This email is the first edition of an email that will go out monthly to those people who are not Rotary Club of Spruce Grove members but are interested in what is happening in our local community of Rotary. Rotary objectives are being of Service and Fellowship. This email will focus on the service our club provides for our local and international communities.
In brief, the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove supports 20 local organizations, 7 international organizations, an outgoing and incoming student exchange program, another 6 student leadership projects, local vocational projects and have contributed to a number of community capital projects. This is accomplished with the generous support of many local donors and supporters.
Therefore I would like to get this first Friends of Rotary email going with telling a couple stories.
Story #1
About 2 years ago our club received a request from a local/regional group, You Can Ride 2, an organization which included staff at Broxton Park School, that modified bikes for handicapped students. They were asking our club if we could provide some volunteers or if we could provide some small financial help to feed the volunteers. There was going to be a bike fitting event at Broxton Park School.
Several club members volunteered at the event and caught a vision of the value this organization was providing to both local and regional handicapped youth. Coincidentally our club was planning our annual Lobsterfest and thinking about having a portion of the fundraiser be dedicated to a specific need.
Ideas came together and a marvellous video was produced...In a, Fund a Specific Need, that being YCR2, our Lobsterfest organizers and Danny Hooper did their magic and our community responded with donations of $82 500.00 in 20 min!!
Since then our club connected the visions of YCR2 with Goodwill Industries who also are in the business of supporting handicapped people, (Power of Work) and a new partnership was formed.
Last week Goodwill Industries opened a 100 000 sq, ft., building in the west end, The Impact Centre, in which YCR2 has a 4 000 sq. ft. storage area as well as a workshop and space to efficiently handle bike fittings. YCR2 is very pleased with their space and the partnership with Goodwill. If you are interested in volunteering with YCR2 they are holding a series of bike fittings in early March. Their website is, www.youcanride2.ca.
This past fall our club hosted a Donor Appreciation Pancake Breakfast and a mom with a handicapped son who had a modified bike from YCR2 stole the show with her story. The short version is:
"My son never thought he was one of the guys, then he got his bike and was one of the guys...now he thinks he can do anything!!"
Story #2
We are celebrating the `2nd birthday` of the "Connecting with our Aboriginal Neighbours" Committee which first met on January 27, 2015 with 8 Rotarians. We met a month later and included others; including our two other tri-area Rotary Clubs (Parkland After Dark and Stony Plain), and representatives of other local and provincial groups and agencies. The Committee now has over 50 affiliates.
This active group has initiated a number of programs and activities. Spearheaded by SG Public Library, all libraries in our region have contributed to a number of `Mini` Take It or Leave It` Libraries, as well as children's programs at Paul and Alexis. The Rotary Run for Life has included First Nations, there have been a number of special events and support for the RCMP youth programs at Enoch and Paul bands.
We hosted a special event at Horizon Stage on Feb. 3, 2016, a fundraiser for Stony, Spruce and Parkland Libraries which featured local Aboriginal authors, with co-MC's Allan Benson and CBC's Shelagh Rogers.
Now we are partnering with our local RCMP to host a First Responders Regimental Ball on Saturday, March 18, 2017 at the Heritage Pavilion in Stony Plain. It is a fund raiser for tri-area indigenous youth programming. The event will feature a 12 piece Military Band for dancing and listening pleasure and a dinner by Elizabethan Catering. Tickets are $75.00 and available through RCMP and local Rotarians.
In supporting and providing a format for discussion the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove has several speakers in February to provide info about how the RCMP and Parkland School Division support idigenous youth in the area. We look forward to the presentations and discussion. We are always looking for what is working and how our club can partner and provide service to local projects.
1. On Feb. 9th. Corporal Kim Mueller of the SG/SP Detachment. Corporal Mueller will be speaking on the particulars of some of the RCMP's programs supporting indigenous youth in the region.
2. On Feb. 23rd. Dr. Dianne McConnell, Associate Superintendent of the Parkland School Division. Dr. McConnell will be talking about the programs PSD is providing to support indigenous youth success in the school system.
If a Friend of Rotary is interested in attending a Rotary Club of Spruce Grove meeting please contact a local club member so we can host you appropriately. Meetings are Thursday noon.
