December Happenings
December Events
RWHN Container loading: Barrie Seaton & Greg Archibald were involved in helping to load a container Dec. 02, at Riverview for shipment to another place in the world. This Saturday, Dec. 8th, there are two additional containers loading at Riverview, one for the Congo, the other is loading at the airport for shipment to South Africa. Rotarians are encouraged to help with the loading. Additional Stories: Christmas with Youth-- Turkey Runs -- Christmas Comes To Hawthorne - - Share - Seline Robinson - - Riverside Community Dinner - - Theo (BC) - Ocean van Samang BSW.
See following stories for:
<Christmas with the Youth> - Dec. 15/06
<Turkey Run About> Thursday> DEC. 21/06
<Christmas with the Youth> - Dec. 15/06
<Turkey Run About> Thursday> DEC. 21/06
Hyde Creek and Offside Youth Centres are hosting Christmas dinners sponsored by our Club again this year. We have been invited to attend however I have been asked to notify them as to how many they can expect, where you would like to go, so they can plan just a little bit!
So that being said, if you are interested in attending one of the dinners, they are both starting at 6:00 pm. Hyde Creek is the North Side of Poco and the Offside is the South Side of Poco. Last year the food was great, the company was terrific and Wayne's magic tricks and gifts were greatly appreciated by all! It was a wonderful experience.
If you have 2 hours to spare Friday night, go out and show the youth that need some support in our community that we do care. These are the youth that get little structure from home, their support systems are their friends, their mentors are their friends, they need this meal, and some of them may just need to connect with an adult in their life that just wants to say hi and share a story or a smile.
Christmas Comes to Hawthorne
On December 12th some Port Coquitlam Club members gathered to meet with many familiar Rotary faces from Sunrise Club. Our coming together was to spread more Christmas cheer to the seniors at Hawthorne Lodge.
The evening began with everyone joining in stuffing 75 Christmas bags full of goodies for Santa himself to deliver! Again, our Club outdid itself in record number of participants - Gale Acker, Paul T, Paul Gill, Tanice Morton, Barrie Seaton, Gaye Simms, her sister, and Janet Power.
Our Christmas mission was to mingle and sing! Well, anyone from our Club knows about the singing...that being said, we were not to be deterred, it was Christmas, we were merry and sing we did! We sang along with the choir. The residents sang along with us and much to our surprise we were told we were good singers. I believe that must have been at Ms. Acker's table. Singing aside, we chatted with the residents, served up cake and juice when suddenly there arose such a clatter that we all stopped! Much to our surprise what did we see, the jolly old man himself appeared with his elves all busy snapping pictures of Santa with the seniors! Everyone was all smiles, happy to receive their goody bags, along with their Polaroid picture with Santa.
As the evening came to a close, both clubs joined together to sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas to the group. The Seniors loved it! I'm still not sure who actually enjoys it more; the residents or the Club members because at the end of the night, I believe the biggest smiles were on the faces of Club members. Another Rotary community deed completed! To Sunrise Club, thank you for your hard work, your dedication and we hope that this partnership will continue. It is one we all enjoy. Merry Christmas to all and to all a big thank you - we can not do it without you!
Dec. 7th/06 - Selena Robinson from Share - Selena discussed the Share programs with the club. Share is funded partially by the Government and partially by private funding. Many programs are community based and are funded by the community. Christmas programs involve Dinners, Toy Shops and other ideas. See their website for complete information.
Riverside Community Dinner December 6/06
Port Coquitlam Rotary Club helped make Christmas Dinner a little bit easier this year through a donation of $1000.00 to Riverside Secondary School. Our donation helped the Leadership Students host their Community Dinner for those less fortunate. The dinner held on December 6th was a wonderful, heartwarming event that showed not only the true Rotary spirit first hand but also true school spirit at Riverside!
The money our Club donated provided the opportunity for the Culinary Arts students to cook a totally awesome turkey dinner for 150 people. It provided a Christmas craft table that was a beehive of activity for Christmas ornament making, Christmas magnets, one which I have hanging on my fridge today. The artist is a relatively unknown, yet to be discovered, 7 year old girl that shared dinner with me. When Santa came to visit the goody bags were stuffed with gifts that our Club helped to purchase and everyone young and old that visited Santa had their picture taken. All this was done with our Poco Rotary Club's donation!
Each person that walked through the door that evening came for their own reason. They came as families, some were seniors that were looking for company, others came from the streets to get warm, and share a meal with old friends. One thing that was evident was the need to be there. Interestingly, quite a few were returning from past years bringing along new friends, reacquainting themselves with old friends and staff. They brought with them was an atmosphere that created a feeling of Christmas. This was no ordinary meal, it was definitely a special meal, and for some this was an extended family of sorts, for everyone it was a place where they were all welcome guests! For others it was the pleasant conversation over dinner, yet for some it was their family Christmas dinner and for a few it was their meal for next few days. What they all received was a room filled with kindred spirits and Christmas!
The jolly old man himself came with a sack full of presents for one and all creating much filled anticipation in the faces of young and old; there was much joy and laughter with every one leaving with full bellies, smiles on their faces and warm feelings in their hearts.
The evening showed a small glimpse of what the spirit of Christmas really is - giving to the community, sharing of yourself with others less fortunate and leaving with a feeling in your heart that you have really touched someone's life and made a difference tonight. Even if it was for just a short time! We need to remember that giving truly is better than receiving.
Special thanks to Janet Powers, Paul Gill, Barrie Seaton, Ryan McAdams, and Mitchell Marcus for sharing themselves and their time. Thanks to all Club members, we know you were there in spirit!
Nov. 30th - A visit by Ocean van Samang, BSW, a senior counsellor from THEO (BC) talked to us about the work that their organization does. They are in the job matching business for people with disabilities. Pre-screening candidates to find the skills and attitudes that work with different employers. Challenged applicants are placed in positions that match the candidates abilities. They are counselled and trained in areas they may need help, frequently on a one on one basis.
Theo has been operating successfully for 30 years and has supplied employees for various employers who constantly come back for more employees.
It seems that initial assumptions about challenged candidates are frequently incorrect. Theo, funded by the government, has several offices in the lower mainland. The presentation was excellent and was well received by Rotarians.