District 6460

wORLD COMMUNITY SERVICE

In District 6460 many clubs have initiated Service Projects to continue the fellowship and humanitarianism characteristic of Rotary. It is one more effort to do good in the world using an estimated US$20 million in funds and at least that much in donations-in-kind, which includes both donated goods and donated labor. There are three criteria for being a WCS project:

  1. The project must be humanitarian in nature

  2. Rotarians in two or more Rotary Countries must be involved

  3. One of those countries must contain the site of the project.

Within the recent past examples of projects done by clubs in District 6460 have included the following:

District 6460 Club(s)

Location of project

Approximate Cost

Collinsville, Goshen, Granite City, Quincy East, Bethalto, Springfield, and Highland Poliovirus Lab in Stravropol, Russia $1,000 per club
Quincy Rotary Club Laundry equipment for Senior Citizen home in Diadema, Brazil $7,284.
Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club Equip. for street children project in Sao Paolo, Brazil $4,500
Benld Rotary Club Water Project in Karkala, Inida $674
Galesburg & District 6460 Samaru Village Health Clinic, Nigeria Donated goods and $7,000
Galesburg & Galesburg SunRise Water Well project in Lakshmeswhar, India $1,000@

If you would like more information about World Community Service Projects in District 6460 contact District WCS Chair AG Mac McGee who can help you find the resources you and your club will need. If you would like to explore the kinds of projects and their locations then go to the PROJECTS EXCHANGE for more information. There you will find not only a full description of the WCS Projects but also tips to help you put together a project with someone in another country. Even the forms you will need are included on this page.

 

The World Community Service (WCS) Projects Exchange is published by the International Support Section of Rotary International (RI) twice each year in February and August. It is available in French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish for US$2.00 from the RI Order Desk at 847-866-3149 or from the RI Service Center in your area. For more information about the mechanics of carrying out a World Community Service project, consult World Community Service: A Guide to Action (PA2-742-EN), the program handbook.  This is copied from the WCS Projects Exchange section of rotary.org.

World Community Service: Service and Fellowship on a Global Scale

World Community Service, or WCS, gives Rotarians an opportunity for fellowship with an important difference -- humanitarianism. Initiated in 1967, WCS allows Rotarians in two countries to join forces to help those in need. And Rotarians do, providing an estimated US$20 million in funds and donations-in-kind each year.

WCS encompasses a variety of Rotarian efforts. It includes international projects, where Rotarians in two countries have met, either through the WCS Projects Exchange, or at international conventions or other meetings, via Group Study Exchange teams, or through many other ways. It includes projects that have received Matching Grants from The Rotary Foundation and many that have not. It includes projects where partners have pooled funds, have shared donated goods, and have sent volunteers.

The WCS Projects Exchange serves as a starting point for Rotarians who would like to undertake a WCS project, but lack an international Rotary partner. The WCS Projects Exchange offers clubs seeking assistance from abroad a chance to publicize their community service initiatives. Alternately, clubs that wish to assist a project abroad can consult the listing to find a project -- and a partner. It offers a short description of Rotary club projects and lists local project coordinators so that potential donors can contact the local club for more information. Rotarians who would like to support a project can select from over 450 endeavors in 46 countries. The WCS Projects Exchange offers a wide variety of projects in terms of cost -- for instance, a club can immunize a single child or build an entire hospital. The Projects Exchange also features a great diversity of types of projects -- from projects providing literacy training for factory workers to support for hospices for children with AIDS or revolving loan funds for low-income farmers.

Inclusion of a project in the WCS Projects Exchange does not indicate any endorsement by Rotary International. Rotary International assumes, but cannot verify, that the clubs included have represented their projects accurately. Donors should always check with the local Rotary club to ascertain the current project needs. Lastly, listing in the WCS Projects Exchange does not ensure, nor represent a petition for, funding through The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

Why Participate in World Community Service?

Frankly, it can be hard to raise interest in an international project, because often the benefits seem so removed. Why help people a world away when there are needs in your own local community?

WCS projects create an opportunity to further international understanding and promote cultural exchange. Through WCS, your club can build goodwill overseas and help create a favorable image of your country, letting down barriers to peace and trade. You also bolster the image of Rotary and promote Rotary's "Service Above Self" ideal.

WCS lets you address global problems such as pollution and disease. Your partner's approach to literacy education or hunger alleviation may differ greatly from your own; these differences can promote an exchange of ideas. By adopting elements of your partner's approach, you might create an innovative solution to a problem in your local community. Lastly, WCS empowers all concerned -- creating power to change a world, to reach out and touch lives, power to make a difference. By fostering a sense of self-help, Rotarians can help create a bright future for all.

How to Support a Project Overseas

With Funds

Before you send funds to a project, contact the local Rotary club to learn of current needs. You might want to contact several different clubs to learn more about their efforts and to find out which club is most compatible with yours in terms of its interests and commitment to the project. If time is of the essence, this becomes especially important. Leave yourself some options.

Once you have confirmed the project's current needs, use the WCS Remittance Form to send your contribution, to RI World Headquarters or the RI Service Center in your area. (For a list of addresses) Checks should be made payable to Rotary International. Please specify the WCS project number on the check.

Transferring funds overseas through RI takes time. It may be several weeks before your partner club receives the funds. RI will disburse the funds in the local country's currency. You might contact your bank to inquire about transferring funds directly to your partner, although this can carry some risk. Donations sent to WCS projects through RI are not tax-deductible and do not qualify for Paul Harris Fellow credit.

If you would like to apply for a Matching Grant or any other grant from The Rotary Foundation, do not send any funds until your application is approved. At that time, please follow the procedures set by The Rotary Foundation.

With Donated Goods

For Rotarians carrying out WCS projects that involve donated goods, the Donations-in-kind Information Network, or DIN, serves as an additional resource.

Every donated item a club or district requests through the WCS Projects Exchange is cataloged in a database. That way, if Rotarians have an item to donate, RI can compare what they have with what other clubs have requested, and can help Rotarians find another use for the item. In the WCS Projects Exchange, space considerations dictate that some descriptions of requested equipment, especially medical items, be rather general. So if you have a piece of equipment you would like to contribute to a Rotary project overseas, contact the DIN staff person at RI World Headquarters to learn of projects that request the goods.

If no project in the WCS Projects Exchange has requested the item, or if your club prefers to initiate a donations-in-kind project, you can offer goods through the quarterly DIN Bulletin. RI will then list your item so that Rotarians interested in receiving the donation can contact you. The DIN Bulletin also lists services -- translations, for instance -- that individual Rotarians are offering in order to help facilitate WCS projects.

RI also produces the DIN Resource Guide, which includes information about organizations that work with donated goods and offers guidelines for clubs carrying out projects involving donations-in-kind. Since donated goods projects present unique challenges and responsibilities, please seek advice from someone with experience or call RI to obtain a copy of the DIN Resource Guide if your club plans to work with donations-in-kind.

With Volunteers

The WCS Projects Exchange complements RI's Rotary Volunteers Program. As the name implies, Rotary Volunteers encourages Rotarians to offer their time, energy, and skills to help humanitarian efforts in their home community and abroad.

If you find a project for which you would like to volunteer, contact the local Rotarian listed with each project description and ensure that your skills are a good match for the tasks to be accomplished. Provide the local Rotary club with thorough information about your skills, qualifications, and expectations. Wait to make travel arrangements until a specific invitation has been issued by the project contact. For more information about volunteering, consult the Rotary Volunteers Handbook.

Like the WCS Projects Exchange, the biannual Rotary Volunteers International Site List includes projects for which Rotary clubs are seeking international assistance; the site list differs in that it focuses solely on projects that need volunteers. The International Volunteer List offers Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike the chance to inform Rotary clubs of their willingness to volunteer abroad. RI also publishes the Rotary Volunteers Resource List, which includes information about volunteer opportunities through non-Rotary organizations.

