Kayla Sunshine – Recipient of Rotary Indigenous Scholarship Award
Sue Wigston – CEO - Give Some
Corine Berman – Environmental Defense
Claire Conway – RCO guest
Noted 36 participants
Toast to the Queen and Canada
Joe Joseph:
Invocation
President Mike Henry:
Called upon Cliff Thompson – Chair of the Oakville Trafalgar Rotary Club – Indigenous Committee to introduce their 13 guests.
Cliff Thompson:
Introduced Kayla Sunshine, the 2020-2021 Recipient of the Rotary Indigenous Scholarship Award
Cliff noted:
Kayla had dropped out of school in Grade 9 and noted her dream had always been to attend University.
On her application she noted she wanted to further her education so she could become involved in the Indigenous Community and help others.
Kayla Sunshine:
Lives in Welland Ontario, has attended Mohawk College in Hamilton, and is currently studying at Laurentian University in Sudbury.
Kayla’s ancestral background is from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation , Plains Cree from Alberta
Kayla acknowledged the
“Haudenosaunee “ (Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga) which is the land Halton/ Burlington sits on and
“ Anishinabewaki” which is the land Sudbury sits on.
Kayla talked about dropping out of high school in Grade 9 as she was always told she would never amount to anything. Her dream was always to attend university. She was the first person in her family to attend post secondary education.
Kayla first attended Mohawk College in Hamilton and graduated with a diploma in Health, Wellness and Fitness, hoping to use her skills to help other indigenous people.
Kayla then enrolled at Laurentian University, with the goal of acquiring a BA Degree in Indigenous Studies.
Rotary’s scholarship program is helping Kayla achieve her goal.
Kayla Sunshine ( Cont’d)
Kayla has written and Laurentian has published her paper on “Calls for Justice.” a document as a corollary to the Murder and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls report
Kayla met Jagmeet Singh, and discussed the issues of safe drinking water in Indigenous communities.
Kayla noted there are 39 Indigenous communities that have 57 Long term drinking water advisory’s.
Kayla talked about the effects residential schools have had on her life and the life of many Indigenous peoples. She noted her Grandparents and father all were in residential schools.
Kayla talked about reconciliation and the work accomplished by Indigenous - Justice Murray Sinclair
“ Education is what got us here and Education is what will get us out”
Upon Graduation Kayla wants to work in an area that concentrates on Indigenous Education
Ralph Soeder:
Thanked Kayla for an outstanding presentation and congratulated her for having the determination to drive for her goal and wished her continued success. We look forward to hearing from Kayla in the future.
President Mike Henry:
Called to order for the regular club meeting to continue and asked for announcements.
Jean Wettlaufer:
“Adventures in Citizenship” - Program - Virtual Presentation
Jean noted the Ottawa Rotary Club has been running this program since 1951
Rotary Clubs across Canada have the opportunity to recommend one (1) student between the ages of 16 and 18 to participate in this program.
Participants travel to Ottawa to meet with Politicians, review the parliamentary system, visit the parliament buildings and have the opportunity to meet other participants from across Canada.
Jean noted there could be a wait list generated for a 2’nd student to participate.
Key dates:
Feb 24 – Pre Registration
March 8 to 22 – Registration
May 1 to May 5 – Program participation
Members are asked to email Jean if any interest by students. Currently looking for candidates.
Virtual Presentation – Speaker Series - March 9, 2021 - 6:45 PM
Keynote Speaker The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin ( 17th Chief Justice of Canada)
First Woman to hold that position – Longest Serving Chief Justice
Keynote Address - “The Challenges of Leadership Today”
George noted there was an article in the Toronto Star about the potential for Retired Chief Justice McLachlin to be the next Governor General of Canada.
This information has been added to the Rotary website announcement for this event in hopes it will attract more participants.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Sandra Pupatello – Former Minister in the Ontario Government – from 1995 to 2011
Jennifer Jones – President Elect of Rotary International will also participate in the panel
Funds raised will be for Indspire - Indigenous Youth Education
George requested we continue to advise people of the event and urge people to register.
President Mike Henry:
Waterside Cleanup on April 24th, Earth Day. More details will be forthcoming
The board has looked at the potential for an “ In Person “ meeting going forward, but have decided we are not at that stage yet.
Feb 25,2021 - 7:00 PM, the Golf Committee will meet to discuss the upcoming Golf tournament on Sept 20,2021 at Piper’s Heath,
Frank Moorehead:
Happy Bucks and Fines
Fines accessed to Rod Craig, Mike Henry, Riona Naidu and Joe Joseph
Happy Bucks – Ralph Soeder, Mike Henry, Rod Craig, George Vincent, Richard Roberts, Mahendra Shah
Ralph Soeder:
Introduced Guest Speaker Sue Wigston – CEO “Give Some” - to talk about the Future of Fundraising
Previously Sue had 25 years with Eagles Flight – Guelph
Sue is a recent new member of Rotary in Guelph
Sue Wigston:
“ Give Some” is a new start up organization designed to launch and support a generosity journey.
Sue talked about why people are not giving
“ Give Some” are focusing on creating communities of giving
It is essential to create a platform designed for the giver
“ Give Some” criteria and focus
Zero admin fees
Small donations
Authentic video footage and stories of giving
Tangible projects
Track the impact
Sue Wigston ( Cont’d)
Corporate giving / donations
There is a willingness by corporations to provide funds for projects
Align generosity through employees and customers.
A Strategy by “ Give Some” is to have the corporation provide funds to employees / customers so they can pick key project/charities of their liking to support. This is designed to engage the employees / customer so they in turn donate as well.
Future of Fundraising:
Build a digital infrastructure
Diversify and maintain a diversified pool of funding support
Continue to invest in impact sharing and story telling
Ralph Soeder:
Introduced guest speaker Corine Berman from – Environmental Defense
Graduate of Western University - Ivey School of Business – Masters Business Administration
Corine Berman:
Environmental Defense ( ED) is an Environmental Charity
Corine’s presentation - Innovative Fundraising
There are 27 Environmentalists working for Environmental Defense with offices in Toronto / Ottawa
Currently there are 5 programs ( ED) is focused on
Climate – Clean Energy
Yours to Protect
Safeguarding fresh water
Eliminate plastic waste
Eliminate Toxic Chemicals
Corine talked about who donates
Individuals – Monthly / Single Donation / Majors
Foundations – ie Grants
Corporate Partners
Fundraising key/critical aspects
Stewardship
Retention
Integration with programs
Specifics on where donations are going
Innovative Fundraising Approaches
Webinar Series –
Virtual Fundraising events
Legal giving
Ie - Name the Charity in a will
Corine wrapped up her presentation with a summary of Environmental Issues near Oakville
Bill 229 – Reduces the powers of Conservation Authorities to protect wetlands. Non science based decisions on wetlands
Stop highway 413 - Highway north of current 407
Vivian Naidu:
Thanked both Sue and Corine for their insightful presentations
President Mike Henry: Meeting Wrap Up
March 1, 2021 - Next Meeting
Classification talks
David Peters and
Hasan Bin Sohail
March 9, 2021 - Speaker Series Presentation
March 15,2021 - Club Assembly
Meeting Concluded at 8:30 PM with a toast to friends and Rotarians around the world