1. Land Acknowledgement was given by Silvia Dimitrova.
2. Anthem was led by Hart Jansson.
3. Our President Lynn proposed a Toast to King Charles III and Canada.
4. Susan Sheppard provided the inspiring Invocation.
5. Guests: Jerrod and Nikki were delightful guests of James M. A charming Rebecca Danalon, was introduced by Reena. Erika Coetzer introduced her gregarious partner Sam. Amaka and Caroline, both also charming and prospective members, were also present.
Frederika (Erika) Coetzer - classification talk
Proud Canadian citizen
7 siblings
Lived on 4 continents
Degree in Psychology and International Politics
Diploma in Photography
Past interest in Sky-diving
Ghana – while living in Ghana, she believed in the Power of Community (supporting schools and women’s health)
Supported AIDS-affected communities in S Africa
Board member of Opportunity International for 5 years (focused on micro-finance)
Erica currently serves on the Youth Committee, Golf Committee and International Committee
Mike Fisher – classification talk
Diagnosed w Asperger’s as a child
Very keen on travel
Learned Spanish in Spain
Masters degree in Education at Xavier U in USA
Taught ESL for 7 years in various countries
First joined Rotary at Burlington Lakeshore
Enjoys soccer and curling
Enjoys LOFI music
Currently works part-time as a travel consultant (Expedia Cruises)
6. Susan Sheppard led the Happy Bucks.
A few people who owe some happy bucks:
Ralf Soeder – Nairobi orphanage in slum: Ralf is supporting Stephanie’s secondary education
Lynn – saw Hip Experience at Stonehooker Brewing in Mississauga
Lindsay – happy about the hand-made textile exhibit/sale at Sheridan
Mark – was happy to hear the classification talks from Erika and Mike Fisher
Sid – was happy to be sleeping in during March break
[... and the next RCO karaoke night will be ... ?]
7. Announcements / Events:
Global Medic on Mar 21 , 9:30 to 1 PM – please inform Mike Fisher well in advance
Earth Day clean-up (Karla) April 18 : 9 to noon – watch your inbox for location details.
Club Leadership Learning April 18 : 8 AM to 5:30 PM at University of Guelph– contact Lynn or Susan
Save the date : Golf Tournament on September 14
Meetings will resume at the Oakville Golf Club on April 20th
8. Lindsay introduced the Guest Speaker: Rishia Burke (community development leader). Building inclusive communities; currently with Community Development Halton. Some of the highlights of Rishia’s talk follow.
- CDH undertakes community-based research, acts as a connector for non-profits and runs Volunteer Halton, that connects volunteers with various causes
- 3 categories of non-profits: community, chambers, hospitals and schools
- 844,000 people employed (255,000 in the Community sector)
- The non-profit sector accounts for 7.9% of GDP
- Fastest growing areas in Halton have the fewest non-profits
- Includes non-profit child-care
- 20% of Halton residents were food insecure in 2023
- 59% of people said their mental health was good in 2023 vs 80% in 2018
- Rental wage in Oakville is $48/hr (wage needed to rent an average apartment using less than 30% of income)
- Halton poverty rate is 13%
- Halton unemployment rate is 8.2%
- 30% of singles are below the poverty line
- Non-profits are impacted by economic downturn, DEI back-tracking…
- Demand for services from non-profits is growing, non-profits can’t keep up
- Smaller non-profits are struggling
- Even if funding can increase, expenses are rising faster
- Non-profits primarily need core funding – they are very good at what they do and need to be funded to focus on their core services, rather than start new programs
- 30% of non-profit workers are food insecure
- Year-long youth-led study to discover what it would take to get youth to volunteer more (check with Rishia at CDH for details)
- Halton does have a recent increase in volunteerism
- Impact Halton Coalition – recently formed group of non-profits that are defining and working together to solve the most pressing problems
- Check out the story page on their website www.cdhalton.ca to see the impact that Halton non-profits have in our community
10. Meeting Close
Lynn led everyone in repeating the Four Way Test with a ‘Have Fun’ thrown in for good measure.
11. Lynn proposed a Toast to Friends & Rotarians Around the World
– Adjournment
