I hope your April is going well! Sally and I are in the middle of a short getaway right now in Lake Louise and it has been great for us to recover a bit. I have a couple updates to share with you today.
ROTARY FOUNDATION CHAT:
This month we will move the Foundation chat to Thursday April 14th at 6:00 MDT/5:00 MST. Our guest speaker will be Betty Screpnek talking about The Rotary Foundation Canada. The change in time is to accommodate a conflict in both Betty's and my schedule. Here is the Zoom link:
Rotary International District 5370 is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Just a quick reminder about our upcoming grants training webinars which start on Saturday. Your club must be represented if you wish to participate in District or Global grants in 2022-23. You can click on the date to register for any of the following seminars:
As of this morning clubs & individuals have informed me of total donations of just over $40,000 to the Rotary disaster response fund and another $26,000 to other responders. I am blown away by the response within our district. Thank you very much for making a difference!
I am looking forward to seeing you all over the next few weeks.
Save the date for Rotary Integrity Awards Gala for the Edmonton Capital Region
Tuesday May 17th, 6 to 9 pm Chateau Lacombe Hotel and Zoom online
Join over ten Rotary clubs as we honor those who have contributed to our community. Some recipients will be very well known plus some special surprises.
We are pleased to honor those who make a difference and follow Rotary values in their service to the community. The stories of what these recipients have done are really gripping and impressive.
For more information and to register for the hybrid event below!
See the previous Annual Recipients since 1994 on the website.
We will have a silent auction and a wine tree raffle, as well as several door prizes.
WHO DOES THIS EVENT SUPPORT
This event is to help raise funds for NiGiNan Housing Ventures, a registered non-profit charity formed to address particular housing needs and requirements of Indigenous people living in Edmonton. dedicated to providing supportive affordable housing opportunities for individuals and families of native ancestry.
TRAVELLING MABELS INFORMATION
Travelling Mabels are an ACMA award winning folk/country group from southern Alberta, who for more than a decade, have brought their own unique brand of harmony, musicianship and down home humour to Canadian audiences from coast to coast. We have Jackie Rae Greening (from CFCW radio) as our M.C. for the event.
Rotary Club of Edmonton Indigenous Speakers Series
In addition to the District’s Excellent Series of Speakers on Indigenous issues, you may also want to attend (in-person or on-line) one or more of the Edmonton Downtown Rotary Club’s speaker series:
Alondra has a dream; She wants to become a doctor; something which is unheard of in her culture, especially for girls.
Neither one of her parents continued their education past grade six. Alondra’s mother is a homemaker and her father a taxi driver. That’s pretty well the future for most Mexican children in indigenous communities. After, or even before grade six, kids have to work to help pay the bills. But Alondra is dreaming of a different future and has been determined to finish her studies.
Thanks to Project Amigo and it’s supporters, Alondra, now 22 years old, and in her fourth year of University, is one the 500 plus students, who has been given the opportunity to change her future through a sponsorship program.
The Rotary Club of Nisku/Leduc sponsors Alondra, allowing her to finish her studies. Now they want YOU to hear her story, and how Project Amigo has changed her life and that of many other students.
A generous Rotarian has invited Alondra to come to Canada, to meet her sponsors and other Rotarians during the District Conference, May 27,28, where she will be giving a brief presentation. She will also be available to talk to you at the Project Amigo Booth in the House of Friendship.
The week before and after the conference Alondra will be happy to address your club and share her story. Several clubs have requested her presence.
To book a presentation, please contact elly @projectamigo.org There are still a few openings.
Learn more about Project Amigo by visiting. www.projectamigocanada.ca
RYLE applications are about to close! Confirm now!
This is the final reminder about the deadline for RYLE which is this Friday, April 15th! Please ensure the students your clubs plan to sponsor are signed up before or by the end of April 15th! As well, if your students need a bit more time, please email me back ASAP to ask for an extension!
