President: John Fortney President-Elect: Prince Kumar Vice-President: Jayson Phelps
Treasurer: Kurt Kroesen
Executive Director: Carol Hutchinson
Foundation President: Rick Goldsmith
RI President
Holger Knaack, Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany
District Governor
Mark Chipman, Whitby Sunrise
Editors of the week: Maureen Bird and Natali Soroka
Friday, March 12, 2021 - 12:00 Noon to 1:15 PM
Guest Speaker: Rick Goldsmith, President
Rotary Club of Toronto Charitable Foundation
Topic: Our Charitable Foundation!
Host: President John Fortney
Visiting Rotarians and Guests: RSVP to office@rotarytoronto.com to be admitted to the meeting.
THERE IS NO YOUTUBE FOR THIS MEETING
Rick is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants Association of Ontario. He recently retired from KPMG where he worked his entire professional career, including as a Corporate Finance and Risk Management Partner in its Advisory practice.
Rick has always been involved with community organizations, including on the Boards of the Toronto Public Library, the Rotary Club and its Foundation, and the Toronto Community Foundation, respectively.
Rick is the current president of the Rotary Club Of Toronto Charitable Foundation. He has served previously as a Club Board member , Treasurer of the Club, and Chair of Research and Appeals.
Rick has always lived in the east end of Toronto and he and his wife Robin currently reside in the Beach . Their three children and three grandchildren, respectively are all nearby.
Rotary Club of Toronto Charitable Foundation
Background
Rotary Club of Toronto Charitable Foundation (Foundation) was incorporated in 1951 as a separate entity to provide a permanent legacy. It was started with seed money from members of The Rotary Club of Toronto (the Club).
Since it receives funds from Club members and others, the Foundation’s registration with the Canada Revenue Agency classifies it as a public foundation (private foundations are usually established and funded by a single family). Typical of public foundations, the Foundation makes its donations to other registered Canadian charities and other qualified recipients, but does not directly do charitable work.
The meeting opened with the inspirational video produced by Drew Snider celebrating women in history current and past, Canadian and International. This video included Agnes MacPhail the founder in Canada of the original Elizabeth Fry Society. Emilie Coyle the Executive Director of CAEFS was our first speaker and was followed by Rashida Samji, now an advocate for women who experience prison especially Indigenous and LGBTQ after her own experience in a federal prison.
Both speakers confirmed the trauma of prison is experienced by many women before they get there from their own families and communities and again inside the prison from staff. So the notion of leaving prison rehabilitated is seldom achieved. “Women do not belong in cages" was a quote from Rashida. Prison is not a cure for poverty, lack of education, addiction, lack of basic needs being met or homelessness. It is an environment that is punishing yet again for many women who have already had a tough life. Emilie points out that we spend 5 billion dollars a year on Canada’s prisons at a cost of $200,000 per person to have them incarcerated. Obviously this would be better spent on tackling the issues that send people to prison.
Women in prison are separated from their children and never lose the stigma associated with their time in prison. CAEFS assisted 90,000 clients over the last year with 700 staff and 24 societies from BC to NFLD. They assist on reintegration and employment and housing. They assist with pre trial and support where they can once inside prison. They have regional advocates that go into prisons and monitor conditions. What they find is reported to OCI, The Office of Correctional Investigator. Not enough is happening to correct these reported abuses. If you want to know what a day in prison is like I suggest you read the website of CAEFS and then start writing your provincial and federal MPs.
Congratulations to the Women's Initiatives Committee for another powerful tribute for International Women's Day
Fellowship & Entertainment Activities-Pat Neuman, Chair
We are here for the long term so please join in. All events are listed on our Google Calendar accessible through your @rotarytoronto.com account or find the emails sent out in advance. Contact Maureen Bird to set up your access. 416-804-3726.
Virtual Dinner Club, Saturday March 20 - 6:30
Hosted this month by Lori Brazier. Contact her for invite. A group meets together having shared recipes so you all eat the same meal. Chats have been fun.
Contact lori.brazier@rotarytoronto.com
Virtual Cooking Club, Saturday March 27 - 7:00
This week Mardi and Neil will be having us do fish cakes. You don't have to cook - it is an opportunity to just chat. Contact Neil if you are not on his list.
nphillips@dgn-marketing.com
Gardening Club will meet on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 4 pm...
First date is March 16, 2021 4 pm.
Speaker is Anny-Sandra Hamel who will talk on "Organic Gardening"
To Join...
