The snow has gone, the lights are on... March 8 light up on the Malahat Building

Some dedicated Victoria area Rotarians and their spouses attended the End Polio Now light-up last night (March 8) at the Victoria Custom House (Malahat Building) above. You can see more famous buildings throughout the world that have been lit up at this link.

If you missed Bruce Williams on the A Channel broadcast, you can see it here - District Governor Elect, David Stocks, was interviewed. 

Why the light up? Rotary was founded on February 23, 106 years ago; it has been fighting to End Polio worldwide for 26 years. Rotary International has made February 23 End Polio Now day. As we had the snow in Victoria on Feb 23, it was put off until last night -  a glorious winter night in Victoria.  

 In the photo above, left to right are: Paul Croy (who supplied the lighting equipment), Joan Peggs, President Elect, Oak Bay Rotary; David Stocks, Rotary District 5020 Governor Elect; Leslie Rogers-Warnock (Oak Bay); Bev Hoag (Royal Oak); Frances Stocks, wife of David; Amy Kezes (Royal Oak). Photos by Tricia Timmermans (Oak Bay)

FEBRUARY 23: Rotary Day in Victoria Schedule of Events update

08:30 a.m.  A member of Victoria City Council will address Rotary club members gathered in main reception area of City Hall.

08:40 a.m.  Town Crier (Bob Alexander) will read aloud official proclamation of Rotary Day in Victoria.

08:45 a.m.  Rotary flag will be raised on Victoria City Hall flag pole.

09:30 a.m. (2nd) Rotary flag will be raised on flag pole of Inner Harbour - courtesy of Victoria Harbour Authority.

                    (3rd) Rotary flag will be raised at the Oak Bay Municipal Hall.

12:00 noon. Rotarians, Chris Dysart & Bill Freyer will be guests on the Ryan Price open line talk show C-FAX 1070 radio to speak of Rotary Day and of our recent humanitarian projects in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

12:00 noon Rotary clubs in Oak Bay, Saanich, Royal Oak will hold (by donation) hot-dog sales in aid of Polio Plus at the Municipal Halls of Saanich, and Oak Bay and in the "up-Town" shopping complex.

5:30-11:00p.m. Historic Malahat Building on Wharf Street, will be illuminated with Rotary message "End Polio Now."

CELEBRATING ROTARY'S ANNIVERSARY - FEBRUARY 23

The following are events to be held by individual Victoria Area Rotary Clubs to mark the 106th anniversary of the foundation of Rotary on February 23rd.

Oak Bay will hold a ‘by donation’ hotdog sale in front of City Hall, from 11:30 – 2:00 pm. All proceeds to benefit Polio Plus. The Rotary Day proclamation will be presented to Council this week, and efforts are to be made to have a Rotary flag flown outside The Oak Bay Municipal Hall on the 23rd. Rotaract students from Oak Bay High have been asked to create window displays in store fronts along Oak Bay Avenue, and so far two banks ( HSBC and CIBC) have agreed to loan space for this purpose.

On February 23rd, Oak Bay will also facilitate the illumination of one side of the Malahat Building on Wharf Street with the Rotary wheel emblem and “END POLIO NOW”. The illumination will commence at 5:45 pm. Gerry Pash of the Downtown club is trying to arrange that A Channel TV weather man Bruce Williams will conduct his early news hour weather forecast in-front of the light display.

Saanich/Sidney will hold a ‘by donation’ hotdog sale at the Saanich Municipal Hall from 11:00-1:30pm on the 23rd, they will also have Rotarians strategically located at the new Uptown shopping precinct offering long stemmed white roses for donations to Polio Plus.

Harbourside has arranged that Victoria City Council will read and adopt the Rotary Day proclamation at their regular council meeting, Thursday Feb 10th. On the morning of the 23rd, His Worship the Mayor, Dean Fortin will address Rotarians at City Hall at 08:30 a.m. and afterwards (08:45 approx.) he will raise the Rotary flag on the City Hall entrance flag pole.

