Complex intubation mannequin for OTMH Emergency Room - $3,938.75
Online access to learning support for 11 families through Halton Learning Foundation - $1,650.00
Six weeks of canned goods support to the Kerr Street Mission - $2,400.00
Six weeks of canned goods support to the Foodshare Food Bank - $2,400.00
Speak with Jennifer Estall, Community Services Committee Chair about identified needs.
Oakville Rotary Clubs Respond to Community Needs
The Rotary Club of Oakville, Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar, Rotary Club of Oakville West and the Oakville Passport Club have established an Oakville Rotary Relief Fund.
Collectively, the four Rotary Clubs have put $30,000 into this fund from moneys raised through their fundraising efforts in the prior year.
The need is great. You can help.
“Current community needs include food and housing, but we appreciate that this will change over the coming weeks. The focus of our Relief Fund will therefore change as needs change,” said Norma Gamble, past President of the Rotary Passport Club and Rotary District 7080 Community Service Director.
A fundraising campaign has been initiated. Every dollar donated will be matched on a 3 to 1 ratio based on the initial funds in the Relief Fund.
“If we can raise $10,000 in the Oakville community we will be able to spend $40,000 on those who need it the most over the coming weeks and months,” said Rod Craig, President of the Rotary Club of Oakville.
Khal Kaylani, President of the Rotary Club of Oakville West said, “We ask that friends, family members, co-workers, clients, and neighbours join us by contributing to the Oakville Rotary Relief Fund. Please be generous and know that your contribution will go to the greatest needs identified within our community.”
Rotary has a sterling international reputation for taking the initiative in challenging times.
All donations to the Fund are tax deductible. Tax receipts will be issued by CanadaHelps.
If you prefer to send a cheque, please make it payable to: Rotary Club of Oakville Charitable Trust and send to: The Rotary Club of Oakville, Unit 110, 30 Normandy Drive, Oakville, ON, L6K 3V2
President Jennifer Kay is currently recovering from a surgery and we have decided to utilize her message space to publicize a COVID-19 related fundraiser directed at club members only. Thank-you Liz Blunt for your efforts and community contribution.
SPECIAL COVID-19 MASK OFFER FOR ROTARIANS ONLY
Don and Liz Blunt modelled fabric face masks that Liz has offered to make for any OT Rotary member and their family members in return for a donation to RCOT. Two facemasks are recommended so that you can wash one and have another ready for use. For safety, you should wash them after each trip outside your home where you might have had contact.
The cost is a donation of at least $15 each or $25 for 2. This is not a fundraiser for outside our club. Each masks takes Liz ½ hour to make in addition to the cost of fabric and elastic, so Liz is donating her time ….
To ensure the best fit, please measure around your head from under your nose and the top of your ear.
Or you can go with a standard Men’s, Lady’s, Kid’s (They do not recommend masks for children under 2 years)
Please indicate how many you would like of each size…. And your fabric preference …… light, dark, or colourful!
Don and Liz Blunt model the Rotarian Only Fundraising Model
District Governor Lesley Barmania has reached out with information on a new Project called Volunteer Surge. Please see her message below, check out the website, ask questions and sign up! I encourage you to share this opportunity with friends and family. It may be initiated by Rotary, but it is NOT limited to Rotarians!
The key to this program is to have as many people complete the online training that is available to become a Telehealth Volunteer (work from home) or a Community Health Worker (providing basic, in-person support to people in need). Once training is complete you are matched with volunteer opportunities in the community.
From Lesley Barmania:
I have some exciting news from our Zone Director, Jeffry Cadorette. Very soon, the country will hear about this project on the news. (CNN, NYT and other major coverage). You are getting a sneak peek today. You know the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing the healthcare system to its limits. What if there was a way to help, from the safety of our homes, and make a real difference?
In the last three weeks, a Rotary-related non-profit, The Global Impact Group, has initiated a new volunteer opportunity called Volunteer Surge. This Group was co- founded by Rotarians in District 5160.
I urge you to go to http://www.tgig.org and learn more about Project Volunteer Surge. You’ll see it’s an opportunity for us to help our communities, as well as the nation, with the fight against COVID19 - right now.
