To day's bell ringers were John Webster, Dave Chatson and Tom Mennill, all of whom attended the District Membership Summit this past Saturday on behalf of the club.
Pat Dimeck reminded members that our Holiday Social is set for the evening of Monday, December 14 and that those planning to attend need to register themselves and any guests they will be bringing on the club website. The event will be at the Centre In The Square and complete details are available on the website. Pat also let folks know that she is the Pie Lady this year and is looking for about seven more pie bakers for our annual Pie Auction. Please let Pat know if you are interested.
Our Online Auction concluded on Saturday and Jim Philips provided an update. The auction included over 1,000 items 53 of which were from our own club. Although a small number of items compared to other clubs we had several high value items that generated a lot of bidding and our final proceeds are expected to be in the $7,700 range. Jim thanked everyone who sourced items for the auction or who made bids. Now that we have this first year under our belts we will be looking to make this event bigger and better next year.
Peter Gray reminded member that our next Dom Cardillo Trail Clean Up is scheduled for this Thursday, November 26, weather permitting. The forecast at this point is for rain on Thursday, we will go head if we just get a drizzle but will cancel if we are dealing with pouring rain. We meet at 4:00 p.m. in the Stanley Park Mall parking lot by River Road and the LCBO.
Christmas is fast approaching and our International Services Committee has a great offer for us. Again this year, Polio Plus Donation cards/certificates will be available. Steve Lubczuk encouraged members to use these as gifts for family, friends, or employees. They will be available at the front desk at all meetings between now and the end of the year.
Car Draw night is this Friday, November 27 and Wayne Boehler reminded everyone that all ticket stubs must be into the office by this Friday morning. All monies from sold tickets need to be brought in as well but this can wait until next Monday’s meeting if necessary. And don’t forget that all unsold tickets must be returned as well. Members planning to sell tickets at the Ranger Game on Friday should make sure that they have let Al Way know. We are to enter via the VIP Entrance on the north side of the building. and should arrive by 5:30.
Our program today consisted of two parts – a tour of Anselma House and a presentation by Mary Zilney, the Chief Executive Officer and Kourtney Beckham, the Development Officer.
After an introduction by President Redman, Mary provide some background facts and figures on the services provided by the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region including a short but very moving video. The Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region consists of two facilities – Anselma House in Kitchener and Haven House in Cambridge, bot of which provide support and services to women and children in need across the region.
Anselma House was rebuilt in 2011 and now Haven House is in need of being rebuilt. It is too small with many women and children sharing single bedrooms and bathroom facilities, and lacks adequate space for programs and counseling. Construction of the new facility has begun but the organization is facing a serious funding problem. When Anselma House was built for $8.4 million in 2011 approximately $5.7 came from the provincial and federal governments. For Haven House, however, which will cost $9.4 million, there has been no government contribution. So far $6.4 million has been raised but if the balance cannot be raised by the end of construction next July, then the organization will need to take out a mortgage which will impact on their ability to provide services.
Kourtney then spoke about their Build a Bedroom Campaign. It cost about $30,000 to build each of the bedrooms that will be in the new structure and groups or combinations of groups are being asked to support the campaign by sponsoring a bedroom, which will be named in honour of the sponsors or dedicated to the person or group of their choice. The Cambridge Rotary Clubs have agreed to sponsors bedrooms and Kourtney is hopeful that the Kitchener Clubs may do the same. She also indicated that support from individuals, companies, organizations, etc., will be greatly appreciated as well.
Kourtney also informed us that a special Awareness Evening is being held next Monday at the Dunfield Theatre in Cambridge. A special one-act, documentary play involving many local dignitaries including Doug Craig, Bryan Larkin, Brenda Halloran and Kathryn McGarry will be performed. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased by contacting the theatre at 1-855-373-9866. Additional details are available on the Crisis center website – www.wcswr.org.
The Draw date is November 27th at the Ranger's Game.
Our goal this year is to raise $80,000 through direct individual sales with a total goal of $110,000 including mail outs and corporate sales.
Our main selling venue will be Thursdays and Saturdays at the St. Jacobs Market again this year in the same location as previous. We also have access to Swanson's Home Hardware and members are encouraged to find alternate selling locations as well.
Sign up sheets will be available at weekly Rotary meetings.
Tickets can be picked up at the registration desk at each weekly meeting. NB! This year the ticket books are identified with a number on the cover and the covers MUST be returned when the ticket stubs are handed in. This allows us to keep track of the tickets sold as per the license conditions.
Selling teams will again be used this year and members are asked to keep their team captain up to date with ticket sales. Weekly sales updates will be provided at each meeting.
Use social media and other opportunities to promote the draw. A sample letter will be made available to send to contacts.
Contact Wayne Boehler or Adrian DeCoo if you have any questions or suggestions.
You can check Club Runner for Directory information including Committee information.
All member ID numbers for Rotary International are now listed with your data on Club Runner. This is the number you will need if you are registering for an RI event or contacting RI about your account. From the Home page go to Admin under Membership Manager choose Membership List, current members are listed. If you do not know your password, there is a site for you to click and enter your email address where your password will be forwarded.
Contact information for the new members is available in the Membership List on the Clubrunner site.
