2024 Ribfest
Trillium Members ready to take on another Ribfest - our 26th year for this event
Stories
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Storytelling at RibfestA new feature, this year, at Ribfest. On Saturday morning the Guelph Storytelling Guild will host a special event for youngsters and young at heart. Puppet Show, Music, Story Telling. Update: Robert Munch will be there.  |
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Maureen Smith Sunshine ScholarshipDonna B reminded us that Maureen Smith was a beloved member of the Rotary Club Guelph Trillium for many years until her death in January 2023. As Chair of the club’s Sunshine Committee, she provided leadership to the care of and compassion for club members. Proud of her 45 career as a nurse, she was a tireless volunteer for many charities and her community. Through the generous donation of Maureen’s family, represented by her husband Peter, our club will give out a scholarship every year to a high school student embarking on a career in nursing (either RPN or RN program). This year we are proud to give out two scholarships in honour of Maureen. Ryl Garrido is graduating from Our Lady of Lourdes High School and has been accepted into the BScN program at Western-Fanshaw. Ryl credits his mom, who is a nurse, for inspiring him to pursue a career in caring for others. Ryl contributed to the school community through leadership in the Athletic Council and Relay4Life Council. He maintains a job at SportChek as well as at a nursing home. His teachers let us know he is a driven student leader, who is admired by his peers for his exceptional academics, creative initiative as well as his kindness and compassion towards others – all desired qualities in a registered nurse.  Pictured with Donna and Peter are Ryl and his mother Jeryl April Guthrie is graduating from St. John Bosco Alternative High School and will be attending the RPN program at Georgian College. April enjoys helping others and giving back to her community and has succeeded at school placements in long term facilities. She has also played a large role in caring for her grandparents for the past while. April was the school Senator last year and has represented the school at senate meetings with the Director of Education. She was a member of the school Wellness committee and volunteers both in her Brant Ave Neighbourhood Group and her dance studio. Her teachers say that April is welcoming, kind and compassionate – all attributes that will serve her well in her career as a Registered Practical Nurse.  Pictured with Donna and Peter are April and her parents Carla and Rob |
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Welcome New RotariansGuelph Trillium is pleased to welcome two new members to Rotary.  Godfrey Moriasi joined on April 17th and Dominique O'Rourke was inducted on May 8th.
Photo courtesy Mahmud Hassain |
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Peter Moore Vocational Services Award: Mike Toombs announced this year’s recipient – Donna Graham. “When your talents and the world’s needs cross – that is your vocation” Aristotle During her 32 years in HR at J&J, Donna was frequently approached to find out more about HR as a career, always willing to listen, advise and support those wanting to enter the field, and being honest with those who were perhaps not as well-suited to that career choice, helping them explore other options. She continues to be approached by young professionals interested in exploring HR as a career. She is willing to be a mentor to all. In 2017, when the four clubs in Guelph decided to launch Food4Kids Guelph, Donna was the obvious choice to lead and represent our club. She became one of the four founders of Food4Kids and for the past two years has been the volunteer Chair of the board. As a grass-roots organization, Donna has helped solidify its foundation and continues to lead with courage and passion to ensure that Guelph children in food insecure households receive food. No matter her HR role, Donna always took a strong interest in people, looking beyond the work environment to what was happening at home and their involvement in the community. That attitude hasn’t changed and drives the way Donna continues to interact with people – be it at Rotary or Food4Kids, or more broadly in the community. Congratulations, Donna. |
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committeesHere is a link to the POD committees https://www.crsadmin.com/gen/committee/CommitteeDetails.aspx?id=213631&aid=152 |
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Santa's Greatest Helper Thanks, Jon, for all you do for Rotary and your community.
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Winter Clothing Drive This years Winter Clothing Drive during the month of October resulted in 87 winter coats and 3 car loads of winter clothing being donated to the Clothing Closet.
