Notes from Rotary Meeting of February 3
President Yvonne called the meeting to order at 7:10 with 28 members present plus 3 members and one guest on Zoom.
Roger passed around a signup sheet for the next round of Fellowship Dinners and Yvonne passed around a signup sheet for the Kits for Girls Day which our club is doing in partnership with Picton Rotary. Yvonne noted that she already has 20 signups from the community at large. You don’t need to know how to sew, there are jobs for non-sewers as well, and three shifts to be filled (9-11:30, 11:30-2, 2-4:30.)
Guest Speaker:
Trudy introduced our guest speaker, Rachelle Baldock, ED of the Children’s Safety Village in Belleville. Rachelle said they are focussed on children aged 4-12, providing hands-on safety education in a miniature city environment, teaching real-world safety skills. Their mission is to “Prevent injury. Empower children. Save lives.” Between 1500 and 2000 children visit the Children’s Safety Village in a typical year and their goal is to double that number going forward. There are 2 other Safety Villages in Ontario – Durham and Niagara Falls.
A variety of programs are
offered, geared to different age groups.
- Car Seat Safety (JK/SK)
- Fire Safety (JK/SK)
- Home Safety (Grade 1)
- Emergency Preparedness LEGO Workshop (Grade 1)
- Street Safety (Grade 2-3)
- Bike Safety (Grade 5)
- Disaster Risk Prevention (Age 12+)
Coming Soon:
- Water Safety
- Driving Under the Influence
In addition to the safety classes, they also do public outreach. Public drop-ins are available twice a week, providing free access to the village. They also have special events for Easter, Halloween and Christmas in the Village. They hope to be moving in June 2028 to a location that will permit a roof over the whole village, which will allow year-round use of the facility. Current funding comes from sponsorship of individual buildings, grants and donations. When asked how we can help, Rachelle said they are looking for volunteers, committee members, and funding assistance. Rachelle was thanked by Phyo.
Club Business:
Dawn reported that this year’s Spelling Bee is not going well so far. Only one school in PEC is participating and the cutoff date is February 10th. Dawn asked those members who reached out to the various schools before Christmas to do so again. The Adult Spelling Bee will be on April 15 at the same location as last year, in Trenton.
Peter displayed samples of a slate coaster that can be inscribed with your name and Rotary club, at a cost of $15. He will circulate a signup sheet for anyone who is interested.
Gregor noted that the Rotary maple syrup is pre-selling fast; there are only 615 bottles (out of 2000) left to sell.
Yvonne reminded members of the upcoming Kids Against Hunger event coming up on Feb 21, from 10 to noon, co-hosted by the Rotary Clubs of Trenton, Brighton and Campbellford. Yvonne is looking for volunteers from our club who may be interested in participating.
Yvonne reported that Dave R is taking a leave of absence for a few months and we will need someone to take over booking the weekly speakers. Margo stepped up and Howard offered to collaborate.
Upcoming Events through March:
- Family Day Event, Feb 16. Soup service is from 11-1
- Joint Community Service Luncheon, Thursday Mar 12 from 11:30-1:30. Cost is $25 p.p., which the club will pay. Advise Yvonne if you want to Register.
- Kits for Girls – Tues, Mar 17
- Inter-Rotary Curling Bonspiel, Mar 21
Birthdays – Pierre on February 4th
50/50 Draw – Bill H’s number was drawn but he did not pick the Ace.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 with the Four-Way Test.