At 12:30 (noon) Harbourside Rotarians, Chris Dysart and Bill Freyer, will be guests on C-FAX 1070 with Ryan Price, to speak about Rotary and their recent trip to Honduras on humanitarian projects for Rotary.

CLUB-IN-A-PUB

The last Thursday of every month sees the members of the Rotary Club of Oak Bay gathering for a couple hours of fellowship and a chance to get a make-up for missed meetings. Jim Force, of the Rotary Club of Oak Bay, thought his club needed more opportunities for fellowship so he started gathering his fellow Rotarians for a beer at the Penny Farthing Pub in Oak Bay once a month. Although things started out slowly, more and more members of the Oak Bay club participated each month, and the meeting has attracted Rotarians from neighboring clubs.

The idea behind the extra meeting was to leave some of the business aside and enjoy each other’s company; to get to know one another in a new way. The friendly and relaxed atmosphere did not prevent a little business being transacted. The Oak Bay club is planning a benefit concert with proceeds going to the club's literacy campaign.

For the most part it has been a light and friendly gathering which is serving to bring the club members closer together. Several of the newer, younger members present expressed their delight in having a chance to get to know the older members in a more relaxed setting. As a Rotarian from another club, I was equally delighted by the friendly nature of the meeting and the opportunity to meet the members of the Rotary Club of Oak Bay. ~Marnie Hamagami, newer, younger member of the Rotary Club of Sidney

Malawi Girls' School presentations come to Victoria Rotary Clubs

Photo by John Edgell, President, Oak Bay Rotary Club

Memory Chazeza (above left), Director of the Atsikana Pa Ulendo Malawi Girls' School, and the Executive Director of APU-Malawi Education Foundation and co-founder of the school, Christie Johnson (above right), are making presentations throughout the Victoria area. At the Oak Bay Club, Memory gave a touching and inspirational history of why and how the school came to be and how Christie Johnson helped her turn her dream into a reality. Memory’s dream  of building a school to provide girls with an opportunity for education and a better future is creating a ripple effect by creating better futures for  the families and communities of these students too. She explained how Malawi is one of the smallest countries in Africa but it has lots of problems. Memory believes that education is a way out of those problems. Educating girls gives them hope, increased self worth, and provides choices like being able to choose when and how many children to have.  It gives them a voice and helps them avoid poverty, reducing the threat of HIV. Memory will be returning home to Malawi on Friday (December 3) after a successful tour through Alberta and BC. Unfortunately seven of the Vancouver Island Rotary Club presentations had to be cancelled because of bad weather and poor driving conditions, but plans are underway to reschedule these clubs later in the year. This week, presentations will be made at Harbourside (7AM Wednesday December 1 at the Union Club), Sooke (12.15PM December 1 at Village Food Markets), Sidney (6.30PM December 1 at Glen Meadows Golf Club) and Victoria (December 2 at Noon at the Union Club). Rotarians who have not had the opportunity to hear Christie and Memory speak on this hugely successful project, funded mainly by individual Rotarians and Rotary Clubs, could attend one of these meetings to hear them speak. An excellent article on the school's history and progress appeared last week in the Peninsula News - you can read it at this link. The article covers how Christie's inspirational volunteer work resulted in her being nominated on CBC’s Champions of Change. She made the final cut of 50 - more than 1000 were nominated. For more information on the Malawi Girls' School visit this link .  A new blog has just been started to keep donors and all up to date on happenings at APU Malawi at this link.

White Elephant Foundation Fundraiser

The Rotary Club of Sidney hosted its annual White Elephant dinner and fundraiser on November 3^rd. This highly successful evening brought in over $3800.00 directed and the Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus. There were Rotarians from 4 peninsula clubs: Sidney, Sidney by the Sea, Brentwood Bay and Royal Oak. Many of these Rotarians have been coming for years, as had some of the auction items.