Pictured are President Anne and Mahmud delivering the donations. Thanks to everyone who contributed to its success. The coats are moving quickly off the racks. |
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Winter Clothing Drive |
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Children's Book Drive |
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2023 Ribfest Team |
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Back to School Clothing Drive |
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Food4Kids Garden Tour Join Food4Kids Guelph on Sunday July 9 from 1-4pm and visit 10 unique gardens in this FREE self-guided tour featuring rain gardens, upcycled pieces of Guelph history, local Master Gardeners, pollinator gardens and more! It's the perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday outdoors. |
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Refugee Welcome |
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Rotary Tulips in Marianne's Park |
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Multiple Paul Harris Recipients Foundation Chair, Donna Buchan presents multiple PHF pins to Donna Graham and Bruce Folkard in recognition of their continuing financial support of The Rotary Foundation
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Scotch Nosing |
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Chatterbox Click HERE to download a PDF Version.
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Tribute to Maureen Smith |
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67th Annual Rotary Can-Am Curling Bonspiel From February 2-4, 2023, the Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium team of Donna Buchan, Clarence Haverson, Phil Allt and new member Dorothy Guerra curled in the 67th annual Rotary Can Am Bonspiel in Grimsby. They made it to the Final game of the A Event Consolation. Sixteen teams from Ontario and the US enjoyed curling and fellowship on and off the ice. Our team was one of the few that had all members from the same Rotary Club. Next year's event will be held in Rice Lake,Wisconsin.
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Thank You to Rotarians Who Gave Blood |
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Freedom From Slavery To Register for this webinar, go to https://rotary7080.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IGP4A3U0RSOYZqAyXlePlQ |
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HOME FOR GOOD CAMPAIGNThe Home for Good Campaign is a bold call to action to solve homelessness in our community. Through the generosity of individual donors, corporate supporters, and government partners, the campaign will raise $5 million to build Homes for Good for people experiencing homelessness in Guelph and Wellington County. The Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination (Poverty Task Force) had the vision to bring this campaign to our community. The Task Force has a passionate motivation to eliminate poverty and homelessness. Inspired by the determination of the Poverty Task Force, the Guelph Community Foundation and the United Way of Guelph Wellington Dufferin have become partners on this project. Together, they are leading the fundraising for the Home for Good campaign. Chris Willard, Executive Director of the Guelph Community Foundation and Glenna Banda, Executive Director of the United Way (Guelph/Wellington/Dufferin) will provide an overview of the campaign, an update on the progress to date, and suggest ways that we can help ensure that every person has a Home for Good. Dominica McPherson, Director of the Poverty Task Force, will speak to how this campaign complements broader efforts to end homelessness in Guelph and Wellington County. |
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Thank You Ribfest Volunteers |
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Ribfest Starts Today - Riverside Park Guelph So excited Ribfest Guelph is in-person at Riverside Park, Guelph. Join us all weekend long - starting at noon on Friday Aug 26 to Sunday Aug 28. Join Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium tastiest fundraiser. There is no admission - donations are welcome. For more details visit https://www.ribfestguelph.com/ A big thank you to our amazing sponsors - Linamar Corporation, Sleeman Beer, Battlefield Equipment Rentals, Guelph Today, Magic 106.1, Farms.com, RBC, Reid’s Heritage Homes, Ramar Contractors, Tacoma Engineers, Distinctive Trophies, Original Home Furniture, Palmer Audio Event Services, Hanlon Park Storage, Balnar Management, Home Realty Group, Town and Country Fencing, Scutt Signs, HIS Humansystems Inc., Switzer-Carty Transportation The weekend is packed with great food, music, and fun for the whole family. Don't miss out! 10 + Live bands - Sandy MacDonald and Friends, Fresh Water Funk, Just Journey, The Killin Time Band, Bluesynergy. Keep the Faith, Symply Skynyrd, Blackwater Trio, Evermile, FOG Blues & Brass Bands, Practically Hip and More. Fantastic rib teams – Billy Bones BBQ Canada, Silver Bullet BBQ, Boss Hogs BBQ, Camp 31 BBQ, Smokehouse Bandits, FatBoys BBQ, Bibbs Texas BBQ (new) More Food from - Billy Bob's Bloomin` Onions, Ontario Corn Roasters & Pappy`s Soda, Heavenly Dreams Ice Cream, Alabama Lemonade, Festival Food Service, Taste the Tornado, Aberfritter Snack Company, Chao Bistro Family Zone activities with Magical Midways Inc. , Guelph Grotto Climbing Gym, Guelph Storm Hockey Club, Guelph Curling Club, Face painting Classic Cars – join us for the 23rd annual Gregg Mitchell Classic Car Show (Sat and Sun) - Day of registration - $10/vehicle and 8 Award Categories: Best GM, Ford, Chrysler, truck, Import, Paint Job, Hot Rod and Vintage Don’t forget to plan your visit by looking at the FAQs – parking is limited – consider taking transit or bike (there is valet bike parking with GCAT); Bring a refillable water bottle, many vendors only accept cash – ATMs will be on site. For more information visit https://www.ribfestguelph.com/faqs |
