At the Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar, we are a diverse group of people of varying ages and from all walks of life—professionals, entrepreneurs, retirees, parents, and grandparents—and united in our commitment to the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self. We share a common purpose: to make a difference in our community and to create lasting positive change here at home and around the world.
We are an active group of volunteers; we raise money so that we can give it all away, and we have a lot of fun doing it!
You may know us as the organizers and hosts of the Oakville Family Ribfest, the town’s largest outdoor summer festival and a hugely popular community event (www.oakvillefamilyribfest.com); the founding club of the annual Rotary Online Auction (www.rotaryonlineauction.ca); or for the Bottle Drive fundraiser we started during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to run (email us at bottledrive@rcot.ca).
Some of the many organizations and causes we have supported with the money we raise:
- Acclaim Health, Strawberry Social for Seniors
- Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Hamilton Halton
- Charterability
- COVID-19 Relief Fund
- Fareshare Food Bank
- Food4Kids Halton
- Food for Life
- Halton Women’s Place
- Kerr Street Mission
- Lighthouse Shelter for Grieving Children
- Literacy South Halton
- March of Dimes, Jean and Howard Caine Apartments (supportive housing for people with physical disabilities)
- Oakville Community Foundation
- Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital
- Rotary Education Awards (with the other Oakville Rotary clubs, we award bursaries worth approximately $60,000 annually to graduating high school students for their post-secondary studies)
- SafetyNet
- Salvation Army, Annual Kettle Drive
- Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation
To Support Indigenous Communities
- Annual scholarship for a First Nations student at the University of Sudbury
- Art for Aid (collecting art supplies to be shipped to remote northern communities)
- Hockey Cares (True North Aid)
International Projects
- Donations to Sleeping Children Around the World
- Funding training and employment opportunities for women who currently make their living in the garbage dump of Guatemala City
- Purchasing medical equipment for a clinic in Guatemala that trains medical doctors and serves the poor
- Purchasing medical equipment for a pediatric oncology unit in Mexico
- Microfinance loans to women in Africa
- Water and sanitation projects in Uganda, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico
- Family garden projects for nutrition and financial independence in Guatemala
- Donations to Shelterbox and other international disaster relief
- Providing laptops, vocational training, and other support for the School for the Deaf in San Miguel d’Allende, Mexico
- Funding for food, and development and delivery of a community outreach program on the island of Roatan, Honduras, during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Financial support for hunger relief in Guatemala during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Supporting Rotary International’s End Polio Now campaign to eradicate polio globally
If your purpose is to help others and to give back to your community, Rotary could be the right fit for you. Everyone is welcome as a guest at our weekly meetings, to learn more about our club and what’s possible working as just one part of Rotary International, with 1.2 million like-minded members around the world.
People join Rotary to do good work and help others; they stay in Rotary because they make good friends!
The Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar works actively through five committees—Community Service, International, New Generations (youth), Indigenous, and Environment—to support projects and causes in Rotary International’s seven areas of focus globally:
- Providing Clean Water and Sanitation
- Fighting Disease
- Maternal and Child Care
- Supporting Education
- Growing Local Economies
- Protecting the Environment
- Promoting Peace
To visit one of our weekly meetings (on Zoom for now), please e-mail info@rcot.ca.
To learn more about Rotary in Oakville, visit www.rotaryoakville.ca.
To learn more about Rotary International, visit www.rotary.org.
If you are an organization looking for funding, support, or information, please click on the appropriate link: Community, Environment, Indigenous, International, New Generations (Youth)
Chartered in 1978 the Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar continues to serve the local community and beyond.
Picture from the Charter meeting in 1978
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
At Rotary, we understand that cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is essential to realizing our vision of a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.
We value diversity and celebrate the contributions of people of all backgrounds, across age, ethnicity, race, colour, abilities and disabilities, learning style, religion, faith, socioeconomic status, culture, marital status, languages spoken, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity as well as differences in ideas, thoughts, values, and beliefs.
Recognizing that individuals from certain groups have historically experienced barriers to membership, participation, and leadership, we commit to advancing equity in all aspects of Rotary, including in our community partnerships, so that each person has the necessary access to resources, opportunities, networks, and support to thrive.
We believe that all people hold visible and invisible qualities that inherently make them unique, and we strive to create an inclusive culture where each person knows they are valued and belong.
In line with our value of integrity, we are committed to being honest and transparent about where we are in our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion journey as an organization, and to continuing to learn and do better.
Our statement is aligned with rotary.org.
Any person who feels they are subject to discrimination of any kind should feel free to contact a member of the Board of Directors at info@rcot.ca.