"Service Above Self"

Donna Sawaya became a member of the Rotary Club of the Garden of the Gods in 2001.   The Garden of the Gods Club is the original founding Club of the Champions program and is now one of the seven area Rotary Clubs that govern the activities of the Rotary Champions Foundation nonprofit organization that puts on the annual Rotary Champions event.   Donna served as Garden of the Gods club president in 2004-2005, becoming the first female president of the Club.  Donna also co-chaired the Rotary Champions event in 2012.  Donna was always positive and energetic, and she personified service above self during her tenure as a Rotarian.  Donna always had time to support any Rotary initiative, particularly those efforts that addressed the needs of children.  Donna often made considerable donations to projects for low-income children, specifically Rotary projects intended to promote higher attendance and academic performance, including frequent contributions to an annual year-end trip to the zoo rewarding the academic efforts of 50 children at John Adams Elementary school.   Donna Sawaya represented the best of Rotary and willingly supported a wide range of programs.  Donna was especially taken with the goals of the Rotary Champions program, and she has made a very substantial bequest to the Rotary Champions Foundation to ensure that Champions remains financially viable well into the future.  Her generous gift has been established as an endowment gift of the Rotary Champions Foundation that can be used by the Foundation to match funds raised from other sources up to an annual limit that preserves the endowment fund and assures the long-term success of the Champions program.  We as the board of directors of Rotary Champions will forever be grateful to Donna Sawaya, a friend, and a tremendous Rotarian.