On March 2, 2024, our 22nd Rotary Day of Giving was a testament to the power of community and compassion.
We proudly assisted 9 young individuals, many from UW and Fanshawe Rotoract, along with 5 high-needs clients. From cleaning projects to spreading smiles, our team radiated energy and warmth throughout the day.
It was a celebration of selfless giving and the true spirit of Rotary.
The Rotary Club of London Hyde Park proudly announces our proactive commitment to supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Southwestern Ontario. Departing from conventional fundraising approaches, we're elevating our engagement through the "Baking for Families" initiative, scheduled between February and June 30. At each event, our eight dedicated volunteers, embodying the spirit of Rotarians of Action, will personally bake their cherished dishes. This unique blend of philanthropy and hands-on involvement aims to infuse warmth, joy, and a familial touch into the lives of the families supported by RMHC.
Our 2020 Portuguese Wine & Food Pairing fundraiser has been tentatively rescheduled for Saturday April 30, 2022 pending the status of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thank you to our special sponsors for their continued support:
Rescheduling of 2020 Portuguese Wine & Food Pairing fundraiser
Our district is now accepting applications for the 2021 Peace Fellowships.
If you know someone who is interested in obtaining a master’s degree or a certificate in Peace studies, please let them know about the Peace Fellowship.
Your club can sponsor an individual who will study abroad at one of six prestigious Universities.
This life changing experience is open to 100 individuals each year and who become catalyst for peace and conflict resolution in their communities and communities around the world.
More information about the application process and applicant qualifications will be featured in the March Bridge District newsletter.
Update on Nov 2 Vibrant Club Meeting – David & Erich
Erich will discuss with Barbara for the guest cards and packages.
Erich suggested to have more time for speakers by reducing time for club announcement
Neil suggested doing about five minutes of new member’s Rotary stories and happy bucks in the beginning of the meeting.
Erich keeps working on developing prospect list, club’s goals to present to the club soon.
Information about getting some major funding for a project is listed on Rotary District website.
‘Large” Project Proposal – Global Grant – David
If our club is in favor of putting USD 10,000 for Nicaragua’s stove project, the combination of the global grant and the federal government grant can be around USD 60,000.
The detail information will be presented by David to the club at the next club meeting.
District Grant Proposal for Next Year – David
David suggests that our club commits about USD1.200 for a pilot project, English literacy in Nicaragua for a year before applying for District Grant.
Thank you for your generous (Sponsorship / donation etc) towards the Rotary Club of London Hyde Park’s Nine & Dine Charity Golf event, held on August 21st, 2019 at West Haven Golf & Country Club.
We are thrilled to announce that the event raised a fantastic $12,270.62!
As part of our commitment to literacy, each year the Rotary Club of London Hyde Park distributes dictionaries to all grade 3 students in our part of the city ( the other Rotary Clubs cover the rest of London & St Thomas).
We emphasize to the students that reading may be the most important skill they will ever learn and that dictionaries help make the students better readers, better spellers and better students.
Picture - Rotarians Doug Lynds and Carl Silke pose with enthusiastic Grade 3 students at Notre Dame Catholic Elementary School after the students received their Rotary dictionaries.
Dictionaries for Notre Dame Catholic Elementary School
The club members have approved $500 for the event.
Membership – Additions & Retirement
Steve Teske made a decision to retire from the club, because he felt that he has not been contributing enough. Neil motioned to make him to be a honorary member effective on Sep 5th, 2019.
The board will announce Steve’s retirement from the club to the club members at the next meeting.
Erich Fratschko will try to join the Hyde Park Business Association for the sake of advertising the club.
2019/2020 YTD Interim Financial Results (Actual)- Neil
Carl mentioned that $1,000 for DARE Banting Leadership program will be taken from 2019 budget around October.
Carl take to DARE Banting Leadership program to provide their activities’ photos to post on the club’s website.
Vulnerable Persons Protection – Need to Comply with Minimum District Requirements – Follow-up Meeting with Area 4 Clubs. Option for personal ‘avadavat’ for those not exposed to vulnerable persons. New Club Officer required - All.
Cherryl Fredette-Upchurch or David Knoppert can be a good candidate for the club’s Youth Protection Officer.
Police check is not mandatory to be a new member.
Polio Awareness Idea of Joan Fisher.
David Knoppert has offered to take the lead on this.
Need to elect Project Manager for Aeolian Hall Project and develop detailed final application – All
Kevin Webb & Afeez Ajibowu can be good candidates of the team lead.
Discuss at the next club meeting.
Need to elect Project Manager for Hyde Park Tree Planning Project and develop detailed final application – All
Erich Fratschko will be the lead person for the project.
Kathleen (AG), together with the East Coast Kitchen Party is considering selection of one ‘main’ recipient of proceeds for next year’s event.
Neil suggested Polio Plus.
A subcommittee has been setup to poll members on a key area for funding.
Neil and Henry to attend next meeting on September 12.
London South prefers a ‘hybrid’ model.
It will be updated after attending.
Disaster Relief – Hurricane Dorian. Relevant e-mails have been forwarded.
$1.000 will be donated from Disaster Relief budget.
Appoint Club Membership Chair by August 30, 2019. The Chair will spearhead the recruitment of new members and engage existing members.
Secure funding for the Aeolian Hall Upgrades project and implement the project.
Secure funding for the Hyde Park Tree Planting project and implement the project with input and support of the Hyde Park Business Association.
Hold a successful Wine Tasting & Food Pairing Event in the Spring of 2020.
Complete the LHP Rotary 2019 Golf Tournament in August 2019. Target net income at $14,000. Start preparation for the 2020 Tournament before January 30, 2020.
Maintain Club activities and support programs as in the past (2018/2019) and as listed in the Draft Financial Budget.
Confirm appointment of Club Secretary and Treasurer for 2020/2021 FY.
Investigate a Club Special Project to commence in 2019/2020. Use some surplus funds.
Increase Club involvement with local Rotaract. Club to assign a liaison person.
Establish & maintain connections with the passport Club.
Yesterday when Lillian and I were working out a date for our get together, it became apparent that when we added in the folks who had helped but not been part of the planning committee that we would be wiser to expand the invitation to all members and their spouses/partners.
The one draw back is that we have to have a rain date, as we can only accommodate 16 in the house-in the event of rain.
Net raffle earnings of $2361.08 from the sale of 350 raffle tickets must be spent on local projects, as decreed by the rules of the Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario, as they relate to raffles.
The remaining $7928.63, of which $6235 was earned through the silent and live auctions may be used to do good both locally and internationally, as the club sees fit.
128 guests (16 tables of 8) paid $85 per person that covered the cost of wine, food and entertainment as projected.
8 sponsorships of $250 + a donation of $300, paid the remaining expenses and provided profit for the event.
The 2019 Planning Committee recommends that we hold
a 2020 “Wine Tasting & Food Pairing” fundraiser at West Haven,
at the 2020 Rotary International Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA,
6-10 June 2020.
Attending the convention is more than just a trip to a new city or a family vacation. It's a unique experience that will allow you to discover the true spirit of aloha while connecting with people of action from all over the world.
Register and pay today, as the special registration rate of $395 is good only until this Wednesday, 5 June.
Please let me know if you plan to attend our debrief for the 2019 WTFP set for this Thursday, May 30th at 7pm at my place….
As mentioned earlier we need to determine:
What to keep
What to discard
What to tweak if we hold a sixth WTFP next year.
I have asked for suggestions from Diane Knoppert and Sheldon Hines as well as from West Haven.
I have tentatively booked Saturday, April 18, 2020 in the event that the committee, the board and the club agree to hold a sixth event next year.
West Haven has requested that we go back to 120 guests and have 6 courses including dessert.
If we recommend holding a sixth WTFP with the suggestions for improvement, we need to include:
Country to celebrate
Names of people who are willing to serve on the planning committee for a 2020 event ( Diane Knoppert is considering joining the committee.)
Look forward to seeing as many of the committee as possible on Thursday.
Once we have met, I will prepare a report to be sent to the board and to be presented to the club for consideration…hopefully at our June 6th breakfast meeting.
Thanks everyone for all your work. As in the past we will plan for a BBQ here later in June to celebrate.
Placing Balls will means exactly that, possibly 500 or more an hour.
Recording will involve keeping a copy of the number of balls that are hit. I will prepare Recording Sheets for next week.
Oversight is to make sure that everything is going along fine, possible problem solving, possible speaking to the press (if anyone shows up).
Clothing - West Haven is a private golf club. Please wear appropriate attire. No cutoffs, jeans, muscle shirts, etc. If you are in doubt, please ask me.
Bring a lawnchair and lots of sunscreen.
BBQ - West Haven will prepare a BBQ (probably hamburgers and salad) which we will be able to enjoy on the outdoor patio at 7:30.
The cost is $20 (incl tax and gratuity). Please let me know by Fri July 19th if you will be attending the BBQ.
Please pay me directly and I will take care of the bill from the club.
Drinks, snacks, lunch - these will all be available at the Member Lounge. You may pay with credit card.
Hitting - if you would like to hit for an hour on the mat, please let me know and I will slot you into the schedule (attached).
Students - I am sure that there will be things for them to do to help out if some of them use this opportunity to volunteer.
Shopping - there is a mall about 10 minutes away at the SE corner of Hyde Park Rd and Fanshawe Park Rd
If anyone has a large, battery operated clock, please let me know.
There are lots of spaces for hitting, so just let me know (esp Jo-Anne and Mark) and I will add you in.
You may come as early as you wish, but I do not expect things to be overly entertaining for you (until near the end of the day when I expect to be exhausted).
Please bring a lawn chair.You may purchase food and drinks at the members' lounge, which is about 3 minutes away from the range.
Please let me know if you plan to stay for the BBQ at 7:30pm.
Cost is $20 pp. Please pay me directly.
So far the following people will attend the BBQ : Malcolm, Carl, Mike, Doug, Rick,Bev, David
I need to ideally know by Mon if you plan to attend the BBQ at West Haven.
Bev will be the Official COMMIT Photographer, starting early afternoon.
It will be important to record the beginning of the Marathon (Mike Rosser) and the end (Janice Rauser).
Please take lots of pictures and videos in addition to what Bev will be doing.
This will be important for future advertising BOTH for COMMIT and The Rotary Club of London Hyde Park.
Thanks for all of your support. Should be a fun and memorable day.
Congratulations to the winners of the Rotary Club of London Hyde Park Entertainment Raffle, drawn at West Haven Golf & Country Club on April 13, 2019.
1st Prize:
David Knoppert of London has won
two tickets to the May 4, 2019 2 pm matinee performance of the hit Canadian musical, “Come From Away” playing at the Elgin Theatre, Toronto.
This includes transportation for two to and from Toronto via Mirvish Express.
2nd Prize:
Trudy Fratschko of London has won
two tickets to the May 30, 2019 8 pm performance of Jeans ’n Classics, “Disco Inferno: a Disco Ball” at the GRAND Theatre, London.
This prize includes dinner at Michael’s on the Thames.
3rd Prize:
Henry Vergeer of London has won
two tickets to one performance of “The Horse and His Boy”, “The Ladykillers” or “Rope” during April, May or June of the 2019 season at the Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-Lake.
the winners of the Rotary Club of London Hyde Park Entertainment Raffle
Once again District 6330 will be combining the District Learning Assembly and President Elect Training.
Here’s your opportunity to learn what’s new in Rotary, brush up on your skills and knowledge. It’s a must attend event for new and older Rotarians/Rotaractors alike. Meet new and old friends, share ideas and best practices and go back to your clubs inspired to continue the good work of Rotary in your community and around the globe. The future of Rotary is in your hands as we prepare to enter a new Rotary year.
This year, the District Learning Assembly will take place on April 13, 2019 at the Holiday Inn, Sarnia, Ontario and following the success of last years remote satellite location we are delighted to be able to offer this opportunity again at the Best Western, Owen Sound in order for more Rotarians to participate.
Group Plenary sessions will be presented in Sarnia and live streamed to Owen Sound. Breakout sessions will be presented in both locations.
President Elect Training (PETS) will be held in Sarnia on April 13, 2019 concurrently with the learning assembly, and will continue on Sunday, April 14, 2019 with dedicated PETS sessions.
Links to the registration page are below. There are 3 registration pages - one each for the Sarnia and Owen Sound District Learning Assembly locations, and one for PETS in Sarnia. If you're registering your President Elect for PETS, use the registration link for PETS - do not register your President Elect for the District Assembly.
When registering for the District Learning Assembly at either location, you can register (and pay for) multiple people from your club on one registration. You will identify a primary registrant, then indicate how many additional registrations you require on the add-on page, and finally name the additional registrants on the questionnaire page.
