On this Remembrance Day 2023, a tribute to John Thompson's father - Robert C. Thompson, a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force that engaged in the epic battle at Vimy Ridge (April 9-12, 1917) in France during World War I (1914-18) - "the war to end all wars!" 

 

RCT, age 15, returned to Canada as a decorated Sergeant.

 

Thanks to the community of Mildmay for recognizing their war veterans with banners (see photo above) displayed on the main street.

 

November 8^th MINUTES for Meeting of the Rotary Club of Kitchener-Westmount

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Birthdays:

Marc Engle - Nov. 8

Brad Swanson - Nov. 9

Laura Green (spouse of Bill Green) - Nov. 9

Anniversaries:

John Villemaire & Rita Levato - Nov. 11

Michelle & Nick Burke - Nov. 12

Club Anniversaries:

Doug Fisher - 20 Years - Nov. 7

·       Simon Adler is happy to provide copies of his presentation on Israel & Hamas to anyone that could not attend the information sessions he held

·       Reminder to RSVP to Michelle’s email for our Christmas Party on Wednesday Dec 13^th at Hacienda Sereda.  Please also indicate your meal choice(s) and how many pre-billed drink tickets you would like otherwise it is CASH BAR ONLY

50/50: Antoine drew the first 2 marbles and Don Willcox then 3^rd but neither of them picked the Black Marble.  The pot of $133.50 lives on!

GUEST SPEAKER NOTES:

·       The Guest Speakers were Diane Boston-Nyp & Mary McGuinness of Volunteer Waterloo Region (VWR)

·       The VWR is 1 of 20 such organizations in Ontario and 1 of 200 in Canada and serves 150 Charitable organizations in Waterloo Region

·       Volunteerism is so crucial to service clubs and charities which is why they pay VWR to help their organizations obtain quality volunteers

·       48% of Adults (15+) volunteer in a formal setting yet there was a 20% loss of volunteers post pandemic which accounts for over 5 Million volunteer hours lost

·       To fill these vacated volunteers with paid employees costs a fortune to the organizations

·       Volunteering is changing, many older adults are aging out, many younger people got out of the habit during covid and have not rejoined organizations they worked with prior to COVID

·       Many Volunteer managers were laid off or permanently reassigned during COVID which has also led to lack of resources for the charitable organizations

·       VWR are a Community Connector, they aid groups by finding the right volunteer positions for the right volunteer

·       By Connecting Volunteers with Charities they help connect the Charities with the Community as a whole

·       They have a full Volunteer Database on their website Volunteer Waterloo Region (volunteerwr.ca)

·       A lack of volunteers will lead to charities shutting down, which hurts the region as a whole