Vol. 102 No. 39
Bill Davidson, President
Parisa Adrangi, Secretary
VIRTUAL MEMBER MEETINGS ARE UP AND RUNNING
We held our first virtual all member meeting at our regular time (12 noon) on Tuesday April 3rd. We had 46 people attend, including some we don't connect with often like Myron Kuzych. The virtual setting will allow members who may be far flung around the globe to join in. A sincere thank you to Thomas Reppchen for setting it up and hosting.
Next meeting:Tuesday April 14th, 12 (noon). Keep an eye on your inbox for the meeting invitation and when the time is right, simply click on the link provided within that invitation to join in.
Mark Zhou, through his Mom in Toronto and her community, was able to get a shipment of CE certified surgical face masks from China through a local Toronto supplier. I asked her if they had any to spare if I could raise some funds to purchase them and she said they have 50 boxes of 50 masks (2500 in total) they could spare and send over. Mark raised some money from his own non-profit to buy some of the masks to distribute to healthcare workers on the front lines. Other members of the Young Professionals Division donated enough funds to cover the cost of 1000 masks which they decided to donate to St. Paul's.
Four local Oakville Rotary clubs have joined forces to create the Oakville Rotary Relief Fund. This fund will address pressing needs within their community during this time of great challenge and turmoil – during the Covid-19 crisis. The clubs will match all donations to their Relief Fund with a three-to-one matching, up to $30,000.
The current areas they are funding include food and housing needs though this may change and the needs of the community changes.
In Sri Lanka, Rotary clubs installed thermometers in airport bathrooms and produced posters to raise awareness in schools about the coronavirus.
In Pakistan, the Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan distributed thousands of masks to members of their community.
In Italy, clubs of Districts 2080 & 2041 have been raising funds to purchase protective gear for health workers who will care for COVID-19 patients, in one case at a 400-bed hospital being built at Milan's fairgrounds.
In Singapore, the Rotary Club hosted a webinar in which an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert addressed questions and concerns about the coronavirus and the pandemic.
The Rotary E-Club of Fenice del Tronto invited the public to an online meeting focussing on raising awareness, in which a virologist spoke about the virus, how it spreads, and how to keep safe.
Upcoming Events
CONTACT COMMITTEE CHAIRS FOR UPCOMING DATES
please click on the titles for more info for specific events
Bill Davidson, President, chaired the meeting and gave the invocation.
Peter Clarke, Sergeant-at-Arms Elect, led us in the singing of O Canada.
Thomas Reppchen, hosted the meeting via ZOOM
President’s Announcements:
Thanks to Thomas for all of the work he has put in getting our club and its committees up and running on ZOOM.
Club dues & fees for this quarter (April-June), only club dues will be charged, no meal fees. The Board will be discussing, but in the meantime, we are asking members who are able to consider donating the meal fees they would normally pay ($350) to help support our club during these tough times. Further communication to come.
Parisa Adrangi, provided the Secretary's announcements:
reminders of upcoming virtual meetings (see above)
member anniversaries:Juno Parlange 1 year, Tugce Irtenk 2 years, Sandra Lowe 2 years, Adrian Mastracci 18 years, Charlene McDonald 21 years, Doug Kellough 33 years, Tim Ivalko 38 years, Tom Calkin 39 years, Paul McCrae 53 years
wedding anniversaries:Bill & Wendy Dauphinee 54 years Apr 7th
Club updates from committees and members:
Community Service Committee (CSC), Gerry Glazier
Gerry mentioned that he has been a Rotarian for a very long time, and has found that though the situation we are all in now is quite overwhelming it is also, being a Rotarian, very gratifying being able to really help people and support our communities. A few points:
There is a synergy between the CSC and Youth Committee leading them to join forces, making decisions together on how to best direct the Club’s support.
The funding available is quite significant:
Gaming funds, $10,000
CSC budget funds, $13,000
ISC contribution, US$5,000 (approx. CDN$7,000)
Youth contribution, $3,000
Private donations, Ian Storrs & Franz Gehriger, each $1,500
It was decided that we would not support any new organizations that our club has not funded in the past. Looked at both CSC and Youth projects and decided on:
Door is Open, $10,000. This organization is very unique, operates across from Oppenheimer Park and, in normal times feeds approx. 400 meals/day, now feeds 500-600 per day. Rene Abi-Rached delivered the funds to them and observed how they were serving the community members while working within the constraints of social distancing and taking care with other safety measures.
