Our meeting was attended by 23 in person and by eight on Zoom plus three guests.
Mayor Steve Ferguson and Councillor Corey Englesdorfer attended to present the Club with two Certificates of Recognition. One was to the Club in recognition of the great volunteerism of our members and a commendation for our 20 years of “service above self”. Mayor Steve said that he tries to convey to the public the way that Rotary organizes activities to succeed. He reminded members that positions are open on numerous County Advisory Committees if members would like to apply to serve.
The second Certificate was to Barry Davidson in recognition of being named Rotarian of the Decade for his service to the Club and his community.
Our guest speaker today was Bob Wallace of the Port Hope Club, Chair of the District Foundation Committee. He explained the workings of the District Foundation and his full presentation can be viewed on My Rotary website. He complimented the Club on nearing our annual Club goal of $4,000 with a donation so far of $3,100. He stated that 50% of donations go to a District Disposition Fund (DDF) and the other 50% to the World Fund for Global Grants. His Committee manages the former.
District Grants can be applied for local and international projects and can be for any purpose that the Club decides. Global Grants must focus on the seven areas that Rotary International has established, be for a minimum of $35,000 US, have an international qualified Rotary partner, must be sustainable and have a Community Needs Assessment to ensure that the target community agrees with the need. The ideas and the applications for grants usually has to come from the Clubs, but Bob has an idea that there is a need for a Global Grant for a project in Northern Ontario. As well, the Rotary Foundation has developed some projects that Clubs can join.
Polio Plus continues to be the biggest project for Rotary and the wild form of polio only exists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bob described his trip to India to personally inoculate babies with drops of serum.
There are many ways that members can donate to Rotary:
- Online
- Memorial donation with Rotary as the “Charity of Choice”
- Recurring donations of monthly deductions from your account or credit card
- By cheque
- By phone
- Legacy
- Matching donations from employers
- Rotary’s management of the Foundation funds continue to receive the highest 4 Star rating from the evaluator, Charity Navigator.
Club Business
Trudy outlined the Family Day activities planned for Monday, February 20:
- All day skating from 10-3.
- Various outdoor activities.
- Liz Bosma will have an area in the Rotary Room for County Kids Read and Bee Reading, with assistance of the HUB.
- Soup service will be organizes by Ken. Dave Robinet was asked to pass information on past participants to Ken and Trudy.
- Christine offered to do a child activity to which Trudy asked her to coordinate with Liz.
Regarding the Rotary Room sponsorship payment, the County is reviewing all sponsorships so a decision on our sponsorship has not been decided yet. It is felt that our offer is at the head of the list for renewing the Rotary Room sponsorship at $25,000.
Lana and Trudy described a fund raising event for “Back the Build” to be held at the Picton Curling Club on Mar 18-19. Ninety-six participants are invited to take part, with a minimum of $100 sponsorship per person. In addition, corporate challenges are being encouraged. The Curling Club is open those days for all spectators too and a silent auction will be held.
David Hawkins had the winning ticket for the 50:50 draw, but did not choose the ace of spades.
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