Club President Notification:
Rotary Club of Willowdale would like to extent it's utmost gratitude for all the great contributions we received in 2020. Because of your kind donation, our projects were successful and made a difference in the life of many in Canada and abroad.
Thank you for contributing to: our Ham & Cheese project benefiting North York Salvation Army, our first Rotary Foundation Virtual Walk, our Food Bank benefiting North York Harvest Food Bank, The Phillips House project at the North York General Hospital, The Arusha School project in Tanzania Africa, The Kerala Schools Project in India -- offering computers to 15 schools in 4 districts, our Gratitude Garden project honouring our front line workers, SMILES benefiting locals and people in the Dominican Republic, and many more projects we are proud of.
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Please join or weekly Zoom meeting on Thursdays at 12:30 pm, and at 6:30pm on the last Thursday of the month.
THE GRATITUDE GARDENS:
Two classrooms are now complete thanks to the generosity of the members, friends and family of the Rotary Club of Willowdale.
Posted by JK Nyerere Primary School on Saturday, March 20, 2021
Rotary Club of Willowdale is happy to be part of the Kerala Schools Project in India.
A beautiful project of over $29,000 CAD: Computers for 15 flood affected schools to help rebuild their IT labs.
This project is lead by our fellow Rotarian Jobson Easow. With the help of many kind people in Canada and abroad, this project completed it's first phase by delivering the first computers to the schools that were affected by the devastating floods in Kerala, India.
In 2019 a committee was formed at the Rotary Club of Willowdale in Canada, to start a project to re-build computer labs in 15 schools in Kerala. A fundraising event was organized and got commitment/support from 7 clubs. Many meetings were conducted between Willowdale and Indian Rotary club. The project applied for RI grant but was not successful, and the team decided to do this project in 3 phases. We are also thankful that in 2020 Kerala Rotary partner up with Rajagiri outreach in India, and the first schools are well equipped now to start rebuilding their IT labs. The Fundraising event in Canada in 2019, organized by Rotary Club of Willowdale's Jobson Easow, raised $29,000 CA. The Kalamassery Rotary Club added $2,000 US to the project. in early 2021, the first phase of this 3 part project was delivered to the first 8 schools in Kerala.
This IT lab infrastructure support project will allow 15 Kerala schools to get connected again.
Kerala is a small coastal state at the southern tip of India and was an idyllic tourist paradise until it was ravaged by unprecedented floods. The fury and ferocity of the rain and resulting floods was devastating for Kerala. The last time a flood of this magnitude occurred was in 1924.
The current floods could be described as the ‘flood of the century’ and it claimed almost 500 lives. The floods have caused immeasurable misery and suffering for the people of Kerala and the scale of destruction and devastation in Kerala is massive. Entire villages have been evacuated and bridges, roads and other infrastructure have been completely destroyed. Over a million people were displaced and it will set Kerala back by decades, at least two according to experts. The damage is estimated in the range of USD 6 to 10 billion. More than 25,000 kilometres of roads along with over 200 bridges have been destroyed or damaged, while estimates of the number of houses to be rebuilt vary from 50,000 to 100,000.
Tourism and agriculture sectors in the state have been badly affected. Needless to say, many people have lost their livelihoods. It is estimated that over 3 million people have lost their livelihood. Several medical facilities in the state have been damaged and health authorities are concerned about the risk of communicable diseases as the flood water recedes.
Rotary Club Willowdale (Canada) with the help of Rotary Club Kalamassery (Kerala) had undertaken the initiative to re-build computer labs in 15 schools of 4 districts in 3 phases.
Happy to report that the Phase 1 of this project is completed. The first 8 schools received their IT lab equipment in early 2021. Awesome job everybody!
Winter Issue Feb 2021
J.K. NYERERE SCHOOL, ARUSHA TANZANIA
This project began by chance when a fellow Rotarian, Margaret Adat, took a family trip to Tanzania in 2007. As a family, they decided to donate to a local school, J.K. Nyerere Primary School. What happened next is a testament to the results people can achieve when they live and follow Service Above Self, one of Rotary’s two mottoes.
Picture: Crowded classrooms, shortage of books
Picture: Semi-completed classrooms
Pictures: Construction currently underway to build additional classroom
The Adat family did donate to J.K. Nyerere Primary School nearly 14 years ago. And the impact that visit had on them inspired them to ask friends, family, colleagues, community members and the Rotary Club of Willowdale to support students, teachers and the infrastructure of a once neglected school.