Registration this year is by credit card, and available online only.
Note that registration will close after April 7th, 2019.
Douglas Thompson wanted the team to be the first to know the bus the team purchased for NPH has arrived,
This means 180+ students and children will be able to have an education and the chance at a better life as we transport them from the surrounding communities to the orphanage and the wonderful nurturing and mentoring experience they will receive.
Thank you team and Rotary Club of Stratford for helping us to change many lives.
I cannot think of a happier moment in my life.
Best
Doug
Our Club donated $2,000 to the cost (approx $25,000 USD) of this bus for the children in the orphanage in Nicaragua.
It's the second annual Rotary East Coast Kitchen Party
Friday May 10, 2019, starting at 6:00 pm.
Featuring Shane Cook and the Woodchippers with Peter Garland as MC this promises to be another Fun Time as it raises funds to help Rotary continue to make a difference..
November 1st marks the first of four dates (Nov 1st, Nov 15th, Dec 6th, Dec 20th) to turn in socks and/or underwear for our Mission Services Christmas donation.
Dec 20th is the last chances to participate the donation!
Any chance of reaching 100 for both?
The numbers of items our club has collected so far.
The three scarecrows in the photo, representing a family benefiting from the End Polio Now campaign, are sponsored during the October Scarecrow Fest at Parkway Gardens by the Rotary Club of London Hyde Park.
Our club will be reserving tables of 8 for the East Coast Kitchen party on May 11. I have heard from 7 members and have reservations for 14 people plus Rick and me. Is there anyone else who will be attending on May 11 as part of our group? (We are not asking for money yet.)
At the next East Coast Kitchen planning meeting we are getting estimates of our numbers. Thanks,
Q: Who is Wellington Brewery? A: Wellington Brewery is one of Canada’s original craft brewers. Founded in 1985 in Guelph, ON, Wellington Brewery crafts award-winning beers in small batches using the freshest all-natural ingredients.
Q: What is Rotary Local Lager? A: Rotary Local Lager is a crisp and refreshing lager brewed with 100% Canadian barley and wheat malt. Inspired by traditional German light lagers, this delicious beer is craft brewed and lagered to perfection.
Q: How is the product being delivered? A: The product will arrive at Beer Stores through their distribution system. For events requiring a larger quantity, please email sarah@wellingtonbrewery.ca with 2 weeks advance notice, and we can attempt direct delivery if we have a truck nearby. All beer ships in 24 units of 473 mL cans.
Q: How is Rotary Local Lager sold? A: Cans are sold in single units $3.10, 6x473-$18.00, 24x473-$69.00
Q: How to I make sure there is adequate supply at my local beer store? A: Be knowledgeable of the Beer Store manager, ask for product availability, and communicate events with sarah@wellingtonbrewery.ca
Q: What’s in it for Rotary? How does my club benefit? A: For every can of Local Lager sold, 20 cents per can flows to local clubs signed on to the project" and 10 cents to RI targeted to water filtration projects
Q: How do I subscribe? A: Fill out the Wellington Brewery Distribution Request Form, email to sarah@wellingtonbrewery.ca.
An invoice will be sent for the listing fees ($242.92 or $570.88 depending on the location of the store, and subject to change with Beer Store changes).
Once payment is received to Wellington Brewery, the listing will be activated and Beer will get to the shelf. The sponsoring club needs to be incorporated and should hold liability insurance.
Q: How can I help drive sales? A: Keep this Lager in your fridge. Talk about the joint venture with friends and family. Promote the use of this product at Rotarian Events and Meetings.
Although the event is sold out, interested individuals do have the option of :
Having the name placed on the wait list by contacting Doug Lynds <dlynds@rogers.com> and/or by
Purchasing a raffle ticket or tickets that support our approved local projects- including the highly successful DICTIONARY project, in which our club provides grade 3 students with a personal dictionary. For the 2017-18 Rotary year, the Rotary Club of London-Hyde Park distributed a total of 874 dictionaries to 17 schools plus to Sherwood Library.
Children get the polio vaccine in their house in Kabul. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries that saw new cases last year.
(TOMAS MUNITA / The Associated Press)
This year will likely be the last to see new cases, and only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It’s a huge step toward official eradication, which has only ever happened once before.
When Ramesh Ferris was born in southern India in 1979, there were an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 new cases of polio being recorded around the globe each year.
At 6 months of age, he became one of them.
“The polio virus paralyzed my legs,” he says.
Then, two things happened that were tantamount to miracles, says Ferris, who would become an activist in the fight against the disease.
“I came to Canada, where I received corrective surgery … and learned to walk for the first time at the age of three and a half,” says Ferris, who was adopted at age 2 by Anglican bishop Ron Ferris of the Yukon.
Community Collaboration Project: Budweiser Gardens Toy Drive
For the past few years our Rotary Club has partnered with Budweiser Gardens in support of Childcan, the Childhood Cander Research Association through a raffle draw held at Budweiser Gardens. The winners for the 2017 raffle are as follows:
First Prize: Luxury London Knights suite valued at $1700:
Winner is Fred Fortese
Second Prize: A luxury London Lightning Basketball suite, valued at $800
Winner is Alex Fleming.
Also, over $3200 worth of toys were donated to Childcan by generous Londoners.
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who purchased a ticket and/or donated toys to Childcan.
You have all contributed to helping the children in our community who are or may soon be battling cancer.
From Left to Right: Assistant Governor Sue Storie; New Members: Madison Vergeer, Han Jung, and, Ken Wall; President David Knoppert
We are excited to introduce 3 new members to our club during our December 7th meeting. These new Rotarians are already making a difference as they each take an active role on one of our various committees and community projects. We now have 19 members plus 5 Honourary Members.
Club Members Sheldon & Lillian staffing the Salvation Army Kettle at Remark Fresh Market
Each Christmas season members of our club staff the Salvation Army Kettle at Remark Fresh Market for 2 Saturdays - one in late November and one in early December. In 2016 the Salvation Army Kettle at the Remark location raised $38,111.98, a significant increase from the $25,894.28 raised in 2015. The 2016 Kettle program raised a total of $648,173 in London, easily surpassing the goal of $500,000. Hopefully, the generosity of Londoners will be repeated this 2017 Christmas season.
The Hyde Park Santa Claus parade was held this morning (Saturday, November 25, 2017) along Gainsborough Road . This annual tradition is becoming more popular each year as more and more local groups participate in the parade with floats; dancing; and, music. Thousands of families line the parade route, many bringing canned goods for the food bank, and receiving candy treats from parade participants. The parade this year featured some fabulous floats (including our own) and was almost an hour in length.
Members Steve; Lillian; Myung Joon; and, Carl walked in front of our float. Lillian & Steve are holding our banner in the above picture.
More pictures from the parade can be found on the next page of this story....
Join us this Thursday morning for D6330's 2017-18 District Governor Martin Ward's official visit to our club.
DG Martin's Editorial from the September issue of "The Bridge":
Where did the summer go? Welcome home to those that have been away for the summer.
It's hard to imagine that the children in our families and our neighborhoods will soon return (or have already returned) to school. September is a busy time as we get back to regular routines at home, at work, and in our Rotary club.
Apropos to this back to school time of year, September is Basic Education and Literacy month for Rotary. Most, if not all, clubs in our district actively support literacy projects both in their communities and internationally. We can be proud of our many achievements in literacy including just a couple of examples like the Grade 3 Dictionary project supported by many of our clubs, and international projects that furnish and supply schools where there is great need.
We are encouraged to support Basic Education and Literacy projects as a primary area of focus through our Foundation. Our Foundation enables Rotarians to help ensure that all people have sustainable access to basic education and literacy by involving local and international communities to support programs that provide basic education and literacy throughout their community, by increasing adult literacy in communities, by working to reduce gender disparity in education, and by supporting studies for career-minded professionals related to basic education and literacy.
Hyde Park Rotary Supports Community by Building a (Scare)Crow
The Rotary Club of London Hyde Park is one of over 30 local businesses to sponsor the building of a scarecrow by Parkway Gardens with all proceeds going to the North West London Resource Centre. For $100 the talented staff at Parkway Gardens created and built the "Rotary Scarecrow" for our club.
The sponsored scarecrows will be on display at the Garden Centre until October 28th when they will be judged by a panel of scarecrow aficionados. If you would like to sponsor a scarecrow please contact the Parkway Garden Centre at 519-657-7360 or by email at contact@parkwaygardens.ca
Approximately 35 residents joined us on a clear, cool night at Coronation Park North with their blankets, sleeping bags, and tent to enjoy the animated movie "The Little Prince". This community event was hosted by the Rotary Club of London Hyde Park and supported by the Hyde Park Business Association and North West London Resource Centre. The City of London provided all of the equipment, including the blow-up big screen and a support team. They did a fantastic job! Ward 7 Councillor, Josh Morgan, introduced the movie and drew the winning ticket for the movie raffle so a lucky resident could take the movie home. We also sold a few chips and juice boxes for a toonie.
The experience of watching a movie outside under the stars was wonderful. I only wish I had dressed a bit warmer - actually a lot warmer. A thin summer jacket simply wasn't enough. I was envious of everyone else who had warm clothing and blankets.
Connecting employers to immigrant talent for economic prosperity.
Our speaker on Thursday September 7, 2017, Nelida Forero from Immploy spoke about a solution to today's shortage of skilled workers that will only get worse. The good news is that untapped talent is already here. Most Canadian immigrants have professional training, making them an asset to companies and their communities, bridging the gap between the labour market demand and the limited supply.
Immploy links employers to effective tools and resources for recruiting, hiring, and retaining skilled immigrants. Employing international talent today will build stronger businesses and stronger communities for tomorrow. That's why hiring immigrants is the right thing to do - it makes for good business.
Immploy provides 2 basic services:
Job Matching: Connecting immigrant talent with local businesses seeking skilled employees
Mentoring: Matching volunteer mentors with an immigrant in their field.
For more information about Immploy and its programs please review the powerpoint presentation found in the download section on the home page or contact Nelida Forero at NelidaF@immploy.ca
RCLHP 13th Charity Golf Fundraiser a Magnificent Success
The Hyde Park Rotary Club of London held their annual golf tournament on August 23rd at West Haven Golf & Country Club. This was the first year holding a “9 & Dine” format whereby participants play 9 holes followed by dinner, prizes and an auction with 40% of the proceeds to be contributed to Wellspring.
On top of golfing on a great course, there were three grand raffle prizes each consisting of 8 bottles of wine, 6 bottles of beer, and $65 in cheeses that raised over $1,800. In addition there were 6 live auction items that raised $1,090. We also received $5,500 in sponsorships from our Corporate Sponsor, Scotiabank, and the 14 hole sponsors.
With perfect golfing weather and an incredible dinner put on by the wonderful Westhaven staff, the event was a great success! The event raised over $9,950 of which $4,000 will be used to support Wellspring! With over 40 door prizes (see image below) to be drawn nearly everyone went home with a prize.
Our next "9 & Dine" golf tournament will be held on Wednesday August 22, 2018 also at West Haven Golf & Country Club. If you wish to be informed about this event when registration opens, please reach out to David Knoppert via email.
9 & Dine Golf Fundraiser a Magnificent Success
Historical Rotary Office Opened at Fanshawe Pioneer Village
Saturday August 7th was the perfect day - sunny with some cloud and not too hot - for the grand opening of Fanshawe Pioneer Village's new storefront attraction that includes a Rotary office modeled after Paul Harris's office in Chicago circa 1917; a tinshop; and, new boardwalk connecting the Rotary office with the general store and print shop. Our club was well represented with several members in attendance, which is appropriate because we launched this initiative.
We are seeking hole sponsors for our upcoming golf tournament. The cost is $250 and the business name will be prominently displayed at one of the 9 holes in the "nine & dine" tournament.
RCLHP Annual Community Paul Harris Fellowship Award
Barb Robins presents Rachelle Coleman (far left) and Donna Szpakowski (far right) with Paul Harris Fellowship Recognition award
Each year the Rotary Club of London Hyde Park awards a member of the Hyde Park community with the prestigious Paul Harris Fellowship in recognition of their "Service above Self" and daily expressing Rotary's high ethical standards as embodied within our Four Way Test:
Of the things we think, say or do:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
This year's recipients are:
Donna Szpakowski, Executive Director of the Hyde Park Business Association; and,
Rachelle Coleman, Executive Director of the North West London Resource Centre.
