The Rotary Club of
Kitchener-Westmount

 

Membership Newsletter 

August 12, 2026

 

We welcomed Ravit Lechter, Chair of the Waterloo Region Jewish Community Council and former Vice Chair of the Waterloo Region Holocaust Education Committee and the treasurer and the incoming chair of the WRJCC Amit Hochman.

 

 

Minutes of Meeting

August 12, 2026

Prepared by Ray Finnie

 

Announcements:

 

John and Brenda Thompson have recently celebrated their 17th wedding Anniversary on August 12, 2026

John Rose has been a member of our club for 15 years.

 

Guests:

Amit Hochman and Ravit Lechter, our guest speakers.

 

50/50 Pot: $222.50; No winner

 

 

Guest Speakers:

 

Amit and Ravit from Waterloo Region Jewish Community Council. 

 

The aim of the WRJCC is to connect all Jewish people in our community whether they are secular or not. We played a game of Jewish Jeopardy to learn more about the Jewish culture.

Both Ravit and Amit are new to the region (8 years). The Region of Waterloo has about 2400 Jews living here. There are no Jewish Community Centres or bakeries here. Both struggled with their sense of community once they had moved here. This sense was exacerbated by Covid. Both committed to be more intentional to work on community. Once the October 7th, 2024  disaster happened in Israel, many Jews felt unsafe, experienced more antisemitism and resulted in the Jewish community bonding more strongly together.

The WRJCC was incorporated in 2024 and since then has been putting on workshops, holding education sessions and developing partnerships in the community. The organizations has developed momentum and is more active than ever. They have raised the profile of the Jewish community as well shared their experiences. It was a fascinating presentation. 

 

We played Jewish Jeopardy.