Contact Co-ordinator June Brown
Spring really is just around the corner.
9-15 March we celebrate World Rotaract Week!
Rotaract was founded more than 50 years ago, with the Rotaract Club of North Charlotte, Carolina being the first club to be chartered - on March 13, 1968.
However, as early as 1935, Paul Harris encountered a youth organization based on Rotary principles in Australia. In the 1950's many youth clubs were sponsored by Rotary clubs under various names. These included the “Paul Harris Circles” in Europe and the “Rotors” clubs created in some American Universities.
In 1965, these organizations experienced significant growth - in part due to the Interact program created by Rotary International in 1962.
Many Interactors, having reached the age limit of that program, were starting new types of clubs called “Senior Interact”. The new program’s name, Rotaract, was created by Rotary International as a combination of the words “Rotary” and “Action”. The aim of the program was stated to be “to develop leadership and responsible citizenship through service to the community.”
Following the founding of the Rotaract Club of North Charlotte, many existing Rotary based youth clubs changed their names to become an official Rotaract club. In the 1990s, Rotaractors combined their organizations on an international level with the creation of Multi-District Organizations in Europe, Australia and South America. There are over 10,698 clubs in about 180 countries and geographical areas with over 203,000 members.
Rotaractors are true “partners in service” and key members of the Rotary family, who work hand in hand with Rotarians. Here are some of my insights into why Rotaractors make the best Rotarians!
WHY RECRUIT THEM? For starters, Rotaractors make great members because they already know so much about Rotary. They've been educated in how Rotary works, what the structure is, what the main causes are, and they are trained in leadership skills that they can translate straight into Rotary. Equally important, they bring new ideas that can invigorate your club.
HOW TO RECRUIT THEM? The most important thing is investing time in their lives by: Giving them a role to play beyond simply attending club meetings - Ask them to serve on your board or on a committee. Partner with them on some of their Rotaract club's events. Sponsor them to attend a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) weekend or to attend the Rotary International Convention. Over the course of a year or so, you are going to know who they are, what their experience is, what they are good at, and what they are willing to give, and these are the kind of people who will definitely join your club at any age. Involving them in a project - Offer a variety of projects so they can choose one they are passionate about. And be willing to entertain ideas they It's important to really listen to them. Rotaractors want to feel like they are respected and that their ideas count. For example, draw on their skills with social media, fundraising or international development. Mentoring them - Most young adults are actually attracted to the idea of mixed-age clubs because they are able to benefit from the knowledge and experience of older members. Luckily Rotary Club of Toronto has 2 Rotaract Clubs.
President of Rotaract Club of Toronto, Mariya Morosovska shared with us about this year's collaboration between the two clubs:
Before COVID-19 pandemic, we would attend President's Cocktails - where Rotarians and Rotaractors could network and connect in a semi-formal setting and the Camp Scugog Event where we would help the Rotary Club in fixing up the Camp as needed and build fellowship between our two clubs through sweat labour.
Here are the activities that we do together:
- Mentorship program: for the last few years we had a mentorship program with the Rotary Club of Toronto, which has really gone a long way towards building the bond between our two clubs. There is an exchange of knowledge between Rotarians and Rotaractors, and our club members have an excellent opportunity to learn professional skills from their Rotarian mentors.
- Attending meetings: In the beginning of the year we were thrilled to have President John Fortney come in to speak to our club, and throughout the year Rotarians such as Neil and Andrea have come out to our committee events and club meetings. Our club members have also greatly enjoyed the speaker series held by The Rotary Club of Toronto every Friday, and many of us have tuned in via google meets or youtube on a regular basis. This cross-participation is very valuable to us, and certainly builds fellowship and the bonds between our clubs.
Historically The Rotary Club of Toronto has been very supportive of our Annual Fundraiser, and they have generously helped us in achieving our fundraising goals by either attending the event or if they cannot attend, sending in a donation. It's always a pleasure to see Rotarians at this event and have their support, as it's one of the biggest events for our club. This year the fundraiser will be held online on Friday, April 23. We hope to see fellow Rotarians there!
Organized by the District 7070:
The meeting will have a limited number of participants - please RSVP and submit any questions by Monday March 15, 2021 to secretary@bay-bloor-rotary-club.com. A video of the meeting will be available upon request.
SERVICE ABOVE SELF
The Rotary Club of Toronto, Fairmont Royal York Hotel, H Level