For those of you who don't know Aussie, "rip snorter" means "great or fantastic" and our sold out June 10th Australian Wine Tasting & Food Pairing Fundraising Event was an overwhelming success, due to the efforts of a lot of people. Former LHP Rotarian John McDonald, serving in the capacity of Master of Ceremonies, kept the evening moving flawlessly. West Haven did not disappoint. Chef Darrell prepared a superb menu -6 courses plus dessert and coffee/tea- to compliment the Australian wines selected by our wine expert extraordinaire Malcolm Cocks. Jennifer and her wait staff kept the evening moving smoothly delivering food to the tables and removing the empty plates with precision.
On Saturday, June 3rd our club joined the Hyde Park Business Association's community celebration by providing a huge birthday cake for 250 people. The community celebration focus is around the unveiling of the outdoor community piano, painted by local high school students, to be used by anyone in the community. The date was chosen to coincide with the global "100In1Day" community celebration.This year's theme was Canada's 150th birthday and the students did a marvelous job painting the piano. The community event included music by "The Young at Heart" choral group and Pearson School of the Arts; presentations by Mayor Matt Brown; London West MPP Peggy Sattler; and, Ward 7 Councilor Josh Morgan. In addition to the cake Kelsey's restaurant and Ivanopoblano (organic Mexican food) provided fresh cooked food. The North West London Resource Centre gave out free samples of ice cream from "The Scoop", located on Gainsborough Road. To entertain the children - young and old - Phil Arnold put on an amazing "Punch & Judy" puppet show and the fire department stopped by with one of their trucks.
"The First Cut".
President Steve cuts the birthday cake for our first customer
During her official visit, District Governor Diane challenged our club (and all of the other clubs in D.6330) to prepare a "brag board" of all their accomplishments and activities during the 2016/17 Rotary year. She even provided each club with a board to use. As usual, our club was and still is extremely active.....so much so that not everything we have done and will be doing until the end of June could possibly fit onto the board. The image below is of the completed board that is roughly divided between Fundraising; Community; Membership; and, International. It includes posters, pictures, and stories of our many varied activities over the past year. It is just too bad the board wasn't twice as big so we could fit in everything.
On Saturday April 22, 2017 over 120 Rotarians and their partners celebrated the Rotary Foundation's Centennial at Museum London. Seven members of London Hyde Park Rotary were present (President Steve Teske, Barb Robins, Lillian and Don Reid, Sue Storie, Fran Eberhard and David Knoppert), along with their wives and husbands. Don Reid, a member of the Paul Harris Society, and his wife Lillian were invited to a special reception with the Vice President of Rotary International, Jennifer Jones, prior to the evening event. Following a general reception where Rotarians from all over District 6330 were able to mingle, a lovely dinner was served. John and Fran Eberhard were honoured as members of the Bequest Society during the after dinner ceremonies. The absolute highlight of the evening was an inspirational presentation from Jennifer Jones. The next large gathering of Rotarians will be the District Conference that will be held in St Thomas at the end of May.
Hope you are all enjoying this winter .......... whether in the sunny south or staying home to enjoy the sunny, snowy weather.
Rotary District 6330 Conference 2017 is fast approaching. As we continue the planning, we would like to offer each of you the opportunity to be recognized as a 'table sponsor'. With a cash donation of $100.00, your name and/or business name,will be displayed on a dinner table of the weekend as well as a sponsor recognition on the posters and large screens.
If you are interested, please send me a return email by March 15th advising of your commitment and include the exact name/names that you would like to be printed on the recognition.
Your cheque payment should then be forwarded to: Helen Campbell, Chair, 41 Dyer St, St. Thomas, ON N5R5K2 no later than April 15th, 2017. (I plan to be at the Leadership meeting March 4th as well as TTT/PETS so this might be a great opportunity to either discuss further or provide me with your information and payment.) (Our Club is not a registered charity so this donation will help to offset some of the conference expenses.)
Please note: Due to the exclusivity of the Redtail Golf Course, there will be no ‘hole sponsorships’ available this year.
We genuinely appreciate your generosity to help make this conference one to remember for the fun, fellowship, food and friendship and look forward to seeing you all in St Thomas May 26th and 27th.
Celebrate The Rotary Foundation's Centennial with our very special guest and keynote speaker Rotary International Vice President Jennifer Jones!! (see bio on next page)
SATURDAY APRIL 22, 2017 MUSEUM LONDON $75.- pp (approx. 55.- USD) Black Tie Optional
Have you registered for this once in a lifetime event?
No?
Then click here to register before the event is sold out:
This morning club member David Knoppert gave a wonderful presentation on his recent medical mission trip to the Lake Chapala region of Mexico. This mission was a joint Rotary Festival City Stratford and Rotary Ajijic, Mexico project to provide medical clinic support to the people in the villages in the hills around Lake Chapala. The 24 member team provided health and hygiene teaching, reading glasses for those with close vision deficit, physiotherapy assessments and treatments, medical assessment and treatments by Physicians and Nurses, limited lab testing and full pharmacy support. To View David's powerpoint presentation go to: Mexico Medical Mission Presentation or the file download section on the homepage.
David and "pharmacy staff" in a well stocked farmacia at the Women's Clinic in Ajijic
The Scrooge Diary Cocktail Theatre Event a Great Success
The audience was beguiled by Phil Arnold's performance as Scrooge at our Christmas Cocktail Theatre event at West Haven Golf and Country Club last Friday, December 11th. It was almost as though Ebenezer Scrooge had walked out of the pages of Dicken's timeless classic: "A Christmas Carol."
The performance was preceded by a cocktail party with wonderful h'orderves prepared by West Haven's world class chef.
It was a magical evening for the 71 guests who attended. Everyone had a wonderful time. What a way to kick-off the Christmas season.
Ebenezer Scrooge with LH Parker
We even made some money from this event, raising just over $500 (final numbers are still being tabulated) with 50% of the proceeds going towards the Alzheimer's' Society and the balance supporting our Rotary community projects.
Left to Right: Members Mike Wibbing and Carl Silke
Once again club members volunteered to staff the Salvation Army kettle located at Remark Fresh Market (Oxford & Hyde Park Rds.) for two hour shifts on Saturday November 26th and December 3rd. This year volunteering was so popular that some members didn't get a chance to sign up because all of the available spots were taken.
Left to Right: Neil Holt (sponsor); Carl Silke (new member); Barb Robins (sponsor); Lauren Quinlan (new member); David Knoppert (sponsor); Sheldon Hines (new member)
At our December 1st meeting we inducted 3 new members (see picture above). Carl is a retired teacher from Oakridge secondary school; Lauren is a student at Western studying business accounting; and, Sheldon is an investment adviser with CIBC Wood Gundy and has volunteered teaching sailing to disabled children. His father and grandfather were Rotarians.
Last Chance to Pre-Register for Community Mayor's Breakfast
West Haven Golf & Country Club needs the number of attendees to the Community Breakfast by this Wednesday morning (November 16th). So, if you are planning to attend but haven't yet pre-registered please do so before Wednesday morning. If you are not sure how to pre-register, please email Kevin Webb at kjwebb1955@gmail.com and he will do so on your behalf, but only by Wednesday morning.
LAST CHANCE to Pre-Register for Community Mayor's Breakfast
Image Credit: Adapted from "Bill Sikes and Bull's-eye" by Fred Barnard; coloured by Wm. Aikman (1912). Frontispiece for The Adventures of Oliver Twist in the Centenary Edition (1912) http://victorianweb.org/art/illustration/barnard/17.html (Oct 28/16)
The Scrooge Diary: Whitehills Animal Hospital Advertisement
LH Parker and prospective member Lauren Quinlan pose in front of the Emily Carr Elementary school logo on October 25th. They, along with Barb Robins and Doug Lynds had just distributed dictionaries to the Grade 3 students. This is another example of our club "Doing Good" in our community.
This past weekend, LH Parker attended the Foundation Seminar with Richard, Barb, David and AG Sue. Like every other Rotary district our Rotary district needs a way to prepare its leaders, and its clubs’ leaders, for their roles. LH is considering a future leadership role with our club, perhaps memBEARship?
On Tuesday Lloyd Henry(LH) "the bear" Parker was introduced to his new community of Hyde Park by Sue and Rick Storie. As you may recall LH was presented to our club by DG Diane at her official visit on October 6th with instructions to help him "do good' by involving him in our club activities during this Rotary year.
It is anticipated that LH will be part of the upcoming Community Mayor's Breakfast and he has already indicated he will attend "The Scrooge Diary" fundraising event.
On October 6th District Governor Diane Chantler was our keynote speaker as she made her official visit to our club with Bill, her spouse and “Governor’s Official Driver” (aka g.o.d.).
She gave us an inspirational message to “do good in the community” and continue our support of Rotary’s goal of global eradication of Polio.
Growing our membership was also a key theme of her presentation extolling us to let the community know what good works Rotary is doing both locally and internationally as this will attract interest and potential community partnerships. DG Diane felt that changing our meetings from weekly to twice a month was an innovative way to make our club more attractive to active and busy people.
DG Diane left us a gift – a teddy bear – and requested we give our bear a name and have him/her an active participant in our activities during this Rotary year. This means including the bear in all pictures we take of our many varied activities and events between now and June 30, 2017. However, we were asked to be responsible guardians and encourage teddy to only do things that are good. DG Diane has a tradition with each club she visits: A club picture that includes herself, teddy, along with Paul Harris (the founder of Rotary) and Art Klump (the founder of The Rotary Foundation). Can you spot teddy, Paul Harris and Art Klump in the picture below?
District Governor Diane Chantler's October 6th Official Visit
Once a year, the District Governor makes an official visit to each club in the district, between July 1st and December 1st. DG Diane will be visiting our club next Thursday morning (October 6, 2016).
The purpose of the official visits is:
To allow the District Governor to communicate directly with all Rotarians in our District.
To listen to the Club Leadership and gain better understanding of their club. To provide helpful and friendly advice to club officers as requested and to answer questions about Rotary International and the District.
To serve as a catalyst to help strengthen the programs of Rotary.
To meet the requirements that Rotary International sets for serving in the office of District Governor.
If any of you are concerned regarding the proper protocols governing the District Governor's official visit, Rotarians don't despair: There is a handy Rotary blog called "Do's and Don'ts of the DG Official Visit" and can be found at: http://kensolowrotary.com/2014/07/02/dos-and-donts-of-the-dg-club-visit/
Redtail Golf Course is an exclusive and private golf course located just outside Port Stanley, Ontario. The course is located just east of Mill Road and Bush Line on the north-west outskirts of Port Stanley. Only clients of the owners and friends of the owners may golf at the course.
Redtail Golf Course is one of the most exclusive golf courses in Canada.
What would it take to change the world? Rotary International is the world's first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 35,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto Service Above Self.
On Wednesday (July 13th) evening we gathered in Barb's spacious and beautiful backyard for our annual fellowship barbecue and to also induct the new Board for the 2016/17 Rotary year. There were approximately 30 Rotarians; spouses; and friends present for a wonderful evening of fellowship with a 10 minute interlude for the changeover ceremony. The club supplied the hamburgers and each of us brought a salad and/or dessert. The food was plentiful and the relaxed conversation wonderful. A wonderful event to end one Rotary year and kickoff a new one.
AG sue inducting Steve as our President for the 2016/17 Rotary year. Immediate Past President Lillian Reid is looking on.
Rotary Canada Article on Honouring Indigenous Peoples
The June edition of the Rotary Canada magazine received by all Canadian Rotarians with their Rotarian magazine featured an article on the joint Rotary and First Nations group called Honouring Indigenous Peoples. The article can be found in the download section on the RC of London Hyde Park's home page or click on HIP Article. What is significant for our club is it is named in the article. The picture below was taken in August 2015 at Six Nations featuring the HIP Board of Directors and members of Six Nations.
Rotary Canada Article on Honouring Indigenous Peoples
Join Fanshawe Pioneer Village on Sunday, August 28 for a Taste of the Grill. Treat your taste buds to delicious samplings provided by local eateries. Help Fanshawe Pioneer Village and the Rotary Club of London raise funds for the rehabilitation of the historic Storefronts, a Canada 150 project!
Admission to Fanshawe Pioneer Village is included in the purchase of your ticket! Join us for Fanshawe: 1812 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Experience the life and battles of a soldier in 1812 at this premier regional event.
The CHAIRity Event is a new signature event for Autism Ontario - London Chapter and the much needed funds raised stays within our community and will benefit the London Chapter of Autism Ontario in support of its various programs.
Guests will have a chance to bid on amazing chairs decorated and created by local artists, decorators and upholsters while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and great entertainment. There will also be a cash bar. A big thank you to our sponsors ZTR Control Systems and J.A. MacDonald (London) Ltd.
