THE BIG THREE
We have a short answer when people ask us what we Rotarians do: “We raise money and then give it all away helping people and communities in need.” Every dollar raised is given away. [The expenses of running our club, supporting the district and Rotary International, is covered by the yearly dues of members.] Sadly no one has kept accurate records but our best calculation is we have raised and spent at least one and a half million dollars to this time (2017). [Our members’ contributions to the Rotary International Foundation are separate; by 2009 our donations to the Foundation – from when the club was founded – was over $250,000.00 US]
For years we operated with three hard working committees that spend the money; International Service, Community Service and New Generations. Each gets to spend about one third of the money raised. It is difficult work, as the needs are always greater that our resources, hard decisions have to be made.
 One low key ongoing project is a program to rescue clothing, shoes and boots, being removed from stock in stores like Marks and Winners. Our Bag Lady, Kathy Scantlebury, collects the bags, sorts it all, and organizes its distribution to homeless shelters, missions, refugees, and to “in from the cold” churches. Some of it makes its way to places in Africa and Mexico! This year the estimated value of all the rescued clothing is $126,500! When Kathy was president (2002-03), while there were many lighthearted jokes about her being height challenged, she was quickly supplied with a stool for the podium. Tiny but mighty. |
Community Service Committee have given money when food banks were in need, sent disadvantaged young people to summer camps, and made multiyear commitments to Halton Woman’s Place, Oakville Trafalgar Hospital, to the YMCA. For years, in partnership with Acclaim Health, the committee organises a Strawberry Social for seniors visited by Acclaim’s volunteers. 2017 will mark the 29th year we’ve run the social. Each year we discover it is the only time some of the seniors get out all year. The committee regularly hosts community dinners at the Kerr Street Mission. We’ve supported Ian Anderson House, Big Brothers and Big Sisters and their after school homework project. There’s the apartments we equipped for women leaving the women’s shelter; and we’ve supplied wheelchairs to people. We’ve done a lot since we built the picnic shelter in Coronation Park… well the list runs on and on.
Verna Andrews (president 2007-08) reported that in her year the Community Service committee supported eight major community initiatives, from drug and alcohol prevention school programs to supporting the Fairshare Food Bank. Checking the records showed that it was a typical year for the committee. Proof that the committee always strives to do whatever it can to make people’s lives a little better, our community a bit stronger.
The photo below is of Verna Andrews.
International Service Committee has kept us deeply involved with Rotary’s Polio Plus Program, with the other clubs in Oakville and the Zenon Corporation, installed water filtration plants in Africa. We funded libraries in India; supported Aids programs in Africa, and Health Fairs around the world; and, thanks to Verna Andrews (president 2001-02) we took a strong lead in the world wide effort to eliminate land mines. We also adopted a whole village; supported building schools in far off places and literacy programs in India and South America.
The work of the committee was so impressive, the people at Rotary International invited Claire Conway to explain how the system works at the International Convention in 2016. |
As mentioned earlier, with the leadership of June Oliver, we undertook a massive project to provide water and sanitation systems in two villages in Uganda. With solar powered pumps and piping and separate latrines for girls and boys the quality of life for everyone was improved. Working closely with our fellow Rotarian in Kampala a comprehensive program was devised, involving health education, the planting of trees and a system to collect methane gas for cooking. The project took years from planning to execution, there were complications in dealing with fluctuating currencies, new application process in Rotary, and many challenges keeping connected with plans and progress in Africa. It is all working, it is a marvel. When our members visited the villages they were surrounded by love and laughter and people full of hope. The world is vast, the needs unending, yet every step forward marks the way to a better future.
The photo below is of one of the washrooms built as part of the Ugandan WASH project with Claire Conway, June Oliver and Jennifer Kay
New Generations, is the committee that helps young people, a long time interest in Rotary. Each year we send students to a weeklong stay at RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award), to Camp Enterprise where students learn how business works. The committee looks after our Student Exchange program preparing students to go off for a year and looking after the ones who come to Oakville, and arranging for host families. It is an educational experience for the students, the host families and for the club. Stuff happens: one girl, I believe she was from Australia, was hit in the mouth with a puck while watching a hockey game. Thankfully one of our members was a dentist who fixed her up. Over the years we’ve seen female Japanese students who arrive very shy and reserved, slowly but surely became adventuresome and outgoing.
A program that has grown year after year is our bursary program designed to help students graduating from high school who have the desire and the marks to take on postsecondary education but need financial help to get started. There’s an application process; interviews are held at the schools to select the students. Working with other clubs with similar programs the selected students and a parent are invited to a banquet where the award certificates are presented. For each student a payment of $2,000.00 is sent to the student’s chosen school to go for tuition. But, while it is wonderful to see all the proud students and parents we are aware there are always more worthy students than we can help.
The photo below is of the recipients in 2017.
In 2016 we added a fourth Committee, the Indigenous Committee, through which we provide funds to help aboriginal students from remote settlements to attend Laurentian University, to equip them to provide expertise and leadership in their home communities.
In the photo below is Stepfanie Johnston the first recipient of the Rotary Indigenous Scholarship with Cliff Thompson and Claire Conway.
