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Lions Foundation of Canada, with haedquarters in Oakville, was founded in 1983 by Lions Clubs across Canada. The vision was to provide Dog Guides, at no cost to Canadians with visual disabilities, helping them to achieve freedom and independence. The Lions Foundation began with the Canine Vision Canada Dog Guide program in 1985, ensuring its graduates would “never walk alone” again.
In 1988, the Foundation expanded with the Hearing Ear Dog Guide program, providing Dog Guides to Canadians who are deaf or hard-of hearing. This addition ensures new Dog Guide handlers would have a “link to the world of sound”.
In 1991, a third Dog Guide program, Special Skills Dog Guides, was added to extend Dog Guide capabilities to individuals with other physical or medical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, or injury due to accidents. These Dog Guides ensure their handlers “will never be alone”.
The Special Skills program recently expanded with the introduction of the Seizure Response Dog Guides. The Dog Guides are trained to assist people with epilepsy by responding to their seizures.
The Foundation’s newest program is Autism Assistance Dog Guides. These Dog Guides help provide safety, companionship and unconditional love for children 4-12 years of age who have autism. As well as providing comfort and consistency for both the child and their family, Autism Assistance Dog Guides provide calming relief for children in high anxiety situations, and reduces the stress commonly experienced in public places. Bonding with the Dog Guide helps both the child and their family gain increased independence and social interaction.
Each Dog Guide costs the Lions Foundation approximately $25,000, yet they are provided at no cost to Canadians with disabilities. This incredible gift of freedom and independence is made possible only through the dedicated support and generosity of several groups. From the foster families who raise the puppies, to the Lions Clubs, Lioness Clubs, Leo Clubs, individual and corporate donors who provide the financial backing, each pillar of support makes the Foundation’s work possible.
The future Dog Guides are bred at our facility in Breslau, Ontario and then placed with a foster family for approximately a year with specific and strict training guidelines before they are again tested for suitability in their role. Those individuals in need who are partnered with a dog are trained in Oakville at no cost. Over the past many years the Lions Club of Kitchener has contributed over $600.000.00 to this valuable program much coming from revenues of our Magic Show held in November of each year.
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The hungry scholar
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Ralf Soeder (left) & Scott.jpg)
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His most successful singles were the early UK hits "Catch the Wind", "Colours" and "Universal Soldier" in 1965. "Sunshine Superman" topped America's Billboard Hot 100 chart and went to number two in Britain, followed by "Mellow Yellow" at US #2 the following year, and then 1968's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" in the Top 5 in both countries. He became a friend of pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones and The Beatles. He taught John Lennon a finger-picking guitar style in 1968.[5] Donovan's commercial fortunes waned after parting with Most in 1969, and he left the industry for a time.
Donovan continued to perform and record sporadically in the 1970s and 1980s. His musical style and hippie image were scorned by critics, especially after punk rock. His performing and recording became sporadic until a revival in the 1990s with the emergence of Britain's rave scene. He recorded the 1996 album Sutras with producer Rick Rubin and in 2004 made a new album, Beat Cafe. Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.
Legendary singer and polio survivor Donovan Leitch, better known simply as Donovan, has joined Rotary in its fight to eradicate the paralyzing disease that afflicted him during much of his childhood.
Donovan contracted polio at age three in Glasgow, Scotland. The disease weakened his right leg and left it thinner and shorter than the other. Confined to his bed for much of his childhood, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer said his father would read him poetry.
In a recent interview with the Daily Express, Donovan said that listening to poetry piqued his interest in creative writing. “If I hadn’t had that experience maybe I wouldn’t have gone on to write and sing my own songs for the past half a century.
“I feel strongly that having a disability in one area makes you explore others instead. That was the case for me after having polio,” says Donovan, who recently became a Rotary polio ambassador.
Donovan went on to record several hit albums and singles in the UK, United States, and other countries. His top singles include “Mellow Yellow” and “Hurdy Gurdy Man.” Donovan collaborated with The Beatles on songs including “Yellow Submarine” and has shared the stage with musical icons Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
“Having had polio never held me back as I got older. Although having one leg smaller than the other isn’t much fun I could always get about without any trouble,” Donovan says. “Luckily in the music industry everyone was only interested in my singing and playing and not the size of my legs.”
As a Rotary polio ambassador, Donovan will support the Purple4Polio campaign, a collaboration between Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland and the Royal Horticultural Society. The purple represents the colored dye that health workers use during immunization campaigns to mark the fingers of children who have received the polio vaccine.
“It was very easy to join this campaign because I had polio, and I wanted to tell everybody that it’s almost eradicated around the world,” Donovan says. “This is very important. I want to help with that last push, which is always the hardest. ”
Rotary News
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Willis Carrier would grow up to solve one of mankind’s most elusive challenges – controlling the indoor environment. As a child, though, he had difficulty grasping the concept of fractions. Realizing his struggles, his mother taught him by cutting whole apples into various-sized fractional pieces. He later said this lesson was the most important one that he ever learned because it taught him the value of intelligent problem-solving.
Genius can strike anywhere. For Willis Carrier, it was a foggy Pittsburgh train platform in 1902. Carrier stared through the mist and realized that he could dry air by passing it through water to create fog. Doing so would make it possible to manufacture air with specific amounts of moisture in it. Within a year, he completed his invention to control humidity – the fundamental building block for modern air conditioning.
The “Father of Air Conditioning,” Willis Carrier’s invention gave rise to numerous industries that power our economy today. Manufacturing of everything from baked goods to wartime supplies was made possible by air conditioning. Air conditioning led directly to summer movie blockbusters as people came to cooled theaters to escape the heat. The precise control of temperature and humidity made possible by his invention even enabled shopping malls, transatlantic flight, and the computers and servers that power the Internet.
