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<DIV>1. <A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1416;_ylc=X3oDMTJxbmhvZmVpBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0MTYEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIwODk0NjQwNQ--"
name=1><FONT color=#1e66ae size=2>1499: Rotary’s work paints a beautiful picture
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<DT><FONT size=2>Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:57 am (PDT)</FONT>
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<DIV class=ygrp-content>Rotary's work paints a beautiful picture<BR></DIV></DD>
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<DIV class=ygrp-content>By Judith Diment <BR><BR>Rosa Branson recently completed
the Service above Self painting <BR>commissioned by Rotary International in
Great Britain and Ireland. A <BR>painting by British artist Rosa Branson,
commissioned by Rotary <BR>International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI),
was unveiled 19 <BR>March by Baroness Helene Hayman, the Lord Speaker, in the
River Room <BR>at the House of Lords.<BR><BR>The thematic work, entitled Service
Above Self, depicts the many <BR>facets of Rotary's humanitarian service,
including the global <BR>campaign to eradicate polio and efforts addressing
literacy, health, <BR>hunger, and water issues. <BR><BR>The 9-by-6-foot oil
painting is Branson's 15th charity work. <BR><BR>"On behalf of Rotarians, I
would like to thank Rosa for this very <BR>generous gift of an extraordinary
painting," said Allan Jagger, <BR>president of RIBI, at the unveiling. "It will
help raise awareness of <BR>the work of Rotary and will also help raise funds
for The Rotary <BR>Foundation."<BR><BR>Branson discovered Rotary's work on a
trip to Sierra Leone to visit <BR>the land-based operations of Mercy Ships,
which is depicted in the <BR>painting and provides health care to port cities
around the world. <BR>(Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland helped raise
more than £1 <BR>million [US$1.9 million] for the ophthalmic operating unit and
the <BR>Rotary International Lounge of the new Africa Mercy ship.) Other
<BR>charities represented are the Impact Foundation, which aims to <BR>prevent
and alleviate disabilities; the Institute of Cancer Research; <BR>The Rotary
Foundation; ShelterBox; Sightsavers, whose efforts to <BR>fight blindness in
developing countries have been supported by Rotary <BR>for more than 25 years;
and the Wheelchair Foundation.<BR><BR>A limited-edition print of the painting
has been published for sale <BR>to benefit the Foundation. <BR><BR>Branson, who
trained at the Slade School of Fine Art, has painted <BR>similar pieces for the
Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other <BR>organizations. <BR><BR>"I have always
loved working on a big scale, and my training has <BR>enabled me to be able to
paint anything," she said. "My thematic <BR>paintings for charity allow me to
blend contemporary, real issues <BR>with the techniques of the Renaissance
painters. I feel I have found <BR>this amazing world, and each time I paint one
charity painting, it <BR>leads to another."<BR><BR>Source: Rotary International
News<BR>Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary<BR></DIV></DD></FONT></BODY></HTML>