Sergeant at Arms Bruce Fenwick opened this week's meeting by acknowledging that Calgarians live, work and play in the traditional territories of the Treaty 7 First Nations and the Metis Nation. President Rick Erven welcomed everyone to our first Tuesday luncheon of 2020 and wished us all a Happy New Year. He thanked meeting volunteers David Leslie, Trevor Ironside and Bob Junker.
Michael Pierson led the singing of O Canada, while this week's greeter David "Brom" Bromwich delivered the invocation.
Tom Loucks delivered a eulogy for John Ridge, who passed away suddenly on December 24th.
The Calgary and Area Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals recently honoured our club with an Outstanding Group Philanthropist Award. We also received a thank-you from Alberta Health Services for our philanthropic efforts.
Carl Smith introduced Rita Khanchat from the Centre for Newcomers, recipient of an award from our club's Small Donations committee. Since 1998, the centre has been a critical resource for immigrants and refugees arriving in Calgary. Ms. Khanchat is herself a refugee who arrived in Calgary four years ago and now works as a Settlement Practitioner, helping newly arrived Syrians and Yazidis to settle in Calgary. Fleeing ISIS massacres, sixty Yazidi refugee families now call Calgary home, and the Centre for Newcomers will put our $2500 donation towards a $7000 project to teach the Yazidi women to sew so they may find employment in their new home.
Eric Bennett welcomed visiting Bob Macleod from the Rotary Club of Cochrane, David Savage from the Rotary Club of Cranbrook Sunrise, and two Rotarians from New Zealand. Eric acknowledged all club members celebrating birthdays since the start of the year.
Announcement:
The Rotary Club of Calgary Fish Creek will host a pub quiz night on January 25th at the McKenzie Lake Community Hall. The pub quiz gets underway at 7:00 pm, and everyone is welcome to attend.
Lorne Larson introduced Patricia Pelton, President of the World Alliance of YMCAs. Ms. Pelton's presentation provided an overview of the YMCA that highlighted the synergies between the YMCA and Rotary and concluded with an overview of the World YMCA strategy.
She began her presentation by contrasting the YMCA with Rotary International. She noted that Sir George Williams founded the YMCA in London in 1844, and today the YMCA operates in 120 countries. (By way of comparison, Rotary has grown from its 1905 origin in Chicago to 200 countries.) She went on to describe the YMCA vision as empowering young people to transform their world for the better. It works to realize this vision by providing safe, inclusive spaces for young people to take active roles in their communities in the areas of health, employment, environment and civic engagement. She wrapped up her overview of the World Alliances of YMCAs by noting that the YMCA is one of the very few non-governmental organizations involved in all seventeen of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Turning her attention to the synergies between the YMCA and Rotary, Ms. Pelton noted the parallels between the two organizations and how closely our values align. She described several joint projects currently underway. In Kenya, Rotary has funded computers and furniture and has built four classrooms for a YMCA youth project. Rotary and YMCA are developing a plan to establish peace clubs in Senegalese high schools. Additionally, Rotary has provided funding for YMCA automobiles in Ethiopia.
In Canada, the YMCA operates several camps owned by Rotary, including those in Kingston and Owen Sound, Ontario.
Additionally, Rotary funds a YMCA-operated aquatics facility in southern Ontario. Closer to home, the YMCA Welcome Village in Edmonton received a substantial legacy fund donation from the Rotary Club of Edmonton.
Rotary played a significant role in the development of Camp Chief Hector. Before this, the Rotary Club of Calgary funded equipment for the Riverside YMCA, which was the first city-owned, YMCA run facility. At present, one of the Community Hubs located at the Genesis Centre is also the home of the Saddletowne YMCA.
The World YMCA Strategy is rooted in its Nairobi statement, which guides the YMCA to stand for youth empowerment to achieve its full potential. The 2018-2022 Strategic plan encompasses three pillars: developing a global multi-stakeholder youth empowerment ecosystem, building movement relevance, and strengthening economic stability.
Ms. Pelton concluded her presentation by showing the 'We the People' for the Global Goals video describing the UN global goals for sustainable development.
Catherine Scheers thanked Ms. Pelton for her information-packed presentation.
COG Staff - January 7th, 2020
Editor
Craig Henderson
Photography
Ralph Lundberg
Rotary Club of Calgary - Chartered April 1914 as Club #949
Suite 305, 105-12 Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta, T2G 1A1
