FOUNDATIONS

CONTENTS:

• Noel Foundation
• Points of Light Foundation
• The Rotary Foundation

In the comforting words of former President George Bush, "Our nation will counter evil with good, defeat terrorism by routing out its perpetrators and comforting its victims and continue to answer the calls of people in need." The call these days is growing louder and, without the existence of the American values of philanthropy and volunteerism that are displayed by the following foundations, things would be very grim, indeed.

NOEL FOUNDATION

Businesswoman Noel Irwin Hentschel, the co-founder of American Tours International, founded the Noel Foundation in 1989. Inspired by working with Mother Teresa, Hentschel established the foundation to create and fund projects to "help those in need to help themselves."

Her focus is on women and children. The Noel Foundation funds programs that include Missionaries of Charity who work with the "poorest of the poor." One particular focus of the Missionaries program is assisting homeless mothers and children. Another is helping those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. They provide healthcare, adoption programs, supplies and meals, as well as after-school education and mentoring.

The Noel Foundation has partnered with organizations in the Los Angeles area to take underprivileged children on motorcoach tours across the U.S. to experience the nation's cultural and historical heritage. The foundation, however, is not currently accepting grant requests.

http://www.noelfoundation.com

POINTS OF LIGHT FOUNDATION (PLF)

PLF, founded in 1990 by former President George Bush, is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes volunteerism. It is the nation's leading advocate for, and authority on, volunteering.

Based in Washington, D.C., PLF was created in an effort to tap the creative energy of the people by advocating community service through a partnership with the Volunteer Center National Network. Together, they reach millions of people in thousands of communities to help deliver solutions to community problems.

Connect America, an initiative of the Points of Light Foundation, is a national partnership of diverse organizations -- nonprofits, businesses, civic associations, fraternal organizations, communities of faith, government agencies and the media -- working in collaboration to leverage knowledge, resources and volunteers to address social and community problems.

http://www.pointsoflight.org

http://www.pointsoflight.org/sponsors/connectamerica.cfm

THE ROTARY FOUNDATION (RF)

With headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, the mission of the RF is to support the efforts of Rotary International in the achievement of world understanding and peace through local, national and international humanitarian, educational and cultural programs. RF is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of RF who share its vision of a better world.

RF programs include humanitarian aid to improve the quality of life in the developing world and educational funding for students to study abroad each year. One of the major humanitarian programs is PolioPlus, which seeks to eradicate the polio virus worldwide. Grants are also awarded to university teachers to teach in developing countries and for exchanges of business and professional people.

It is interesting to note that although Rotary admitted women for the first time in 1989 and claims more than 90,000 women in its ranks today, there are no women currently serving as foundation trustees or members of the Rotary International board of directors.

http://www.rotary.org/foundation/index.html

Cathy Hampton