Our final BBQ for the Year
Diane Macdonald
On a day that started out with rain and wind, we were able to cook and serve a total of 1200 hamburgers, chicken burgers, veggie burgers and hot dogs on a lovely afternoon under blue skies and sunshine. The "Meet the Teacher Night" at Valley View and Ian Bazalgette schools in Forest Lawn was the occasion – and judging from the numbers of family members we fed, the attendance was great!
The BBQ Committee and a host of volunteers turned out to provide dinner for the families. From the reports we received from the school staff and the parent council representatives, everyone was very happy with the result. Unfortunately, the schools had underestimated the numbers of folks who would attend and we ran out of food.
We started doing these BBQs as a possible solution to the problem of very minimal attendance at the "Meet the Teacher" nights at Valley View School. Since we started inviting families to have dinner in conjunction with appointments with the teachers, we have gone from about 300 meals to Thursday’s 1200. The teachers are delighted, because with parents attending they are able to form a connection with the family that ultimately really benefits the student.
One of the highlights on this Thursday evening was the arrival of 15 students from our Interact Club (junior Rotary) at Western Canada High School. Dave Leslie had contacted them about volunteering at the event so they could see first- hand what Rotarians do in the community. They donned plastic aprons and gloves serving the food to the families. When we spoke to them after, they had loved it! They also told us that there had been 40 more students on a wait list to be there to help if any of the 15 had had to cancel. It sounds like a lot of good future Rotarians!