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Guelph Ribfest is Back The 24th annual Guelph Ribfest is back in-person at Riverside Park Guelph – August 26 to 28. This annual community fundraiser has raised over $1 million dollars to support local charities and has been voted Guelph’s best outdoor community event. With your support, we can make it even better in 2022. Spread the word with family, friends and colleagues and come out to volunteering. Guelph Ribfest starts at Noon on Friday August 26 and runs until Sunday August 28 at 8pm. The weekend has lots of fun, food and entertainment for everyone. Here is what you can look forward to at this year -
Visit https://www.ribfestguelph.com/ for the latest details. |
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Mother's Day Gifts for Michael HouseA big thank you to all our Rotarians and friends who contributed to the mother’s day gifts for @michaelhousepregnancy #serviceaboveself #rotary #michaelhouse #guelph  |
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2021 Peter Moore Vocational Services AwardThis year's recipient of the Peter Moore Vocational Services Award is MAUREEN SMITH  In the mid-70’s most girls from a small town who wanted to be a nurse would head to a local hospital or community college for training. Not Maureen Smith. With purpose and passion, she left her small town of Thornton and headed to the University of Toronto where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. Maureen had a forty-five year long career as a Registered Nurse; working in hospital, community and industry settings. As a nurse she provided exceptional, compassionate, skillful care to the clients she served. She was respected and acknowledged as a teacher and a mentor to clients and colleagues. Maureen never wanted to have a designated leadership position in a health care organization. Instead, she preferred to help change lives, one person at a time. Maureen has experienced treatment for breast cancer twice, first when she was 39 years and, more recently five years ago. Since then she has become an advocate and champion for numerous women going through their breast cancer journey. Maureen has been involved in breast cancer research, education and one-on-one support. Because of her fierce advocacy and wisdom, she has helped women access care and treatment in a timely manner and, no doubt, has helped shape the outcome of their recovery. She continues to provide care and support to those who seek her help. Maureen has always been known as a “worker bee”. She is the go-to person when things need to get done. She has combined this energetic force with her creative talents and is known for her beautiful unique bags sewn from donated recycled upholstery fabric. Combing her love of sewing with her passion for children and families, Maureen’s bags are a means for her to continue to improve the health of others. Over several years, Maureen’s bags have raised over $15,000 to support various charities in Haiti, Uganda and Guelph, with Food4Kids Guelph her current charity of choice. As a nurse Maureen has always been focused on the health and well-being of others, extending care to anyone in need. She has chaired the Sunshine Committee of the Rotary Club Guelph Trillium for over ten years, leading the way in kindness to others. Maureen has never sought recognition – either in her profession or in Rotary. She is happy to work hard in the background, advising, helping and creating – all in the pursuit of bringing kindness, joy and good health to others. She provides a wonderful example of someone who has blended her art with the science of nursing, and in her retirement, she continues to enrich the lives of others.
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Rotary Promotion VideoHere is an example of a short (30 second) YouTube video highlighting Rotary. Watch for a new one each week. |
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Rotary Community Care Kits 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. |
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Gift Bags for the Homeless 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.    |
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Human Trafficking November 30As we’ve learned through our past four sessions on human trafficking, it is a major, global issue. On November 30, for our last session in this series, we have invited representatives from two Rotary Clubs from Texas and Thailand, who have devoted their time and expertise to tackling this issue. They will be sharing the strategies they have taken which will inform and fuel a creative approach to be adopted by Rotary Clubs here in Ontario. To register, go to bit.ly/2TsPYgM  |
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Bruce Folkard is Named PIN Volunteer of the Month 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.
