Julia Pietrangelo – March 10, 2024
Amica Bronte Harbour
President Mitch Sabsabi called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
George Vincent gave the Land Acknowledgement
Hart Jansson led in the singing of the National Anthem.
President Mitch proposed a toast to King George lll and Canada.
Jean Wettlaufer gave the invocation.
There were 15 club members and 5 guests in attendance
Guests
Ron Hope - prospective member
Adrians Sanchez - prospective member
Erika Coetzer - prospective member
Lindsay James- prospective member
Julia Pietrangelo – guest speaker
Announcements
Mike Henry gave an update on Community Service donations;
- $1,000 was given to the Robotics team at Oakville Trafalgar High School on February 26.
- $7,500 donated to Oakville and Milton Humane Society towards the purchase of a new animal transport van. Check was presented last Friday. RCOT will be also contributing $7,500 and they will be putting a Rotary sticker on the van.
- two donations supporting Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder children are currently being reviewed, the total is $13,600. One for Summer Camp and one for a Best Buddies Dance.
- a donation for $1,000 to the Robotics team at Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School is also being reviewed.
- This would bring total Community donations this Rotary year to $77,100!
Mike also presented an update for the Membership Committee;
- Ron Hope has applied for membership and the process is in the final stage. He will be a full member in week.
- Adriana Sanchez has also applied and her application is working its way though the system.
- Erika Coetzer submitted her application for membership at the meeting!
- Club Leadership training provided by the district will be held on Saturday May 10 at the University of Guelph. Cost to be determined but has been free to new members in the past.
- All club members are encouraged to register and attend.
Lynn Gave an update on the Centennial celebration
- Registration details will be coming shortly. It promises to be a great event with many exciting speakers and events.
- Many people have forwarded pictures for the centennial book and they are sorting through them. Help is needed to identify some events and people. She suggested that they might put up some pictures on the screen at upcoming club meetings to see if anyone at the meeting might help with identification.
Guest Speaker
Mike Henry introduced the guest speaker, Julia Pietrangelo. She is the Senior Development Officer at The Darling Home for Kids, where she is responsible for raising essential funds to ensure the Home continues to support the children and families who rely on its services.
Julia mentioned that 70,000 children in Ontario have been diagnosed with complex medical issues. This could involve both physical and mental limitations and even non-verbal conditions. The Darling Home cares for the most severe cases and provides unique experience for them to get care they need. They take in children from all of Ontario and many from Oakville. These children have spent a great deal of their lives in Hospitals away from families. The Darling Home provides an environment that is quite different from the hospital that is more calming and normal allowing them to “be a kid” and yet getting the medical support they need. These children are living longer and need more medical interventions.
The Darling Home provides services in 5 key areas
Respite Care
- Provide daily or overnight care to give caregivers a break
Residential Care
- They have children who live at the home many whom go to local schools with a nurse in attendance
Hospice Palliative Care
- End of life care that allows families to be with them when the time comes
Therapeutic Programs
- Many types of specialized therapy available i.e. Pet, Water, Music.
Family Support
- Counselling for caregivers
Julia thanked the club for the recent donations that totaled $23,000. The first $8,000 went to digitizing their medical records and the second will be used to build a mini medication station in their expansion. The new 10,000 sq ft expansion will allow them to increase their beds from 12 to 16 and add a space for counselling and meetings and a private kitchen and increased accommodation for families in the hospice are area.
Hart thanked Julia on behalf of the club for an inspiring talk and for the great work that they do at the Darling Home.
George Vincent called for Happy Bucks and Fines
- George Farrow was happy as he attended the opening of the Indigenous Office at Sheridan College recently
- Lynn was happy for the sunshine today!
- Reena was happy as her daughter has been hired as a nurse by Mercy Ships and will be going on an upcoming trip to Madagascar.
- Erika was happy as she recently became a grandmother
- Jean was happy as her Granddaughter will be doing an academic term at a Law School in Barcelona (or is it Barthelona?)
George then heavily fined members present who;
- Did not know the four-way test by heart
- Did not greet and introduce themselves to every one of our guests.
- Did not know how many parts there are to the Rotary Code of Conduct. (5)
- Have not been to at least one committee meeting since the beginning of the year.
President Mitch closed the meeting at 8:00 pm with a toast to friends and Rotarians around the world
Upcoming Meetings
March 24 Desmond Jordan - Make a Great Pass
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