Page 2 - Apr 7, 2026

MINUTES OF MEETING:  Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Editor: Tess Pierce (with help from Dave A. & Robbie)

WHEN: Saturday April 25 9:30 am-Noon.

WHERE: Second Marsh 555 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, ON L1H 7Y2.

WHO: Community members, Rotarians and Friends of The Second Marsh 

FOCUS: Celebrating Earth Day and the protection of the environment. 

Easter Eggstravaganza

UPDATE: The two-day total for the Easter event saw some 6026 attendees, 3425 on Friday and 2601 on Saturday, The monetary donations both cash and tap amounted to $3664.35 over the two days. Thanks to all the volunteers!

Don’t forget to email Dave Andrews with your meal choices for weekly meeting by Sunday night. Please select ONE of the following NEW MENU selections.

Meeting Called to Order: at 6:00 PM: by President David Mankiewicz

Grace: Camille

Toast to the KING: Yvonne

Land Acknowledgement:

We respectfully acknowledge that the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood is meeting on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nations, within the jurisdiction of the Williams Treaties.  We are committed to our responsibility of stewardship, in these relationships and for this land on which we learn, share and live. 

Toast to CANADA: Hilda

Visiting Rotarians and Guests:

Stephanie Christenson 

Geoff Lloyd

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Happy Birthday to John Baboolal on April 7

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Dave A.

• Reverse Draw tickets now available. You can take tickets tonight and turn in the money once they are sold. Thanks to Camille for designing our social media-ready poster. IMPORTANT: Dave needs all ticket stubs and money in ASAP. We must tell the hotel the meal count and choices by MONDAY APRIL 27.
• Reminder the District Assembly is May 23. RLI Part 1 also that day. New and existing Board members and new members are encouraged to attend. The club will cover the tuition costs for both.
• Peace Forum is May 20. This online event includes Zone 28 & 32 and is a high-energy hour of stories, music and more, showcases peacebuilding work of Rotary. CLICK HERE to REGISTER. Advance registration required to get the ZOOM link.
• Spring Cleanup @ Second Marsh is April 25. Friends, family all invited to help.

Don.     

• The maple syrup is now stored at his home. Plenty still available. Email or call Don to get additional bottles. Don’s phone is: 416-848-7420.

Tess

• April 14^th is a meeting for the 50^th Anniversary Committee at 5 pm.
• April Social on April 28^th will be at The Mandarin. Reservations are for 5:30 pm. Ask for the Rotary Table.

Robbie

• Provided the final numbers for last weekend at the Safety Village.

Shashi

• Presented our club with two banners from her club visits in India. (Pictures at the end of this document.)\

Al

• The Reverse Draw brochures designed by Camille are now available.

SGT AT ARMS: Donald I.

ACE OF SPADES: Dave M drew the 4 Spades – only 23 cards left.

Happy Bucks! 

Our Lennis: The best volunteer ever. What a trooper.  6 Stiches and a smile

• Shashi was happy to be back. The clubs she visited are interested in doing something together with us.

• Bob S told a long story that included Brad Pitt as Mr. Black, photoshopped images and his own picture.

• Larry is glad Lennis is doing OK with no harm to his teeth.

• Lennis gave special thanks to Tess and John for the trip to emerg. (Six stitches and a CT Scan.) Thanks to Robbie for taking the lead while he was in ER and special thanks to Emmy for finding his lost hearing aid.

• Dave A. Welcome Stephanie and Geoff.

Our Speakers: Stephanie Christenson, Exec Dir, Shelterbox Canada & Geoff Lloyd, Shelterbox Ambassador

Dave Andrews introduced Geoff Lloyd, Past President of the Rotary Club of Oshawa, and a Shelterbox Ambassador, who introduced Stephanie. She is the Executive Director of ShelterBox Canada and a humanitarian professional. Stephanie started her career in International Development working for CIDA and local charities throughout East Africa developing curriculum for HIV/AIDS Education in primary schools. After living and working in Kenya during the famine in 2011, Stephanie moved into the humanitarian disaster relief field. She has been with ShelterBox Canada for 12 years, and in addition to her work here in Canada, Stephanie has been part of the in-country team on four occasions with ShelterBox – in Fiji after Cyclone Winston, in Ecuador after the Earthquake in 2016, in the Philippines after Tropical Storm Urduja and most recently in Moldova as part of the Ukraine crisis response. She currently lives in Burlington, ON with her husband and two daughters, and loves to cook, read and travel. 

 Supporting Communities In Crisis

ShelterBox (SB) has response criteria to determine where we respond around the world. You can read about our criteria here: Response criteria - ShelterBox Canada. Every donation ShelterBox receives is used to provide the best form of emergency shelter and the household supplies people need to recover and rebuild after disaster. Every community is different, and every response reflects those differences. They tailor the aid packages to ensure people get exactly what they need to recover. In 2025 they responded in 14 different countries, served 231,000 people, and 46, 200 families.

Rapid Response Teams

ShelterBox has warehouses in strategic locations around the world. By purchasing and storing aid ahead of time close to locations where it will be needed, we can respond quickly when disaster strikes without waiting for funding. ShelterBox responds to the disasters and conflicts that make the news, but also all the ones that don’t. They tend to work in more remote areas and focus on places that would not otherwise receive aid.To be as effective as possible, SB does not accept donations for specific disasters. Using already purchased aid makes them ready to go. Also, this strategy ensures that they have funding available for those lesser-known events where the need is often higher.  

ShelterBox is an emergency relief organization – they fill the urgent needs between when a disaster happens and when long term development and recovery start. They need to be able to move very quickly to do this. Some organizations do both humanitarian (short term) and development (long term) work, so they will accept funds for specific disasters because they can use the funds in that country for long term recovery efforts. Shelterbox is strictly a humanitarian entity. Donations will be used wherever the need is greatest at the time – and that when disaster strikes, SB will be there to support communities thanks to your help with customized aid for their situation.

Customized Boxes

Shelterbox has moved away from using only the big green ShelterBoxes. All our aid packages are highly customized and are no longer just have one form of emergency shelter. Instead, they have many to ensure they are providing the best option for each situation. By not having to pack the boxes and then ship them out, SB can also procure a lot of the aid locally. 

Rotary’s Areas of Focus

Shelterbox is proud that they fit all seven of Rotary’s Areas of Focus: peace building disease prevention, water & sanitation, maternal & child health, basic education and literacy, economic community development, and environmental sustainability. ShelterBox is proud to be Rotary International’s Project Partner in disaster relief, further strengthening a global circle of friendship. The partnership enables Rotarians to act by connecting your community directly with disaster-affected communities around the world. Ambassadors like Geoff help strengthen this partnership.

Director of International Service, David Penney, thanked Stephanie and Geoff.

President David Mankiewicz closed the meeting at 8 PM.                                  

IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT, YOU CAN MAKE UP: Go online at www.rotary.org go to the club locator and find a club or clubs near your destination. Or you can add the free App Rotary Club Locator to your phone for instant look up of any club in the world. Please mail or fax your make-ups to Executive Secretary Dave Andrews or give your make-up card to the attendance/registration officer at the next club meeting.