Virtual RED BADGE NEW MEMBER--Ian Davies & Julie Pontes--please reach out via ZOOM chat with an energetic Rotary welcome!!
Meeting Responsibilities:
Zoom Host - Don Bork
Registration - Sandy Ronson
Sgt-at-Arms-Jim Swan
Fine payment-via interact e-transfer, refer to recent broadcast email to all members for details or contact Keith. NOTE-the interact e-transfer options for members now includes fines/dues/bottle drive proceeds & donations and upcoming tulip fundraiser. Refer to recent Clubrunner email to all members.
A little bit about me:
April 19th--Ramon Marti
May 3rd--Ian Davies
It costs nothing to send an eCOG to a friend/prospective member/neighbour. Please advise Jim Belton of names/contact info.
Having difficulty accessing and using Clubrunner, the platform RCL website runs on. See Clubrunner supplied link and information at the very end of the eCOG.
Rotary Satellite Club meeting details----not currently meeting at the Fox and Fiddle due to C-19, but but join them via ZOOM on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 6:30 pm.. see details on the Facebook Page, the link is: https://www.facebook.com/rotarysatellitecluboflondon.
Have a suggestion for an eCOG-Bulletin article/story, please let Keith know.
Our speaker on April 19th will be Jane Roy and Glen Pearson discussing the London Food Bank and Covid-19 Challenges.
Glen Pearson
Glen was born in Calgary in 1950, and worked as a firefighter retiring in 2006 as a captain after 29 years at the London Fire Department. He co-founded London Food Bank in 1987 and subsequently served as Executive Director. He was a Board member of Ontario Association of Food Banks and served 2 years as Chairperson. In1970, Glen was doing aid work in Bangladesh and contracted malaria and which still attacks him three or four times each year. Glen along with other political figures spearheaded the kickoff for Africa Malaria Day which was raising funds in 2007 to send anti-malarial bed nets to Africa in hopes of reducing malarial transmission and child mortality. Politically Glen ran as a Liberal candidate for MP in 2 London ridings and in 2006 was elected in a by-election in London North Centre. He was re-elected in 2008 but defeated in 2011. Throughout his campaigns, he emphasized environmental, health care and accountability issues. Glen was appointed to be Assistant Critic of Environment and then Critic of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (CIDA) and was a member of Standing Committees on the Status of Women; Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics; Foreign Affairs and International Development and the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament. In his maiden speech in the House of Commons, Glen provided his personal insights and experiences related to Human Trafficking and Slavery and implored the House to “take what we are saying in this House tonight and actually put it into deeds, into justice and into funding to stop these things”. Over the years, Glen has written many books ranging from children’s adventures to thoughts on foreign aid, citizen ship and liberalism
Jane Roy is a graduate of Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School & University of Western Ontario in 1987, Jane is known for her contribution in leading the poverty fight at the London Food Bank and for her humanitarian efforts in South Sudan. Jane is a veteran of many disaster and relief crises. Her volunteer activism has taken her to Rwanda, Iraq (during the Gulf War), Somalia, Guatemala and Sudan. Jane has been involved with London Food Bank since 1988 with major success in developing the organization’s profile in the community. She has served as a board member on Ontario Association of Food Banks and was Chairperson for 2year term. She’s a key member of Mayor’s Anti-Poverty Task Force for city of London. Jane is an avid painter and at least one of her exhibitions held at Westland Gallery sent all proceeds to the efforts in South Sudan. She was awarded Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers on December 4, 2017 by the Governor General of Canada. Both have consulted with provincial and federal governments regarding poverty issues. Since 1998, both have worked on human rights and development projects in Sudan. They co-founded Canadian Aid for southern Sudan (‘CASS’) which is a registered Canadian Charity operating from London Ontario. Its stated objectives include building schools, rehabilitate former child soldiers, provide training for future leaders, assist in abolishing slavery, promote full gender equality and human rights, establish the YMCA/YWCA in South Sudan and local economic development. Glen Pearson & Jane Roy are parents to 7 children.
Rotary Club of London bottle drive date postponed to May 15th
Rotary Bottle and Can Drive New date of Saturday May 15th. Please hold on to those empty bottles and cans or return them and donate your funds directly to Sandy Ronson. You can e-transfer funds directly to Sandy as follows: sronson55@gmail.com Include the password mybottles and note that this donation is for the bottle drive. Don’t forget to add your donation of $25 for a missed luncheon! All donations are greatly appreciated and very much needed to sustain club projects including our donation to Habitat for Humanity. Help us build a new home for an area family.
AREA 4 ROTARY TULIP SALES
Start selling Rotary tulips to your friends and family. Boxes of 25 tulips are $25 per box. Sandy Ronson is coordinating sales so let Sandy know when you sell a box. Send her a note at sandyr@bell.net to confirm your sale. Funds are to be e-transferred to Sandy at the following: sronson55@gmail.com include the password mytulips and again include a note that the funds are for tulips. The actual tulips will arrive in August for fall planting. Our club has 100 boxes in total to sell so the quantity is limited. Confirm your order early!
Weekly Coffee Klatch
Since the Province has extended its Stay-at-Home directive, we decided to set up a weekly Zoom “Coffee Klatch” each Thursday from 10:30 to 11:15 am.
Support for Majo’s Extended Stay / Post-Secondary Education in London, Canada
As most RCL members are aware, Maria Jose Camacaro Figueroa (“Majo”) was sponsored by our club as a Rotary Youth Exchange student for the 2019-2020 academic year (Grade 11 at HB Beal Secondary School). Because of the Covid pandemic and also due to the political and economic circumstances in Venezuela, Majo could not go home last summer and, indeed, has no option to return there any time soon. If you would like to view a video message from Majo, click this DropBox link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2xl2h37vtcb5x4/2021%2003%2029%20Majo%20Camacaro.mov?dl=0
Five local couples have taken turns hosting Majo for this extra extended year and she has been enrolled for Grade 12 at Beal, graduating with a full Ontario high school diploma in June. She has been accepted into the Interior Design program at Fanshawe College with classes starting in September 2021. Majo has also submitted her application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to extend her study visa and for permission to work (part-time during school and full time during summers). We anticipate little trouble finding accommodation for Majo during her upcoming studies but would appreciate some help in funding her substantial tuition costs as she is required by Fanshawe to register as an international student. (A short time ago, Majo’s parents had to flee Venezuela, leaving home and business, and cannot provide financial support.) How can you contribute? Our Rotary Club of London Foundation has an Education Fund. The Foundation Board has authorized that amounts from this Fund can be used for post-secondary tuition through direct payments to Canadian colleges and universities, Fanshawe included. Contributions to this Fund receive a Canadian charitable donation tax receipt. To make a donation:
1)-Send a cheque payable to the “Rotary Club of London Foundation” (put “Education Fund” on the memo line of the cheque)
2)-Use your credit card at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/60706 (a CanadaHelps webpage dedicated to our Foundation, enter “Education Fund” in the message field)
3)-Via Interac email to sronson55@gmail.com (no need to set up security question or answer, funds go direct to our club and are then forwarded to the Foundation, put “Education Fund” in the message field)
Next Club Board Meeting
The next meeting of the Rotary Club of London Board will be a Zoom meeting on May 19th-Wednesday-4:30PM
Note:
- all members are welcome to attend Board meetings
- to view the Club's Board Meeting Minutes go to our website, Member Login, My ClubRunner, click on View Club Documents.
Glen Pearson
Jane Roy is a 
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