2020-11-22 (Nov 22, 2020)

Rota Teller

November 22, 2020

Daniel Geleyn

Dear Rotary friends, my intent was to publish an update using this bulletin once a month. However, fall 2020 has proven busier than I expected and I have not been able to reach that goal. Nonetheless, it is now time for an update as we get close to the end of our calendar year.

The challenges from the pandemic continue with the second wave this fall and it promises to be a long winter. I understand that it is challenging for many but in some ways it has highlighted for me the importance of our Rotary Club and family. First, our weekly meetings, despite the fact that we meet only virtually, have been a great social outlet as it allows all of us to "see" each other and to share in good fellowship. It has also highlighted some of the needs in our community especially regarding food security and mental health. I often get compliments on the support that we are providing to many organizations in the city.

Secondly, thanks to John Mirski, we continue to have great speakers join us as we continue to broaden our knowledge on a variety of subjects. In fact, online meetings are now offering us the opportunity to hear from people from all around the world and I hope we can continue to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

I continue to be very proud of how our club has adapted to meeting online, continued to raise needed funds to support our programs and has continued to make an impact in our community and beyond.

I know some people continue to miss the opportunities for us to meet in person at our regular meeting. For now, given the ongoing restrictions, I believe it is sensible and responsible to continue to meet online for our regular meetings. However, and especially for those who miss seeing your Rotary friends, remember that you will see many if you volunteer for some of our hands-on opportunities such as the continuing food security programs we support, our MaxSold online auction and other initiatives as they come along.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you the best for the holiday season. It is very likely that many of us will not get to spend the holidays with our loved ones as we normally do. Let's use this opportunity to support each other in our Rotary family during this time. In challenging times, this is when it becomes even more important to support each other. Let's make the best of this, we will come out of it stronger.

Zoom Meetings:

We continue to meet on Zoom for now at our regular Wednesday evening time. Members are encouraged to support one another through phone calls, Zoom visits or socially distance visits when appropriate.

Community Service:

Don Taylor and his Community Service Committee have continued to do a great job at supporting local organizations financially and with hands-on volunteering especially with various food security programs. It is inspiring to see the service that we are able to continue to do. It is also especially rewarding when we see stories like the one we recently received from "Almost Home", Hospice Kingston and others. See our website under Community Service for more on these stories.

Presentation of the last part of out $100,000.00 contribution to Hospice Kingston took place on October 3.

International Service:

Our International Service Committee has also been doing a great job developing a strategic plan to guide its work for the years to come. The challenge of not being able to travel to Tanzania this year and the pandemic which is also affecting our partners in that country add extra layers of complexity to our management of the projects there.

Youth Services:

This is a rebuilding year for our Youth Services committee but Aggie is keen to get going on this. So any ideas on how we can improve our efforts with youths is most welcome by Aggie and Susan.

Ways and Means:

We are no longer able to work at the Bingo hall but thanks to the efforts of Aggie, we are able to continue to benefit from the profits made by Play! Gaming and Entertainment. That is great news for us.

Our online auction with MaxSold continues to be a success. We have just completed auction #7 and the results continue to be very positive. It is also great to see that more of our members are getting involved with this great fundraiser for our club. This venture has definitely been a team effort, thanks to all the donors of treasures to be sold, the listing and storing of items, and the pick-up day which also gives us an excuse for excellent fellowship. We even managed to sell some special donated items outside of the auction. Our best one yet is a Tennessee Bass Vintage Guitar, graciously donated by Tom Sanderson, that we were able to sell for $1200.

Unfortunately, the Nut Drive replacement (Go Nutz) was not as successful but it was a good learning experience for all involved. Online campaigns are a different beast and we're learning.

Tom Sanderson, our Ways and Means Director, despite having moved to Toronto, continues to attend our meetings online and he also continues to feed us with good ideas. Thank you to Susan Freitas who has agreed to take over as Director Ways and Means in the New Year.

Finally, I continue to encourage our members to continue to give the funds they would normally be spending on dinners at our regular meeting venue. This is an invaluable contribution to our club and the causes it supports, Thank You!

Anne with the help of MC and Josie are organizing the list of items during the pick-up day on November 21. Photo by Daniel Geleyn

Some of our Rotarians helping to sort through the almost 200 items for pick-up on November 21. Photo by Daniel Geleyn

Membership:

Membership continues to be of vital importance for the viability of our club. I know it may be difficult while we meet online, but we need to continue to recruit new members. It is the responsibility of everyone of us. Please invite a friend or more to join us any time at one of our meetings.

Polio Plus:

24 October was Polio Plus Day. Our District Governor challenged every Rotarian in the district to donate at least $20.20 for this campaign to commemorate the year 2020. Every member of our club was challenged to do that and show up with a purple pinky at our 28 October meeting to show they have made their contribution. If you missed out on that opportunity, please do it now at my.rotary.org

Rotary Foundation:

November is the Rotary Foundation month.

The current pandemic has put additional demands on the funds of the Rotary Foundation while fundraising has also decreased. Another one of our responsibilities as Rotarians is to support the Foundation when we can. Please consider what you can afford to give and donate early instead of waiting until the end of the year.

Our own Russ Phin was presented with the Paul Harris Fellow Pin +2 for his continuing generous contributions to the Rotary Foundation. As both our past-president Mike Moore and Russ were at the MaxSold pick-upon November 21, we took advantage of that time together to make the presentation there. Photo by Daniel Geleyn

The official Proclamation by the City of Kingston making 2020-2021 "A Year of Rotary in Kingston". Expect to see more about what Rotarians have done in the community in local media in the coming months.