Assistant Sgt at Arms John Thompson
Attendance (29)
President Jerome called the meeting to order at 12:15 with 24 members and 5 guests at the luncheon meeting.
Guests – Linda Kenny (CEO of KidsAbility)
Lisa Talbot (CEO of KidsAbility Foundation)
Nicole Guse (The Sounds of Christmas) – fundraiser for KidsAbility
Ruth Adler – spouse of member Simon Sadler
Reuben Domingos – prospective member (sponsor Kathy Loveys)
Announcements/Reports/Business
Following lunch, President Jerome shared announcements and welcomed fellow Rotarians to share news:
Maples for Vimy – thanking club for donation off $1,000 two years ago and reminded club of significance of Remembrance Day Nov. 11.2018 – 100 years since end of World War I
“Flag leasing Program” - members encouraged to obtain more sales to benefit the club’s fundraising
Next Week’s Meeting – Off-site at Anselma House
Rotarian Everton reminded members to respond to his invitation for members to select their months for 2019 to serve as SAA and Assistant SAA
Rotarian Bel shared brief feedback on a Rotary experience.
Rotarian Jack reminded members of date of Christmas dinner at Westmount Golf Club – only 3 weeks away on Wednesday evening November 28 – please RSVP on-line to invitation,
AND
- Jack provided early bird notice on behalf of Rotarian Marc for Curling Experience, also at Westmount on Saturday afternoon January 19 at 2-4 pm.
Rotarian Maria reminded members of opportunity to conveniently purchase Rotary branded attire.
Guest Nicole Guse provided brief background on :”The Sounds of Christmas” which was started in 2013 as her way, with “a little help from her friends… and family” for “pay back” and to “Pay it Forward” to KidsAbility in appreciation for the help that her son Joshua received from age 18 months to five years.
In five years, attendance to the annual multi-performances has been 8,500 with $100,000 raised for KidsAbility (way to go Nicole and company!)
This 6th season features many returnees in the cast, plus some new performers, with young talent having opportunity to experience “life lessons” – honoring your commitment and doing good in the community is a wonderful experience.
This year’s six performances are two weekends – Saturday Sunday Nov. 23-24 and Nov. 30 – Dec. 1 at Waterloo MB Church, 245 Lexington Road, Waterloo
50/50 – “Bucket is building”
The 50/50 prize is building with $429 available to be won. Three Rotarians tried their luck – Laura Power, Mac Graham and Chris Wilke – all who were recipients of the very sincere “Toooo Bad!” feedback from fellow members.
GUEST PRESENTER
Rotarian Brad Enns provided brief introduction of Linda Kenny, CEO of KidsAbility.
Linda opened her remarks with reference to the Rotary telescopic banner featuring a photo of Rotarian Brad Swanson with a KidsAbility client Ciatlyn, who has served as one of the KidsAbility ambassadors.
KidsAbility is comprised of three entities - KidsAbility Centre, Foundation and School and serves about 8,000 children annually totaling about 61,000 visits. KidsAbility is financially supported by 13 Rotary clubs.
Even with those significant numbers, at present, there are 1,335 who are waiting for service.
Linda highlighted several of the “Fun Things” that she cherishes about KidsAbility:
Cambridge/Guelph re-locating facilities to assist in service
Summertime weekly “I Can Bike” program whereby children receive 70 minutes/day of instruction and success rate is that 75% of the participants end up riding independently.
Independence Training Camp – 2 nights at WLU for a
“college experience” leading to post-secondary options
First Robotics collaboration with Google – objective to help make things move
And a favorite of Linda’s – the “Oh Christmas Free” program which allows parents some much valued “me/our time” – allows parents to “go out” together
Linda also referred to the “SPARK” program which receives an annual $30,000 donation / grant from Rotary Club of Kitchener-Westmount. The “SPARK” program responds to the waiting list, targeting children who are “mild” on the continuum for service needs. The program is very successful at assisting children requiring service – and the outcome is that 96% of the participating children experience “improvement”. Since inception, this program has served about 3,000 children and also includes use of a travelling ”assessment team” throughout the broader region including K-W, Cambridge and Guelph.
Linda was appropriately thanked by past president Ed Simon and presented with a certificate confirming restoration of the eyesight of an adult female - Rasia – from India as part of the Operation Eyesight Program.
