Posted by David Andrews on Jul 01, 2020

We are proud members of the Rotary Club of Oshawa- Parkwood  - Come Join Us

The members of the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood are very proud to be members of Rotary and also members of our Rotary Club, here in Oshawa.

And we want to welcome you to Rotary. We are neighbours, community leaders, and global citizens uniting for the common good. With you, we can accomplish even more. Rotary is a great opportunity to connect with leaders from all continents, cultures, and occupations.

The heart of Rotary is our clubs — dedicated people who share a passion for both community service and friendship. And we would like to encourage you to be a member of our Rotary Club.

Whether you're a starting your career or a seasoned veteran, there are many ways Rotary can help you develop your leadership skills and become a better leader, in your profession and in our Rotary Club .

Rotary allows all of us to exchange ideas and expand your network and our worldview. We get to share diverse perspectives because Rotary brings together great minds from nearly everywhere in the world.

Our challenge to you is to take action and help us create lasting change in Oshawa, in Durham Region, and in communities around the world. And as you will see, we're committed to taking on some of the world's most pressing challenges – eradicating polio from the entire world is just one of our many challenges. And right here, in Oshawa we can make significant changes as we volunteer on local projects.

Come celebrate in the fun and fellowship and give back to our Community – Oshawa and to our larger community all over the world.

Here are some things that just might help you get to know us a little better.

We received our Charter in October 1976 and currently have 37 active Members. We meet every Tuesday, at the Oshawa Golf and Curling Club , at 6:30 pm until 8:00 pm. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are meeting every Tuesday from 7 to 8 PM on Zoom. 

Did you know that our Rotary Club is just one of 10 Rotary Clubs, here in the Region of Durham and one of 54 in Southern Ontario, in our Rotary International District called “7070”. It stretches from Toronto , east to Belleville and from Toronto north to Alliston.

 

Locally:

Our Rotary Club assists dozens of local charities in Oshawa every year. Here are just a few of them :

  1. We host the annual Holiday party for the residents and staff of Participation House. The Participation House Project (Durham Region) is a non-profit organization developing and providing a range of services for youth and adults with physical and developmental disabilities throughout Durham Region.

  2. We provide funds to the Salvation Army at Christams time to assist them with their Christmas Food and Toy Hampers for families and individuals in need in the Oshawa area

  3. We help Simcoe Hall Settlement House, at Christmas time so that many families will have a Christams.

  4. We provide funds to Sharon's Kids in their efforts to support the Children's Aid Society's Holiday Hope Program.  This program provides a Christmas to some of the neediest families in our community.  Holiday hampers provide food for a holiday dinner, basic food provisions for the month, and gifts from Santa for every child.

  5. We assist Distress Centre Durham, the organization that helps people in distress to cope, by providing emotional support, crisis/suicide management and community education.

  6. We assist Windreach Farm, which strives to enrich the lives of persons of all ages with disabilities and/or special needs by providing opportunities to enjoy experiences in farming, nature, outdoor recreation & other activities and to share those experiences with family and friends.

  7. We support Feed The Need In Durham, the regional food distribution warehouse serving Durham Region. They provide food to emergency food providers such as food banks, soup kitchens, community service centres, shelters, drop-in centres, breakfast feeding programs, etc.

  8. We assist the Oshawa YMCA with programs and equipment for the youth of Oshawa.

  9. We have made generous donations to the Lakeridge Health Foundation, the R. S. Mclaughlin Durham Regional Cancer Centre and Parkwood Estate, Durham College, and the University of Ontario Instutite of Technology.

  10. We assist RADAR (Rotary Action for the Development of AIDS Responses). RADAR challenges and equips Rotarians to respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic both here in Oshawa, in Durham Region and around the world.

  11. We help the CNIB in the Durham Region with their numerous programs for their clients of any age affected with low or no vision.

  12. We also support the Grandview Childrens Centre, the only children's treatment centre in Durham Region providing specialized programs, outpatient clinical treatment, and support to thousands of children and youth with special needs and their families .

