.jpg)
Please note that until further notice the Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise has cancelled it's regular Tuesday morning meetings. This is due to the Covid-19 Virus and the Resulting closure of most of Coquitlam's Facilities, including our meeting place at the Poirier Recreation Centre. Should you want to attend one of our virtual meetings contact our President, Lori Travis at; lori.travis@telus.net or 1 604-838-3366
Coquitlam Sunrise Rotary meets Tuesdays at 7:15am
A Syrian refugee family recently moved into a four-bedroom Coquitlam townhouse thanks to members of the Rotary Clun of Coquitlam Sunrise. The family of seven, who previously lived in a two-bedroom apartment, was delighted to move into their newly renovated home after Sunrise Rotary members completely renovated the three-storey townhouse. The Club took on the project after reading an article in the TriCity News about the work of the Friends of Refugees, a TriCity group helping settle refugees. The Club raised money to buy appliances, linens for bedrooms and bathrooms, and to cover the cost of paint, baseboards and other supplies. Club members also donated beds, lamps, a kitchen table set and more. “Our club was looking for a local, hands-on project that we could support that would provide assistance to residents in need,” says Club president Greg Garrison. “This was absolutely perfect. It is difficult to describe the overwhelming heartwarming feeling when you see the results and know you have changed the lives of the family in such a tremendously positive way.” | ||||||||
 |
Hello Rotarians,
Being a Rotarian, we are people of service and humble in nature and not supposed to “blow our own trumpet”. At the same time, I often hear that these humble people are not thanked enough….so, here goes!
Despite the problems of organizing this event in these covid times (we had to do it virtually using zoom), it went off really well – everyone had a great time and we raised a lot of money – not sure of exact amount, but was well over the target of $7,500 – moneys coming from the entry fees (there were a record 26 teams) and the silent auction. Our Club cannot really take benefit from the technicalities of the event (thanks to Douglas College and the students), but we did contribute considerably to this huge success. It should make us proud to be partnering with the largest education organization in the Tri Cities in putting on this event in support of Psych Nursing and their support of local initiatives supporting the homeless and those struggling especially in this difficult times of covid.
Thank you to:
· Rotary Members of the Organizing Committee (we were meeting every week in the last month prior to the event):
o Bob, who kept us pragmatic on-track pointing out the pitfalls we had to overcome and the need for more quiz questions on baseball
o Lori, our awesome President Elect, with her huge smiling positive low-key approach and ongoing support – to provide the right balance with Bob?
o Dan was an ongoing supporter – we know you were ‘with us’, mainly in spirit
o Greg (and Canadian Tire) for your support and attendance, especially for getting all those auction items from Canadian Tire (at wholesale prices) – really helped us exceed our financial goal)
o Ron, for his untiring support, especially to me (sometimes wavering and frustrated!), but mainly for his kind (?) cajoling approach to our members to “encourage” them to contribute to the silent auction and to send teams to the event (and he was doing this in between painting and cleaning the Refugee Home and painting his own home, cleaning the cat litter, etc.)
· Rhian (a past Member and President of our club) – she continues each year to support us and to prepare the QUIZ QUESTIONS – well done (again not easy but great fun – next time – more on baseball and career of Gene Vincent, please) and well delivered by our own esteemed Mayor of Coquitlam
· Chris as Master of Ceremonies – great job - well done, not an easy task when everything was virtual
· All the other Rotarians who:
o Organized a team (including our Past President, Jim, who joined us from far-away Maple Ridge!) – I was a member of the Nowledge Nerds and we demonstrated that “nerds have no nowledge” and were disappointed there was no booby prize
o Contributed items and dollars to the silent auction
o Bought items at the silent auction.
Thank you all so much – I really enjoyed the chance to be a Rotarian supporting this event, It was so much fun.
For all those who missed out – as Churchill once said:
“Try it, you might enjoy it”
(I am sure Clive will protest the authenticity of this quote, but it is one of his least known quotes he made, when dictating one of his House of Commons speeches to his secretary, seated beside him, when he was smoking a cigar, drinking a cognac, while taking a bath - hopefully with opaque foam.)
The purpose of the Starfish Backpack Program is to provide food to Tri Cities Students who are currently going hungry. While relatively new to the Tri-Cities, the Starfish Backpack Program, coordinated by Rotary Clubs and other Service Organizations, has been operating for a few years in other areas around the province.
There’s a lot of need. It’s in areas where you don’t expect it, said Katrina Shelast who helped launch the program in September of 2015. There are plenty of families living in basements and rental suits all over our community. It’s not obvious – there are a lot of working poor.
Our program is currently feeding about 25 to 30 children per week with hopes of reaching more students. Student’s who get the weekly backpacks are referred by their school’s principal or school counsellor. The annual cost per student is $525 and donations are always needed.
| Sunrise Starfish Backpack Program Update | |
 |  |
 |  |
One of our major projects is the Starfish Backpack Program. Pictured above are examples of the backpack contensts given out to a numberof families in three different schools for Christmas. All three schools were very grateful and wanted to extend their sincere appreciation to the Club for all our efforts in the past and particularly this year to date. The pictures show the complete package as well as a breakdown of the Save-on holiday food hamper and the additional treats we were able to contribute. A more complete story will follow in a few days. In the meantime there is a link in a Starfish Back Pack story below on this page if you would like to donate.
Rotary Christmas Spirit in Full Swing
 |  |
 | Four Rotarians, Jennifer McKinnon, Lori Travis Karen Kirby and Sherron Regehr prepared 109 gift packages for 109 people. Hannah House - 109, Men at 1937 Prairie Avenue - 21, Men at 20581 A Maple Crescent - 25 and Miller House / Hammond House - 21. The items for the gift packages came from several of our Rotry members as well as some local businesses. The packages include dental items, cosmetics, etc. |
| |
Thank You! Because of your support of the Coquitlam Sunrise Rotary and Douglas College Quiz Night last week, together we have raised over $6,500 for Mental Health Outreach initiatives in our communities! These funds will allow Douglas College Psychiatric Nursing students, along with the Rotary, local non profits and community champions, local elementary schools and even the Douglas College Veterinary Technology students to partner in meaningful and unique ways to provide mental health support, food and core supplies for vulnerable citizens in the DTES, Tri-Cities and Maple Ridge. Whether you were a Quiz night veteran or trivia first-timer, we want you to know we appreciate all of your support. Additionally, we want to extend gratitude to those who provided auction items and those who spent generously. We hope you will share this good news with your quiz teams. You are making an incredible impact in the lives of hundreds of people in the communities in which we live, work and play. On behalf of the whole Quiz Night team, thank you! With gratitude, The Quiz Night Team |
Major Donor
 |
| |
Rotary District 5050 Youth Exchange Program
September 17, 2019 Guest Speaker
Youth Exchange Studnet Marceau Chavanne (age 16) (Left)
From Porte des Pierres Dorees, France (Near Lyon)
Rotary Club of Haney - Youth Exchange Student
Accompanied by Peter Tam (Right) - Host Family
From Porte des Pierres Dorees, France (Near Lyon)
Rotary Club of Haney - Youth Exchange Student
Accompanied by Peter Tam (Right) - Host Family
RIB FEST RAFFLE WINNER
.jpg)
Shown here is (Centre), the winner of the main prize at the recently held Rib Fest Raffle. Shown doing the presentation are Greg Garrison (Left) and Malcolm Kennnedy (Right)Cheque Presentation to PoCoMo Meals on Wheels
.jpg)
