Rotary Club of
Vancouver
Since 1913
90 members

Rotarian Gerry Glazier volunteering with a team of Rotarians for Food On The Corner
We are known for:
  • ·        Home club of Governor elect Don Evans.

    ·        Annual Bike A Thon, a 120 KM bike ride from Brentwood Mall to Harrison Hot Springs to raise funds for Hearing related issues, including supporting medical treatment, province wide access to community support services for the deaf and hard of hearing and their families and research into new treatments. Over the 30+ years of the Bike a Thon we have raised over $3 million for hearing causes. Current co-chairs Blair Trenholme and Jack Zaleski

    ·        Founding member and continuous supporter of the Rotary World Help.

    ·        A vibrant International Services committee that regularly partners with other Rotary clubs. Recent projects have focused on DR Congo, with water related and literacy projects in addition to a women’s empowerment project. Under the leadership of Michael Woolnaugh, Ian Storrs and Verona Edelstein.

    ·        Sponsoring club for Youth Exchange students for over 40 years, currently led by Don Kavanagh and Kendall Jessiman

    ·        Strong weekly speaker program at our weekly meetings

    ·        Supporting youth through financial support for:

    o    Hot Breakfast program at Norquay elementary school combined with a literacy remedial reading program, chaired by John Richardson

    o   Stay in School Scholarships at Gladstone Secondary School for the last 10 years, to support students with post-secondary scholarships of $7,000 each

    o   Attendance at Rotary Youth Leadership camps

    o   Sponsoring and Supporting two Rotaract clubs

    o   Organized an entry in the Vancouver Santa Claus parade in 2016 with 6 local Rotaract clubs.

    ·        Working in the Vancouver community to support numerous causes that alleviate poverty and assist those in need, including projects such as:

    o   Financial support and volunteers to Food on the Corner once a month.

    o   Financial support to such agencies as:

    §  CKNW Orphan’s Fund

    §  Decoda Literacy Program

    §  Quest Food Exchange

    §  Eva’s house for Abused Women

    §  Beneath the Surface ( suicide awareness and prevention in First Nations)

    ·        Having fun with a full social program which includes:

    o   Octoberfest at the Alpen Club, chaired by Fred West

    o   Weekly curling league (Monday afternoon) and annual weekend. The league and annual bonspiel have been going for over 30 years

    o   Men’s weekend away at the “Wunday Ranch” in Ashcroft, hosted by long time Rotarian Paul McCrea, now in its 43rd year,

    o   Annual ski weekend in Whistler, organized by John Hayto

    o   Christmas carols and songs evening hosted by Rotarian Bill Dauphinee and his wife Wendy

    o   Chinese New Year soiree dinner with spouses and friends, organized by Terry Mill

Our Goals for 2016-17:
  • ·        Improve our Public Image, thru increased social media presence, thru Facebook, upgrades to our web site and development of a club brochure.

    ·        Welcome more members to our club and the world of Rotary, (increase our membership by 10%.)

    ·        Continue to mentor our newer members in community projects and new social activities.

    ·        Establish a consistent fund raiser for youth activities.

    ·        Carry out the activities to qualify for a Presidential Citation.

    ·        Administratively, review an update our By-Laws to conform with new BC Societies Act, update our Visions and Strategic Plan, and review other club management priorities

Events:

·        February 10th Annual Chinese Soiree at the Burnaby Palace Restaurant

·        Last Saturday of every month. Volunteers for “Food on The Corner” at 222 Main Street, ( Gerry Glazier gerrygl@icloud.com )

·        Loading Shipping Containers for Rotary World Help ( Feb 18; Mar 4th; Mar 18th; Apr 1 ))

·        Induction of Don Evans as District Governor; June 24th Pavilion 374 at Roundhouse Community Centre

·        Annual Bike a Thon fund raiser for Hearing, Sunday July 9th.  Volunteers and riders wanted and welcome. http://rotaryvancouver.org/BikeAThon2  ( blairtrenholme@telus.net)

·        Octoberfest, October 29th, 2017

·        September 2017, Resumption of weekly curling If you would like to join us for curling in please contact Myron Kuzych at mkuzych@shaw.ca or 778 688 6341  

·        Annual weekend bonspiel in Squamish November 3 to 5. 

 
Projects
 
Community Services and Youth
o   Ongoing support for projects outlined above in “What we are Known for”
International Services;
o   Vocational and Literacy Training for Girls and unwed mothers in three  cities of the DR Congo Budget c. US$50-60,000. GOC-TRFC and RF grants are to be requested. D5040 matching possibly not required if GOC support is received. Project involves taking girls and unwed mothers abandoned to the streets off the streets  and teaching them literacy and tailoring techniques, using sewing machines and other equipment and supplies purchased by Rotary. The next phase of this project will be  organized with similar Mother-Child centre partners but in three Congolese cities far from Kinshasa but experiencing similar or worse human crises. The intention is to apply soon for a Government of Canada matching grant together with a RI Global Grant.
·Hearing
o   We continue to liaise with St Paul’s Hospital to determine how the Rotary Club of Vancouver Hearing Foundation will be a partner with the new St Paul’s campus for its new Hearing Centre.
o   The Rotary Club of Vancouver’s Rotary Hearing Foundation will be providing funding to The BC Adult Cochlear Implant Program to assist those in extreme financial distress with the costs associated with the care and maintenance of their Cochlear Implants.
 
Members recognized:
  • As demonstrated above we have a very dedicated and engaged membership with a number of members providing leadership and input into our numerous activities, so it is difficult to single out any one or two members.
  • We are very proud to have Don Evans becoming District Governor in 2017-2018 after he was voted Rotarian of the year in 2015 in our district.
  • We should add that we have our member Paul McCrea celebrating 50 years in Rotary this year and joining fellow Rotarians, Charles Flavelle, Tremayne Perry and Rene Fluri in this select group of Rotarians with 50+ years of service above self.
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To learn more about any of these projects or features:
John Bathurst, President, Rotary Club of Vancouver 
Intrepid Riders in the Bike a Thon 2016 raising funds for Hearing Projects
 
Annual curling bonspiel
 
Young single mothers learning sewing in the Democratic Republic of Congo
 
Delivery of equipment as first phase of the project for training Congolese single mothers