129 Sharing the ideal of Serving Created by a group of Rotarians, Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo is a pararotarian institution. Accordingly, it is autonomous vis-à-vis the Rotary Clubs, carrying out its actions independently, based on its strategic planning and respecting its Mission, its Vision, and its Values. However, it needs to be pointed out that because the Fundação results from an initiative by a group of 20 Rotarians and because the presidents and former officers of the Rotary Clubs located in the São Paulo metropolitan area play an active role in its governing and advisory bodies, there are strong ties between the institutions, such as many coinciding values and principles, to begin with. Eduardo de Barros Pimentel, the first Rotary District Governor to assume the presidency of the Board of Directors of the Fundação, gives a detailed account of that alignment. “One of the things that has always impressed about the Fundação is its spirit of service above self, which is rather Rotarian, which is voluntary,” says he, who remarks that both institutions go by the principle that one cannot do a good job without bringing together a group of fine professionals who collaborate with each other, exchanging information and experiences —which benefits everyone and the job. “Decisions made by the group are not orders, but commitments they all make. This pervades the Fundação,” he explains. Valuable synergies are achieved. The power of the Rotary name and its widespread presence in Brazil and abroad provide great benefits to the Fundação, whether by creating opportunities for and facilitating relationships with professionals and institutions or by enabling it to rely on the support and voluntary work of Rotarians in its activities. At the same time, the Fundação is a cause for great pride for Rotary International, whose presidents have praised its actions and results both on their visits to Brazil and at foreign events. In May 2012, for example, then president Kalyan Banerjee highlighted the Fundação’s initiatives during the Rotary International Convention held in Bangkok, Thailand, stating that they represented the greatest educational work ever done by a Rotary institution in the whole world. From 2010 on, the visibility of the Fundação increased in that sphere, with an active participation in Rotary International Conventions. The 2015 edition, held in São Paulo, was another occasion for that, reaching thousands of Rotarians from all over the world who attended the convention. Among the various featured themes, the activities undertaken by Centro de Educação para Surdos Rio Branco – presented in the Plenary Session of the Convention by Sabine Antonialli Arena Vergamini, director of the institution, and by the former student and current deaf teacher Thaís Ferreira – drew a lot of attention from the public. The performance by the Rio Branco Choir was also one of the highlights of the event. Given the reach and the results of its work, which get better known by the day, the Fundação has become a benchmark, frequently receiving visits by presidents from Rotary International, Rotary authorities and pararotarian organizations interested in learning from its experience.
Livro Comemorativo dos 70 anos da Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo - Uma história de ideias e ideais
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