With the conclusion of the 2016 Council on Legislation, the Report of Action is now available . If the link does not work, the report can be found in the download file section on the left side of our home page.
In this report, you will find:
A letter from General Secretary Hewko
Legislation that was adopted at the Council, including amended legislation
Vote tallies for the adopted items
An Opposition to Legislation Report Form
Clubs may use the opposition form to voice their disagreement to an adopted enactment or resolution. Completed forms must reach Council Services by 15 August 2016. More information about this form can be found in General Secretary Hewko’s letter.
To recognize the many donors who contributed to our very successful wine tasting / food pairing fundraising event on Saturday, May 14, 2016 a powerpoint presentation was created and shown between 6:00pm and 7:15pm. The donors, many of whom have not seen the presentation were informed it would be posted on our website. To view the presentation go to: Wine Tasting Presentation.
Are you thinking of travelling either within Canada or internationally? If you are you will want to join us this Thursday to hear Lora Hamre who is the Business Development Representative for the Globus Family Brands of Travel. Lora represents some of the best known and most admired brands in the travel business. The Globus family includes such well known companies as Cosmos, Monograms, Globus and Avalon River Cruises. Globus has enjoyed over 85 years in the travel Industry...
Steve Teske, incoming RCLHP President; Carmi Levy; Donna Szpakowski, President of HPBA
Over 50 members and guests packed the meeting room at West Haven Golf and Country Club for a hot breakfast and to hear Carmi Levy speak about the importance of Social Media as a business and personal communication tool. His interactive presentation was both enjoyable and informative.
Wine and Food Pairings Announced for Wine Tasting/Food Pairing Fundraising Event
Malcolm Cocks, the wine Sommelier who will present and describe the wines during our second annual "Rotary Around the World" Wine Tasting/Food Pairing fundraising event on May 14th at West Haven Golf & Country Club, announces the wines and paired food for this event.
University of Western Rotaractors Presentation on Current Projects
Rotaractors Sophia, Rush and Liam pose with Rotarian Kevin after being thanked for their presentation and presented with a limited edition book, CDs, DVDs, and bracelets from the Canadian Rotary Centennial Project: Building a School in Afghanistan. An extremely successful and sustainable project allowing up to 4,000 Afghan boys and girls attend school each year.
Sophia, Rush & Liam informed our membership about the projects the University of Western Rotaract club have ongoing. These include the "Day of Giving", "Volunteer Chain"; "Global Health Symposium"; and, "Juvenile Diabetes Camp". The club includes 300 current members but due to the rigours of attaining a university education the number of active participants varies according to availability.
Members from our club were invited to participate in a new Rotaract Club initiative called "Rotaract/Rotarian" Dinners, which could be considered a rudimentary mentoring initiative. It provides an opportunity for a Rotaractor and a Rotarian to get to know each other better in a one-on-one situation over dinner,lunch, breakfast or simply a coffee. For example, a Rotarian who has a professional career in international development would be paired with a Rotarian with similar interests and possibly in an international relations program. For more information go to: http://www.rotaractwestern.com/rotarion-dinners-3/
Club Members Enjoy Good Fellowship & Good Food at Congee Chan Restaurant
Thursday evening, February 25, 2016 at total of 19 members and guests enjoyed an evening of wonderful fellowship and excellent food at the Congee Chan restaurant.
We sat around large round tables with a "lazy susan" turntable in the middle where the platters of food were placed so we could serve ourselves. The food never seemed to stop coming and included:
Shrimp Won Ton
Veggie Spring Roll (9 pcs)
Spicy Salt & Pepper Tiger Shrimps
General Tao Chicken
Chicken w/ Mixed Vegetable
Szechuen Style Beef
Lemon Chicken
Cantonese Chow Mein
Chicken Fried Rice
Sizzling Beef Tenderloin w/ Special Sweet Sour Sauce
It was all wonderful and more than we could eat, although many of us tried....
To view more pictures taken by Myung Joon go to the next page.
Jannalee Anderson, Vice President at Opportunity International Canada, spoke to us on the recently completed Phase 2 of a Rotary project called "Honduras Economic & Community Development (HECD)". This $600,000 project was successful in achieving and exceeding its goals due to the collaboration between several key partners (see partner logos on next page) in both Canada and Honduras.
The goal for the microfinance component of this project was to upgrade the national management information system for IDH, the local Micro Finance Institution in Honduras, so it could provide additional services (savings; insurance; etc...) and open a new branch office in Santa Barbara. It was anticipated this branch office would grant loans to 250 new clients by August 31, 2015 when the project ended but by this date the branch had 592 clients with expectations of growing to over 1,000 in 2016. For more information on this project, download the presentation from the file download section on the home page of this website.
I met the students at Kings College and we drove Francis' home. The students pulled out the fridge and stove, and cleaned the floor, as well as cleaning the underpart of the range. The students also cleaned the kitchen windows, inside and out, and made Francis' day.
Sophia is one of the Rotaract Presidents at Western and is studying pathology and she is originally from China. Liam is originally from England (no he isn't in a boy band called One Direction) and is studying accounting. Rush was born in Toronto, but has an Indian background. He is studying Medical Sciences. After our work we all went out to Starbauck's for a coffee.
The Day of Giving is an event focused around assisting those in need in the London community with tasks beyond their physical ability. This years Day of Giving is on Saturday January 30th at 9:30am. All of the event information can be found on our Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1101649096545952/
Flint, Michigan is facing an epic water crisis caused by the leaching of lead into its water supply. The lead comes from water pipes installed before the health issues associated with lead were known. Lead was a common plumbing material until the Ontario plumbing code was updated to prohibit its use in the mid-1950s. The crisis occurred when the City of Flint temporarily changed its water source in April 2014 from Lake Huron to the Flint River. River water is significantly more corrosive than lake water and caused the lead water pipes to corrode. It is estimated 50% of the water pipes in Flint contain lead and the only solution is to replace these pipes. The estimated cost is $1.5 billion but the human cost could be much higher.
The Rotary Club of Flint in partnership with the Rotary Club of Genesee County (District 6330/Area 7) is encouraging fellow Rotary Clubs and Rotarians to consider supporting efforts in the following four ways:
Nancy Lovelock, President of the Rotary club of St. Thomas spoke to us on January 7, 2016 about the global refugee crisis. According to the United Nations, The number of people living as refugees from war or persecution exceeded 50 million in 2013, for the first time since World War Two.
Each year, millions of people around the world are forced to flee their homeland to escape persecution, war or severe human rights abuses. Often, these people are permanently displaced and are never able to return home. In keeping with its humanitarian tradition and international obligations, the Government of Canada provides assistance to thousands of such displaced persons every year through its Government-Assisted Refugee (GAR) program.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents are able to provide additional opportunities for refugees living abroad to find protection and build a new life in Canada through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program.
The PSR program is strictly for sponsoring refugees and persons in refugee-like situations. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, there are two classes of persons who may qualify as refugees for Canada’s refugee and humanitarian resettlement program. The classes are the Convention Refugees Abroad Class and the Country of Asylum Class.
Rotary club of London Hyde Park Donates 57 Books to "A Book for Every Child" Program
Hyde Park Rotarians rose to the challenge presented by the Literacy Committee, chaired by Sue Storie, by donating 57 books to the program that were presented to the Sherwood Forest Library on December 19th. Congratulations and thank you to each of the Rotarians to contributed to this worthwhile program. To find out more about this program, click on the "read more" link.
Rotarians Learn About Fencing from Universty of Western Fencing Coaches
At our December 3, 2015 meeting we were treated to an introduction of fencing by Western University coaches, Brad Winder & Carole Christie who brought along 4 fencing students to demonstrate. We were also invited to participate by donning the protective fencing garb and tryng our hand at the sport. Michael Wibbing and Kevin Webb "fought" in one lively bout while President Lillian and her grand daughter participated in a second bout. It was a lot of fun and surprisingly aerobic as we were exhausted after only fencing for a couple of minutes. To see additional pictures click below.
Offsite Meeting at Parkway Gardens Among the Poinsettias
Erik Jacobsen, owner of Parkway Gardens located on Gainsborough Road west of Hyde Park, introduces us to the history of the Poinsettia plant
Our December 3, 2015 meeting was held offsite at Parkway Gardens. We were treated to a hot breakfast and a tour of the garden centre including the 30,000 square foot "addition" that is nearing completion. Erik spoke about how the Poinsettia plant became the Christmas plant . The poinsettia was made widely known because of a man called Joel Roberts Poinsett (that's why we call them Poinsettia!). He was the first Ambassador from the USA to Mexico in 1825. Poinsett had some greenhouses on his plantations in South Carolina, and while visiting the Taco area in 1828, he became very interested in the plants. He immediately sent some of the plants back to South Carolina, where he began growing the plants and sending them to friends and botanical gardens.
As we were leaving we each presented with a Poinsettia plant for our homes. Thank you Erik & Parkway Gardens.
During this Advent week devoted to peace we are still recovering from the violent attacks in Paris and San Bernadino.
What If…
What if we started thinking about Rotary as more than a collection of service clubs and started thinking of ourselves as a global peace building force?
What if together we wage peace?
Just imagine, Rotarians building a world beyond war.
Watch the Rotarian Action Group for Peace's new video here and help us spread the word. (5 min)
Learn more about our organization and how you can join us as ‘We Wage Peace’
Club Supports our Community: Salvation Army Kettle Drive
It has become a yearly tradition for volunteers from our club to support the Salvation Army Kettle drive on one or more Saturdays in late November and/or early December by staffing one of their kettles at Remark Fresh Market in North west London. Staffing the kettle provides the opportunity to help support our community while also allowing for fellowship.
The generosity of the community towards helping those less is quite overwhelming with people donating $5; $20; and, even $50 bills. The kettle is also used by parents to teach their children about sharing what you have with those who have less or nothing by having them place the money into the kettle. The young girl in the image above had just placed a $5 bill into the kettle (verbal approval to post this image was granted by her father).
David and Kevin were at Remark between 9:00 am and 11:00 am on Saturday December 5th with President Lillian taking our place at 11:00am. Myung Joon came by to take some pictures. During our pleasant two hour stint (it helped we were inside the store) we received many smiles and "Merry Christmases" from the shoppers along with many donations.
Some of you may be asking: Where does the money go? When did this campaign start? To find the answer to these questions and others, see the rest of the story......
The World Health Organization (WHO) released its most recent report on the HIV/AIDS pandemic on November 27, 2015 called: Global Health Sector Response to HIV 2000 - 2015: Focus on Innovations in Africa. The report's executive summary can be downloaded from the homepage or by going to: http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/progressreports/2015-progress-report/en/ . This executive summary highlights key facts from the progress report on the Global health sector response to HIV, 2000-2015. Successful HIV responses are not yet universal, but they are common enough to have made a huge impact in the past 15 years.
The number of adults and children newly infected with HIV globally declined by 35% in 2000–2014.
The number of people dying from HIV-related causes declined by 24% in 2000–2014 and by over 40% since 2004, the peak year.
HIV treatment reached almost 16 million people in mid-2015 – more than 11 million of them in the African Region, where only about 11 000 people had been receiving treatment in 2000.
Millennium Development Goal 6, which called for halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV by 2015, was achieved, and the HIV response contributed to significantly reducing child mortality (Millennium Development Goal 4) and maternal mortality (Millennium Development Goal 5).
Club Member David Knoppert Speaks about Volunteer Medical Mission to Dominican Republic
image above: AG Sue Storie; David Knoppert; President Lillian Reid; Guest Rotarian & Medical Mission Coordinator Jean Aitchison (R/C Festival City, Stratford)
Between 1:30 pm and 2:15 pm on Saturday November 14th 32 children and 9 parents were enthralled with the story of the Frog Prince as told through live puppet theatre. This classic fairy tale about the consequences of not being nice to others (the prince was mean to the witch who turned him into a frog); the importance of keeping a promise even though you may not want to keep it (the princess had to kiss the frog); and, the possible reward for keeping the promise (the frog turns back into a prince and having learned his lesson apologized to the witch & the princess gets to marry the handsome prince because she kept her promise).
Erynne Gilpin, Youth Exchange Alumnus and Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar(RAS) Alumnus Returns to her Rotary Roots
Member Peter Rozeluk presents Erynne with a certificate of thanks for being our speaker with $25 donated in her name to The Rotary Foundation.
Erynne spoke about the wonderful experiences she had as a Rotary Exchange Student & Ambassadorial Scholar not only taking her to new countries, like Brazil, where she met her fiancé but helping her determine her focus at University where she is studying for her PhD in Indigenous Studies at the University of Victoria.