Deb Bartlet, a Rotarian from the Sidney Club and her daughter were lucky enough to go home with the famous lamp this year. The lamp has been at auction every year for as long as most members can remember and one glimpse of this vintage piece will tell you why.

Each November Rotarians from all over the Saanich Peninsula gather together bringing brightly wrapped gifts and open wallets to Glenmeadows Golf and Country Club, for a night of fellowship and fun. With each package is a neatly written poem hinting at the contents inside. After a delicious dinner, the auctioneer and his lovely assistant step forward, the assistant reads each poem and with that the bidding begins.

This year there were 48 items up for bidding and most went for over $60 and many over $150, with all of the moneys going the Rotary Foundation or Polio Plus as the bidder choose. The 50/50 auction was donated by its winner in full to the Foundation adding an additional $210.00 to the total.

Christmas Concert

The Rotary Club of Oak Bay is holding a Christmas Concert at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 924 Douglas Street in Victoria, at 7PM on December 1, 2010. Please encourage your Rotary  members to support this event which is being held to aid literacy programs locally and abroad. Conductor and soloist is Pablo Diemecke and the guest soprano is Mary Kirkwood. Tickets are available at the McPherson Box Office at Government and Pandora.

Rotary's Great Canadian Food Fight

Victoria area clubs will unite with the Mustard Seed Food Bank to raise funds and collect food at Fairway Market stores.  Harbourside Rotary Club will be at the Quadra Street store.  Westshore Mall will be manned by Colwood and Westshore Club members.  Oak Bay will man the store on Oak Bay Avenue and Rotary Club of Saanich will attend to three stores on Mackenzie and Shelbourne Avenues as well as on Gorge Road.

This is the second year Rotary clubs have done this.  Mustard Seed claims the funds increase up to five fold the amount of donations compared to times when they fund-raise alone.  Fairway Markets is wonderful partner for this as they provide printed material, a space for Rotarians to work comfortable, and their cashiers accept Interact and charge cards.  Customers can add amounts to their grocery bills or convenience. 

 

Rotarians generally work shifts of two hours; although we tend to restrict our senior members to one-hour shifts.  They need only bring a smile and any Rotary paraphernalia they have.  Working the food drives gives Rotarians an opportunity for fellowship.  It is fun and I get a chance to talk to anyone without them thinking I am crazy.  If you would like to join in the fun, talk to your club president or email alanf.jones@telus.net.  Drop by any of the locations and encourage the Rotarians on shift with food items.

Saanich Club's "Plant A Seed To Read" Fundraiser

The Victoria READ Society and Rotary Club of Saanich are teaming up to present "Plant A Seed To Read" Gala Dinner and Fundraiser on Saturday, October 23, 2010.

READ Society is increasing the number of available spaces this year for youth who need an extra boost to keep up their reading, math and study skills. The Greater Victoria area is in need of more funding to address literacy challenges; proceeds from this gala will be used towards these needs of our youth as well as other new generation programs within Rotary.

For more information visit the Rotary Club of Saanich website or contact Alan Jones via email alanf.jones@telus.net or call 250-592-7044.

For tickets or to donate to the auction phone: (250) 721-0445 or email: info@saanichrotary.org Be part of the solution and have fun doing so!

The Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up 2010

Today, 18 September 2010 marks the first day of the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up, which runs through September 26th. Two Oak Bay Rotarians, Lynne Murray and Jim Force along with a UVic Rotaract student joined more than twenty other folks for two hours in an effort to clean-up Willows Beach in Oak Bay. The event was organized by the Oak Bay Community Association with hot dogs, fries and drinks provided by the Oak Bay Kiwanis. This was a wonderful opportunity for community service.

Check out this blog’s events calendar for the Bowker Creek and McNiell Bay clean-ups next week-end, September 24^th and 25^th.