Ms Rajashree Birla, an Honorary member of the Rotary Club of Bombay, has donated another sum of $1.12 million to The Rotary Foundation in support of Rotary’s $200 Million Challenge.

With this, she has contributed a total of more than $4.2 million to The Rotary Foundation for polio eradication.

According to Foundation Trustee Ashok M. Mahajan, Ms Birla’s extraordinary generosity stems from her belief that giving to oth-

ers is the best way to make a lasting change in the world. As a mother, she has compassion for the young victims of polio and wants to help Rotary achieve its goal of eradicating the disease.

"Ms Birla strongly believes that what we have done for ourselves dies with us. But what we do for others remains forever," he says. "Charity begins at home but should not end there."

Ashok Mahajan adds that Ms Birla has confidence in The Foundation’s ability to use the money wisely.

Her husband, the late Mr. Aditya Birla, converted the Aditya Birla Group into a "Fortune 500" company and one of the largest in India, employing more than 100,000 people in over 20 countries. Her eldest son, Kumar Mangalam Birla, is chairman of the board and she serves as a director.

The family has a long-standing commitment to business accountability and community service.

Ms Birla continues that legacy through her leadership of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development where she oversees projects that address education, health care and other social issues.

Among her many awards and honours, Ms Birla is an Honorary member of the Rotary Club of Bombay which presented her with the Citizen of Bombay Award in 2003.

In 2004, she received the Pride of India Award from the Rotary Club of Mulund (she is an Honorary member of that Club, too).

The Aditya Birla Centre has helped immunise about three million children against polio in 3,200 villages in India, one of the four remaining polio-endemic countries.