How to Initiate a Project in Your Local Community

Consult potential recipients to best learn of their needs and priorities. It is important that the people your project serves become not only recipients of your generosity, but participants in the project itself. Your club's most important contribution is helping people help themselves, and giving people the capacity for long-term self-reliance.

You might consider involving your Rotary Village Corps (RVC) or Rotary Community Corps (RCC). (groups of civic-minded non-Rotarians, sponsored by a Rotary club, who have a desire to help their own communities.) An RVC or RCC can help assess community needs and help mobilize the residents, and provide a vital link between Rotarians and and the community-at-large.

After determining the type of project that will most benefit the community to be served, realistically assess what funds, goods, and volunteer effort your club can contribute to the project. Investigate the possibility of other local assistance -- would your Rotaract or Interact club like to assist? Could other local organizations be of help? Your project should be one that your club can carry out (albeit on a more limited scale) even if you do not receive assistance from abroad.

After you have assessed potential local resources, you should think about what contributions a Rotary club or district abroad could make. Requesting a modest amount from international sources gives you a better chance of finding a partner, since many new or small clubs cannot undertake larger projects.

If you are considering requesting donations-in-kind, investigate shipping costs and import procedures. International shipping and import duties can be costly, so solicit donations-in-kind only if obtaining and shipping goods from a foreign donor is cost effective or if you cannot obtain the required items within your country. In requesting donated goods, be specific. Consider what condition goods must be in to be suitable for your project's recipients. If goods that a potential donor offers will not meet your needs because of their condition, type, or other factor, you are not obligated to accept them. A simple "no, thank you" will save you and the donor time, money, and effort. Since donated goods projects present unique challenges and responsibilities, please contact RI World Headquarters or the RI Service Center in your area to obtain a copy of the Donations-in-kind Information Network Resource Guide, which contains advice for carrying out such projects.

Once you have determined what assistance a club overseas could realistically provide, your club should identify opportunities for finding a project partner. The WCS Projects Exchange is one method of doing so. To have your project included in the WCS Projects Exchange, you need to complete a Project Data Form . Fill out the form carefully, since RI photocopies it for distribution to interested donors.

Selecting a project contact should be undertaken with care. The project contact's address will be listed in the WCS Projects Exchange along with the project description. Choose someone who will be kept up-to-date on the project's progress for two years, who can get correspondence translated quickly, who has access to a fax machine, if possible, and who can respond to inquiries in a timely manner.

Projects are published in the biannual WCS Projects Exchange four times (over a two-year period). You then have the option of re-listing the project for another four issues. The WCS Projects Exchange serves as a powerful tool, but not an assured means of support, so you should spread the word in other ways too. International meetings, Group Study Exchange teams, Youth Exchange students, and visiting Rotarians all give you an opportunity to share information about your project.

WCS Projects Exchange Rules

1. The project sponsor is defined as the local in-country Rotary club or district. Rotary clubs and districts outside the project country who wish to register (and thus seek support for) a project through the WCS Projects Exchange should cooperate with an in-country club or district, which can then register the project.

2.You must submit project information on the official Project Data Form.

3. The sponsoring Rotary club must notify RI Headquarters immediately if the project contact changes.

4. The project contact must respond to all inquiries about the project promptly.

5. Each club may have only one project registered on the WCS Projects Exchange at any one time. There are two exceptions to this rule:

Grant Opportunities from The Rotary Foundation

Matching Grants
Some, but not all, projects listed in the WCS Projects Exchange may be eligible to receive Matching Grants from The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. These grants provide matching funds for relatively small, one-time-only WCS projects that involve the active, personal participation of Rotarians. There are several criteria that projects must meet to receive a Matching Grant. There is also a separate application process.

All projects that have received Matching Grants from The Rotary Foundation are WCS projects, but not all WCS projects can receive Matching Grants.

