At exactly 7 p.m. our informal social interaction ended and president Veronica called the meeting to order. Leon played a version of O Canada performed by the National Arts Orchestra, and some of us sang along with our mics muted. No discordant notes were heard. Veronica welcomed us to meeting #26 and the first one in the new year. Updates included a reminder about Rotary’s theme, a review of funds being distributed from our successful 50-50 MegaDraw, and the request for club members to participate in the district’s Grants Management Seminar so we may continue participating in district grants.
Foundation Chair Wayne summarized two weeks’ worth of Foundation moments which you can read What is the Goal of Rotary Foundation Grants? (1 of 2) as well as What is the Goal of Rotary Foundation Grants? (2 of 2).We learned about four types of Rotary grants available to Rotarians.
Our guest speaker, David Toner, told us about his victim advocacy group which performs random acts of kindness to help stamp out bullying. The Bikers Against Bullying have helped children by providing rides to school (on the back of a motorcycle) and showing them support, letting them know that they are not alone and they do have friends. Recently they adopted a family and provided them with gifts for Christmas along with a food hamper containing a turkey and all the fixings for a traditional Christmas meal. In an added touch, they made note of each person’s birthday and will provide a birthday cake on the appropriate days in 2021. David reported that over half of the biker group is female, and each member has his or her own bike to ride. He describes them as big brothers and big sisters on motorcycles. Their annual bike ride will be scheduled in August and we will likely hear more closer to the date.
We shared stories around happy dollars and joined in a toast to Canada.