  13. We assist the Trillium Gift of Life Network, the not-for-profit agency of the Government of Ontario, that plans, promotes, coordinates and supports organ and tissue donation and transplantation across Ontario.

  14. We support the YWCA Durham. Serving women and their families in Durham region since 1945, they provide quality programs and service through their many programs, including the Ontario Early Years Centre , Family Programs Centre, 2nd Stage Housing, Supportive Housing Apartments, their WISH Shelter, for abused women and their children, and their APPLE community program - for longer-term counselling for women victims of violence.

  15. We assist and provide funds to Partners In Service, a group various service clubs in Durham Region, that look after individual requests for service and equipment to help make a difference to many handicapped citizens of Durham Region.

  16. We assist and provide funds to The Back Door Mission, right here in Oshawa.

  17. and there are many more.

 

We are also involved with the Youth of Oshawa :

  1. We sponsored the Rotoract Club of UOIT – Durham College. It is a Club, for young adults 18 to 35 that in all respects is true Rotary partner, doing community service projects here in Oshawa and throughout the world, based at UOIT / Durham College.

  2. We are looking forward to renewing our relationship with McLaughlin C.V.I. and their Interact Club. It is a Club, for teens of high school age that in all respects is also a true Rotary partner, doing community service projects here in Oshawa and throughout the world. And we donate a greant to a studeent each year at the annual MCVI commencement.

  3. Over the years , we have assisted Mary Street Public School with various forms of assistance in the inner city of Oshawa

  4. Each year, we partner with the area Rotary Clubs to sponsor:

      • a Rotoractor to the Rotary International Convention.

      • young adults to RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership awards) , in Belleville each May. RYLA is a program for young people that was officially adopted by Rotary International in 1971. It offers Rotarians a special opportunity to take part in developing qualities of leadership and good citizenship among the young people of their communities.

      • We strive to select one of Oshawa's youth to attend the annual Adventure in Citizenship in Ottawa, hosted by the Rotary Club of Ottawa. This annual event provides a unique opportunity for a selected group of young Canadians to come together and gain a better understanding of our country. Through meetings with political leaders, senior officials and others, they learn a great deal about the workings of our democratic institutions. Through meeting one another and having discussions among themselves, they learn to appreciate the diversity of Canada and the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship.

5. And we are very proud of our most visible service to our comminuty, the Kids Safety Village, located in Whitby, and co-founded by our Rotary Club and the Optimist Club of Ajax:

    • Each year for the last 20 years, over 15, 000 children in Durham Region, in Grades 1, 2 and 3, go to the Village, located in Whitby, to learn and see first-hand, the rules of the road , in the miniature (kids sized) village, operated by the Durham Regional Police. A special thanks goes out to the Durham Region Rotary Clubs who helped make this one of Rotary’s great successes, and has been featured in The Rotarian magazine.

    • And again a special thanks to the same 10 Rotary Clubs who have committed much needed funds to the next phase of the Village, the next 20 years of this great complex.

 

CIVIC PRIDE:

Together, with the Rotary Club of Oshawa, and the City of Oshawa, our Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood has added the Rotary Bridge at The Oshawa Botanical Gardens in downtown Oshawa as our Rotary Centennial Project, and just two years ago, the New Rotary Gazebo and the north end of the Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens.

 

Internationally: The Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood is no stranger to helping others all over the world. Here a just a few of the projects that we support:

  1. The Rotary Foundation - The Rotary Foundation transforms gifts into projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. As the charitable arm of Rotary, we tap into a global network of Rotarians who invest their time, money, and expertise into our priorities, such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Foundation grants empower Rotarians to approach challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition with sustainable solutions that leave a lasting impact. Strong financial oversight, a stellar charity rating, and a unique funding model mean that we make the very most of our contributions. And everyone can give and become a part of Rotary’s life-changing work!

  2. And since its inception, we have contributed to Rotary's Polio Plus campaign to eradicate Polio from the entire world. Rotary, along with our partners, has reduced polio cases by 99 percent worldwide since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. We are very close to eradicating polio, but we need everyone's help. Our mission is to make a global impact and protect children against polio forever. Rotarians have helped immunize more than 2 billion children against polio in 122 countries. We help get the word out about our efforts to fight polio. And we make sure policymakers know how important it is to eliminate polio .

