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 & tulip fundraiser. Refer to recent Clubrunner email to all members.
A little bit about me:
June 14--Elizabeth Harris
July 12th--Julie Pontes
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 guest speakers on June 14th will be David Knoppert-Rotary Club of Hyde Park & Dr. Doug Thompson. They will talk about a joint initiative between the Rotary Club of Stratford Charitable Foundation’s COMMIT – a group of volunteer doctors, nurses, medical professionals and others from Southwestern Ontario dedicated to helping the less fortunate in Nicaragua – and the Rotary Club of London Hyde Park. The Nicaraguan Stove Project is meant to address the health, safety and environmental risks associated with the widespread use of open-fire stoves in villages across an impoverished area of the country, south of Managua. We will hear about the money raised by the local COMMIT members that will build 750 of the $147 stoves for Nicaraguan families and plant 9,000 saplings. To raise that money, David Knoppert and four Stratford-area residents decided to embark on months-long bike or walking trips without ever leaving Southwestern Ontario, including Dr. Doug Thompson. Doug, a Rotarian for 43 years, is a recipient of 2 Paul Harris Fellowships, a family Doctor in Stratford for 42 years, semiretired and now managing a Nursing home, and Co-founder of COMMIT 9 years ago. David Knoppert is a retired Neonatal Pharmacist from London, Ontario. In 2014 David joined the Rotary Club of London Hyde Park. He has been Club President and currently serves as Club Secretary. In January 2017 David took his first trip with the group COMMIT to Nicaragua. He has been virtually riding across Canada to raise awareness and funds for the people of Nicaragua. Their talk is titled “How to buy an electric car for $300.00”
--Make-A-Wish When Stars Align Dinner at Home, Thursday, July 22, 2021--
Note from President Dianne--Following Erin and Erica's presentation May 31st, Erin emailed me today thanking us for the opportunity and included the link to the Make-A-Wish When Stars Align...At Home event scheduled for Thursday, July 22. Here is a link to the event if you would like to attend. www.makeawish.ca/athomedinner [makeawish.ca]
--Every Child Matters--
From D.G.-David-Last week the world learned that 215 bodies of Indigenous children were found in an unmarked mass grave on the property of the former Kamloops Residential School. This is a horrific reminder of a time in Canada's history that saw children torn from their families and placed in the residential school system. There are thousands of children still unaccounted for from this time. While we may be tempted to say this is in the past, over 7 generations of Indigenous people continue to feel indescribable effects of personal and intergenerational trauma to this day. This is not just a historical issue; it is a current issue. Speaking as a descendant of settlers, we need to sit with the discomfort of our country's actions, that though we might not be directly responsible, we still greatly benefit from colonization in Canada. The discovery of the bodies of lost souls underscores the need for us to begin the work of understanding and reconciliation. Our May Noon Zoom featuring John Currie ED of HIP, and Clay Melnike District 6330 HIP Co-ordinator was a first step in what will be a journey through some dark places on the way to enlightenment and unity. Here is the link in case you missed it; https://youtu.be/T5EqxoiqxNQTo honour the lives and spirits of those 215 children, I encourage you to wear orange this week. If you are able to, please take a moment to pause @ 2:15pm and remember the children that never returned to their families and communities. Yours in Rotary, David Elliott
--ROTARY CLUB OF LONDON BOTTLE IS THIS WEEKEND--JUNE 12TH--
If you are a volunteer don't forget your times/location assignments.
--Sports Celebrity Dinner and Auction--
For more than 60 years the Sports Celebrity Dinner and Auction has brought incredible sports entertainment to the London community. While fun, the event also successfully contributed to enabling a promising future for children with a wide-range of special needs and disabilities at TVCC (formerly Thames Valley Children’s Centre). Right now the Dinner committee should be announcing celebrities and selling tickets to another fun-filled evening, but the pandemic had different plans. While the committee will not be able to transform the RBC Place London into the sports enthusiast dream that all were hoping for, they won’t let that stop them from ensuring that children and youth have the support they need to achieve the highest quality of life. TVCC needs us now more than ever. That is why the Sports Celebrity Dinner and Auction Committee decided to pivot their efforts into an online, virtual silent auction – “Bid for Kids!” We invite you to be part of this initiative by generously donating an item or experience. All proceeds from Bids for Kids will support TVCC to help clients and families. Our Rotary Club was very instrumental in the founding of the TVCC in the late 1940s-early 1950s and has jointly sponsored the Sports Celebrity Dinner with the London sports media since 1956.
