After having its plans for a traditional awards banquet disrupted by COVID-19, the organizers of the 2021 Edmonton area Integrity Awards are taking the pandemic into consideration as they plan for next year’s awards.

“We were one week away from the banquet (in the spring) when the pandemic was declared and we had to cancel,” says the chair of the Integrity Awards organizing committee Jim Saunderson (RC of Edmonton). “The difference this year is that we know about COVID-19 and are planning for it.”

That means the awards will likely be presented virtually during an online event in March or April.

Jim plans to get the ball rolling with a virtual meeting of representatives of interested clubs on Tuesday, December 3 at 5:00 p.m. MST.

“Anyone interested in attending should drop me an email (jim.saunderson@hotmail.ca) with their name, club and email address and I will send them an invite with the coordinates,” Jim says

Besides being planned with the pandemic in mind, the 2021 event will be different in that for the first time Rotaract clubs have the opportunity to be involved.

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During the months of November and December, District 5370 will be hosting a series of Virtual Club Learning events. Each one-hour event will address timely topics of interest to all club members. Please mark your calendars and join us. Click on the program title to register.

All Rotarians and Rotaractors are welcome to attend these programs.

December 3, 7:00 pm (MT)

The Rotary Foundation: The Heart of Rotary

Hosted by Tim Schilds, Past District Governor and Chair of the District 5370 Foundation Committee

December 10, 7:00 pm (MT)

Rotary Service: Sharing Successes during COVID-19

Hosted by Jim Ferguson, District Governor and Donna Barrett, District Governor-Elect

Previously Recorded Sessions:

Membership Engagement: Together is Better 

Hosted by Tracey Vavrek, Past District Governor 

Virtual Fundraising: What Clubs Need to Know 

Hosted by John Nicoll, District Governor Nominee

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Click here to see how you can support the YEG Passport club and provide opportunities for girls in Uganda.

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Update from:

20 YEARS OF GRATITUDE: Home for the Holidays 

As the calendar year comes to a close and we reach the halfway point of the Rotary year, families all over the world are gathering in new ways to find gratefulness in being together, however that may look. Thanks to our supporters in 2020, ShelterBox has been able to ensure that more than 25,000 families have a home for the holidays. Home is the centre of all that we do at ShelterBox, the same way that home is central to our lives, families and communities. 

“For Filipinos, home — or ‘bahay’ as we call it — really is where the heart is. It’s the centre of our family life, our social life and very often our working life, too. At Christmas especially, being able to get together in our own homes means everything to us.”
                             – Rose Placencia, ShelterBox Operations Philippines

The pandemic did not stop natural disasters from affecting the Philippines this year. Most recently, a series of typhoons including Typhoon Goni, the most powerful storm since 2013’s Typhoon Haiyan, devastated many communities in the region. In 2020, before Typhoon Goni struck, ShelterBox had responded twice to the Philippines, in response to the Taal Volcano eruption and Typhoon Vongfong. As we deploy in response to this new wave of tropical storm destruction, Alejandro and his family are just one of many recovering from Typhoon Vongfong who now have a home for the holidays. 

Typhoon Vongfong (known locally as Ambo) devastated communities across Eastern Samar in the Philippines earlier this year. The destruction caused by the typhoon and the torrential rain that it brought affected nearly half a million people.

Twenty-six-year-old Alejandro lives with his 25-year-old wife, Jennifer, and their three-year-old child, Keth, in the Eastern Samar region. They have lived in this region for four years but, unexpectedly, Typhoon Vongfong destroyed their home. ShelterBox was able to support Alejandro and his family with materials to rebuild. 

We asked Alejandro about the items he received that were most useful to his family’s recovery. “The tarpaulin and the solar light. We used (the tarpaulin) as roof and wall. The solar light is a very big help because we only have one bulb for the entire house. It’s not dark anymore. We feel safe because we are covered with these tarps already. We have our privacy now. Our daughter is smiling more often now because, according to her, we have a new house.”

Support from Rotary Clubs and Rotarians all over the world makes supporting families like Alejandro’s possible. This holiday season we are so grateful for your support, knowing that because of you more families can light up their own homes for the holidays. 

Join ShelterBox Canada Response Team Members and Rotarian staff December 11 via Zoom to ask your questions and learn more about our work in the Philippines. Click here to register. 

ShelterBox and Rotary have been official partners in international disaster relief. ShelterBox Canada is a registered charity independent of Rotary. Click here to learn more or donate to ShelterBox.

As a ShelterBox ambassador, Bernie Kreiner is available to make virtual presentations to Rotary clubs. Email bernie.kreiner@shaw.ca.

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