Willis Carrier recognized early on that climate, comfort and production requirements would determine the value of air conditioning. From the beginning, he began to develop a network of international dealers, distributors and customers. Success with early installations in Europe and Asia were indicators of air conditioning’s universal application across international borders.
Willis Carrier’s legacy lives on today as the company he founded continues to reinvent the industry and shape the world we live in. Carrier leads the industry with energy-efficient products and manufacturing practices. Every day, Carrier brings productivity and comfort to the world through new innovations – all built on energy efficiency and sustainability.
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U.S. President Barack Obama recent visited to Germany in April 2016 to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders.
Obama heaped praise on the German leader, telling German newspaper Bild that Merkel was "courageous" in her response to Europe's refugee crisis and he highlighted the importance of the U.S.' relationship with Europe's largest economy.
"Germany remains one of America's closest and strongest allies - an indispensable partner not only for our own security and those of our NATO allies, but also for the security, the prosperity and the dignity of people across the whole world," he told Bild in an interview published on Saturday. "With Chancellor Merkel, Germany has raised the stakes and plays an even bigger role on the international stage," he said, with her work to tackle terrorism, reaching a nuclear deal with Iran and her dominating role in the EU.
Obama's trip to Germany had not gone without a hitch, with thousands of protesters gathering in Hanover to protest a planned but unpopular free trade agreement between the U.S. and EU, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Critics of TTIP fear it threaten public services, the environment and consumers. While in Germany Obama also met with Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and that time U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss security and humanitarian concerns over Libya and fragile Syrian peace talks.
At the 1917 convention, outgoing RI President Arch C. Klump proposed to set up an endowment “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” In 1928, it was renamed The Rotary Foundation, and it became a distinct entity within Rotary International. In 1929, the Foundation made its first gift of $500 to the International Society for Crippled Children. The organization, created by Rotarian Edgar F. “Daddy” Allen, later grew into Easter Seals.When Rotary founder Paul Harris died in 1947, contributions began pouring in to Rotary International, and the Paul Harris Memorial Fund was created to build the Foundation.
1947: The Foundation established its first program, Fellowships for Advance Study, later known as Ambassadorial Scholarships.
1965-66: Three programs were launched: Group Study Exchange, Awards for Technical Training, and Grants for Activities in Keeping with the Objective of The Rotary Foundation, which was later called Matching Grants.
1978: Rotary introduced the Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants. The first 3-H Grant funded a project to immunize 6 million Philippine children against polio.
1985: The PolioPlus program was launched to eradicate polio worldwide.
1987-88: The first peace forums were held, leading to Rotary Peace Fellowships. 2013: New district, global, and packaged grants enable Rotarians around the world to respond to the world’s greatest needs.
Since the first donation of $26.50 in 1917, the Foundation has received contributions totaling more than $1 billion.
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Sixty-five million people are displaced by armed conflict or persecution, and 90 percent of armed-conflict casualties are civilians, half of them children. Through service projects, fellowships, and other Rotary-sponsored campaigns, members train adults and young leaders to prevent and mediate conflict, and aid refugees who have fled dangerous areas. Members also pursue projects to address the underlying structural causes of conflict, including poverty, inequality, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources. Through our partnerships with several leading universities, Rotary Peace Fellows develop the skills to strengthen peace efforts, train local leaders to prevent and mediate conflict, and support long-term peace building in areas affected by conflict. We provide up to 100 peace fellowships per year at Rotary Peace Centers.
We offer master’s degree fellowships at premier universities in fields related to peace and conflict prevention and resolution. Programs last 15 to 24 months and require a practical internship of two to three months during the academic break. Each year, we award up to 50 master’s degree fellowships. Through academic training, study, and practice the Rotary Peace Centers program develops leaders who become catalysts for peace and conflict prevention and resolution in their communities and around the globe. Graduates of the program are reintegrating refugees in Sudan, creating jobs for disadvantaged women in India, and supporting reconstruction in devastated regions of the world.
For experienced professionals working in peace-related fields who want to enhance their professional skills, we offer a three-month program in peace and conflict prevention and resolution at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. This program incorporates two to three weeks of field study. We award up to 50 certificates each year.
More than 100 million people are pushed into poverty each year because of medical costs. We aim to improve and expand access to low-cost and free health care in underdeveloped areas. Our members educate and mobilize communities to help prevent the spread of major diseases such as polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. Many of our projects ensure that medical training facilities are located where the workforce lives.
Rotary's top priority is the eradication of polio, but our members take on far greater responsibilities to fight disease. They set up health camps and training facilities in undeveloped countries and in communities struggling with HIV/AIDS and malaria. They also design and build the infrastructure for doctors, nurses, governments, and partners to reach the one in six people in the world who can't afford to pay for health care. Disease prevention and treatment takes on many forms, from supporting studies to helping immunize people to improving drinking water and the sanitation infrastructure. The world relies on Rotary to tackle these global challenges, and to set an example for others to follow.
More than 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation facilities. At least 3,000 children die each day from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water. Our projects give communities the ability to develop and maintain sustainable water and sanitation systems and support studies related to water and sanitation.
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On February 23, 1905 a Chicago lawyer, Paul P. Harris, called three friends to a meeting. What he had in mind was a club that would kindle fellowship among members of the business community. It was an idea that grew from his desire to find within the large city the kind of friendly spirit that he knew in the villages where he had grown up.