We know that one letter won’t produce the level of sign-up that we need. I want to stress...the success of this program will be driven by the immediate participation of our clubs and members.
I appreciate your help with this. The rest of the country is watching, and we hold the success of this program in our hands. Let's show Canada that we are People of Action and together we succeed.
If you have the time to do so please consider becoming involved in this initiative!
We launched our Hunger Relief Campaign on March 25th as a result of urgent requests from our contacts in Guatemala. People were confined to their homes and unable to work. They risked starvation. Our contacts were contacting us in tears asking us to help. We are very lucky to have Bruce Friesen on our committee. He travels frequently to central America and has made some very reliable contacts there. We had worked with these people several times before and we knew if we helped them our money would be well taken care of. I am delighted to report that our International Committee and club threw their support wholeheartedly behind this project and in a very short space of time we have been able to raise $29,000 for this initiative. Here is where the money came from.
Donations from individuals $12,350
Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar $ 3,000
Rotary Club of Oakville $ 1,500
Rotary Club of Burlington Lakeshore $ 500
Rotary Club of Burlington Central $ 2,500
Rotary Club of Toronto $ 3,000
Rotaract Club of Oakville/Burlington $ 250
District 7080 $ 5,900
Total $29,000
The Rotary Foundation made funding available for Disaster Relief fairly recently. They have allotted S1 million for Covid 19 relief and given $25,000 US to our District to be used for this purpose in the form of matching District Grants. These were to be District Grants for the 2020-21 year with special dispensation to spend the money immediately instead of having to wait for the new year. Many thanks to Norm Bindon, District Foundation Chair, who told us about this funding and actively helped us pursue this money. There was a major snag – each club is only allowed 1 District Grant a year and we had already applied to help establish a maternity clinic in Honduras. We are very thankful that the Rotary Club of Oakville agreed to take over this District Grant for this project.
Non-profit Creamos, Guatemala City
The first distribution occurred at the organization Creamos in Guatemala City. This in an organization sandwiched between a slum and the garbage dump in Guatemala City. They take women that have been scavenging recyclables from the dump for $3-5 a day and provide vocational training as well as basic education, financial education, and counselling. 95% of these women have suffered abuse and many have been abandoned by their husbands. We have supported this organization on several occasions and Bruce Friesen is a new member of the Board of Directors. You might say our club has adopted this worthy organization and I highly encourage any of you that are visiting Guatemala City to tour this oasis of hope and joy. I visited there in Feb 2019. Bruce visits several times a year. In the past we have purchased sewing machines, laptops to be lent out for online high school education, and we are currently conducting a Global Grant for vocational and leadership training (on hold due to COVID19). Our Grant has had the desirable outcome that 6 women have been able to get jobs sewing in the private sector that pay a good wage and have medical benefits for their families. This was previously extremely difficult due to the social stigma associated with living in the slum.
Creamos and their sister organization Safe Passage began their first food distribution to the 200 families in their organization on March 31. This was with the first $6000 we sent to them. Each food bag will feed a family for 1-2 weeks and cost $19. It consists of rice, cornmeal, beans, and oil. The proceeds of the District Grant will be sent to them for their second distribution.
For the first distribution the families were issued coupons that could be exchanged for bags of food at the grocery store. There were 3 types of bags to choose from. The contents were all prearranged so the money couldn’t be spent on junk food. Pictures of the distribution are shown below.
Here is a report from Hannah – Executive Director of Creamos.
“Dear Rotary of Oakville Trafalgar,
Since receiving your contribution to support food relief on 3/28, we’ve had the opportunity to host 2 separate voucher disbursement gatherings within the community. On each of these occasions, we distributed vouchers to a local supermarket in the amount of Q100 (~$18 CAD) to all 205 of the women in our program. Each voucher was associated with a 2-day time period during which they could be exchanged for a bag of non-perishable food items.
