The Rotary International Theme for January is Vocational Service

President’s Report:

• Happy New Year!
• Passing of Peter McDowell. There will be a Celebration of Life this coming Sunday January 14th at Peninsula Lakes Golf Course in Fonthill from 1 – 4 p.m. Peter was an active Member from 1974 ,and prior to leaving active membership in 2021, was the longest serving Welland Rotarian from August 1974 to June 2021. This past May we made Peter an Honourary Member.
• Peter Scott is in the St. Catharines Hospital site in CCU. He welcomes visitors, between 3 and 4 p.m. He can also be reached through e-mail phscott614@gmail.com He has been going through some rough times and is now undergoing radiation for bladder cancer.
• Christmas Social – We had over 35 attend the Christmas Social at the Canal Side Restaurant in Port Colborne, thanks to Ralph. Ralph’s son provided music for us and was so welcomed that he has a few gigs at the restaurant.
• Our Curling Social will take the place of our regular Meeting on Tuesday February 13, 2024 at the Welland Curling Club. Get you team registered soon. Spots are running out!
• The Rotary Club of St. Catharines South contacted us just prior to Christmas. They support several Ukrainian immigrant families. One is now living in Welland. We were asked if we could provide this family with some Christmas cheer. We provided $500 to the Club which purchased two $100 Walmart Gift cards and used the remainder to purchase Ukrainian groceries. The family was also put on the list to receive a Christmas meal from Holy Trinity.
• Our next virtual Board Meeting is Tuesday January 23rd at noon. Directors, please get your Agenda items and Reports to Don by Friday January 19th
• Don’t forget to order your Gift Cards from Brad. Preference is paying by e-transfer. Remember, we get a percentage of the Card’s value for our fundraising initiative. You can still use any points programs i.e., PC when you pay using gift cards.
• The Welland Rotary Archives: From the January 11, 1950 edition of The Welland-Port Colborne Evening Tribune, hundreds enjoy Rotary sponsored free skating at the Welland-Crowland arena. The picture shows a small group of Welland & Crowland youth who turned out. A note: This is the same arena in use today. In 1943-44 and 1946-47, Welland Rotary contributed $1,700 to the capital campaign for the arena.

SPEAKER: Katy Herron – Community Crew

Melissa introduced Katy Herron, the Fundraising Manager for Community Crew. She oversees communication efforts and fundraising. Since Community Crew receives no government funds, they raise their own support from the Niagara Region—from businesses, individuals, service clubs, and grants and other fundraising efforts. Katy worked in the corporate world before joining Community Crew and felt called to become part of an organization that gives back and supports families in need.

Katy began by talking about the formation of Community Crew in 2015. It began when a group of teachers and others from a St. Catharines congregation began talking about the lack of food for students. They started by baking muffins for a few schools. They discovered that food insecurity was much larger than they realized. Community Crew became a registered charity focused on poverty reduction that provides approximately 4,500 lunches each week in 33 Niagara Schools using 80+ volunteers.

Balanced lunches are provided to over 1,500 students in over 30 public and Catholic schools in Niagara. Principals and school administrators provide the names of the children most in need. Three meals per week are provided. In Welland, 8 schools are supported with 1,500 students participating: Princess Elizabeth, Diamond Trail, St. Augustine, Ross, Plymouth, St .Andrew, Quaker and as of this month, St. Mary.

This program won’t end poverty. However, it goes a long way to provide hope to the children it serves. Volunteers, Hotel Dieu patients and businesses write personal notes which are provided with lunches on Tuesdays. The students share the notes, post them, and keep them.

In Welland, prior to St. Mary’s participation, 1,180 lunches are served weekly, or around 45,000 throughout the school year. The meals are delivered fresh each day. During COVID, meals were delivered to students’ homes. Each meal is specific to that child, dietary or culturally diverse.

There is a paid team of five people in St. Catharines in charge of the program. The remainder are all volunteers.

Sandy thanked Katy for her most interesting presentation. We really don’t realize how many children go without proper meals. She presented Katy with a certificate of appreciation and our 100th Anniversary coffee Mug.

Happy Birthday:

Two Birthdays to report this week. Caroline Duffus was a New Year’s baby and Geri Morrone celebrated on January 2nd. With Douglas’s help, we sang to Caroline.

Rotary Anniversaries:

David Alexander 16 years Jan.1, 2008

Roman Groch 26 years Jan.10, 1998

Directors’ Reports:

Rotary Auction Niagara

Don stated that he is happy that the Auction is over! There were 800+ registered bidders, with 373 different bidders who ‘won’ items. Welland had 254 items with a retail value of $41,175, The Auction revenue was $23,455 on Welland’s items. After Auction expenses of $1.578.65, the net return was $21,881.65 plus $2,000 in cash donations.

All Members have received a questionnaire. Please take a few moments to answer the questions to help make a better event. We would like all Members to participate, even those who have not

participated in one way or another. It is likely that those who bid on items will receive another survey. If you have any comments on the Auction and its process, please let Don know prior to January 22nd.

Curling Social

The Curling Social is coming up quickly – Tuesday February 13th at 5:00 p.m. We already have 8 teams registered, and one extra person. We can handle 16 teams. As well, if you want to come to cheer the rinks on and enjoy pizza & wings, the cost is only $20. So far, we have two teams each from City Hall, the Niagara Children’s Centre, and Stolk Construction, one team headed by District Governor Scott Marcin and one team headed by Lauren Gallaccio.

We are looking for secondary prizes for the 50/50 draw so please consider donating something!

Sandy mentioned that Hugh and Don worked tirelessly on the Auction.

Happy Dollars:

Caroline was up first with a Happy $10 saying it was a great thing to be part of our Club! Sandy mentioned it was a sad day when someone stole the utility trailer from Habitat Humanity – the one that the Welland and Fonthill Clubs donated to the organization in 2016. Please put out a notice on your social media. Roman contributed to say thanks to Tim Wright for changing the date of the Curling Social. He’ll be home for the event. Fred, even though we couldn’t hear him, was happy. Tammy contributed a toonie for a New Year!

Rotary Minute:

The Rotary Foundation received the highest rating possible in an evaluation of charities, for executing its mission in a financially efficient and responsible way, with a commitment to accountability and transparency. The four-star rating is the highest possible rating an organization can achieve and speaks well for Rotary‘s ability to continue its good work in the years ahead.

Upcoming Events:

January 16 – Julianne Brunet – Induction and Classification Talk

January 23 – No Meeting – virtual Board Meeting

January 30 -Club Assembly

February 14 – Curling Social – No Noon Meeting

Thought of the Day:

“The New Year is a book not yet written and a journey not yet travelled. Let’s make this the year of change and the year of Rotary”