WANTED: A Deserving Student to receive US$30,000 Global Grant Scholarship
ROTARY DISTRICT 6330 GLOBAL GRANT SCHOLARSHIP
The primary consideration of the Global Grant Scholarship Grant is to forge a link between Rotary and future skilled professionals within one of six areas of focus.The successful candidate will receive a Global Grant Scholarship, valued at $30 000 USD to fund one year graduate-level study at a university outside of Canada or the United States in 2016-17, leading to a career in one of Rotary’s six areas of focus.
Deadlines to receive 2016-17 Global Grant Scholarship applications: Local Rotary Club: November 15, 2015; District Chair: November 30, 2015
Good Community Turnout to Hear Mayor Matt Brown Speak
We had 46 members and guests attend our special community breakfast meeting to hear Mayor Matt Brown speak about the exciting changes coming to London, including the new rapid transit plan and a renewed focus on making London a culturally dynamic place to live. He spoke about the importance of the local service groups such as Rotary helping make our communities a more caring and friendly place for everyone.
Mayor Brown spoke for about 15 minutes and then opened up the floor for questions. There were several excellent questions from a well-informed and engaged audience. The Mayor answered these questions while occasionally admitting he didn't have an immediate answer and requesting the questioner follow up with his office.
Our club's focus for this meeting was to raise awareness about Polio and how close we are to this disease's eradication with only 2 countries left in the world reporting endemic Wild Polio virus. In 1985 there were still 126 countries reporting Polio outbreaks. All guests received an "End Polio Now" pin to raise awareness of this disease, eradicated so long ago in Canada. There was also information about Polio on each table. All proceeds raised from this breakfast will be donated to the Rotary Global Polio Eradication fund.
West Haven Golf & Country club again did a wonderful job hosting the event with the main room decked out in Fall colours and providing a wonderful breakfast. Beyond the shadow of doubt for this webmaster our club has the best venue for any service organization in London. Please click on the "Read more" button to see more pictures from this community event.
Club Member David Knoppert Leaves for Dominican Republic on October29th
The Rotary club of London Hyde Park is proud to support the Rotary club of Festival City, Stratford’s Medical Mission to the Dominican Republic with a donation of CAD$500 for children’s vitamins and with fellow club member David Knoppert volunteering for the mission as their pharmacist. The team of 24 leaves for Sousa on October 29, 2015 returning November 15th. You can follow the team's exploits by clicking on the link located at the top left of our home page, which will take you to their blog.
Unfortunately, the person who usually opens up West Haven Thursday morning had to go to the hospital late Wednesday night and wasn't available Thursday morning. Rather than wait outside or cancel the meeting, President Lillian decided we would move the meeting to Tim Horton's, which we did.
The good news is the person at West Haven is doing well and will be back to open up for us next week - which is important as we are holding our Community Mayor's Breakfast next Thursday.
With over 1.2 million members, Rotary Clubs worldwide have dedicated themselves to ending polio. To date, through to advocacy and fundraising efforts, Rotary has contributed more than $1.3 billion in support of polio immunization activities.
Each year the Rotary club of London Hyde Park awards a Citizenship Award to a student at Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School who demonstrates an excellence in scholarship and community service that is helping make our community a better place to live. The recipient of this award is selected by the high school in accordance with the club's selection criteria. The award includes a plaque and cheque for $500.
This year's worthy recipient is: Rayan El-Kotob
Sue Storie, Vocational Committee Chair, received the following email from Rayan's mother:
I would like to thank you and all the members of the Hyde Park RC for the plaque and cheque. My husband just picked them up from the school. Rayan, my daughter, is now in Vancouver, at UBC, in the engineering program.
Kim Tuck, the Co-owner of The Canada Curling Stone Co. located in "downtown Lobo" spoke to us on October 1, 2015 about how curling is her and her husband's passion and running a successful business that is only 1 of 2 companies world wide that makes curling stones is an extension of this passion.
President Lillian sitting at the head table with our Speaker, Kim Tuck.
A newspaper article dedicated to the Canada Curling Company can be found on the next page....
Partnership for Community Development Program Commences October 1, 2015
See home page download files for program overview
The Rotary Foundation (Canada) (“TRFC”), on behalf of Canadian Rotarians and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (“DFATD”), on behalf of the Government of Canada (“GOC”), have entered into a five year agreement to jointly financially support Rotarian humanitarian actions. This new Partnership Agreement will extend nearly three decades of GOC support for Canadian Rotarians' efforts to "Do Good in the World".
The Partnership Agreement will run for the GOC financial year 2015-16 to and including 2019-2020. DFATD will provide an annual grant of $1.2 million (CDN) towards this partnership. This Canadian initiative will be fully integrated into Rotary’s global grant program, but with some additional measures to meet GOC requirements. TRFC and The Rotary Foundation (“TRF”) will collaborate in the administration of this program. Participation in this program is voluntary.
Adventures in Citizenship Award Recipient Lila Kloppenburg
Each year, our club selects a high school student to attend the "Adventures in Citizenship" program in Ottawa sponsored by the Rotary club of Ottawa. This year Lila Kloppenburg, pictured above with club Treasurer Neil Holt, was the successful candidate. She is currently in Grade 12 at Banting Secondary School and is planning to attend university next year to attain a nursing degree. She spoke very highly of the Adventures in Citizenship program and was very appreciative of the opportunity our club provided.
Deborah Brady, pictured above alongside President Lillian Reid, is the President and General Manager of the Western Ontario Better Business Bureau. Deborah spoke to us this Thursday on what the Better Business Bureau (BBB) does as "the ethical link between businesses and consumers".
We commemorate the DG's Official Visit with Four Special Presentations
What an exciting meeting!! Last Thursday our newly minted District Governor, Nancy Ottewell, made her official visit to our club. To commemorate this unique opportunity to meet and greet our DG we had 4 special presentations.
1. Rob Lawton was presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship from our club to honour him for his years of support for our club;
2. Past Secretary Alison Buchanan was awarded a club Service Above Self award;
3. Current Secretary, Kevin Webb, was awarded a club Service Above Self award; and,
4. The club presented a certificate of thanks to Gilles Blais of Farm Boy for their very generous donation of food to our June community barbecue
President Lillian; DG Nancy Ottewell; AG Sue Storie
DG Nancy presents to the club membership and guests
DG Nancy proudly holds the Certificate of Thanks indicating our donation of $100 to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) in her name
September 1, 2015: And now we are into one month of our Rotary New Year and plans are being or have been made for an exciting year filled with fundraisers, family activities, joint activities and Community projects. These are busy times indeed as we prepare to continue the good work of Rotary.
September signals a change of season as Autumn arrives. We find the daylight hours are getting somewhat shorter and the evenings feeling cooler. September means back to school routines start as students head back to classes.
The weather was a little cool and there was some rain in the air but this didn't dampen the spirits or dedication of the 84 golfers who signed up to play the Thames Valley Golf Course on Thursday, August 27, 2015. The "18 holers" began playing at 12:30pm using a shotgun start while the "9 holers" began at 2:15pm. All golfers were finished by 4:30 pm and this was followed by a chicken and rib dinner and silent auction.
Club Social Potluck - Great Food; Great Company; Great Time
Twenty members, spouses, friends + 1 teenage daughter attended the Club Social Potluck event at member Reinhold Scherer's home Saturday afternoon/evening on August 22, 2015. A wonderful time was had by all.
Myung Joon and Kevin took photographs and they are uploaded to this website's photo album at:
At Rotary's annual convention in Sao Paulo, Bill Gates salutes the humanitarian organization for its unwavering commitment to ending this deadly disease. As of August 5, 2015 there are 43 reported cases of Polio in 2015 as compared with 165 to this date in 2014.
Puppetry, a child's first exposure to live theatre. Live theatre, a person's exposure to the rest of humanity
Phil Arnold, actor, director, producer and puppeteer was our speaker on Thursday July 30, 2015. He spoke about the lack of live theatre for children in London. There are youth focused theatre groups in London but their emphasis is on teaching youth how to perform but not necessarily be the audience. There are over 14,000 children between the ages of 4 and 14 in London who are not being exposed to age appropriate live theatre. They deserve an alternative to television and video games .
David Knoppert presents our speaker, Phil Arnold, with a certificate of thanks donating $25 in his name to The Rotary Foundation
Phil stated that a live theatre experience encourages reading and better literacy levels. An article, written by Danielle Wood, entitled "Why Children's Theatre Matters" explains the importance of Children's theatre and is excerpted below.
Phil has created his own theatre company called "Rabbit Moon Theatre for Young Audiences" (www.rabbitmoontheatre.ca) and is considering the following initiatives to promote youth theatre in London:
Juried play writing competition;
Semi-permanent outdoor performance space in a London park;
London Puppet Festival (town of Almonte, near Ottawa, has a successful festival called "Puppetsup - www.puppetsup.ca);
Sponsored community building events using puppetry (e.g."driveway puppet shows").
London Hyde Park Donates $250 to Women in Rotary's Empowerment Project
Michele Parkin, pictured above with Club Secretary Kevin Webb, display the Certificate of thanks presented to Michele as our speaker. Our club also presented Michele with a cheque for $250 towards the Women in Rotary's Empowerment Project. Michele's Powerpoint presentation is posted in the download section of the home page.
Rafael Barak, Israel's Ambassador to Canada, Our Speaker on July 2nd
Ed Holder, MP London West; His Excellency Rafael Barak; and, Lillian Reid, President of R/C of London Hyde Park
His Excellency Rafael Barak, Israel's Ambassador to Canada spoke to Rotarians from both our London Hyde Park club and the Rotary club of London along with guests, including Ed Holder, MP for London West and Bev Shipley, MP for Lambton, Kent Middlesex and members of the local Jewish community. He addressed the political challenges facing Israel, especially as it is currently surrounded by chaos and change in the Arab world. He emphasized how the special friendship enjoyed between our two countries has led to collaboration in the fields of science and technology and health care. He finished by stating that Rotary is strong in Israel with over 60 clubs, many of whom are helping countries in the developing world with technical innovation in health care and water conservation.
Community "School's Out for Summer" Barbecue Another Club Success
The second annual community barbecue was held on Thursday June 25, 2015 at the Rotary Playground located in Nor'West Optimist Park, next to Emily Carr Elementary School on Hawthorne Ave. The weather was perfect with sun and a gentle breeze for the 15+ volunteers and over 400 members of the community who joined us for free hotdogs, hamburgers and sausages generously donated by the new Farm Boy store located on Beaverbrook Ave.
Dave & Rachelle (NWLRC) hand out the hamburgers, hotdogs and sausages to the community
Steve, Lillian, Josh Morgan (Ward 7 City Councilor), Neil, Myung Joon, & Dave spell out Rotary
Rotary Around the World Wine Tasting/Food Pairing Event A tremendous success
Last Saturday evening, June 20th, the club's first annual wine tasting/food pairing event held at West Haven Golf and Country club was a huge success. Malcolm Cocks, pictured above, gave a wonderful presentation on the 6 different wines we tasted during the evening. The wines were paired with appetizers created by the West Haven chef to specifically complement the wine. It was quite amazing how much the flavour of a wine can change when it is paired with a complementary food.
Rotary Around The World - Wine Tasting and Food Pairing
The Rotary club of London Hyde Park is hosting a wine tasting/food pairing event that will scintillate all your senses. For your listening pleasure we have London's own Doug Varty to entertain you.
THIS IS AN EVENT YOU SIMPLY WON'T WANT TO MISS
For those of you asking, Who is Doug Varty?.........
Doug Varty is an accomplished Canadian musician, songwriter, and yoga instructor. He has seen much success with his own original music as the front man of The Doug Varty Band.
For Doug, it’s always been music. His dad played the piano, and he claims that he responded to it in the womb. Before he was born, his mother had a reading from a fortune teller, who said that her son’s whole life would be music. As quoted from Doug, “She couldn’t have been more right.” Doug had his own turntable and records as a baby, and started playing “music” as soon as he could whack the living room piano.
In lieu of our regular Thursday morning meeting our members attended a potluck dinner hosted by John McDonald (pictured above) at his condo complex. The event was well attended and everyone had a wonderful evening with excellent food and fellowship.
Elizabeth Mckinnon talks about the May 9th Aphasia Retreat Day at Woodeden Camp
Aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write. Aphasia is always due to injury to the brain-most commonly from a stroke, particularly in older individuals. But brain injuries resulting in aphasia may also arise from head trauma, from brain tumors, or from infections.