For a Matching Grants guide (RF2-144-EN) or an application (RF2-141-EN), which contains complete eligibility criteria, please contact the Order Desk at RI World Headquarters or the RI Service Center in your area. Below is a partial list of eligibility criteria, included to guide you in making an initial selection of possible Matching Grant projects from the WCS Projects Exchange:

Matching Grant requests for US$20,000 or less are accepted and processed throughout the year as long as funds are available. Because a grant cannot be made for a project in progress, you should allow at least 15 weeks between the time the application is submitted and the project's scheduled start date. Requests for grants of US$20,001 to US$50,000 are considered twice a year on a competitive basis; applications are due 1 August and 1 January.

Carl P. Miller Discovery Grants provide "seed money" in the form of travel and related expenses to help develop international service projects. Discovery Grants help not by funding a project itself, but by supporting the direct people-to-people contact needed in a project's planning stages. Discovery Grants are awarded twice each year, following application deadlines of 1 July and 1 January. They are competitive, and limited to a maximum of US$3,000.

Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants provide funds -- from US$100,000 to US$500,000 -- for large-scale, two- or three-year WCS projects. Focus is on international development projects that have significant Rotarian involvement and that increase people's capacity for self-help. These grants are highly competitive: Trustees of The Rotary Foundation consider applications once each year.

Grants for Rotary Volunteers provide partial funding for international volunteer service. Service terms must be four to eight consecutive weeks long. The grant will cover the lowest economy-class round-trip airfare and up to US$50 per diem. Any Rotarian, Rotary Foundation alumni, or Rotaractor who has located a service site may be eligible. Spouses may accompany the volunteer at their own expense.

How to read this list

Categories

Projects are divided by region first --Africa and Europe (which includes all projects from Russia and Turkey), the Americas and the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific.

Then by a category roughly describing the project type.

Community Development -- includes multi-faceted projects as well as projects that do not fit in one of the categories below.

Education -- consists of projects such as school construction, vocational training for the able-bodied and the disabled, and adult literacy.

Food Production -- contains projects that promote agricultural improvements. Projects relating to fish farming (aquaculture) are also included.

Health -- includes a variety of projects that improve physical well-being, such as primary health care clinics, nutrition programs, physical rehabilitation facilities.

Water & Sanitation -- contains projects that provide clean water or adequate sanitary facilities for schools, hospitals, and communities as a whole.

Then by size:

Small --US$1 to US$999

Medium -- US$1,000 to US$4,999

Large -- US$5,000 and up

Each size category encompasses projects to which a club can meaningfully donate that amount of money. The total project cost of a "small" project may be several thousand US dollars, but if a contribution of US$100 can provide a scholarship for a young woman to attend school, for instance, the project will be labeled small. Thus, if your club or district has allocated a large sum for WCS and you seek a project through the WCS Projects Exchange, you should look through all three size categories.

Projects that exclusively request donated goods are categorized as medium or large.

Finally, within the size category, projects are organized alphabetically by country, and then by club.

Entries

Cap-Haitien(name of Rotary club) --W02994 (project #) (7020) (district # ). Bring electricity to a small village by installing a turbine to harness the wind. Local Rotarians will lend their technical expertise. (project description) US$17,616. (requested contribution) Raoul C. Auguste, Rue 16-L, P.O. Box 62, Cap-Haitien, Haiti. FAX: 62-0385 or 62-1264; ( 62-0744 (R); 62-0385 (O). (contact person name, address & fax telephone number, (R) = residence, (O) = office)

A V precedes the Rotary club name when the club has requested volunteers.

The notation (RVC), (Rotaract) or (Interact) will follow the Rotary club name if a club has sponsored the project on behalf of its Rotary Village Corps, Rotaract club, or Interact club, respectively.

Most telephone and fax numbers do not contain country codes. Check with your international telephone operator to obtain or verify international dialing access numbers, country codes, and, if missing, area or city codes. Be sure to fax during local business hours since fax machines might only operate at that time of day.

How to Effectively Communicate with Your Project Partner

Communication styles, as well as perceptions of timeliness, vary from culture to culture. Knowing this up front and setting a realistic time frame for your project will help maintain goodwill among all participants.

