dollars will accomplish the good they are intended to deliver.

Innsbrook Rotary is taking full advantage of the RI international framework in this tight economy and with an eye to protecting our stretch goals for local projects. We are pursuing projects that enable us to engage district and international matching funds that multiply significantly the impact that our Innsbrook dollars can have. While this strategy does restrict our ability to choose projects freely, it does enable us to point with pride to the establishment of a bridge in Fupashi, Zambia in 2010 that we enabled with a contribution of $3000. Similarly, we chose to contribute $2500 of our budget to partner with the Warwick club in construction of a second bridge in Nicaragua in 2011. These bridges will open up educational, business and health opportunities that will change the lives of villagers in some of the world’s poorest and most remote areas. These accomplishments are achievable by our club because of the establishment of matching dollar grants from the district and from Rotary International, as well as the ability to rely on a sponsoring Rotary club in the target area to see that the good intentions actually materialize as planned.

We are currently participating in a grant request for Healing Hearts- a program of the International Children’s Hospital to bring children from the East Caribbean area to Richmond for life saving heart surgeries that are unavailable in their home countries. We are partnering with the Downtown Richmond, Bon Air and Huguenot Trail clubs to provide a total of $15,000 to obtain district funds to save the lives of 6 or 7 children this year. In addition to funding the surgeries, we will have a hands-on opportunity to make the experience more bearable and enriched by helping to support and entertain these children and their caregivers during their stay at MCV’s Hospital Hospitality House. The children are housed on a floor built out to receive them by the South Richmond club several years ago.

Rotary has four international educational programs designed to promote peace and world understanding. One of these is the exchange of adult professionals between countries, Group Study Exchange (GSE). We have hosted many GSE teams, the most recent being from Germany, September 21-25, 2010. We will apply to host the 2011 team from Korea. Innsbrook Rotary always appreciates the opportunity to welcome the GSE team members into our Rotary homes, and we place a high priority on making this exposure to the USA meaningful for these visiting professionals.

Pedro Parron, our most recent Youth Exchange student from Brazil, completed his school year in 2010. Deepa Iyer, our Ambassadorial Scholar from last year, completed her graduate studies at Oxford University in England in 2010. We do not have a high school exchange student or an Ambassadorial scholar for the 2010-11 school year. The newest Rotary educational program is for Peace Fellows, highly motivated students interested in careers that impact world peace and conflict resolution. Students are selected annually for a two year graduate level study program at one of the 7 Peace Center Universities located throughout the world (Thailand, Japan, Argentina, Australia and USA).

The Group and Youth Exchange and Ambassadorial Scholar Programs are two-way exchanges, and we are always looking for good applicants to go to other countries as well as for hosts for our visitors.

One of the things we strive for as a club is our communication with all area schools, particularly at the college level, regarding Rotary international educational programs. We need members who would like to serve as a liaison with an area school regarding these Rotary opportunities.

Attending the annual International convention enables our members to see not only the multitude of international service projects, but also fellowship groups Rotarians join in to share interests across the world. Fellowship groups exist for an impressively wide variety of activities.

Rotary Peace Centers also receive a great deal of attention at the international conventions, with breakout groups and convention speakers showcasing the notable results that are beginning to materialize from this outstanding educational program.

The Rotary International website is an excellent resource for additional information on all international programs. Informational brochures, requirements and application forms for each are available on-line.