Aphasia can be so severe as to make communication with the patient almost impossible, or it can be very mild. It may affect mainly a single aspect of language use, such as the ability to retrieve the names of objects, or the ability to put words together into sentences, or the ability to read. More commonly, however, multiple aspects of communication are impaired, while some channels remain accessible for a limited exchange of information. It is the job of the professional to determine the amount of function available in each of the channels for the comprehension of language, and to assess the possibility that treatment might enhance the use of the channels that are available.
Fugitive Slave Chapel at its new home next to Beth Emanuel Church on Grey Street.
George McNeish, immediate past Chair of the Fugitive Slave Chapel Preservation Project gave a very informative presentation on the history of the fugitive slave chapel, its connection to the Beth Emmanual Church and its value to the London community and the global community.
John McDonald presents our speaker, George McNeish, with the certificate donating $25 to The Rotary Foundation in his name
Avneesh Jain, a young dentist from Whitehills Dental Centre (http://whitehillsdentalcentre.com/), located in Sherwood Forest Mall, gave a light-hearted yet informative presentation on caring for our teeth as we get older. Avneesh's presentation can be found in the file download section on the home page.
President Hendrikus "pins" David Knoppert, with the Rotary pin designating him the newest member of the Rotary club of London Hyde Park. President Elect Lillian, who is David's sponsor, reads the induction.
Mayor Matt Brown and Ward 7 Councilor Josh Morgan pose with the Board of the Northwest London Resource Centre during the grand opening of their new location at Sherwood Forest Mall on March 28th. The NWLRC was located across from the Sherwood Forest branch of the public library and desperately needed a larger facility to accommodate its expanding community programming. Kevin attended the grand opening on behalf of the club and there were two Fanshawe Rotaractors present who were volunteering for this event. Some of the programs provided by this community organization include:
Posted by Whitney South (London Community News) on Mar 23, 2015
Rotary Club of London celebrates 100 years of service
Helping hands
Whitney South
John Eberhard, a member of the Rotary Club of London for 44 years, presents Fashawe Pioneer Village curator Shanna Dunlop with the club's banner to add to the exhibit, The Rotary Club of London: Celebrating 100 Years of Service.
The year was 1915; Babe Ruth made his pitching debut with the Boston Red Sox, thousands of North Americans were battling overseas in the first World War and the Ford Company drove its one-millionth Model T automobile off the line.
That same year, 16 local businessmen founded the Rotary Club of London, which is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary in the Forest City.
Affectionately known as the “downtown” club, Rotary London averages about 100 members, making them the largest Rotary Club in the Greater London Area.
Through their work, the London club has maintained its motto, "service before self,” assisting local organizations including Hutton House, Missions Services of London and St. Joseph’s Hospice, just to name a few.
President Elect Lillian models the "Light Up Rotary" hockey sweater as she stands beside our club's banner at the Rotary club of London's historical display at Fanshawe Pioneer Village that was officially opened on Saturday March 21, 2015 by the President of Rotary International, Gary Huang, to kickoff Rotary Family Day.
There were several members of our club present, some of whom helped with the parking, including: Lillian; Barb; Myung-Joon; David Knoppert; Fran; Reinhold; and, Kevin. The weather was very cool with light snow flurries; so, the parking attendants were very appreciative of the hot breakfast and coffee.
On Friday night the London Knights Junior A hockey team honoured Rotary. Rotarians purchased special tickets that included a "Light Up Rotary" hockey sweater and had the opportunity to be part of the on ice tribute.
If you are interested in owning a "Light Up Rotary" hockey sweater contact David Elliott, President of the R/C of London at: david@sutherlandelliott.ca with size and quantity. The price is $35 including all taxes. The order will be submitted on April 4, 2015. So, don't delay.
As an aside, the London Knights defeated the Saginaw Spirit 8-6 in their final game of the regular season.
Neil Holt thanks our speaker, Jannalee Anderson, for her presentation on a significant water project in Honduras bringing fresh water to 2,200 residents of two remote villages. Jannalee gave us a wonderful presentation on the importance of implementing sustainable projects that become self-sustaining rather than generating co-dependency and entitlement that robs the beneficiaries of their self-worth, initiative and independence. Jannalee's presentation is available for viewing from the file download section of our home page. For more information on this project visit the CRCID website at:http://www.crcid.org/
The Rotary club of London Hyde Park (D6330) supported the RC of Monrovia (Liberia) with a campaign raising and contributing CAD $1,250 towards their Ebola Response Initiative (see previous stories). The following story, posted on the Rotary International website on March 9, 2015, provides an update on the Monrovia clubs ongoing efforts against this dreadful disease. (website administrator)
After the first cases of Ebola reached Liberia's capital, Monrovia, last June, local Rotary members feared that the city's limited health care system wouldn't be able to contain the highly infectious, often-deadly disease.
Those fears were realized when infections quickly multiplied, underscoring the speed with which Ebola can spread in an urban center. It was the first time the hemorrhagic fever had threatened a major city since it erupted in West Africa last March.
Now, after months of crisis-level response, and with the number of new cases declining, club members are looking to the long term, planning three projects that will have a sustained impact in the Ebola fight in their community.
"We were at the mercy of Ebola," recalls David Frankfort, a member of the Rotary Club of Monrovia and chair of its Ebola committee. "We didn't have enough trained health personnel or proper medical equipment to handle the onset of the epidemic here."
Terryanne Daniels (centre), our speaker this past Thursday (March 5th) separates us into our dominant personality traits. (image by Michael Wibbing)
Terryanne stated we have 4 behavioral tendencies to help us characterize people:
Outgoing
Reserved
Task-oriented
People-oriented
Everyone has some of all 4 of these tendencies at different times and in different situations. However, most people typically have 1 or 2 of these tendencies that seem to fit them well in their everyday behavior. And, on the other hand, 1 or 2 of these tendencies usually do not fit them well, and these tendencies may even seem “foreign” to their approach to life. The balance of these 4 tendencies shapes the way each person “sees” life and those around them. The following diagram shows these 4 basic quadrants as a circle:
President Hendrikus; Speaker Vinay Sharma (E/D of London Hydro); and, Club Chair Reinhold Scherer
Vinay Sharma gave an entertaining and informative presentation on London Hydro including how the North American electrical grid is inter-connected and inter-dependent. In 2003 the system was more "linear" whereby a problem at some point in the distribution network could trigger a much bigger problem. This was one of the reasons why the August 2003 blackout occurred. A field team in Ohio reported a problem that wasn't registering on the computerized display and was therefore ignored leading to catastrophic failure of the system affecting most of Northwest United States and Ontario. A similar situation is unlikely to reoccur because the distribution network is more holistic and field reports are not ignored.
London Hydro is "owned" by the residents of London and since its inception in 2000 has cumulatively paid $106,109,000 to the City.
Vinay Sharma's presentation can be downloaded from the file download section of the homepage.
Rotary In-Sight Trip to Honduras, sponsored by Opportunity International Canada
Sunday, April 19th to Saturday, April 25th, 2015
"Poverty is not a character flaw; it is a business challenge"
Opportunity International Canada is providing Rotarians with the unique opportunity to join them and experience their microfinance methodology, visit the rural villages receiving fresh water as a result of Rotary funding, and meet local Rotarians in Tegucigalpa. Visit local entrepreneurs who upon receiving microloans have developed successful businesses providing them with the opportunity to send their children to school, hire their neighbours, and provide a solid foundation of hope for their future.
For more information see the flyer on the next page.
Are you excited and want to take advantage of this unique opportunity? Download the registration sheet from the file download section located on the left side of the home page.
Celebrating 100 years of service in the London area
March 21, 2015 @ Fanshawe Pioneer Village
Your Passport to Rotary of Yesteryear and fun!
You are Invited
to enjoy a free pancake brunch supplied by Rotarians, stroll through the historic Village or take a horse-drawn wagon ride, and explore 100 years of service history as we celebrate the Rotary Club of London’s 100th Anniversary! This is a Family event of great interest to children and Fun for All. This awe-inspiring take-you-back-in-time experience for the whole family will continue throughout the year to enjoy – but join us and be one of the first to see it on this great celebratory weekend. To Register go to:
Meet RI President Gary Huang Who will officially open the Rotary Club of London’s "Service above Self " Display Depicting Rotary’s 100 year history in the London area Located in the Spriet Family Centre’s Trillium Community Gallery at 11:30am . Attendance is limited so make your online reservation now:
Learn about the exciting new joint Rotary/Fanshawe Pioneer Village Storefronts Capital Project that will include a historic Rotary Office. Signage and interpretator will be available to explain the historical significance of this initiative. Attendance is limited so make your online reservation now:
Come out in support of the Hyde Park Community Night fundraiser at Montana's Smokehouse, 1345 Fanshawe Park Rd. W., Thursday February 26, 2015 from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. 5% of all dinner and drink receipts will be donated back to the Hyde Park Business Association and its community projects, including support for the Northwest London Resource Centre.
Rotary club of London Hyde Park Annual Family Day Social Event
Our annual family day social event at Palasad South on Monday February 16th. was another success. Some members were forced to send their regrets because the extreme cold weather adversely affected their car's ability to start and were stranded (hopefully) at home. However, those who were able to make it enjoyed excellent pizza; bowling for fun; pool; and, wonderful fellowship. Enjoy the photographs taken by Myung Joon on the next page....
A recent visit to Squamish B.C. revealed to me, just how beautifully small our world really is. In a visit to a family friend, we realized that her father, Allan Hardy (former district governor of Southwestern Ontario) and I had probably crossed paths in our lives. We shared a wonderful conversation on the phone, and from this conversation, I felt the urge to share my deep gratitude and life changing experiences to the larger Rotary community:
On August 4th 2007, I stepped off the plane and into what would be the rest of my life. In the year of 2007-2008 I participated in the Rotary Ambassadorial Sholarship Program in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais- Brazil. I remember the exhilaration I felt at the annual Grand Rapids conference as I slowly began to meet other inbound and outbound students, who had the same fears, cautions, but most importantly dreams about peace as I did.
I remember one by one, the inbound students were announced from the diverse countries, followed by a polite but welcoming applause. It wasn’t until they announced Brazil, and I witnessed the students stand up in a roar and whip their shirts around their heads that I realized there was adventure to come. You should have seen the look on my parents faces.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of our national flag, the Government of Canada is giving this proud Canadian symbol to 50 Canadians and organizations who have contributed significantly to the well-being of our citizens. The Rotary clubs of Canada will receive this honour in recognition of Canadian Rotarians’ dedication to “service above self” and their efforts to save mothers and children, provide clean water, support education and fight disease.
Katie Glaves is an alumnist of the Rotary Exchange program who's exchange took her to South Africa in 1989/90 only one year before the end of Apartheid in that country and 4 years before Nelson Mandela was elected President. Before traveling to South Africa Katie felt that Apartheid was wrong but the experience of being immersed in the culture she realized that this was a far more complex cultural issue than she, as a Canadian 17 year old student, initially understood. Katie came to understand that life is not "black and white" (pardon the pun) but multi-shades of grey. This understanding had led her to not judge others but to seek understanding, especially in her career as a Social Worker with the Children's Aid Society.
On Saturday, January 31, 2015, the Rotaracters and Rotarians joined together for the 13th. annual Day of Giving whereby teams of 3 or 4 will visit elderly, disabled, and individuals who need a few light chores done. Washing windows; cleaning kitchens and bathrooms; are just a few tasks that are easy for the young and healthy but challenging for those who are not. The appreciation we received from those we helped and the camaraderie of our team was a wonderful reward. Overall, the volunteers helped 60 clients around London, and made their day a little bit happier.
Image above: John; Kevin; Kevin; and John at our 3rd clients home.
The January 29th meeting introduced a new Club Assembly format by inviting the club members to sit at "committee tables" according to their interest and passion. Due to the number of committees, a series of 3 Committee Forums will be held over the next couple of months. The first one held on January 29th focused on our Community; International; and Vocational. The Golf committee was also included due to the Chair being unavailable for the following forum. The second forum will be held on February 19th and will focus on “Fundraising and Member Engagement”. The third and final forum on March 19th. will focus on “Strategic Planning”. The primary purpose for these forums is to determine the clubs activities for 2015/16 and develop a focus for the foreseeable future.
Our time on this earth is finite, and it’s always shorter than we think. How do we want to spend it? Will we give of ourselves to others, so that the world will be richer because we passed through it? Or will we spend our days, as the famous Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote, in stringing and unstringing our instruments, while the song we came to sing remains unsung?