Vancouver Sun Children’s Fund Society – Adopt a School Program, Brittania Secondary $10,000, and John Norquay Elementary $10,000. This program ensures all the children who need support receive it, whether it be by providing food for their families or providing needed educational materials. Thanks to Ron Suzuki of the RC Sunshine Club for his valuable input.
Phil Webber added that he spoke to the principal of John Norquay who expressed his appreciation for the much needed help. There are many in dire need with both parents out of work now.
As of now there is $5,000 still available. How it is disseminated will be a joint decision of the committee(s), our Treasurer Kaz, and the Board.
Hearing Committee – Bike-a-thon & St. Paul’s, Jack Zaleski
The Bike-a-thon has been cancelled due to COVID-19. Only 6 riders had registered, all of which have been refunded their paid fees. All the suppliers and principals have been notified. Unfortunately, some of the deposits already paid are not refundable. Sponsors still need to be contacted, with the hope that they will still be willing to donate to the cause. The committee will look at possible ways to raise funds, perhaps on on-line fundraiser.
Moving forward with the St. Paul’s fundraising initiatives is now difficult as it’s not possible to meet with potential donors. This challenge will continue for some time.
International Service Committee (ISC), Ian Storrs
The committee considered how best to support our communities and decided to give the CSC US$5,000 to help with their initiatives. The ISC is currently waiting to hear about how much more will be needed to fund the Kinsasha well project, and then once finalized will know if they have any money available to help with local COVID-19 projects.
Gerry Glazier added that the Rotary World Help (RWH) has been directing some of their resources to help locally. They have provided much needed supplies from inventory to help front line workers dealing with the virus. They delivered 6 skids of gloves, goggles, gowns, scrubs and mattresses to the Coastal Health Region, St Paul's Hospital and Coast Mental Health.
Michael Woolnough added that the ISC will be funding a container to Cuba. Also that they have withdrawn support for a previously approved project, the Nairobi WASH project, as the Nairobi club is not ready to move forward.
Membership Committee, Franz Gehriger
At the last committee meeting it was highlighted that retention needs to be a priority. It is very important, especially now, for all mentors to reach out to their mentees, and vice versa.
John Bathurst encouraged everyone to log on to their MyRotary account (set one up if you don’t already have one). Explore the extensive RI resources. For example, there is plenty of on-line learning available to all. This will be a District push in coming weeks as we all have to move to a virtual model.
Note that we have recently lost two members who have resiged: M Moser Associates Nabil Sabet and Danielle Palumbo. Rhianon Chow is remaining on as an individual member.
Program Committee, Fred West
The committee has been busy contacting scheduled speakers to present virtually. We are in the final testing stage, with the April 14th meeting a test run with an internal speaker. Hopefully all the kinks will be worked out and external speakers will be included in the following weeks. There are some very interesting ones on the slate.
Thomas Reppchen has accepted the role of co-chair for this committee to help with the load.
Young Professionals Division, Mark Zhou & Scott Stroshin
The group donated 1000 surgical masks to St. Paul’s Hospital through a charity initiative Mark was involved with. All costs for these masks were covered through private donations. The recipient was extremely thankful.
More generally speaking, they try to be involved with a local hands-on project every month as well as meeting once a month. Everyone is welcome! Contact Scott if you want to know when they meet (now virtually) so you can join in. The more connection the better it is.
Youth Committee, John Bathurst
The youth exchange has seen all participants back home – Mar has returned to Spain, Shayla has returned from Spain. The program for next year has been cancelled, though we did not have a candidate for it anyhow. All of the Young Leadership trainings and Citizenship programs have been cancelled. Difficult times to involve youth in Rotary.
We have numerous members who are working hard supporting those in need in a variety of ways. Examples:
Mindy Tulsi-Ingram, sourcing more masks
Juno Parlange, looking to set up a food program supplying healthy vegan options for font-line workers
Adriana Zylmans, supporting the Haro Park seniors facility who has been extremely hard hit with a COCIS_19 outbreak.
Navid Morawej, providing daycare for those who need it most
Kudos to all of you who are asking, What can I do to help?, and who are getting out their and really helping in any way you can.
Meeting adjourned with a virtual toast for everyone to stay safe and be healthy!