  3. The Club has sponsored a cataract eye operation camps in India through Operation Eyesight International

  4. We have donated funds to the Canadian Land Mines Foundation which deactivates land mines in war torn countries, such as Bosnia-Herzagovina. When the war is over , the land mines remain.

  5. We are also active in providing books and computers to schools in Guatemala along with many Rotary Clubs through The Guatemala Literacy Program.

  6. In addition, we have assisted with an orphanage and school in Uganda to help provide clean water and sanitation to the school children through the Organization For a Good Life Marginalized.

  7. Shelter Box Canada has been given enough money, on many occasions, by our Rotary Club for a Shelter Box. In times of disaster, many thousands of people are often left homeless and without basic shelter and survival equipment. Shelterbox Canada stands at the ready to provide aid to those in need anywhere in the world. Each Shelter Box provides a dry shelter, warm bed, light and heat, clean water, cooking aids and tools for 10 people.

  8. Other International Service projects include building wells for water for communities in Africa, donations to help build a school in Haiti, providing equipment to a rehabilitation centre in Trinidad, and providing a freezer to an orphanage in Brazil, and building and furnishing a classroom and providing a school bus for a school in Gangoolie, India.

  9. We also help Adopt A Village in Laos, a group who make a positive difference in the lives of thousands of villagers, in Laos. They have completed over a dozen school projects, 7 water projects bringing water to several villages and a hospital (imagine a hospital with no water!) and have completed about 20 toilet banks for schools and villages. They have also provided over 1792 water filter systems (9-11,000 people!), along with critical hygiene training for families, schools and hospitals to promote a longer, healthier and happier life. They are also sponsoring school kids, a university student and a teacher in addition to the 3 university students sponsored previously plus we have installed numerous solar panels to bring light to the poorest of villages. Lots of bicycles were distributed to get even more kids to and from school and there were a number of smaller projects completed too

  10. And we have provided assistance to the Rotary Club of Toronto Eglinton's Jackie Scrogie and her water and sanitation projects in the Africa’s Rift Valley.

  11. just to name a few.

In order to do the good work that we do here in Oshawa and all over the world, we raise funds. And the fundraisers are all run by members of our Rotary Club.

Our Fundraisers over the past few years include:

  1. We are very fortunate to have secured a spot at the Red Barn where we help with BINGO. 

  2. We sell Christmas Cakes & Rotary Hams during the Holiday Season. Many Rotary Club members and their many business associates give them out a presents to their friends, relatives , and business associates.

  3. In the past we held, for over 30 years, our Annual Rotary Skate-A-Thon. Over its 34 Year history, over $500,000 to has been split 50 – 50 with our Rotary Club and with the Minor Hockey and Skating organizations in Oshawa. It is the longest running Skate-a-thon in Canada. 

  4. Purple Woods Maple Syrup Festival – where we serve Rotary Pancake breakfasts in early March.

  5. And we our looking forward to our 32nd annual Reverse Draw, Dinner & Silent Auction , on November 2020, when we host a gala dinner, and event with the last ticket drawn wining $3,000.00 and there are many great silent auction items up for grabs.

 

Fun and Friendship:

We plan many events during the year that help bring our members closer together: We have family picinics, Christmas parties, and this year, we are planning dinners for Valentine's Day and St Patrick's Day, and perhaps we will take in a Day At The Races at Woodbine, a Blue Jays Game, and Oshawa Generals Game, just to name a few.

When you look back over a very short period of time and see all of the things we are accomplishing, we are very proud to be members of Rotary and members of the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood.

And it is certainly time that we shared this fun and rewarding service to our ciommunity with others.

If you would like to learn more about Rotary or become a member, check out our www.rotaryoshawa-parkwood.org website and call Rotary Club Past President Lennis Trotter at 905-985-0963 or by email at lennis.trotter@hotmail.com. Or Rotary Club Past President Linda Porritt at 905-579-7339 or by email at linda.porritt@century21.ca