Events

Looking forward to Saturday and the Rotary Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup 2026 at the Second Marsh as we help the Friends of The Second Marsh  help clean up  - our focus on the protecting the environment

 

 

I know that Wioletta wants to have a photo op near the end with everyone with bags of garbage, just to show the impact. I like that idea. I hope members form our clubs will also take lots of photos. i can put them on to our District Facebook Page later .

 

 

Here is the current Rotary Club numbers:

Courtice has ____

Oshawa-Parkwood has ____ 

Oshawa has ______

I think we have ______ civic leaders coming too.:

Invitations gone out to John Henry, Dan Carter, Adrian Foster, Colin Carrie,  Jennifer French, Todd McCarthy, Jamil Jivani, Bob Chapman, Jim Lee, Rick Kerr and Tito Dante Marimpietri.

 

News Release:

THE ROTARY CLUBS OF OSHAWA, OSHAWA-PARKWOOD AND COURTICE MEMBERS, FAMILY , CIVIC LEADERS AND FRIENDS HELP THE FRIENDS OF THE SECOND MARSH

CLEAN UP THE MARSH  FROM LITTER    - PART OF ROTARY’S THIRD ANNUAL GREAT LAKES WATERSHED CLEANUP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: 9:30 AM  APRIL 25, 2026 AT ENTRANCE TO SECOND MARSH ON COLONEL SAM DRIVE (The meeting location will be at the metal gate located on Colonel Sam Drive, just past the Waterfront Trail Entrance. We are asking everyone to park along the south side of the road only.)

Civic Leaders who have been invited to attend and help pick up garbage: Regional Chair John Henry, Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter,  Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster, MPP Jennifer French, MPP Todd McArthy,  MP Colin Carrie, MP Jamil Jivani, Oshawa councillors Bob Chapman, Rick Kerr Tito Dante Marimpietri, and Jim Lee .

 

OSHAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, APRIL 3, 2026 –  The Rotary Clubs of Oshawa, Oshawa-Parkwood, and Courtice their members, family and friends will be assisting the Friends of The Second Marsh by helping to collect refuse and cleaning up in the Second Marsh on Saturday, April 26, as part of Rotary’s Fifth Annual Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup Project, it was announced today, by the three Rotary Club Presidents: Omar Wisdom (Oshawa), David Mankiewicz (Oshawa-Parkwood) and  Connor Visser (Courtice) .

We have invited civic and regional Rotary leaders, family and friends to join us at 9:30 am on Saturday April 25. The starting point will be at the metal gate located on Colonel Sam Drive, just past the Second Marsh Waterfront Trail Entrance.

We have also invited Regional Chair John Henry, Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter, Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster, MPP Jennifer French, MPP Todd McCarthy, and MP Colin Carrie, MP Jamil Jivani and councillors to lend their hand, and help us clean up the Second Marsh.

Rotary clubs world-wide share an interest in protecting our common legacy: the environment. Rotarians world-wide are committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment. Helping our Friends of the Second Marsh on Rotary’s Third Annual Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup is one way, they help protect the environment.

The Rotary Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup will be in full swing, on April 25, with Rotarians and the whole Rotary family, on both sides of the Canadian and U.S. border rolling up their sleeves to collect refuse along the shoreline, and innumerable waterway tributaries to the Great Lakes basin. In Toronto, where the city is also bringing in Cleanup Toronto after a 3-year absence, several Rotary Clubs will be joining forces with community groups as they participate in the “Don’t Mess With the Don” cleanups across the city.  This is great example of ‘Rotary - People in Action’ and brings considerable community attention to the importance of Environmental Sustainability, one of Rotary International’s 7 areas of focus.

This initiative was created by Rotarian International’s District 7070 Governor Mark Chipman, from the Rotary Club of Whitby-Sunrise with his fellow District Governors surrounding the Great Lakes, in 2021. This event is a huge rallying of Rotarian resources, involving provinces in Canada and surrounding U.S. States – Rotary Clubs, Rotaract Clubs (part of the Rotary family for those 18 years of age and up), their members, friends, and families.

“Each year 22 million pounds of plastic is dumped into the Great Lakes.  With supporting the environment being one of Rotary International’s areas of focus, the Rotary Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup initiative is an effort to focus attention on the Great Lakes freshwater basin, one of our most precious resources.  Rotarians in 8 States and 2 provinces surrounding the Great Lakes are rolling up their sleeves and making this initiative one of the largest series of Great Lakes clean-up events ever held”, said Rotary International Past District 7070 Governor Ron Dick, a member of the Rotary Club of Oshawa.

“Rotary has a well-earned reputation for developing and implementing solutions that directly benefit all our communities.  This is an incredible initiative in its scale and goal to bring attention to the importance of environmental sustainability.  I could not be prouder of all 11 of our Rotary Club’s in the Durham Region for their commitment to making our world a little better, by investing their energy and time in this important endeavour,” commented John Henry, Regional Chair and CEO, Durham Region, and a member of the Rotary Club of Oshawa.

Trash, plastics and other littered items plague oceans, lakes, and rivers. This trash poses a threat to terrestrial and aquatic life, often becomes microplastics and harmful toxins, and pollutes one of the most precious and limited natural resources.

The Great Lakes contains almost 20% of the world’s freshwater and the Great Lakes System is arguably the largest source of fresh water on the planet.

“Cleanups of this nature are critical to reducing the amount of garbage that collects in our watersheds each year and to educate the public to the importance of protecting our waterways, to instill a sense of stewardship towards our Great Lakes and overall environmental sustainability,” Great Lakes Cleanup Chair Dan Coombes announced.

For more information, please contact: Dave Andrews at dave.f.andrews99@gmail.com

IT'S OFFICIAL - The MAY 7, 2026
Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood Reverse Draw, Dinner & Silent Auction is a GO !!! 

Tickets are  AVAILABLE in mid-January 2026 for the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood's

37 TH ANNUAL REVERSE DRAW, DINNER AND SILENT AUCTION

 

THURSDAY, MAY  7, 2026

THE COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT

1101 BLOOR STREET EAST IN OSHAWA.

 

 

ENJOY A FABULOUS DINNER

 

BID ON SOME SENSATIONAL ITEMS IN OUR SILENT AUCTION.

 

AND THEN THERE IS THE DRAW. THE LAST TICKET DRAWN WINS $ 2,000.00 AND EVERY 20TH TICKET OUT WINS $100.00

License: # TBA

 

THIS IS A FUNDRAISING EVENT FOR THE ROTARY CLUB OF OSHAWA-PARKWOOD. PROCEEDS GO TO OUR MANY ROTARY LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL SERVICE PROJECTS

 

YOU ARE INVITED. BE SURE TO INVITE YOUR FRIENDS, INCLUDING ALL ROTARIANS IN DISTRICT 7070 AND ESPECIALLY RIGHT HERE IN THE DURHAM REGION.

 

Tickets will be available from every Parkwood Rotarian 

or

by calling Rotarian Dave Andrews at 905-718-2077

or

Robbie Larocque at 905-434-0504

 

The proceeds from this Gala event will be used to support many community service projects of The Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood such as: The Kids Safety Village of Durham Region, hospital equipment for Lakeridge Health Oshawa , the Colonel R.S. McLaughlin Regional Cancer Centre, Participation House (for mentally and physically challenged adults),  Feed The Need in Durham, Simcoe Hall , Salvation Army , various youth programs at Durham Region YMCA, the Eradication of Polio through Rotary International’s End Polio Now Campaign, and Grandview Childrens Centre.