Community
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore has, and continues to, Support a wide variety of projects in our community. Here is just a sampling of articles on some of our projects:
Food 4 Kids
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore has been supporting Food4kids over the past year These bags were distributed to children identified as being at risk of hunger by teachers in their respective schools. The teachers discreetly place the food bags into each child’s backpack on Friday afternoon so that food is available for the weekend, filling a void that breakfast and lunch programs are unable to address.
The Academy of Fine Artists Art Programs for Youth has been building the cognitive abilities of disadvantaged youth, providing unique opportunities to express themselves, releasing personal creativity and building confidence ,accommodating the capability and interest of each student while releasing stress.
As part of a larger initiative across Niagara, the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore was able to purchase and donate two 10 inch Samsung tablets for the two separate units at Linhaven Long Term Care facility - perfect for residents to share, contact and talk with their families and friends.
As we are all too aware, the residents of these long term care facilities were in "lock-down", unable to see or speak to their loved ones outside of the home other than waving at a window. COVID-19 imprisoned the senior generation of families, especially at a time when they needed their family’s words, smiles and love.
Rotary Medalists and Vocational Service Awards
We partner with local high schools to recognize a student for their academic excellence and dedicated volunteerism in the community. Perhaps one of the best known of these programs is the Rotary Medalist. Each year a Grade 12 graduating male and female student at one of three north-end high schools (Governor Simcoe, Holy Cross and St. Francis) is awarded a Rotary Medal. These students, selected by each school, mirror our "4 Way Test" motto in their scholastic, volunteer and day-to-day activities
Rotary Vocational Excellence Award
For more than 30 years, the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore has also presented the Vocational Excellence Award at the same three high schools mentioned above. Bestowed to either a male or female student that has achieved high academic standing in their graduating year as identified by the school, each award winner receives an engraved wooden plaque and a $500 bursary.
SLAPSHOT (Student Leadership Award Program for Students High On Training) has been designed for up to 100 students 15 – 18 years of age, fostering youth listening and interpersonal skills, assertiveness and problem-solving, team building and presentation skills
The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience sponsored by Rotary Clubs across Niagara. Each Club, including the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore, sponsors one or more candidates aged 14-30 to attend the sessions, developing their skills as a leader while having fun and making connections.
Charles Ansel Park
The Charles Ansell Park was a long term project of the club. Located at the Port Weller Terminus of the Welland Canal, near the intersection of Lakeshore Road and Bunting Road provided a viewing area and parking
“Rotary Polio Tulips” Planted in
Charles Ansell Park
Veseys Seeds of PEI has developed a unique tulip in the colours of Rotary’s campaign to eradicate Polio around the world – a task almost completed with only three countries reporting cases of Polio. In addition, Vesey’s contributes 20% of the purchase price to the Rotary
Foundation which funds this polio-eradication effort.
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore initially purchased 300 of these unique bulbs and the Sr. Catharines Parks and Recreation Department planted them in a special bed in Charles Ansell Park at Lock One on the Welland Canal. A great display in the spring!
Marine Heritage Storyboard at
Charles Ansell Park
Annual Holiday Gift Drive for RAFT
For the past 26 years, the RAFT (operated by the Niagara Resource Service for Youth) has provided a safe learning environment and temporary housing for thousands of at risk homeless youth across the Niagara Region.
Raft helps vulnerable youth transition into successful adulthood by connecting them to supports and services they need to take control of their lives to become healthy, happy and independent members of society. In addition to a financial donation annually, the Club organizes a Holiday Gifts Drive collecting gifts requested by the organization included Hygiene/toiletries products (especially razors and deodorant), winter wear (mitts, scarves and hats), and underwear. These are divided up and placed in individual gift packages handed out to the at-risk youth across the City.
Blood Donor Clinics
Greater Niagara Circle Route “Rotary Bridge”
Our Club joined Rotary Clubs across Niagara to bridge the gap in the Greater Niagara Circle route along the Welland Canal between Thorold and Welland, north of HWY 20. The Rotary Clubs pitched in $43,000 in seed money to get the project started as part of the 140 km Circle Route Project. Through the efforts of the joint Rotarian Bridge Committee, these monies were augmented by the Regional, Provincial and Federal governments and the bridge became reality.Add text here
KRISTEN FRENCH CHILD ADVOCACY CENTRE
The Kristen French CACN provides a safe place to help, heal, end child abuse for Niagara’s children and youth who have experienced alleged physical abuse, sexual abuse, become the targets of internet luring, or were the unwilling witness of violence.
The environment is child-focused and private, providing a safe and non-threatening place for children and youth to disclose their experience of abuse to specially trained teams from the Niagara Regional Police Service and Family and Children’s Services Niagara who respectively, investigate to determine criminal charges and protection needs. Mental health professionals from Family Counselling Centre Niagara provide much needed follow-up counselling support at no cost and without a wait list.
Niagara Health Foundation Donations
Over the years, The Rotary Club St. Catharines Lakeshore has sponsored the purchase of specific urgently needed equipment for the Niagara Health System’s St. Catharines Site. Recently this has included a Paediatric Colonoscope; specialized defibrillators for the Children’s Ward; and assisting in the purchase of a surgical masks and health-care tool sterilization unit.
Other Local Charities Supported:
- Community Care St. Catharines & Thorold
- Big Brothers/Big Sisters St. Catharines
- Brock University Women in Medicine
Our club supports the Rotary Polio Plus Campaign, dedicated to wiping out Polio worldwide.
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever. As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.
Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort. Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
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