As we gather, we are reminded that Guelph is situated on treaty land that is steeped in rich indigenous history and has been home to a variety of peoples over the millennia. Today, this area has become home to many First Nations, Métis and Inuit people. As a community, we have a responsibility for the stewardship of the land on which we live and work. Today, we acknowledge the historic Mississaugas of the Credit, the First Nation people who were the treaty signatories of the territory on which we are meeting.
Regular Wednesday morning meetings are cancelled indefinitely
Instead, we will meet virtually at 7:45 am on Wednesday mornings, using Zoom. Everyone welcome. If you would like to join us, email info@trilliumrotary.org and we will send you the link.
Ribfest 2020 is Cancelled. See media release below.
Come for Breakfast!
We meet:
Every Wednesday morning at 7:30 am SHARP
Come at 7:00 am for a Social Time
Cutten Fields, 190 College Ave. E. Guelph
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Welcome to the Home of Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium
Service Above Self
We meet In Person
Wednesdays at 7:30 AM
Cutten Fields
190 College Ave East
Guelph, ON N1H 6L3
Canada
Guelph, ON N1H 6L3
Canada
This is the second year for a virtual Duck Race sponsored by the Rotary Club of Guelph Wellington
To purchase your duck, and possibly win $500 in groceries per month for a year - go to www.gotduck.ca
Click on the link below for a story published in Guelph Today
Update May 25,2021
RAJBIR S MANN
DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL SERVICE D7080
Thank you to all Rotarians, Rotary clubs in our district and Zone 28 and 32 and to community donors for an amazing response to the call for help, to help mitigate this unprecedented humanitarian tragedy in India. Thank you for joining together and responding to the call from the Rotary India action task force and in helping to make a difference and potentially save many lives.
Our efforts have been incredible. I have received many (MANY!!) calls, email enquiries, text messages from individual Rotarians, clubs and others from our district, community and other districts and clubs in our zone. I have put other districts directly in touch with PDG Neil McBeth in Essex. Others from Saskatchewan, B.C. and Alberta insist on mailing cheques directly to me.
The total including cheques received and pledges so far is $109,155.00 Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium contributed $3,000 US
Monday March 22nd marks #WorldWaterDay, a day to raise awareness and highlight the importance of education and training in addressing water challenges in indigenous communities in Canada. In September 2020 Rotary International announced that a Global Grant of $80,000 US ($115,000 Cdn.) was awarded to the cluster of Guelph Rotary Clubs, Oakville, Brampton and Toronto as signatories for partnership with the WATER FIRST @waterfirstngo Internship Program.
There is a link to the story of how this Global Grant came to be (see "Home Page Download Files" frame on right side of website home page) along with this video of Eric, one of the Water First interns - he is speaking about a water ceremony he attended. World Water Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate how significant water is to our communities, and to address how important it is to ensure everyone has access to safe, clean drinking water.
This year's recipient is Donna Buchan
Mike Toombs presents the plaque to Donna
Donna’s vocation is to provide caring, which she has done throughout her life – in her choice of nursing as a career, her work at Lutherwood, becoming involved as a volunteer with Hospice Wellington and her leadership roles within Rotary.
In her 20 year career in nursing, first at the Hospital for Sick Children, then at the Wellington Dufferin Guelph Health Unit and lastly at Grand River Hospital, her focus was on quality care, and building strong relationships – with patients and parents. When she taught nursing at the University of Toronto, she was equally invested in making sure that the nurses under her tutelage graduated with a strong sense of empathy for families.
Later she transferred those caring and leadership skills to her work at Lutherwood , a multi-faceted social service agency that works in the areas of children’s mental health, employment, housing and residential services for seniors. Because she passionately believed in what the agency was doing, she was able to build strong relationships with the donors, which helped her and her team to raise over a million dollars every year.
And that is what Donna does. She puts the interests of others front and centre, takes time to build a relationship and mentors them to achieve their best. She continues to mentor her team, providing her leadership and advice when needed.
Donna created and led a group of Philanthropy Leaders of mid-sized charities in Waterloo Region which meets regularly to provide support, mentorship and leadership. Donna has provided educational sessions for smaller charities and college students on Philanthropy.
She is often the first to get involved when Rotary needs drivers or volunteers to help in the community and frequently is the one to organize and schedule others.
For the past 19 years she has been a volunteer for Hospice Wellington and for six years sat on the board of directors.
Donna believes that it’s all about getting to know people, recognizing and drawing on their interests and expertise, because then people feel involved and part of the community – be it Rotary, Lutherwood or the community at large.
Thank you to Doctor Bogoch for the enlightening talk to our club this week. It was very informative and reinforced the need to continue wearing masks, social distancing and washing hands regularly. On the positive side, he had a lot of hope for the research going on and the vaccine trials going on around the world.
Read the Guelph Today story HERE.
When Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries every year. We’ve made great progress against the disease since then. Today, polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent, and just two countries continue to report cases of wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan. And we remain committed to the end.
With polio nearly eradicated, Rotary and its partners must sustain this progress and continue to reach every child with the polio vaccine. Without full funding and political commitment, this paralyzing disease could return to polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk. Rotary has committed to raising US$50 million each year to support global polio eradication efforts. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged to match that 2-to-1, for a total yearly contribution of $150 million.
Regular Wednesday morning meetings are cancelled indefinitely
Instead, we will meet virtually at 7:45 am on Wednesday mornings, using Zoom. Everyone welcome. If you would like to join us, email info@trilliumrotary.org and we will send you the link.
Ribfest 2020 is Cancelled. See media release below.
It is with regret that the Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium has decided to cancel Ribfest 2020. Over the past few months, we have been monitoring closely the COVID-19 developments. We had been hopeful that with careful planning we could host Ribfest again this year. Not only is it our primary fundraising event, it is also an opportunity for the community to come together socially before the start of the fall. We recognize that everyone is anxious to return to events such as this. However, our priority must be to support the ongoing recovery efforts due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. We have determined that it would be impossible to maintain social distancing at such a large event, and thus could not ensure the health and safety of our guests, volunteers, vendors or rib teams.
We look forward to seeing everyone next year at Ribfest 2021. In the interim, we are examining event options for this fall or winter. Watch for further announcements.
The four Rotary Clubs of Guelph proudly came together as a Diamond Sponsor of the Beyond Borders Charity Gala for 2020. With Rotary celebrating 100 years in Guelph, it was a great opportunity to showcase Rotary in the Guelph community. Pictured below are Hazel Dickie, Peter Marshall, Tracey Curtis and Noma Vales. Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium was represented by Ave Edington and Donna Graham.
Beyond Borders is a unique one-semester program offered to Grade 12 students in Guelph. The program focuses on leadership development, business, math, and global development and sustainability. There is a strong emphasis on team-building, skill development, and experiential learning. This inspiring program is led each year by teacher Mike Parsons, in the Upper Grand District School Board.
This year, 49 students participated in the Beyond Borders program, culminating with their Charity Gala at the River Run Centre on Saturday evening, January 18, 2020. All 750 show tickets were sold out. The they also had a wonderful silent auction with over 100 items, plus exceptional food treats for guests in the lobby.
The students are only given about 6 weeks to prepare this huge Charity Gala event, and each year, the students do an amazing job. It's hard to imagine how each gala could possibly be better than the one before, but somehow they continue to raise the bar with their amazing effort and talent. The 2020 gala was called "Illuminate: Be The Light". And wow - these students shone in a big way, raising $114,500 for charity!
Photos courtesy of Frank Scott.
It was a good event with the breakfast and giving us a chance to mingle In addition to commemorating the continuing efforts to eradicate Polio.
This year, the Club had approximately $32,000 to allocate to community organizations, proceeds from Ribfest, Tour de Guelph and Scotch Nosing. 21 recipient organizations attended club meetings in February and March to receive their funds. Pictured below are this year's recipients.
L-R: Dan O'Donnell, Allocations Chair, Peter Gill, Chalmers Community Service Centre, Laura Muirhead, Child Witness Centre, Mira Clarke, Action Read, Mike Treadgold, Big Brothers/Big Sisters Guelph, Brittany Webb, Diabetes Canada, Cherylynn Lumsasag, Beginning Family Services, Anita Macfarlane, Children's Foundation, Norm Greensmith, Club President.
L-R: Dan O'Donnell, Allocations Chair, Simon Bell Focus on Nature, Leslie Fisher, Guelph Contemporary Dance, Justine Morgan, G-W Women in Crisis, Susan Carey, St James the Apostle Anglican Church, Pat Stuart, Wellington Hospice, Kristin Tilley, Lakeside Hope House, Beth Harris, Michael House, Norm Greensmith, Club President.
Front L-R: Penny Jamieson, Power of Hope, Kim Rodrigues, Hopewell Homes, Karen Semma, St. Joes Health Care, Sharon Stewart, The Julien Project, Eric Charlesworth, YM-YWCA,
Back L-R: Dan O'Donnell, Allocations Chair, Colin McVicker, Sanguin Health Centre, Jackson Mathieu, Guelph Enabling Garden, orm Greensmith, Club President.
Community Funding - Guelph Rotary Trillium 2017-8 Disbursement
Organization | Request Details | |
1 | Action Read Community Literacy Ctre. | Membership for credentialing clients basic digital literacy skills |
2 | Beginnings Family Services | Support for prenatal classes for those in need (Note split in funding request) |
3 | Big Brothers - Big Sisters of Guelph | Continuing support of the Play On program for pre-teen girls |
4 | Chalmers Community Service Centre | Provision of coffee/snacks for patrons utilizing the food pantry |
5 | Child Witness Centre | Support of the Guelph Youth Symposium for 1,500 grade 8 students |
6 | Children's Foundation | Support of the Food & Friends program providing breakfast for students |
7 | Diabetes Canada | Funding to send a child with Diabetes to summer camp |
8 | Focus on Nature | Funding of 3 full day workshops at low income neighbourhood schools |
9 | Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival | Funding for 6 underserved youth to attend March Break camp |
10 | Guelph Wellington Women in Crisis | Funds to purchase a new washing machine for Marianne's Place shelter |
11 | Hopewell Homes | Funds to repair siding on home and replace 2 windows |
12 | Hospice Wellington | Funds to deliver their 8-week Adult Grief Group |
13 | Lakeside Hope House | Help to develop a social enterprise café operated by members |
14 | Michael House | Funding to complete maintenance & repairs at housing & office locations |
15 | Power of Hope | Support the "Basket of Hope" hygiene project for 75 homeless people |
16 | Sanguen Health Centre | Fund the purchase of supplies for "the van" in support of homeless people |
17 | St. James the Apostle Anglican Church | Support the "Living Better on Less" 8 week program |
18 | St. Joseph's Health Centre Foundation | Funding of 5 "comfort carts" in support of palliative patients for 1 year |
19 | The Guelph Enabling Garden | Funds to support the ongoing replacement of wooden garden bed structures |
20 | The Julien Project | Funds to be used to support local marginalized adult & youth cooking skills |
21 | YMCA-YWCA of Guelph | Support of the SHARKS swim program for 3200+ grade 3&5 students |
In recognition of her outstanding contribution to volunteering and leadership in the community, the Club presented Suzanne with a PHF this past Wednesday, January 31.
Suzanne Bone is CEO and President of The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital. She joined the Foundation following a placement at Guelph General Hospital as part of her Masters in Health Administration in 1991, and since that time has directed fundraising activities for the organization that have raised more than $50 million. She is a certified fundraising executive, and the 19th Canadian to hold the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Fellows designation.
She is also a Guelph YMCAYWCA Woman of Distinction in the Public Service category and was a Guelph Chamber of Commerce board member. Currently she is on the Board of Innovation Guelph.
She has been a very active volunteer including serving as a member of the Volunteer Centre of Guelph Wellington Leadership Advisory Committee and the Association for Health Care Philanthropy Canadian Cabinet, treasurer of the Hospital Development and Education Fund of Canada, and she is a past board member of the Victory Kids Club and the United Way of Guelph Wellington.
This years recipient is Seelan Moodley.
Dr. Moodley has been a member of our Club since 2004. He is a Past Board Member and has been very active in hands-on projects. He annually organizes pyjama collection at Christmas time for the Power of Hope charity. He also has organized hands-on Day of Giving at the Drop In Center. He regularly mentors medical students from McMaster University.
Several Paul Harris Fellowships were presented on December 13th recognizing both Club Members and local community leaders
Two members were presented with their multiple PHF's - Patsy Marshall with her +7 and David Halls with his +5.
Rosemarie Coombs, recently retired founder of Michael House seen here with President Norm Greensmith and PHF Committee Chair, Peter Moore.
Penny Jamieson, Power of Hope
Glenna Banda, The Children's Foundation, seen here with colleague and Club Member, Laurie Lantaigne
Emma Rogers, United Way with President Norm and Club Secretary, Ken Boyd
Our Mission:
The Rotary Club of Guelph-Trillium is dedicated to enhancing the lives of others through local and international projects.
Our Beginnings:
The Rotary Club of Guelph-Trillium was officially chartered in October 1991. The committee to form the club began its work in the early months of 1991 with the development of a list of potential club members. Committee members from both the Rotary Club of Guelph and the Guelph-Wellington Rotary Club submitted names of those who they felt would be potential Rotarians. A list of 30 potential members was drawn up and invitations were extended to the first provisional meeting which was held at George Michals Restaurant on Woodlawn Road. This meeting began at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday March 27th, with an attendance of 49 people, of which 20 were Rotarians from other Rotary clubs and the rest were potential Rotarians for our new club.
Today, the club has over 50 members and annually hosts one of Guelph's favourite festivals, Ribfest.