Allow ample time for your project partner to respond to your inquiry. International mail can be slow. If at all possible, get your correspondence translated into the language of your potential project partner. Consult the Donations-in-kind Information Network (DIN) Bulletin: its "Related Services" section lists Rotarians willing to translate correspondence for WCS projects.

Communicate by fax whenever possible; you will know immediately whether or not your partner has received your message and you will decrease the time needed to exchange information. Three suggestions:

If ten weeks (six weeks for faxes) have passed since you inquired about a project and you have not received a reply, please notify the RI World Headquarters . We will send an inquiry to the project contact and local Rotary leaders, and update or remove the club's listing so that other Rotary clubs do not experience the same problem.

PolioPlus Partners --A New International Service Opportunity

The new PolioPlus Partners Program helps Rotarians worldwide work together on the goal of polio eradication. Administered through a registry at The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, the program allows Rotarians in polio-free countries to help Rotarians in polio-endemic regions to obtain the tools and supplies necessary to carry out polio eradication efforts. National PolioPlus committee members, World Health Organization officials, and Rotary's field staff identify needs to submit to the registry.

Social mobilization requests range from vaccine carriers to radio announcements to T-shirts, generally including promotional and logistical support items.

For surveillance work, virologists need microscopes, freezers, centrifuges, and other laboratory equipment and supplies. (By tracking the frequency and types of polio cases, surveillance laboratories help public health experts formulate immunization strategies and motivate people to take action.)

Epidemiologists and other officials may require computer software, laboratory materials, or bicycles to maximize their efforts.

For more information about PolioPlus Partners and how to get involved, please contact the PolioPlus Partners Desk at The Rotary Foundation: 847-866-3344.

RI Service Centers Around the World

Send donated funds and World Community Service Remittance Form to the RI service Center for your area.

World Headquarters
Rotary International
c/o Harris Trust & Savings Bank
P.O. Box 71394
Chicago, Illinois 60694-1394, USA
Telephone: (847) 866-3000
Telefax: (847) 328-8554; (847) 328-8281

Brazil Service Center
Rotary International
Rua Tagipuru 209
01156-000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Telephone: (55-11) 826-2966
Fax: (55-11) 67-6575

Japan Service Center
Rotary International
c/o San Catherina Bldg.
36-12 Shinjuku, 1-chome
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan 160
Telephone: (81-3) 3355-5391
Fax: (81-3) 3226-4606
Telex: 2325393 RIBRJP
Cable: RIBRJRN

Korea Service Center
Rotary International
Room 705, Miwon Building
43 Yoido-dong
Yongdungpo-gu, Seoul
Republic of Korea 156-010
Telephone: (82-2) 783-3077 (82-2) 783-3078
Fax: (82-2) 783-3079

South Asia Service Center
Rotary International
Sucheta Bhavan
11A Vishnu Digambar Marg
New Delhi
India 110 002
Telephone: (91-11) 7115413; (91-11) 7248786
Fax: (91-11) 7233417; (91-11) 7250201
Telex: 3165262
Cable: Interotary -- New Delhi 110 002

Southeast Asia Service Center
Rotary International
Philcox Building, 3rd Floor
172 Salcedo St., Legaspi Village
Makati, Metro Manila
Philippines 3116
Telephone: (63-2) 818-1324
Fax: (63-2) 817-1296

Southern South America Service Center
Rotary International
Florida 1, P. 2
1005 Buenos Aires, C.F.
Argentina
Telephone: (54-1) 342-2625; (54-1) 342-2735
Fax: (54-1) 331-4839

Southwest Pacific Service Center
Rotary International
McNamara Centre, Level 2
100 George Street
Parramatta NSW 2150
Australia
Telephone: (61-02) 635-3537
Fax: (61-2) 689-3169

Europe/Africa Office
Rotary International
Witikonerstrasse 15
8032 Zurich
Switzerland
Telephone: (41-1) 387 71 11
Fax: (41-1) 422 50 41
Telex: 817814 ROIN CH
Cable: Interotary