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World Polio Day 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 |
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Guelph Rotaractors paint the UoG cannon for World Polio Day 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.  |
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Truth Film Festival |
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Truth and Reconciliation Event |
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2021 Guelph Drive Thru RibfestGot  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. |
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Building Awareness of Human Trafficking 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 |
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District Awards and Changeover NightOn Wednesday evening, June 23, 2021, District 7080 held its annual Awards and Changeover celebration. Our Club stood out among the 50 clubs in the District with 4 members/family receiving recognition. Marianne Frame-Toombs was presented with the District Rotary Partner Award for her work and dedication along with Mike on the Egg and Cheese Program for Chalmers Community Centre. Patsy Marshall was presented with a Governor Team Special Recognition certificate for her many years of leadership to the District, and beyond, in developing and delivering the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) program. Clarence Haverson was also presented with a Governor Team Special Recognition certificate for his work on the District Awards Committee over the past four years. Our own Darlene Carpenter was presented with District Paul Harris recognition for her work as Assistant District Governor in leading the seven club Guelph Wellington Cluster to work together as a team like we never have before. Guelph Trillium was truly well represented! |
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Oxygenators for India 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 |
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Chalmers Centre Says Thank You |
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World Water Day 2021 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. |
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2020-21 Recipient of the Peter Moore Vocational ServicesThis 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. |
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COVID 19 Update 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.
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End Polio NowWhen 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. |
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Foundation Event |
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Ribfest 2020 is CancelledIt 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. |
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Rotary Guelph supports Beyond Borders Charity Gala 2020The 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! |
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The Forgotten People Connection January Report - Kenya Report on November trip to Kenya,  Many of you will remember that back in November Jess Lacoursiere , Kath and I headed out to Kenya with the goal of setting up the earth block making machine and training a Kenyan team on how to use it. We had brought along a soil testing kit so our first goal was to teach them how to analyze the soil to determine what kind of mix would work best to make the blocks. This was implementing the training that Jess and I had taken back in April with the “Dwell Earth” organization in Texas.   We did a number of soil tests on soils directly from our building site and from a few other locations within the greater Kitale area. All the tests showed that the clay was consistently the same in the whole area. The clay had very high in plasticity and would work well as a binder. In fact it was too sticky so we had to add 30-35% sand to the mix to keep it from gumming up our machine. We were able to work with a 6-8% cement content which acts as a stabilizer. Our team worked hard with a slow production rate per day to start but by the end we had them making 500 per day. We then challenged them to raise a new goal of 800 per day and they began to make that goal also. The target was to make enough blocks to construct 8 classrooms when we return next month. They have to date made all the half blocks, ¾ blocks and channel blocks needed and are just about there on the full blocks. The target was 30,000!  What will the total budget be for the 8 classrooms? We are not entirely sure as we have never built using our blocks as yet. Our past buildings using local fired bricks took a huge amount of cement for mortar joints and plastering due to the inconsistency of the brick sizes. Now that we are using this method the amount of cement should be greatly reduced! However roofing and lumber costs will probably remain the same as in the past. I imagine that our total budget for the 8 classrooms will be around $40,000-50,000 USD. Many of you have been very generous in contributing to us already and for that we are very thankful. We have raised about $15000 towards the Khalwenge Highway Academy school fund to date so we still have a ways to go. If we have enough we will push forward on all eight classrooms but if not we will do 4 this winter and the rest will have to wait until fall. Kath and I will be there for all of Feb and March. A team of another 2 couples from Stratford will be joining us for Feb and 3 Guelph Rotary club members are coming in March. If any of you would like to contribute to this cause you can do so by sending cheques to Forgotten People Connection c/o Allen Remley 4458 Sideroad 20 N, Guelph N1H 6J3  February Update: Subject: Goudys and Steingards in Kenya
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EPN Flag Raising - October 24, 2018Photos 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.     |
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2017-8 Community Funding AllocationsThis 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
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Suzanne Bone receives a Paul Harris FellowshipIn 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. |
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2018 Peter Moore Vocational Services Award WinnerThis 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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Paul Harris FellowshipsSeveral 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
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Our Club
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. |
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Local Organizations Receive Funding From Ribfest Proceeds The Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium organizes and runs an annual Ribfest at Riverside Park in late August. Proceeds from Ribfest are allocated to local organizations, which apply for grants, to help support their good works in the community. On Wednesday, February 12th and 19th, area groups were presented their grants by Dan O’Donnell, Chair of Funding Allocations, Rotary Club Guelph-Trillium, at a breakfast meeting. Each representative spoke at the meeting on how their grant will be used within their organization.
