AND FINALLY

IS IT TIME TO CHANGE THE ​PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIP?

My mother, who died just a few months ago, was a Paul Harris Fellow (PHF). I had ​no idea until 2020 when I showed her the PHF I had just received from Elthorne-​Hillingdon Rotary Club in Middlesex.

Now my mother was not a Rotarian, but she respected what Rotary stood for.

For more than 20 years she was the Mayor’s secretary at the London Borough of ​Hammersmith & Fulham where, like a sergeant-major, she ruled the Mayor’s ​office with a rod of iron.

Successive Mayors who wanted to use their year in office as a major vanity ​project were quickly put in line. My mother was a formidable organiser of fund-​raisers harvesting tens of thousands of pounds each year for different mayors’ ​charities.

She was made a Freeman of the City of London, the highest civic honour ​awarded to an individual, which I knew about, and a PHF by Hammersmith ​Rotary Club, which I didn’t. My mother was particularly proud of the PHF because ​of the close relationship she shared with Rotary. “They were doers, not talkers,” ​she said bluntly.

My own PHF was a genuine surprise and huge thrill to receive from my former ​Rotary club, many of whose members are major givers and donors to The Rotary ​Foundation; people who I respect immensely.

Which leads me to the interesting debate in the Rotary Magazine letters pages ​about the point of the PHF and how they are awarded. If you’ve not been ​following the discussion, then do read past issues of Rotary Magazine, beginning ​with Alex Ritchie’s post in January and notably the letter in April from Mike ​Hodge, The Rotary Foundation’s Specialist Adviser Team Lead who sets out very ​clearly the history and purpose of the PHF.

Mike explains how the PHF has always been, first and foremost, a personal ​recognition for contributions to The Rotary Foundation for those who contribute ​$1,000 or more each year. In more recent times, the PHF has been passed to ​someone, whether a Rotarian or not, as a thank your or a recognition of service ​by the initial donor of the $1,000.

“Clubs in Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland often do this, having over the years ​donated more than then $1,000 which they were credited with points in place of ​an actual PHF pin,” explained Mike, who pointed out how this is not common ​practice in other countries.

It is an interesting discussion with Dover Rotarian, Roger Knight, suggesting that ​Rotary creates a new award, separate to the PHF, called the Rotary 1905 Star. It’s ​a point I agree with – though maybe the name needs re-working!

The Rotary Foundation is Rotary’s charity. It is the engine room of Rotary’s work, ​funding the activities of Rotary’s humanitarian efforts around the world. Without ​it, Rotary would not have the impact it does, so The Rotary Foundation depends ​on Rotarians to regularly donate.

Within Rotary International there are various tiers of giving to The Rotary ​Foundation from being a Rotary Foundation Sustaining Member by giving $100 ​or more a year, to becoming a member of the Arch Klumph Society when ​cumulative donations have reached $250,000. You can read the different levels ​of donor recognition for The Rotary Foundation here.

For Rotary to grow it has to be inclusive and not exclusive. Yes, The Rotary ​Foundation needs to big benefactors to support its work.

My colleagues at Rotary News India publish each month the amount each Indian ​District donates to The Rotary Foundation. I don’t intend to do that in these ​columns. Giving money is not a competition, nor should it be used as a vanity ​project. Giving is personal, and Rotarians should consider supporting The Rotary ​Foundation each year, if only by giving $100.

That’s why Roger Knight has a point. The PHF should be used solely as ​recognition for those who actively support The Rotary Foundation to whatever ​level, with a totally separate award being presented to recognise Rotary service. ​There would be a clear differentiation between the PHF and its purpose of ​recognising giving.

So maybe it is time for a rethink. Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland already has its ​Champions of Change awards so, in a similar vein, how about every country ​association within Rotary International receives nominations each year for ​Rotarians and non-Rotarians to receive a ‘Service Above Self’ pin? There should ​be a criterion and a quota. These awards are decided nationally, not at a club ​level. These ‘Service Above Self’ pins should be coveted and hard to get.

In doing so, it would be recognising those people who have gone above and ​beyond in the service of Rotary International, whether as a Rotarian or, like my ​mother, someone who has worked alongside Rotary in making a difference to ​their community.

What do you think? Email me at: editor@rotarygbi.org