An unforeseen benefit of hosting these disbursement gatherings is their ability to bring our community together, safely, during such a tumultuous time. Capitalizing on the chance to have all of our participants in one place, these gatherings have doubled as an opportunity to check in with our participants, disseminate vital community updates, and discuss contingency plans for the coming weeks and months. Additionally, we’ve been approached by a variety of local produce companies with food donations (including the bananas pictured left) and have been able to hand them out while disbursing vouchers, killing two birds with one stone. Looking ahead, we’re planning on continuing to provide biweekly vouchers for our families as long as funding will allow. Fortunately, we were able to leverage your support to incentivize a handful of additional Rotary Clubs across Canada and the States to join in this effort. Thank you, again, for your generous contribution during this unbelievably difficult time in our community. We look forward to keeping you updated as things progress. In the meantime, please enjoy the photos included below.
Best, Hannah Sklar, Executive Director
Quiche, Eastern Guatemala
Bruce was supporting a school in Quiche, in eastern Guatemala long before he became a Rotarian. Our club has continued to support that school every year with the funds that Bruce raises. This is a very poor area of Guatemala with no Rotary club in the vicinity. There is an award-winning teacher at the school, Lukey, who goes above and beyond her normal duties. She manages the money we send for the school. Every dollar we give her is accounted for and she sends us copies of all the receipts and pictures of the results. Claire visited in Feb 19 and Bruce visits several times a year. I complemented Lukey on her excellent recordkeeping, and she replied that the school believes it is important to be accountable. Lukey informed us of the huge need for hunger relief in her area. We sent her a first installment and the food distribution occurred on April 15. She used local leaders to identify the poor families. Here are some pictures from the distribution. A food bag cost 100Q or $18 Cdn.
Copan, Honduras
We are also working through a Rotarian in Copan, Honduras. Funds sent to Honduras were sent with the donors’ permission and weren’t diverted from the Guatemalan funds. A first distribution of food was completed on March 23-April 1. Kathy handed out food bags in the town and travelled to remote villages in the mountains. She fed 250 families with $3000 – that’s only $12/family. She bought the supplies in bulk direct from farmers where she could. We have now sent Kathy a second installment of funds.
Update on Tierra Nueva, El Salvador For Rotary Club
In 2001, the Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar and some Club members responded enthusiastically to a fundraising effort by far away Crescent United, Surrey, BC. The link was my brother, Don Blunt. We had a short 6 weeks to gather $40,000 to ensure that the 18 families of our sister community of Tierra Nueva [New Land] could gain title to the land they had settled on. Some families had a long family history of working that very land. The Peace Accords of 1992 that ended the 12 year Civil War allocated land to landless peasants.
Your club helped us to support that life changing opportunity for the families to own their land. It was an exhilarating time as we had to raise the full amount in a very short time. We were successful!
We have continued our relationship with the community through drought, crop failures, earthquakes and dangerous times. We have helped them set up beekeeping, chicken granges and silos to store corn and beans. Whenever we visit, we take supplies for the local school, which is a 45 min. walk away, along a dirt road. We support a small medical programme of basic medicines and vitamins.
Recently we joined them in a project to repair 8 homes. Their dwellings consist of bamboo supports with walls of chicken wire plastered with cement. Built 10 years ago the bamboo is rotting and the homes need to be reinforced with concrete columns. The community has been gathering rocks, hauling water, providing tools and labour. Our congregation, now Peninsula United, raised $4000 to buy cement, iron rods, crushed stone, sand and to pay a master builder to lead the project.
We wish to share with you this good news at a time when such news is scarce. Up until being halted by COVID 19, rocks were being collected and carried to the work site, wooden forms were being built, cement was mixed, iron was bent for the columns and concrete was poured.
I had expected to be there March 20, hoping to see the progress and perhaps help a little using my Habitat for Humanity work skills. That was not to be.
I have no doubt that as soon as possible the work will resume and the homes will be strengthened. I hope you can see the photo of a very proud Don Martin as he beholds a new corner pillar of his son’s home.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl [Blunt] Lightowlers
March 26, 2020.
This is a pic of Don Blunt’s sister Cheryl Lightowlers along with Ana Luz and Ana’s son Herman. In 2001, Cheryl’s White Rock BC church along with some financial help from RCOT and some RCOT members, helped this community in El Salvador purchase the land that the community had been farming for generations. Without this help, the community would have been forced from the land. Thanks to RCOT for helping make a big difference.