Image: Left to Right: Kevin (Speaker Chair); Melissa Ferreira (Speaker); Hendrikus (President); Barb (Foundation Chair)
Melissa Ferreira, Diabetes Education with the Middlesex Hospital Alliance, spoke to us about the importance of a healthy lifestyle to prevent and if necessary manage diabetes. There are 4 inter-related factors to managing diabetes including:
- Physical activity;
- Weight loss;
- Food plan; and,
- Medications, including insulin.
For this presentation Melissa focused on a food plan and provided 5 tips to healthy eating:
1. Eat regularly throughout the day;
2. Limit sugars and sweets;
3. Limit high fat foods;
4. Eat more high fibre foods; and,
5. If you are thirsty, drink water.
Melissa's "Diabetes and Food Choices" powerpoint presentation can be downloaded from the download section of the homepage found on the left side of the home page.
Do you like fellowship? Do you like pizza? Do you like your family? Of course you do!!
Then you won't want to miss our annual Family Day event at the Palasad South between 6:00pm and 10:00pm on Monday, February 16, 2015 that is fun for the entire family. You can even challenge your family and friends to a friendly game of bowling!
ALL ARE WELCOME
The cost is only $5.00 per Club member and $10 for spouses and guests. For guests under the age of 14 the cost is $6. This is a great deal as this includes virtually "endless" pizza and the bowling.
Each year, Hyde Park Rotary members deliver dictionaries to Grade Three students in London and area. The 2014-2015 delivery begins January 12 with the delivery of 82 dictionaries to Eagle Heights students. Students at the remaining 13 schools will receive their dictionaries over the next few weeks.Contact Sue Storie if you wish to participate!
Mayor-elect Matt Brown displaying certificate received from the club for speaking on November 6, 2014. He is flanked by President Hendrikus Bervoets on his right and Treasurer John McDonald on his left.
There was an excellent turnout last Thursday as Mayor-elect Matt Brown spoke to the club and members of the Hyde Park community in only his second public address since being elected on October 27th. He spoke for 10 minutes about his passion for community service instilled by his grandfather who said "If you want to make a difference, you have to show up!" He compared this to Rotary's motto of "Service above Self" as we show up to make a difference. Matt congratulated the club for the successful playground equipment project and how the children in the community were saddened by the loss of the old equipment only to be excited about their new playground. The presentation was then followed by several questions from the audience before he had to leave to take his son to the dentist. Family commitments are still an important part of the life of a Mayor.
The Rotary club of London Hyde Park is supporting the Rotary club of Monrovia, Liberia Ebola Response project by launching a $10,000 fundraising initiative.
Image: The Rotary Club of Monrovia donatedUS$800 to Liberian Nursing Association to support their Ebola awareness efforts.
At its October Board Meeting the club's Board of Directors unanimously approved the donation of $500 towards the Ebola Response Project initiated by the Rotary club of Monrovia, Liberia. For more information on this project please see the related story below.
Club Donates $500 to Liberian Rotary Ebola Response Project
Description: The Rotary Club of Monrovia in Liberia is working directly with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to enhance locally needed support for Ebola patients, health workers and support personnel. While international assistance is mainly focused on materials and providing health workers, our club is soliciting funds to buy locally available items, carry out needed transport, tracking of potential cases, and supporting reintegration into the community. The needs are far beyond the capacity of our Government, and the tracking of potential victims is a vital factor in controlling this terrible virus. In the 7 days up to 30 July the number of people requiring tracking / monitoring has increased from 481 to 823. Funding will go towards local vehicle repairs, fuel, per diem, medicine, mattresses, buckets, etc.
Donations:
send funds via electronic bank (SWIFT) transfer to:
Citibank New York, NY 10043. Swift: CITIUS33
Account title: Liberia Bank for Development & Investment
USD Account number: 36910591
For further credit to: Rotary Club of Monrovia-Ebola Response
Account Number: 002USD21223402606
Why should we be supporting the Rotary Club of Monrovia?
They are a Rotary Club actually working at the sharp end, so there are virtually no administration costs. All the money collected is used to good advantage.
We are happy that they meet all the criteria of good practice.
They are a part of the community and trusted by the community.
When the current outbreak is contained, the NGO’s will move on. The Rotary Club of Monrovia will continue working, supporting the victims of the outbreak.
Because we are Rotarians - and follow the 4 way test
Our response / mobilization time is less
Our knowledge and wide professional coverage to effectively carry out any task locally
We can better assess who to work with / purchase from / where to make effective donations and fill gaps of the donors and assist locally based NGO
Rotary marks World Polio Day 2014 with US$44.7 million in grants to fight polio in Africa, Asia and the Middle East
Humanitarian group’s October 24 livestream event from Chicago features top global health experts, polio-survivor Minda Dentler, pop star Tessanne Chin, reggae’s Ziggy Marley and more
EVANSTON, Ill. (Oct. 21, 2014) — With the world “This Close”—99%—to eliminating polio from the planet, the effort is receiving an additional US$ 44.7 million boost from Rotary to support immunization activities, surveillance, and research spearheaded by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which aims to end the disabling viral disease worldwide by 2018.
Polio is set to become the second human disease ever to be eliminated from the world (smallpox is the first). To date, Rotary has helped 193 countries stop the transmission of polio through the mass immunization of children. Rotary’s new funding commitment, announced in advance of the Oct. 24 observance of World Polio Day 2014, targets countries where children remain at risk of contracting this incurable, but totally vaccine-preventable, disease.
A total of 90 members of the community braved a dark and foggy morning to attend the Rotary club of London Hyde Park's "Meet the Mayoral Candidates" event at West Haven Golf and Country club this Thursday morning. They were treated to 10 of the candidates speaking about their platform and vision for London. The candidates pictured above and from right to left are:
Rotary continues to follow the developments surrounding the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and advice of the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, our partners in international public health.
Strengthening the health infrastructure and supporting and sustaining the deployment of government health workers throughout these outbreak areas are greatly needed. Although Rotary has limited opportunities to respond at a corporate level, our strength as an organization is firmly rooted in the grassroots response of Rotary clubs and Rotarians.
Clubs around the world are creating or joining coalitions that are raising funds as well as purchasing and shipping safety equipment and supplies. If you want to let others know about your club project, you can post it on Rotary Ideas, Rotary’s crowdsourcing tool. Club officers can request partners, online contributions, volunteers, and in-kind donations for their projects. While only Rotary projects can request resources, anyone – including the public – can visit the site and donate.
The Rotary Foundation continues to support long-term sustainable health care projects through global grants. Find out more.
Rotary News
An example of a Rotary project can be found on the next page.
It still isn't too late to register for our golf tournament. The registration form is in the download section on the homepage of this website. To register is easy:
Proceeds from this event help support Wellspring London, supporting cancer patients and their families, and our club community and international projects.
You won't want to miss this exciting event.
To see the wonderful images from our 2013 charity tournament go to:
Rotary International membership join today! Rotary Cares! Rotary International changes lives. Rotary International clubs help communities and the world. Rotary International clubs make a difference with families. Rotary International is looking for new, caring community members who want to make a difference in their community and in the world. If you know of any potential new Rotary members, please show them this 1 minute video. Rotary Cares!
I am deeply honoured to serve as your District Governor for 2014-2015 and have the privilege to follow the outstanding Rotarians who have served as our past District Governors. Their continued support in the upcoming year is appreciated. The two years I have spent in preparation for my year as District Governor have been the highlight of my 34 years in Rotary, as over this time I have had the opportunity to meet many Rotarians from all corners of the world.
The 2014-15 Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International in 2016-17, having functioned in accordance with the bylaws of Rotary International, has indicated that it unanimously nominated:
JOHN F. GERM
of the Rotary Club of
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, USA
for the office of President of Rotary International for the year 2016-17. Please note this nomination is subject to a challenge period until November 15, 2014.
The Rotary Global Grant Scholar Program is designed to award college graduate-level students US$30,000 to study abroad. The hope is to provide an enriching experience of study and humanitarian service, encouraging students to adopt Rotary's motto of "Service Above Self" as a lifestyle.
ROTARIANS IN DISTRICT 6330 – WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW!
We have $30,000 available as a Global Scholarship Grant to a deserving student who lives in District 6330 or goes to school here. Do you know any students who may be interested? The recipient of this grant cannot be a Rotarian, Honorary Rotarian or be closely related to a Rotarian. Rotaractors and former youth exchange students are eligible and are encouraged to apply along with any other interested students from your communities.
Why is it that superior technology doesn’t always win out? Why do some enterprises fare better than others? Why do some charities become better funded and better known than others? Is there a common trait? Yes, I think there is.
Do you remember when video tapes were first introduced? Sony was the first to bring the technology to market and they called it “Beta” video. VHS video came shortly after. Beta was certainly the better technology at the time. Why did VHS win with an inferior product? Now, of course, both are obsolete.
Ever wonder why the Rotary year begins 1 July? The international convention initially played a key role in determining the start date of our fiscal and administrative year.
The Playground Celebration on Thursday June 26th. was a huge success in large part due to the support of Christine Wootton and Julie Michaud of the City of London. They ensured we had tents, a sound system, picnic tables, and most importantly the barbecue. The city also provided the cup cakes. The playground area was very festive. While it threatened rain the clouds passed over and dumped rain downtown while we were left with beautiful sunshine for the entire event. Steve and Doug ably assisted by Barb and AG Diane (pictured above) barbecued and handed out 216 hotdogs in about 30 minutes. It was impressive to behold!
What was most enjoyable was the number of kids having a wonderful time playing on their new playground equipment. This made it all worthwhile.
President Hendrikus and his wife Katie hosted our year end social event with a barbecue in their beautiful backyard. The members and their spouses were treated to fine food and beverages (including beer from Holland). From left to right in the picture above: Morrie Baylor, Barb Robins, Katie Bervoets, Young Min Kim; Hyo Woon Park; Jerry Austin; John McDonald; Kevin Webb. For more pictures from this fun event visit our photo albums at http://www.hydeparkrotary.org/PhotoAlbums/club-social-barbecue
Our Victorian Spring Tea Fundraising event was a tremendous success. Some of the many positive comments from our guests included:
The food was delicious & the staff were very friendly. Thank you! Everything was wonderful. I had a great [time]!;
I had a wonderful time & will attend next year.The staff were amazing.The meal was wonderful and I had a fantastic time.
Loved it! I will recommend this event.
Barb Robins wrote:
Today’s ‘Victorian Tea’ was a fabulous event. John, your brother did a fantastic job on the food. Loved the talk about Victorian undergarments. Thank goodness I did not live then. The fashion show presented by ‘La Jolie Juppe’ was much better than the IODE show in April. More wearable clothes… ‘Befriend’ should have more folks checking out their clothes.
Thank you to all the team members for all the hours I know you spent on ensuring that our tea would be a success. Bravo!
Barb
What a wonderful day! The weather was perfect, the food was delicious (and plentiful), the models and clothes divine, the flute music by Margaret Trethewy was enchanting, our master of ceremony, Jim Swan, was lively and entertaining, the presentation on Victorian Secrets was interesting and informative, the models modeling the clothes from La Joli Jupe and Befriend were beautiful, and our volunteers were quite simply terrific.
Our speaker on Thursday May 22nd was Christine Wootton from the City of London's Neighbourhood, Children and Fire Services speaking on the club's community project, which is contributing funds for the purchase and installation of new playground equipment in the park next to Emily Carr Elementary School. The equipment selected for this park is shown in the image above. The powerpoint presentation can be found to the left in the download section of the homepage.
Our speaker for our May 8th meeting was Bob Kline, Executive Director for HORCO (Hope fOr Rural Children and Orphans), who spoke about the volunteer organization's efforts to help fund water and sanitation projects implemented by a local NGO in rural Ethiopia. His presentation is available in the download section of the home page.
In 2011, it was estimated that over 50% of rural Ethiopians still lacked access to water, sanitation and hygiene. To put that in perspective, the number of un-serviced rural Ethiopians is greater than the total population of Canada
Hope for Rural Children and Orphans (HORCO) is a volunteer-based charity registered with the Canada Revenue Agency to carry-out water, sanitation, education and HIV/AIDS awareness projects in developing nations. We have been working in Ethiopia since becoming a charity in 2008.
It's Mission is to ensure sustainable improvement in the quality of life of marginalized people, particularly among women and children in rural Ethiopia.
HORCO provides financial resources for Board approved projects, which are implemented by a registered all-Ethiopian NGO. These projects are done in partnership with rural communities who have requested HORCO assistance, following need - and asset-based, participatory activities with the NGO and district government officials, and who are committed to resource-sharing to accomplish and sustain the work.