The Bid for Kids Sponsorship Form is attached. Your completed forms(s) can be mailed to Children’s Health Foundation, 345 Westminster Ave, London ON N6C 4V3, emailed to jbaxter@childhealth.ca, or faxed to (519) 432-5907
Thank you for your consideration of this opportunity. Through your involvement you will help bring play, fun and living beyond disabilities to the families at TVCC when they need it most.
--SAVE THE DATE--PRESIDENT'S CUP GOLF--
Sept 11th-WIDDER STATION Golf, Grill & Tap House THEDFORD Widder Station has long been regarded as the venue of choice for public golf and events in Lambton County. The beautifully manicured 18-hole championship golf course winds through the areas rolling terrain and provides a wide variety of interesting holes for even the most experienced golfer. we pride ourselves on providing your guests with exceptional customer service, a beautifully manicured golf course and a memorable experience.
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.
Here is a email from Rotary International President Holger and Rotary Foundation Chair Ravi requesting support for India and Brazil, will your club be able to help?
Dear District Governors,
We hoped that 2021 would bring us relief from the virus sweeping through the world. Unfortunately, the horrifying second wave in India and the worsening situation in Brazil leaves us disconsolate. There is not a region which remains unscathed.
The development and distribution of vaccines brought hope, promise and a vision of a return to normalcy in some parts of the world. Unfortunately, much of the world is lagging far behind, aggravated by the recent outbreaks that are helping to drive daily infections worldwide to their highest levels yet.
With new cases topping 400,000 a day, a critical oxygen shortage, lack of hospital beds, and a mounting death toll, the situation in India shows no sign of waning, and help is urgently needed. Likewise, Brazil and numerous other countries are facing some of the same issues and there is great need for support.
We are calling on District Governors to provide assistance by sending supplies and equipment, such as oxygen concentrators and ventilators and anything else they require. We encourage you to work with clubs in your district and coordinate with Rotary clubs in the country in need to facilitate an in-kind donation of supplies, and coordinate shipping--either through a private company or paying to have supplies shipped yourself. You can also establish a joint effort by partnering with other clubs, districts, or local organizations.
Districts, clubs and members have already leapt into action by providing critical supplies and services, and thinking outside of the box to assist India, as well as Brazil. Examples include:
Rotary District 6400 and the Rotary Club of Essex are partnering with Rotary India’s COVID Task Force to coordinate donations that will go toward supplying oxygen concentrators.
Rotary District 6900 is partnering with other organizations, including UPS, to ship medical equipment such as ventilators, anesthesia machines, oxygen and respiratory supplies to India.
The Rotary Club of Madras donated two 8-foot refrigerated trucks able to transport 2 million doses of vaccine, and Rotary Clubs in Kerala State have reported nearly 51,000 free vaccinations through Rotary Centers and camps over the last three weeks.
Rotarians in the United States are procuring and sending equipment to India. A club in Rockford, Illinois coordinated with a private aerospace company to send equipment via jet.
A Rotary Youth Exchange alumni association has initiated a crowdfunding campaign to procure 50 oxygen concentrators.
In Brazil, Rotary members are looking into ways to improve the vaccine cold chain to better distribute COVID-19 vaccines, and help is needed to support the funding of refrigeration equipment.
As Rotarians, we have come together in the name of service to support communities in inspiring ways throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We are asking you to dig deeper and help India and other countries in need to find the light at the end of the tunnel and overcome the current wave of infections.
Thank you, Holger Knaack, Rotary International President K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran, TRF Trustee Chair CC: RI Board of Directors & Directors-elect, TRF Board of Trustees & incoming Trustees and District Governors-elect
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--security password--education--)
Next Club Board Meeting
The next meeting of the Rotary Club of London Board will be a Zoom meeting on June 16th-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.