The Education Awards, a joint program with RCOW and RCO, gives $60,000 to 30 graduating High School students in Oakville to help with their post secondary school expenses.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the school year, and even the form of University education in the Fall, we are determined to help those students who need our help.
The process where we get the applications through Guidance Depts. at the schools may not be feasible if the academic year is closed down. It is already significantly delayed.
The Oakville Community Foundation earlier this year established a web portal to help students access various sources of financial aid in one place. The Education Awards are one of the Programs on that site.
It is structured so that students can apply on-line. Serendipity !! Who knew then that the COVID 19 outbreak would require another path where students can submit applications. The link to the Portal is: http://awardshub.ca/
So the three-club Committee will push forward, gather whatever applications we can, and help students who fit the criteria for support.
As there will not be a celebration Dinner as in the past, we are free to be flexible with the timing of the Awards, so long as get the money to the students before the start of their new school year.
If you are aware of any students who may be wondering how to apply, either direct them to me, or the Community Foundation Portal
The struggle to deal with COVID-19 is proving to be a long term endeavour. It is a huge test of the strength of our governments, our institutions and, indeed, our democratic society. It tests the limits of our resilience, steadfastness, endurance and patience as Canadians.
It is also a very personal business. As Rotarians our operating goal is Service Above Self. So, it is natural for us to place ourselves in second place. So our immediate reaction is to find out how we can help those severely impacted by the pandemic. And that’s good.
However we need to pay serious attention to how the regime of isolation, the loss of face to face contact, of the vital life giving interactions that are a normal part of living impacts upon us. We have to deal with the way it saps our energy, our patience, and tests or sense of self. As we strive to help others our resilience and ability to endure are being tested.
“How long will this isolation be needed?” “Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? “ “I don’t know if I can put up with all this, day after day? “
Here’s a quote from the King James Bible that has helped me over the years,
”Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof...”
In those words are found the secret of endurance in times of stress and trouble. Deal with today. Forget about the long road, about May, June, the unknowns. Making long term plans are well and good, yet life comes to us in manageable portions, one day at a time. Amazingly that is the secret of endurance.
A website www.distantly.ca has been set up to assist local businesses during the Convid-19 shutdown. Local businesses need help to remain viable until they can open again.
RCOT relies on Oakville businesses to support our fundraising through donations. It is our turn to help them.
Go to www.distantly.ca to see the businesses are registered and consider supporting one or more of them. They deserve our support.
Online donation app helps support Oakville small business from a distance
The Oakville Economic Task Force announces the launch of Distantly.ca in Oakville; an online crowd-funding platform to connect small business with community donations.
“The Oakville Economic Task Force recognized early in the COVID-19 pandemic the need to support local businesses to help them get through this difficult time and be part of the eventual recovery. As many residents have come forward asking how they can support local businesses, the Distantly.ca app is a way they can help. By donating to local businesses through the app, you’ll help ensure your favourite businesses survive the pandemic and will be able to open their doors for recovery. We encourage all those who are able to donate to help reduce the impact of COVID-19 on Oakville’s main street businesses,” said Mayor Rob Burton.
Distantly.ca is designed to help patrons support their favourite local business from a distance. The platform is easy to use and secure, and allows the community to provide financial support to the business of their choice through direct donations. As main street businesses are faced with unprecedented financial challenges, Distantly provides a creative solution to help businesses survive the pandemic.
Maureen got cleaning and tidying in the basement last week. She came across a box of trophies that our son had won. He didn't want all the trophies but we were reluctant to throw them out.
The solution was to gently pry the inscription plates off the trophies.
Found a piece of scrap wood, sanded, stained and varnished it. Then edged it with some twigs chewed by a beaver at our cottage.
Sorted the plates by date, starting with the oldest at the top then glued them in sequence down the board.