RYLE camp will take place April 28th-May 1st and the cost of sponsorship per student is $475, and there is no maximum number of students that can be sponsored by one club. If you are interested in sponsoring a certain number of students, but were unable to find students in your area, please let us know since we do have approximately 11 students who do not yet have sponsorship. Also, if you have questions about transportation for students who are outside of Edmonton, please let me know! All those in attendance must be vaccinated for Covid-19 as per District 5370 guidelines.
Please let me know if you have any questions, as well once you have confirmed the number and names of the students attending, please email RYLE to confirm the sponsorship (ryle5370@gmail.com).
Finally, I would like to offer my thanks to all the Rotary Clubs who support the Youth Programming in District 5370, camps like RYLE would not be possible without your support!
RYPEN is open for Registration.
Act fast - it closes soon!
Spring camps will be here before we know it so we are reaching out to provide you with registration and sponsorship information. We are back to hosting our Youth Camps in person this year!
RYPEN (Rotary Youth Program for Enrichment) is a program geared toward personal growth and development. We are hosting RYPEN at Birch Bay Ranch from May 5th - 8th. This is a great opportunity for students to connect, have fun and learn about themselves.
Rotary Clubs are invited to sponsor high school students; including members of Interact Clubs, to attend the 4-day in person camp. Applicants do not need to be involved with Rotary or Interact, as long as they are interested and willing to participate in the virtual experience. We encourage everyone to apply for this opportunity as we promote diversity and inclusion.
Please let us know how many students your club will be sponsoring for each program by April 19, 2022 so that we can ensure all sponsorships are filled. Clubs are responsible for contacting their Interact Clubs. The sponsorship fee per student is $475 for each program. Please email us to let us know how many spots to save for your club. Application links are attached below:
If you have any questions regarding RYPEN, please contact us at rypen5370@gmail.com
Please share these amazing opportunities with students who you believe may benefit from either experience. On behalf of the RYPEN Committee, thank you for your sponsorships and we look forward to having your students join us!
Kiran Mirza,
Chair
Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN) Committee
The Rotary District 5370 Charitable Foundation is seeking a Rotarian from the Edmonton area who would like to join the Foundation board as treasurer. Kathy Strobl, who has served as our hard-working treasurer for the past few years (including the very busy period when we were managing the Ft. McMurray Fire Relief Fund) wishes to step down from that position. We are looking for a Rotarian to take over from Kathy during the coming year. Duties include attending our quarterly meetings, receiving and depositing donations, issuing tax receipts and completing the annual filling with CRA and Alberta Corporate Registry. Familiarity with the SAGE accounting system would be most beneficial.
If you are interested in discussion this position, please be kind enough to contact Julius Buski, RDCF President, at buski@shaw.ca
This is a volunteer position at the same rate of pay as all Rotary work. :)
Note: Rotary District 5370 Charitable Foundation is a CRA registered foundation whose sole purpose is to provide a service to Rotary clubs in the district who wish to raise funds and have tax receipts issued for these. It is a stand-alone organization and is not connected in any way with the Rotary Foundation.
Do you like to drive? Do you appreciate seniors? Drive Happiness is looking for generous, compassionate individuals to volunteer their time driving seniors in and around Grande Prairie.
You choose when, where, and how often you drive while making your own volunteer schedule. Drive Happiness provides fuel reimbursement for volunteering, and you get to meet friendly and appreciative seniors while making a difference in your community!
The last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures have been devastating for many children's social, emotional and academic wellness. Health directives that have included intermittent school closures and virtual learning, have hurt the most vulnerable children. As duty bearers in children's lives, adults need to own this and be aware that their outsized fears and risks have hurt children. Adults must now improve this devastation for children as they go back to school and resume their emotional lives.
Jacqueline P. Leighton is a professor and registered psychologist in human cognition and development. Working at the University of Alberta for over 20 years, her training in psychology and psychometrics have led to numerous studies and publications that carefully scrutinize conventional wisdom about measures and data regarding human wellness.
Take the Preventing and Addressing Harassment course to learn how you can create a harassment-free environment in your club, district, and Rotary events.(My Rotary log in required)
