Honouring Indigenous Peoples Youth to Youth (Y2Y) Gathering took place at Six Nations this year. The Rotary Club of Brampton was a major donor supporting this initiative. We selected and sponsored two students to attend. The program was a huge success again this year. President Elect Suzanne attended the closing ceremony and took part in the social dancing and celebration festivities.
The Brampton Guardian covered Y2Y 2026 with this great article.
A big part of Rotary is our dedication to the next generation. The Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) is a District 7080 retreat focused on leadership skill development. We sponsored three youth to participate from Thursday April 30 to Sunday May 3, 2026 at the Ecology Retreat Centre in Orangeville. Our own Chris-Beth was a co-facilitator of RYLA 2026 and it was great that she is heavily involved in this program again after being a previous RYLA graduate and leader. President John and President Elect Suzanne joined the youth for their networking event and dinner on the last evening of their program. We could see how much the RYLArians learned over a few days together. Their passion and enthusiasm was contagious. This is a powerful program that serves a vital need in our community. Congratulations to the 2026 graduating RYLArians!
On Monday May 4th, RYLArian grads Chantal and Joshua joined us to share their learning and experiences at RYLA 2026. Members enjoyed hearing their stories about their leadership retreat. They both gained a lot of confidence as well as new skills that will benefit them for their future careers.
On Tuesday May 13th, 2026, the Brampton Cluster held the annual dinner event. Dayana Gomez from the Credit Valley Conservation Foundation was the guest speaker. Rotary Club of Brampton members had excellent attendance, including Rotarian Rose - the jet setter who flew in from Nigeria that day and was still awake to join us.
Dayana shared information about the Credit Valley Trail system and the residents of Brampton who are frequent visitors to the Conservation area.
The Bingo Committee presented cheques to a number of organizations so far this Rotary Year.
Sandra Burton, co-Chair of this committee, shared information and some photos showing recent cheque presentations including:
-Annie Bynoe, Ex-ecutive Director for Knights Table who assist by providing the food bank, hot meals and other services to people in Brampton.
-Katie Cleland, Director of Development, Regeneration Outreach Community-Food Bank, a non-profit organization in Brampton providing food to those people who are experiencing homelessness.
-Patricia Digby, Executive Director, Life Lessonz Inc. which is a registered charity that provides inclusive, accessible online and in-person life skills and social skills programs.
-Catherine Rivera, Board President and volunteer for Ste. Louise Outreach Centre of Peel, who provide a grocery/outreach program run by volunteers.
In addition, throughout the year, we have made donations to Salvation Army Brampton, Scientists in School (Children science programs), and Brampton Santa Claus Parade.
The Rotary Club of Brampton wishes to acknowledge and thank Delta Bingo for their generous financial assistance in making these donations possible
And a big thank you to all our Bingo volunteers who help make this work possible!
Brampton residents and visitors to our beautiful city had a wonderful time at Rotary Rib'n'Roll May 22nd, 23rd, and 24th. People came out to enjoy the food and music! This event is our major fundraiser and we had many volunteers to run this event effectively during three consecutive days.
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who help to make the magic happen. Here is Rib'n'Roll in some photos.
The Rotary Club of Brampton recognized Luisa Santos-Mocon and Jim Mocon with The BBQ Award for their dedication to service during Rotary Rib'n'Roll.
We welcomed Karen Humber from Meals on Wheels on Monday May 18th, 2026. She provided an informative presentation about the services provided by Meals on Wheels. She also highlighted that more volunteers are needed to assist with their programs.
We were pleased to host honorary club member Warren Raspberry who shared a photo from the 50th anniversary of the club in advance of our 86th anniversary on June 12th, 2026.
The Rotary Club of Brampton celebrates 86 years on June 12th, 2026. In honour of this auspicious occasion, Andy Stabins delivered a wonderful speech about the history of Rotary and the history of the Rotary Club of Brampton.
Andy described how women were introduced into Rotary in 1987. He amazed members by sharing a list of the occupations of past presidents of the club. He told some humorous stories that had everyone in the room laughing. Andy was a wealth of information.
The Rotary Club of Brampton hosted Sir Ryan Knight with Detailing Knights on June 9th 2026. Ryan's organization provides a program that supports and empowers youth entrepreneurs.
The meeting at the Rotary Club of Brampton started off with some levity. Rotary Rib'n'Roll Co-Chairs, Vanora Spreen and Tim Lockhart were awarded The Water Wing Award for their resilience and adaptability for their leadership during the Saturday downpour that closed our annual fundraising event in Gage Park for the day.
Thanks to the support of donors during Rib'n'Roll, the Club presented a $5000 cheque to Childhood Cancer Canada. Jennifer Bheemsingh, Senior Coordinator, Events at the organization received the cheque from Vanora.
With all the gardeners in the Club, members were thrilled to welcome Dorota Polonska on June 22nd 2026 to deliver a talk about planting native species in the garden. Dorota explained the importance of supporting local pollinators by having native trees, shrubs and perennials in your yard.
She suggested native plants such as violas, wild geranium, wild columbine, and Hoary Vervain and other native plants for small gardens. She recommended foxglove beardtongue for the show it puts on. She gave a call to action and encouraged everyone to add one native species to their garden.
The Rotary Club of Brampton meets Mondays from 12 noon to 1:30 pm EST and from 6 to 7:30 pm EST the first Monday of the month. Each week, we have exciting speakers on our agenda. We would love for you to come out and join us to get a taste of the Rotary experience.
We are located at:
Blair's Catering - The Glen (Under new management)
1857 Queen Street West
Brampton, ON
L6Y 0B6
There is a $25 fee for lunch. Please contact the Club Secretary at secretary@rotaryclubofbrampton.com if you have any questions.
We look forward to hosting you at our next weekly meeting!