Simply put: HORCO helps Ethiopians meet their own needs.
Rotary supports WHO’s recommendations on recent polio transmission
Rotary supports the World Health Organization director-general's statement (see below) that polio is a public health emergency of international concern. Additionally, Rotary echoes WHO's recommendations for residents and long-term visitors in Pakistan, Cameroon, and Syria and in polio-endemic countries to receive immunizations against the disease before they travel.
This action is a positive step needed to safeguard the remarkable progress the world has made toward ending polio.
With our partners, as well as health ministries, governments, and others, Rotary remains committed to a polio-free world.
On Thursday we had an inspiring presentation from a mother and son, Marnie and Sam Kloppenburg, who travelled to an orphanage in Peru on a sweat equity mission earlier this year. This is their story.....
Good morning. Today my mum, Marnie and I will be speaking about our experience in Peru where we spent eight days working on the construction of an orphanage. The organization we went with is Friends of the Orphans Canada a.k.a FOTOCAN, which is a partner of Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH which loosely translated, means our little brothers and sisters), the organization that operates the orphanage in Peru. We travelled to Peru with a group of 27 other Canadians, some of whom have been to this NPH orphanage several times. The participants ranged in age from 14 all the way to 70 years old, Interestingly, a large portion of the group were from two other united churches, Lakeshore in Goderich and Georgian Shores in Owen Sound. Our friend, Andy Ross who is a member of Lakeshore and on the FOTOCAN board and has been involved with the organization for several years says he thinks of the work as humanitarian rather than religious.
Our family found out the hard way this weekend about the danger of lilies to cats. Our 18 month old cat ate a couple of petals from our Easter Lily plant. He immediately began vomiting. We discovered that lilies are deadly to cats. Since this was a Saturday night, our only option was the Emergency Pet clinic on Adelaide St. Since we brought our cat into the clinic within a couple of hours of ingesting the petals the vet said the prognosis will probably be good. However, the cat needs to have extensive blood work done, be kept on intravenous and hospitalized for 48 hours! The cost? Between $1,300 and $1,800!
In spite of their beauty, Easter lilies are a real health threat to your cat. In fact, all parts of the delicate white flower that appears on so many Easter dinner tables is toxic to cats. Just one bite of a petal, leaves, the stem, or even the pollen of an Easter lily can wreak havoc on your kitty's digestive system and, if left untreated, can lead to kidney failure and death. And while a common culprit, Easter lilies are not the only type of lily that affects cats; tiger lilies, rubrum lilies, and some species of day lily are also poisonous to our feline friends.
The Rotary Foundation Trustees have approved a new model for funding the Foundation's operating costs. Effective 1 July 2015, the Foundation will direct 5 percent of Annual Fund donations to help pay administrative and fund development expenses and to build a strong operating reserve. The Foundation will also draw on other funding sources, including 5 percent of cash contributions for global grants and up to 10 percent of select corporate gifts. Our current method of using investment earnings to fund these costs is no longer financially sustainable in today's unpredictable markets....
Dan Davidson, President of the Ontario Beekeepers' Association spoke to our members on April 24, 2014 regarding the threat of the Neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bees. In recent years he has seen a 25-30% decline in his bee colonies over the winter compared to 5 - 7% before Neonicotinoid pesticides were used on crops around his farm. Dan suspects that contaminated pollen may be the culprit from pollen collected the previous summer and stored in the hive. Also, due to the pesticide leaching into surrounding ground water, the bees are ingesting the pesticide from standing pools of water. This problem is not only affecting Dan's beekeeping business but virtually all beekeeping operations globally.
The dramatic decline in the bee population globally has disastrous consequences for our biodiversity and agriculture. Without honey bees 80% of the plants will disappear. Without specific plant species, butterflies will become extinct and our fruits and vegetables will diminish. A disaster for nature but also for humanity. The consequence of a dying bee population impacts man at the highest levels on our food chain, posing an enormously grave threat to human survival. Since no other single animal species plays a more significant role in producing the fruits and vegetables that we humans commonly take for granted yet require near daily to stay alive, the greatest modern scientist Albert Einstein once prophetically remarked, “Mankind will not survive the honeybees’ disappearance for more than five years.”
Joan Kanigan (left), Executive Director, and Patrice Katsiroumbas (right) of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology were our speakers on April 10th. presenting on the exciting things happening at the museum. The presentation they were unable to show due to technical issues can be found at: https://prezi.com/rdns9z4ecazy/
Joan invited us to come and visit the museum a visit as it is located in Northwest London, at 1600 Attawandaron Road just east of Wonderland Road, south of Fanshawe Park Road.
Our club meeting for Thursday March 27th was moved from the morning to the evening and from West Haven to Van Horik's Greenhouses to host a community social event. While the weather outside was cool and raining, inside was warm and bright as members of the Hyde Park Lions Club; North West Optimist Club and Hyde Park Business Association mingled with our members. Missy Haggarty brought samples of flavoured olive oil for us to taste and an assortment of sandwiches from Cranberri Country Market in Mt. Brydges. There were probably in excess of 50 community members in attendance in what was a very successful and enjoyable event. Many expressed interest in doing this again.
Our thanks go out to Steve and Rhoda for hosting this event and to Missy for providing the olive oil sampling and the sandwiches.
Imagine working or going to school in a building where all areas are spacious, filled with plenty of natural light, beautifully appointed and from which technology works seamlessly to support the learning environment. Such is the case for those working and learning at the new $114 million IVEY School of Business located at Western University, 1255 Western Road.
On the evening of March 20th members of our club along with several guests from other clubs in London were treated to a tour of the new Ivey School of Business building recently completed. Our tour guide, CFO John Irwin and his assistant Kristen showed us through this amazing building that has received a gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) award for environmental sustainability. The auditorium, pictured above holds 640 students and is where many well respected business leaders address the students.
Ed Eastaugh was our speaker this week and spoke about his experiences on an expedition to Banks Island to locate HMS Investigator, a British sailing ship outfitted in 1848 to sail through the northern waters in search of the Franklin Expedition, lost a few years previously. The ship sailed from the west after sailing southwest across the Atlantic and past Cape Horn before heading north in the Paciific. The ship became trapped by ice in Mercy Bay located in the north end of Banks Island, the third largest island in the north. The ships crew was rescued but only after three of the crew had died. The ship was partially crushed by ice and sank in about 4 metres of water and there she lay until 2010.
Doug Whitelaw, our speaker this past Thursday, sits with Barb at the head table. Doug is the Executive Director for Ark Aid Mission, located on Dundas Street just east of Adelaide St.
The work and ministry of the Ark Aid Street Mission Inc. is dedicated to helping anyone in their time of need, regardless of colour, race or creed. They provide holistic services for the WHOLE person, realizing they need to discover or re-discover for themselves VALUES for their life. Holistic Services: Physical, Mental, Emotional, Social, Spiritual.
What does it take to help a human life…. A sense of BELONGING, WORTH, COMPETENCE.
The Rotary Club of London-Hyde Park's meeting normally scheduled for 7:30 AM on Thursday, March 20th at West Haven Golf & Country Club will be canceled. The members and any guests will be attending a 7:00 PM off-site meeting at IVEY BUSINESS SCHOOL at Western University, 1255 Western Road. We will be taking a one-hour tour of the new business school followed by light hospitality. For those Rotarians who wish to join us, please contact Barb Robins at barbara.robins@mac.com.
Past District John van Laar is seated with club member Sue Storie. John and his wife Cora spoke passionately about the typhoon that recently devastated parts of the Philippines last year and showed pictures of the destruction. They spoke about the good work Rotary has done over the past several years to help the poor and destitute. The presentation ended with John and Cora's true passion - their back to school program that is taking children from the dump, like this young boy below and helping them get an education so their future can be so different and better than their present.
Don Barclay, a volunteer with Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW) spoke passionately of his recent trips to Africa and India to distribute bedkits. The image above shows what goes into a typical kit that costs $35. Since SCAW started in 1970, 1.7 million bedkits have been distributed equally to boys and girls ages 6 - 12. Over the years Rotary clubs have volunteered to source the items that comprise the bedkits (all articles are purchased locally) and assisted with the distribution. For more information and pictures Don's presentation is posted in the download section of the home page.
This past Monday we held our 3rd annual Family Day event at Palasad South. Again we enjoyed fellowship while eating excellent pizza, playing some pool, and bowling. The picture above shows Reinhold, the organizer of this wonderful social event, his wife Mary Ann, and Barb Robins.
Steve showing off his pool skills learned during his youth spent in local pool halls :-).
Donna Bayley and Kathryn Mitchell from Dance Steps Studios in London spoke today about the importance of dance and Donna's journey from a reluctant dancer at age 12 to appearing with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and starting her own dance studio, Dance Steps, in 1989. The excellent powerpoint used by Donna and Kathryn is posted in the download section of the homepage.
Many of us "baby boomers" probably remember the 1960s, a decade dominated by Vietnam, desegragation, hippies, the cold war, the space race, race riots, free love, etc...
However, it was also a period when Contemporary Folk Music became the music of the youth often expressing their anger towards authority, yet in my humble opinion, it was some of the most beautiful music ever written. When Pete Seeger died on January 27th of this year at the age of 94 the name sounded familiar. It wasn't until I read a story about him and saw the names of some his songs that I realized I knew his music. I listened to "Where Have all the Flowers Gone" and for the first time I understood its poignancy. Before I just loved the song but now I knew it had a much deeper meaning.
Judi Fisher, Executive Director for Cheshire Homes, last on the right, was the speaker for our January 23, 2014 meeting. She spoke about the mission of Cheshire, which is to "support individuals with physical disabilities and frail seniors to live independently in their communities through the provision of personal support services that:
- Are mutually respectful and value the contribution of all;
- Enable individual responsibility and self-determination;
- Promote inclusion and choice; and,
- Facilitate creative leadership and community development.
ABC Life Literacy Canada is encouraging Canadian families to have "15 Minutes of Fun" learning together. Learning can happen at any time. Practicing literacy together every day has tremendous benefits for both children and parents.
RI President Elect Gary Huang's theme is: Light Up Rotary,
Confucius once said: "It is better to light a single candle, than to sit and curse the darkness." Although the Chinese philosopher died nearly 2,400 years before Rotary was founded, RI President 2014/15 Gary C.K. Huang calls him "the world's first Rotarian." Inspired by his teachings, Huang chose Light Up Rotary as his theme for 2014-15.
Please contact Reinhold Scherer as soon as possible with the number of Members & Guests in your party who are planning to attend this annual event at reinhold@spectrumstudios.net
Hendrikus (left) and Lillian (Right) pose with Jim McDougall of BMO after he presented a cheque to the club in support of the successful Tea Party our club held last Spring, organized by Lillian Reid and Joanne Teske.
Past President Morrie presents our speaker, University of Western Rotaract Vice President Karishma Desai with a cheque for $150 to support the Rotaract Global Health Symposium, Sunday January 19th. The goal of the Symposium is to emphasize that health inequity is not restricted to the developing world and health promotion and advocacy initiatives can have huge benefits in our own London community.
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Some of you may be asking: Where does the money go? When did this campaign start? To find the answer to these questions and others, see the rest of the story...... 
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Doug Varty is an accomplished Canadian musician, songwriter, and yoga instructor. He has seen much success with his own original music as the front man of The Doug Varty Band..JPG)
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Each year, Hyde Park Rotary members deliver dictionaries to Grade Three students in London and area. The 2014-2015 delivery begins January 12 with the delivery of 82 dictionaries to Eagle Heights students. Students at the remaining 13 schools will receive their dictionaries over the next few weeks.Contact Sue Storie if you wish to participate!.jpg)
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On Thursday we had an inspiring presentation from a mother and son, Marnie and Sam Kloppenburg, who travelled to an orphanage in Peru on a sweat equity mission earlier this year. This is their story.....
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Imagine working or going to school in a building where all areas are spacious, filled with plenty of natural light, beautifully appointed and from which technology works seamlessly to support the learning environment. Such is the case for those working and learning at the new $114 million IVEY School of Business located at Western University, 1255 Western Road..JPG)
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This past Monday we held our 3rd annual Family Day event at Palasad South. Again we enjoyed fellowship while eating excellent pizza, playing some pool, and bowling. The picture above shows Reinhold, the organizer of this wonderful social event, his wife Mary Ann, and Barb Robins.
Judi Fisher, Executive Director for Cheshire Homes, last on the right, was the speaker for our January 23, 2014 meeting. She spoke about the mission of Cheshire, which is to "support individuals with physical disabilities and frail seniors to live independently in their communities through the provision of personal support services that:
