We are ever aware 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 live.
Regular Wednesday morning meetings are cancelled indefinitely
Instead, we will meet virtually at 7:30 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.
President
President Elect
Past President
President Nominee
Secretary
Treasurer
Communication
Membership
Foundation
Community Service
Youth Services
Sgt at Arms
Welcome to the Home of Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium
The Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium knows that the holiday season can be a particularly difficult time for the homeless and those experiencing chronic poverty. With generous donations from Hunter Amenities from Burlington and with support from the members of the club, 100 care packages were prepared for the Sanguen Mobile Health Clinic
Thanks to the work of Sanguen and the Guelph Community Health Centre for working every day to support those less fortunate than ourselves.
The Guelph-Wellington Cluster, in support of Elora House, a charity that provides short-term housing and support to women exploited by sex trafficking, helping them to make healthy and informed decisions about their lives.
What’s involved with Community Care Kits? Think wedding registry, but this is a wish list from Elora House where they have selected items that they need for the women who stay at their shelter.
The donor selects what they want to purchase on behalf of Elora House and will receive a tax receipt for their donation. The items are then shipped directly to the agency. It’s easy and it’s seamless, and a concrete way to help.
Every year Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium has the honor of presenting community volunteers and builders with their Paul Harris Fellow Award. These recipients embody Rotary’s value of “service above self” by giving back to their communities through multiple avenues. Their kindness, compassion, wisdom and tenacity come through in their work, volunteerism and life. Here is a list of Paul Harris Fellow Award Recipients from this week.
Aaron Farrell: has tirelessly worked on humanitarian causes for over 25 years. His goal is always to help lift people and communities out of poverty. Aaron’s projects have led him (and encouraged others) to build Schools in underserved communities and support Women’s Shelters. His international projects have touched many countries including India, Kenya, Uganda and Mexico to name a few. Closer to home Aaron is involved in Socks 4 Souls that provides socks for the homeless.
Dana Nuttley leads, supports and has grown organizations such as Shelldale Family Gateway. Through his community activism, Dana to worked with numerous outreach programs and agencies in the Guelph and surrounding areas. Dana’s purpose and focus has been on elevating poverty, advocating for marginalized communities as well as helping community members impacted by homelessness and addition issues. Dana has also been a strong ally and advocate for supporting indigenous communities.
Jan Craig is a positive, kind and tenacious change agent and community builder. It’s not only about the projects Jan volunteers in but also how Jan works to make Guelph a better place. She has served on numerous boards - Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington, Heart and Stroke, United Way and is a leader in social justice issues. Jan has also supported to newcomers to Guelph, helping them make appointments and navigate rebuilding their lives and opportunities in our community.
John Dennis is a cofounder of the Guelph Tool Library. The GTL provides a low-cost option for members to access over 1000+ tools for construction, cooking, and garden projects. Through the GTL, John has worked to launch projects such as: Repair Cafe Guelph, a free bimonthly fixing event; Good Call Program, that has repaired and returned over 100 cell phones to the community; and the Urban Sugaring Project. At the start of the pandemic, John started the Kitchen Bees at the Church of the Apostles. This volunteer run program will provide over 7500 meals this year to emergency food providers in Guelph. John’s creative energy continues this spring with the launch of “Free to Read”, a program to coincide with World Literacy Day April 23, 2022. The program will collect 1000 comic books, graphic novels and paperbacks for local Provincial Correctional Institutes literacy programs.
Linda Busuttil’s family experience as immigrants to Canada has led to a lifelong support of newcomers to the Guelph area. She helps give new arrivals a voice while they navigate various health and education systems. Linda also helps to address inequality, inclusion and access issues within her community by volunteering with the West Village Coop’s after school, youth and food support programs. She also fits into her packed schedule Adopt A Family, toy collection, food drives with schools and neighbours, her food support program & pilot hub as well as work with the Guelph Food Bank.
Ray Stultz helps local entrepreneurs at BDC and volunteers extensively in our community. Ray is a past volunteer with the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington, KidsAbility and Victim Services Wellington. As an avid volleyball player Ray volunteered as a coach and treasurer for many years with the Guelph Grizzlies Volleyball Club. Currently Ray is focusing on helping youth community members struggling with mental health issues by volunteering with The Grove Hubs – Youth Wellness. Ray was also just appointed to the board of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce.
Shirley Hunt is an advocate for the environment and the health benefits that come from spending time in nature. Seeing the impact of our sedentary, indoor lives on community members of all ages, Shirley collaborated with local photographers, artists and educators to develop a school-based arts program called Focus on Nature to inspire young people to connect with nature through digital photography. Shirley was also the co-founder, first Executive Director, and Chair of an amazing non-profit charitable organization called Up and Running Guelph, which works to improve the mental health and well-being of women through inclusive, nature-based walking and running programs.
Stephanie Riley is a community driver who regularly raises funds for the Canadian Cancer Society through fundraisers such as Chairing the Hope AND the City Gala. She is also one of the past Co-Chairs for the Royal LePage Royal City National Garage Sale for Shelter Foundation. During covid, Stephanie collected hygiene kits for the local Shelter and Chemo Care Kits for the Guelph General Hospital that her 9-year-old son helped to assemble. Stephanie personifies our Club’s mantra of a “mile wide and inch deep” as she can be counted on to participate in holiday adopt-a-family hampers, food drives and many other community initiatives.
Sya Van Geest is an incredibly active volunteer at Dublin Street United Church. She supports many of her churches amazing activities such as their work with the LGBTQ + communities, climate change committee and the annual Dublin’s Christmas Dinner. In addition to these many activities, Sya supports the Guelph GoGo Grandmothers for Africa and is an active member/volunteer with the Guelph Storyteller’s Guild and Guelph Chamber Choir.
Mary Anne Allain regularly and quietly makes a difference in her community. Mary Anne volunteers with Community of Hearts Box of Hearts Program. Her work supports adults with developmental exceptionalities to achieve the level of independence they desire. The Box of Hearts program is a social enterprise that brings adults together to develop job training skills by baking and packaging dog cookies as well as chocolate covered licorice to sell in the community. In addition to this work, Mary Anne is a regular volunteers at Food 4 Kids Guelph and the Guelph Clothing Closet where she is a valuable resource in their programming.
All of our recipients make the world and their communities a better and kinder place. Congratulations to all of Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium Paul Harris Fellow Award Recipients – we are so grateful to have such incredible community leaders.
Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium has joined an exciting fundraising initiative – a raffle called “Catch the Ace.” This weekly raffle - https://rotaryraffle.online/guelph-trillium/ gives everyone a chance to support two amazing local charities:
Food 4 Kids (Guelph) whose mission is to close the weekend gap by providing food for children whose families are struggling to make ends meet.
Sunrise Therapeutic Riding & Learning Centre whose mission is to develop the full potential of children and adults with special needs through therapy education, horse riding, recreation and life skills program.
Buy your tickets Now and make sure you select Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium
$20 for 80 entries
$10 for 20 entries
$5 for 3 entries
Play weekly for a chance to win the Jackpot. https://rotaryraffle.online/guelph-trillium/
Weekly ticket sales are split into three portions
- 20% to each weekly draw winner
- 30% to the Progressive Catch the Ace Jackpot – to the weekly winner if the card number chosen reveals the “Ace of Spades”.
- 50% (less nominal administrative costs) will go to the charities
Please share this link widely with friends, families, colleagues, neighbours and the community so we can raise money for Food 4 Kids (Guelph) and Sunrise Therapeutic Riding & Learning Centre
The more you play the more you and our charities have a chance of winning! It takes just a minute to change the lives of so many deserving families.
Bruce is a Charter Member of our Club. During his 30 years with the Club, he has been a very active and committed member exemplifying "Service Above Self".Always one of the first to volunteer for a community service project or fundraiser, Bruce contributes his time and energies for the betterment of our community.
Congratulations, Bruce! Well deserved recognition.
Click HERE to read the People and Information Network Citation about Bruce.
Although World Polio Day was officially on Sunday our club will be marking the occasion Wednesday morning, October 27th, by raising the flag at City Hall.
Enjoy this short video and perhaps read a few of the included resources.
Foundation Committee: Patsy, Darlene, Jacqueline, Donna B, John B, Phil A, Richard
Each October 24th is WORLD POLIO DAY as international health experts and partners share the world's progress on the road to polio eradication. Around the globe, clubs find ways of promoting Rotary's remarkable End Polio campaign.
This year in Guelph, the Rotaract Club of Guelph members fulfilled a goal of every University of Guelph student ... to paint the cannon, at least once!
Under cover of darkness on Saturday night, October 23, the Rotaractors painted "Old Jeremiah" purple with gold wheels. They spray-painted "World Polio Day 2021" on one side, and "Rotaract Club" on the other.
The cannon is a British naval gun, rumoured to have been used in the War of 1812, and it stands in Branion Plaza across from the University Centre. It is a long-standing Guelph tradition for students to paint the cannon with messages in order to promote events and organizations.
Well done, Rotaractors! We are so proud of you.
Got
a hankering for a rack of ribs? Drive Thru Guelph Ribfest is here – Aug 27 to 29
a hankering for a rack of ribs? Drive Thru Guelph Ribfest is here – Aug 27 to 29We are BACK! Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium Ribfest is returning as a drive-thru experience, for this year due to Covid, the weekend of Friday August 27th to Sunday August 29th at Centennial High School Parking Lot, 289 College Ave. W., Guelph.
For over 22 years our Club has been bringing together Ribs, Rhythm & Rotary - raising more than $1 million to support local and international charities. This year we are excited to be joined by our amazing Ribbers - Billy Bones BBQ Canada from Port Colborne with their mouth-watering sauces; the Silver Bullet BBQ team from Guelph will have some finger licking good BBQ and; the Boss Hogs BBQ team from London will bring their smokin’ menu for the ultimate barbeque experience.
No tickets necessary – drive-thru all weekend long! Cars only, no foot traffic to ensure everyone’s safety. Menus are online and the grills are warming up for you so visit https://www.ribfestguelph.com/ to plan your order and see more details.
Thank you to our generous sponsors Linamar Corporation, Sleeman Beer, Magic 106.1, Tacoma Engineers, RBC, , Hanlon Park Storage, Original Home Furniture, Farms.com,, Guelph Today.com, Balnar Management, Home Group Realty, Ramar Contactors & Jaral Holdings, Miller Thomson LLP, HSI Humansystems Incorporated, BDO Canada, Sutherland Insurance, Battlefield Equipment Rentals, Scutt Signs and Palmer Audio for helping us organize a safe and socially distanced event.
Finish up the summer with some good old-fashioned BBQ. We look forward to seeing you, your family, friends, and neighbours at Guelph Ribfest. Thank you for coming together to raise funds that support local charities.
When we hear the words “human trafficking,” we tend to think that this is something that happens in big cities. Sadly this is not true, and with the 401 highway, this crime is big business right here in our community.
Spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Guelph South, Rotary members have come together to tackle this issue, starting with an awareness campaign.
On the 4th Tuesday of every month, starting in July, you will hear about different aspects of human trafficking – from the organizations that work to create increased awareness to survivors themselves who will share their stories.
We are starting on July 27 with Bob Burnside and Sherri Moir who are with Cry Not, a voluntary organization based in Orangeville whose mandate is to create awareness of threat, tactics, symptoms and resulting devastating personal effects of Human Trafficking to the greater Dufferin Caledon communities.
Future dates are August 24, September 28, October 26, November 30. Mark your calendars now and plan to join us. This session will be online and free. To register, go to https://bit.ly/3xXKx7S
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 7:30 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.
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.
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Jan 19, 2022 7:30 AM
Family and Children's Services Guelph Wellington
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Service Above Self
Guelph, ON
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