Stories

World Polio Day

Rotary has contributed more than US$2.9 billion to fight polio and countless volunteer hours since launching its PolioPlus program in 1985. In 1988, Rotary joined in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, later joined. When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year. Today, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent.

To sustain this progress and continue to reach every child with the polio vaccine, Rotary has committed to raising up to US$50 million each year to support global polio eradication efforts. The Gates Foundation has renewed its pledge through 2029 to match that 2-to-1 for a total yearly contribution of up to US$150 million.

The Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Charleswood is seeking to increase public awareness about Rotary's global eradication initiative and to raise funds. Visit the End Polio website at the link below. Learn more about World Polio Day and consider a personal donation or set a fundraising goal with your friends and family. Look for the 'donate' link and support us if you can. Choose the 'Polio Plus Fund' to ensure your donation is matched 2-to-1. Here is the link to the World Polio Day site: https://www.endpolio.org/

For those who wish to donate directly to the Charleswood Rotary Club, please visit HERE. There are several ways to donate. Indicate that you wish to support the Polio Plus Fund.

A charitable tax receipt will be issued for donations made to the world Polio Day site or the local Rotary Foundation.

Annual Lobsterfest - Friday, June 19, 2026

ANNUAL LOBSTER/ CHICKEN DINNER

The Rotary Club of Winnipeg Charleswood is holding its annual Lobsterfest on Friday, June 19, 2026. Lobster and chicken meals will be provided on a curbside pickup basis. We encourage participants to plan an event with friends and family, to celebrate and contribute to this important annual fundraiser.

Pick-up - meals may be picked up at the Varsity View Community Centre, 315 Laxdal Rd. on Friday, June 19 from 3-7 pm. Participants must present a ticket or confirmation of an online purchase. The meal is already cooked, ready to warm up at home. See tips for meal preparation.

Tickets - $65 lobster dinner or $50 chicken dinner. Includes all the fixings (bun, coleslaw, potato), and dessert. Due to rising costs, white wine is not included this year.

How to Register? ONLINE REGISTRATION-CLICK HERE.

Visit this site for updates. Questions? Online tickets: Glenn Campbell at rglenncampbell@gmail.com 204-915-5062. Tickets from Rotary Club members: Dory Lawrenson at dorylawrenson@yahoo.com.

Sponsors - contact David Morris at morrisdave@shaw.ca

New Sign at Assiniboine Forest

The Rotary Club of Winnipeg Charleswood is pleased that the new Assiniboine Forest sign has been installed at the corner of Grant and Chalfont. The installation is an important part of the plan for enhancements at the main entrance to the Forest, which will see additional signage (history, trail map), an interpretation area and plantings. The new sign profiles the colouring used to identify the trails in the Forest.

Land Acknowledgement

“I would like to begin by acknowledging the Indigenous Peoples of all the lands that we are on today. While we meet today on a virtual platform, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the importance of the lands, which we each call home. We do this to reaffirm our commitment and responsibility in improving relationships between nations and to improving our own understanding of local Inuit, Metis, and First Nations Peoples and their cultures and rights. We are on Treaty 1 territory and the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation. From coast to coast to coast, we acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territory of all the Inuit, Métis, and First Nations Peoples that call this land home.”

Rotary Podcast

Mandy Kwasnica and Peter Tonge have developed and are co-hosting a Rotary themed podcast called Talking Rotary. They have some exciting guests lined up, featuring Rotary stories both locally and globally. Talking Rotary can be found at the website: http://www.talkingrotary.org.

Podcast episodes can be found on the website media page or on popular podcast sites. To find Talking Rotary on popular podcast sites, please follow this link: https://talkingrotary.buzzsprout.com. For those who use social media, Talking Rotary can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Please follow for regular updates.

Thanks for your support. Let's start Talking Rotary!

Garden Boxes for Charleswood School

The Charleswood Rotary Club completed a project to provide garden boxes at Westgrove School. The boxes allow students to learn about where their food comes from. Principal Troy Calder raved about the benefits they see from the gardens. The teachers and students are very excited about what they see as potential for the garden and further development of outdoor education programs. He is hoping to have parents come when they go to harvest the garden.
The students have in turn thanked the members of the Rotary club with giant cards. The club has done an excellent job in completing this project. It is very obvious the appreciation of school staff about the work completed. The site looks very impressive.

Charleswood Rotary Supports Shelterbox

The Rotary Club of Winnipeg-Charleswood continues to support Shelterbox through donations in honour of our guest speakers to our meetings. The Shelterbox organization responds instantly to natural and manmade disasters by delivering boxes of aid to those who are most in need. Each box supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and essential equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless.