• Application Process

• Projects 2006-2007

• Guidelines for Participation

• Matching Grant Tutorial

House of Friendship Booth Applications

Clubs are encouraged to apply for a booth at the House of Friendship during the Rotary International Convention in Los Angeles. Your club must have an on-going Matching Grant project. There is no charge for the booth and it is a great way to showcase a project and make contacts for future projects. This is an opportunity no club should miss, since the event is nearby in Los Angeles. Keep in mind that 32,000 clubs may be competing for this opportunity! It is imperative that your club submit the application ASAP. The application is available here.

An Avoidable Blindness Program
In District 5160

Our District's goal is to have every club participate in one International project. In his vision for 2007-2008, our District Governor Stan challenged every club to do something which they may not have done before. This is your opportunity to do so.

Blindness due to cataracts in the poor population is very common in many countries. It is most common among the older population but occurs at some level from birth throughout life due to many different reasons. For the expert ophthalmologist with the proper equipment it is a fairly routine surgical procedure to remove the cataract involved lens and replace it with a new intra-ocular lens. Very often, the patient not only can see again, but often has a very high quality of vision. Amazingly, while this procedure often costs from $3,000 - $6,000 here in the US, it is often performed by volunteer ophthalmologists at a cost of less than $21. This could lead to blind people being able to open their eyes and see again. Being able to see their grandkids for the first time. Being able to see to cook for themselves and clean their dwellings. For the young people, it will result in being able to see to learn to read and write and receive an education.

Our District has 3631 Rotarians. Our goal is to develop an Avoidable Blindness Program through a project for eye surgery. Danville Sycamore Valley Club has received a request to participating in an Avoidable Blindness Program from the Rotary Club of Calcutta New Alipore in Kolkata, India and has agreed to become the primary international sponsor and has pledged $2,000 for this project for 3631 surgeries. Please join the Danville/Sycamore Valley Club in its endeavor for a project so that every member in our District could say that he or she has contributed towards the cost of an eye surgery and helped one person who can see their world they live in, who can see their families and who can once again work and become economically independent.

What a gift to the mankind for just $21 which provides a lifetime vision for a person?
The preliminary Matching Grant Application will be available by the end of September. The Matching Grant Application will be submitted in December. We anticipate that the funding will be available by June so that the project can get started in Stan's year as our District Governor. We hope your club will participate in this project. We would appreciate your arranging contribution for 50 to100 cataract surgeries.

Ranjit Chakravorti, District Grants Subcommittee Chair
ranjitc@trsconsultants.com
925-548-4255 (cell)

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