 February 12,2014Front row : Heather Fowler, Big Brothers /Big Sisters of Guelph; Barbara Macrea, St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation; Karen Kamphuis, Lakeside Hope House; Dawn Nicholson, Westminster Woods Public School
Back row: Dan O’Donnell ,Chair of Funding Allocations, Rotary Club Guelph-Trillium; Shirley Hunt, Focus on Nature; Rosemary Coombs, Michael House Pregnancy Care Centre.; Jane Colwell, Hospice Wellington; Sly Castaldi, Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis; missing from photo is Allison Stoffman, Ottawa Crescent Public School
 February 19,2014
Front row: Mira Clarke, Action Read Literacy Centre; Michelle Hughes, The Elliott; Susan Wahlroth, Community of Hearts Learning Centre; Amy Baskin, J.O.E. (partner with Guelph Public Library)
Back Row: Dan O’Donnell, Chair of Funding Allocations, Rotary Club Guelph-Trillium; Laurie Lantaigne, Food& Friends (Children’s Foundation); Dan Evans & Peter Wilks, Parkwood Gardens Neighbourhood ; Trevor Barton, Guelph Enabling Garden; Ann Caine, Sunrise Equestrian
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Thank you from the WEMA Centre
Fellow Rotarians: This message is to let you know the Wema Centre – Transportation Project successfully ended and closed! The project started for us in late August 2012 and concluded with a cash transfer to the bank account belonging to the Wema Centre Trust, Mombassa, Kenya, on March 6, 2013. However, one detail of our agreement remained to be completed. That was to affix a reference to Rotary International on the side of the bus. As you can see in the attached pictures, a label has been affixed which reads "Rotary Clubs of District 7080, Ontario, Canada". The wording is my doing. Please extend a whole hearted "thank you", from the leaders at the Wema Centre in Mombassa, Kenya (Lucy Yinda, Lloyd Muriuki & others), to your clubs for their most generous donations towards financing the first year’s loan payment on the new bus. The Rotary clubs who partnered with the RC of Burlington North include: Burlington Lakeshore, Burlington, Bolton, Guelph-Trillium, Oakville Trafalgar and Cambridge North. A member of our club (Rotary Club of Burlington North) travelled to Kenya in August 2013 and has ridden on the bus. Fareen Samji has reported that the bus has multiple uses of which the most innovative use is a mobile computer lab. The lab enables children to learn and experience the ways to use the internet as the bus is parked in the their city area or in one of their local villages. In the near future, the RC of Burlington North may offer the opportunity to help in purchasing laptops for the bus. The Wema Centre is currently using PCs but they don’t travel well over the rough roads. My contact, Lucy Yinda, has agreed to provide a report of exactly what they need in the future. Link onto the Wema Centre Facebook pages. They provide us with an even better insight to the work they do (The new bus is displayed in a photograph). https://www.facebook.com/wemacentre I extend my personal thank you to all of you! Regards John Zinkie, International Service Committee Rotary Club of Burlington North |
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Funding of OrganizationsLocal and International Projects: In the past five years, funding was provided to the following organizations. Community: A Step Up Action Read Alzheimer Society Beginnings Pregnancy Care Bereaved Parents Network Big Brothers/Big Sisters Unmatched Children Program Chalmers Community Services Child Wellness Centre Children's Foundation Food & Friends Children's Foundation of G-W Diabetes Assn.-Camp Huronia Dunara Homes Edward Johnson Music Found. Fred Hamilton Breakfast
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