Wellesley High School graduate and New York University student Lara Smith will be the featured speaker at the August 18th, 6:30 – 8pm meeting of the Wellesley Rotary Club. Smith is currently a Political Affairs Ambassador intern for The Borgen Project, a national campaign that works to make worldwide poverty a focus of United States foreign policy. The Politics and Journalism major’s presentation will focus on the work The Borgen Project does to benefit those in need around the world, and how that work has direct domestic benefits.
The Borgen Project’s mission
The non-profit organization mobilizes constituents to contact their congressional leaders and urges them to support legislation that benefits impoverished countries. At the moment, the US spends just about 1% of its federal budget on foreign aid. The Project encourages investing in global communities that are in need as a way to build up those populations while creating more consumers for American products. This in turn benefits the US economy and creates US jobs.
Furthermore, the Project maintains that investing in impoverished communities and countries around the world protects the US’s national security. The Seattle-based group takes issue with the notion that military action and/or strength is the key to
national security. Instead, it suggests that investing in impoverished countries stabilizes them and in turn, stabilizes the countries around them, as well as the US.
Join the conversation
If you are interested in attending this Zoom meeting, send an email to Wellesley.rotary.club@gmail.com and the club will send you an invite to the August 18th, 6:30 – 8pm online meeting.
The Rotary Club of Wellesley is one of Wellesley’s oldest community service groups and conducts local programs to benefit the Town of Wellesley. The public is always invited to any Rotary program. Please check the web site www.wellesleyrotary.org for times and location.
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