October 24th is the annual “World Polio Day” and in 2013 Canadian Rotary clubs teamed up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) for the “Pennies and More for Polio” fundraiser. This innovative public-private partnership between the Gates Foundation and the Canadian government towards the global effort to eradicate polio, a crippling disease affecting mostly children, meant that during the first 2 months of 2013 all contributions by Canadian Rotarians were tripled! Our club members responded enthusiastically to the challenge and donated almost $1,900 towards the PolioPlus program which was then tripled. Our club and its members continue to support the efforts of The Rotary Foundation towards the global eradication of polio, and we celebrate World Polio Day every year including by attending the flag raising ceremony at Guelph City Hall.
"End Polio Now" flag for World Polio Day being hoisted at Guelph City Hall with Rotarians in attendance
Rotarians don’t just work – they also play! And we truly enjoy each other’s company. The redevelopment of the Clair and Gordon quadrant in Guelph with many new commercial enterprises created an opportunity to hold a fun event for members – a “Grate Groan-up Scavenger Hunt”. Not a fundraiser, just a chance for members to have some fun together and to introduce our club to the new businesses becoming established in the area. Businesses were approached and those that wanted to participate were asked to leave some small token around for team members to search for. Team members wore their Rotary t-shirts and introduced themselves in order to learn about the new businesses and collecting any token items that were available. It was fun both for the team members and for the businesses that participated. Afterwards the team members assembled at the nearby home of a member for a barbeque, to congratulate the winning team (and a little trash talking) and more fellowship.
(L-R) Rotarians Thomas Newby, Livvy Hadar, Margaret Nixon & Arnold Bolliger (L-R) Rotarians Anna Lammerding and Geoff Allen greeting Sunset Grill owner
A Canadian midwife, Sarah Wallace, started a maternal and child health clinic in Jacmel Haiti in 2008, a clinic that continues to this day to provide training and employment to midwives there along with providing care for expectant mothers and infants and promoting family wellness. Sarah is the niece of 2 of our charter members (Peter & Celia Clark) and she visited our club in November 2013 during a trip to Canada, giving us first-hand reporting on the progress of the organization she founded. Our club has been proud to continue to provide financial support towards the efforts of Olive Tree Projects in Haiti – more than $23,000 since 2013 - in particular in light of the challenges the country continues to deal with. Olive Tree Projects has since been granted charitable organization status in Canada.
Olive Tree Projects founder Sarah Wallace with Haitian mom and twin infants