Day 1 – I Can Do This!! Got enough food and wine to last a month! Day 2 – Opening my 8th bottle of Wine. I fear wine supplies might not last! Day 3 – Strawberries: Some have 210 seeds, some have 235 seeds. Who Knew?? Day 4 – 8:00 pm. Removed my Day Pajamas and put on my Night Pajamas. Day 5 – Today, I tried to make Hand Sanitizer. It came out as Rum and coke! Day 6 – I get to take the Garbage out. I’m So excited, I can’t decide what to wear. Day 7 – Laughing way too much at my own jokes!!
Day 8 – Went to a new restaurant called “The Kitchen”. You have to gather all the ingredients and make your own meal. I have No clue how this place is still in business. Day 9 – I put liquor bottles in every room. Tonight, I’m getting all dressed up and going Bar hopping. Day 10 – Struck up a conversation with a Spider today. Seems nice. He’s a Web Designer. Day 11 – Isolation is hard. I swear my fridge just said, “What the hell do you want now?” Day 12 – I realized why dogs get so excited about something moving outside, going for walks or car rides. I think I just barked at a squirrel. Day 13 – If you keep a glass of wine in each hand, you can’t accidentally touch your face. Day 14 – Watched the birds fight over a worm. The Cardinals lead the Blue Jays 3–1. Day 15 – Anybody else feel like they’ve cooked dinner about 395 times this month?
The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 has impacted the lives of everyone. Many of the local events and functions that we are all used to attending have been cancelled or postponed. Our annual Rotary events are no different. So as at today the following events are postponed or cancelled.
STRAWBERRY SOCIAL - JULY 2020
This year's event has been cancelled and our partner, Acclaim Health has been informed. If you have any questions please contact Vanda Albuquerque.
9TH ANNUAL RIBFEST - JUNE 2020
The event has been postponed until June 2021 and all of our vendors, sponsors and partners have been informed. If you have any questions please contact Ken Coulter or Bent Fink-Jensen.
ROTARY EDUCATION AWARDS - MAY 2020
With COVID-19 closing schools, we have delayed the date for getting applications from students until May 1, 2020. If the school closures are extended, we will consider a further response. The Education Awards Dinner, originally scheduled for May 20, 2020, is also an unknown, in light of all the uncertainty. One thing we can say is that we will be helping students who need a hand, however we have to do it. The Dinner is a terrific way of celebrating these students, but that is a separate, later decision. If you have any questions please contact John Kubacki.
CAMP ENTERPRISE and RYLA APRIL - MAY 2020
In accordance with the decision made by District 7080 these events have been cancelled for 2020.
VISIT TO CRAWFORD LAKE - MAY 2020
Organized and managed by the Indigenous Committee this has been cancelled for 2020.
DISTRICT ASSEMBLY and TRAINING - APRIL 2020
In accordance with the decision made by District 7080 these events have been cancelled for 2020.
DELTA BINGO - MARCH 2020 until ?
Due to COVID-19 concerns, as of March 16th, Delta Bingo is temporarily closed until further notice
DECLUTTERING? CLEANING & ORGANIZING during this time of social and physical distancing? The Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar is partnering with the Art for Aid Project to supply art supplies to Indigenous Elementary schools grades K-8.
We are looking forNEW ANDGENTLY USED ART SUPPLIES. Brushes, small canvases, pencil crayons, gel pens, markers, erasers, playdough, modelling clay, kids craft items, Lego, drawing tools, childrens’ colouring books, acrylic & watercolour paint & watercolour paper, stickers, clasps & jewellery, beading materials, jewellery thread, feathers, strong scissors, hole punches, good quality crafting needles, deer & moose hide, fabric paints & new child-sized Tshirts, craft glue guns, glue sticks.
(please clean and disinfect all previously loved items with Lysol spray.)
What we don't take: flammable items, liquid paint mediums such as resins and oil paints, books, paper (we have lots), glitter and glitter glue (due to its large negative global impact on our waters).
Please hold onto your art supplies for now.
We will not be collecting anything yet, due to the Covid19 pandemic, but we are hoping to send our first shipment in the Fall of 2020.
FOR QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT: Joanne MacNair, Rotary Oakville Trafalgar ArtforAid@rcot.ca
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