Visiting another country and meeting its people may offer visitors the greatest educational epiphany imaginable. It might also be the key to unlocking our spirit of generosity. Such has been the case for Rob and Mary Gooze, itinerant travelers who are longtime donors to the Rotary Foundation.“Wow, is that what you guys do at Rotary?” Oregon’s Rob Gooze recalls friends asking after he told them about their trip to India. And it wasn’t even a Rotary trip! Five years ago, Rob and Mary had joined a tour group and visited a Mother Teresa Orphanage as part of the trip. When the group arrived at the orphanage, a team of nurses there made a bee line for Rob. They immediately began hugging him! Others in the travel group wondered, did Rob actually know orphanage nurses in India?
“They noticed the pin—he’s a Rotarian!” explained Rob. The nurses then pointed to young boys nearby, still in crutches from polio. ‘Those will be the last two children we see in this orphanage with polio. Now India is polio-free.’ The Rotary connection to polio eradication was cemented in their minds and personified in Rob Gooze!
An endorsement like that cannot be underestimated. As a longtime member of Madison South Rotary, including as past president, in addition to his service as Grant Treasurer for District 6250, Rob’s pride in the organization only grew.
“We made another big donation to Rotary after that. You saw what it can do,” says Rob.
