If you haven't already volunteered to help, and if you are able, we could use your support on October 11.

Food Drive for Shelburne Food Bank,  9 am to 11 am, please contact Rotarian Bill at bwaite999@gmail.com 

PumpkinFest anytime between noon and 4 pm, please contact Rotarian Michelle at Michelle@teamapex.ca 

Get ready for a day of fall fun as PumpkinFest returns to Natasha Patterson Park on October 11!

This annual event is a family favourite, bringing the community together for a celebration full of laughter, excitement, and seasonal charm. Families can enjoy a train ride around the park, receive a free pumpkin to take home, and enjoy live music and entertainment throughout the day.

The event also features a vendor market with local artisans and businesses and inflatable attractions that will keep the kids entertained for hours. Whether you're picking out pumpkins, dancing to the music, or simply soaking in the festive atmosphere, PumpkinFest is the perfect way to spend time with loved ones and make cherished fall memories.

Best of all, it’s free to attend—so gather your family and join us at Natasha Patterson Park for an unforgettable Thanksgiving weekend!

If you would like to sponsor this great community event please email ShelburneRotary@gmail.com

This event coincides with our Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. 

Rotary Christmas Greenery

12" and 18" wreaths plus 20' garlands are available. If you haven't ordered yet please contact Sandra at sandragallaugher57@gmail.com.

Rotary Christmas Baskets

$75.00 per basket. Filled with an array of local products, mostly consumables. Place your orderat shelburnerotary@gmail.com. A lovely gift to give at Christmas.

The Everyday Chefs! cooking classes are off to a great start! Everyone had a fun and delicious evening of creating cheap and easy meals for “less than a meal deal”.

These classes are made possible due to a Rotary grant.

Thank you very much to Jeannette French of Lennox Farms for your instruction and amazing farm fresh vegetables.

I’ve now been in Canada for exactly one month. During these first four weeks, I’ve had so many new impressions: the different food, the school and its schedule, being surrounded by English 24/7, the long drives to the next town, and the endless expanse of land and nature.

Back home in Switzerland, I cycle to school, but here I either take the school bus or get a ride because the distances are simply too great.

The school system is also completely different: in Switzerland I have different subjects every day and can’t choose which ones I take, whereas here every day follows the same timetable and I have the same four subjects.

At first, it was quite hard to make friends because I was completely new and didn’t know anyone. But now I’ve made a few really good friends, and I feel genuinely lucky.

This message has been edited for length.

I am sending this email to let you know that all is well and I'm doing great and really enjoying where I ended up.

The biggest challenge for me right now is speaking with locals in French or even through Google Translate without it saying the wrong thing or in the wrong way.

I am really happy with what classes the school put me in: it is an Economics, Marketing and Leadership course plus an advanced French and a basic English course.

Also something I didn't know was that you stay with the same class all day in France so it's very easy to get to know people.

And in France I'm not sure if it's mandatory but students have two years to stay in high school and hone their skills in one area like Business and Finance, so I'm with students all the same age as me, 18 and 19 years old.  

Next the food here is very good, I usually don't know what we're eating but it always tastes good.

My host parents are very kind. They have a son named Edward in Mexico right now on an exchange with Rotary.

Also the local Rotary club is great and seems to greatly respect Canadians and treat me like gold.

I'm very grateful to be here and I wouldn't be if it wasn't for Shelburne and Orangeville Rotary so thank you. 

This month we supported the Huruma Children's Trust (Canada), Streams Community Hub and the Friendship Gardens at the Headwaters Health Care Centre.

Our meetings are typically at the Agricultural Hall at 377 William Street.  

With our new sign, we are easier to find!

“My family and I migrated to Canada approximately 20 years ago. I was mid-career and had worked and completed my post-secondary education internationally. These factors in part comprised a challenge, as with many newcomers, to establish ourselves professionally. Completing Canadian studies in an area and at a level I was familiar with helped a whole lot in changing my fortunes.

Prior to arriving in Canada, I was involved in community activities through, a religious organization, a service club and a past student association. I gained satisfaction from the positive impact initiatives these organizations were involve had in public life.

The early challenges of establishing myself as a newcomer however consumed most of my attention and my participation in community life in Canada waned.

Housing opportunities resulted in relocating to my current community.  This though satisfying, significantly increased the commuting time between home and work. As like others, over time I adjusted, but became increasingly awareness  of an unmet desire to learn more about, and be more integrated and active in my community.
The Rotary provided an excellent opportunity addressing my concerns. Upon expressing an interest for membership, the admission process was smooth and welcoming. Through meetings, projects and guess presenters, I have interacted with community actors and partners. The club works, at times invisibly to mobilize, finance, develop and implement community infrastructure, institutions and services. These target addressing needs, some of which are for groups invisible in the public space.  

I have learned that in the club there is a place for varying levels of time and resource commitments and participation is always sincerely appreciated.

World Polio Day (October 24) is a time for Rotary members, public health advocates, and all who want a world free from polio to come together, recognize our progress in the fight to end polio, and talk about the actions we need to take in order to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world today as it remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

To sustain this progress and continue to reach every child with the polio vaccine, Rotary has committed to raising up to US$50 million each year to support global polio eradication efforts. The Gates Foundation has renewed its pledge through 2029 to match that 2-to-1 for a total yearly contribution of up to US$150 million. 

Rotary has contributed more than US$2.9 billion to fight polio and countless volunteer hours since launching its PolioPlus program in 1985. In 1988, Rotary joined in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, later joined. When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year. Today, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent. Polio will be only the second human disease to be eradicated (the other is smallpox).

To support the campaign to end polio, donate here.

For more information about the campaign to end polio go to www.endpolio.org.