The impact that our club has made in thousands of students and family’s lives in Arusha is nothing short of incredible. Since 2013, the Rotary Club of Willowdale has raised over $100,000 in support of J.K. Nyerere Primary School. Some recent initiatives include:
· Completing the construction of 3 classrooms due to overcrowding
· Adding another water tank to provide adequate water
· Ongoing repairs, including painting and purchasing supplies (desks, blackboards, etc.)
· Finishing the construction of the teacher’s residence to improve the school’s security
· Feeding students during national examinations (Standard 4 and Standard 7)
During the most recent Standard 7, the entrance examination for secondary school, 99% of students from J.K Nyerere Primary School passed. The school is now ranked 36th in the school district, a leap forward from it’s previous ranking of 69th, and a clear indication that our efforts are making a difference.
Feeding grade 7 students during naTonal examination period.
Rotary Club of Willowdale is very proud of this project and would like to thank our fellow Rotarian Margaret Adat and family for leading this project since 2013 in an extraordinary manner. SERVICE ABOVE SELF!
Enjoy the J.K. Nyerere Primary School in Arusha video, and get inspired to help us keep their students' dreams alive.
Go to our Donate button on our home page and contribute to this beautiful project.
 Highlights of Letter from SMILES Foundation to Rotary Club of Willowdale:
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https://willowdalerotary.org/page/donate/
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The Rotaract Club of Willowdale decided to make the "Smiles In Action" program their number one Community Services project for 2020/2021 and beyond, as both groups have forged a meaningful partnership for fostering goodwill, making an impact is our communities and opening doors for opportunities.The Smiles Foundation is a non-profit institution with its seat in Canada, based in the United States and in the Dominican Republic. Their goal is to provide life-enhancing activities, dental care and primary health care education to children in the Dominican Republic, free of charge, as well as to offer underprivileged communities tools to develop and improve their health, environment, and safety through our educational and social enterprise programs. Here area a few images of the new Mobile Clinic in the Dominican Republic. The clinic was used only a few times before we had to close it due to COVID - 19. 668 children got treated in it and a few thousand family members received primary health care and dental education.
For more on this organization, please get in touch with Courtney Doldron at the Rotary Club of Willowdale (at csdoldron@rogers.com)
Smiles In Action: 2727 Steeles Avenue West, Suite 301, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 3G9, Canada
Canadian Charitable Organization Registration # 86854 4362 RR0001
T: (416) 739 1237 - - smilesinaction@smilesfoundation.org - - www.smilesinaction.org
We could all use another tree in our yard, and the Bayview Village Association, along with The Rotary Club of Willowdale and The City of Toronto, is here to help.
A Freeman Maple in all its glory (photo courtesy of Connon Nurseries)
The Neighborhood Tree Giveaway Program, formally known as “Tree for Me,” supports the City of Toronto’s goal of reaching a 40% tree canopy cover by 2050.
This year’s event will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2020, from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Forest Grove United Church, located at 43 Forest Grove Drive.
The “Neighborhood Tree Giveaway Program” program offers residents a free native tree that is best suited for their planting space and provides reference materials as well as a workshop on proper planting and care. To register go on EventBrite, at the following link.
A few facts about your free tree:
• The City of Toronto and Connon Nurseries provide all trees, which are native to Toronto’s seed zone and suited for our urban environment.
• Trees come in 1-2 gallon buckets and are small enough to carry on the TTC or sit in the back of a car.
• Residents will be limited to two trees (total) per address.
• Species of the trees/shrubs are subject to availability:
Large Trees: Freeman Maple, Ironwood, Hackberry
Medium Trees: Eastern Redbud
Shrubs: Purple Flowering Raspberry, Nannyberry, Service Berry, and Bush Honeysuckle.
Any questions about the program? Contact Sharon Johnson, BVA Environment Committee at environment@bayviewvillage.org.
https://www.bayviewvillage.org/p/Environment/article/Have-We-Got-a-Tree-For-You-1437305501
Greetings, fellow Rotarians and Rotaractors!
I am so honored to serve as your president this year. We have important work ahead of us at Rotary, and we are going to have a lot of fun as we do it.
Last year, we launched our five-year Action Plan to build a stronger future for Rotary. We are working to increase our impact, expand our reach, enhance participant engagement, and increase our ability to adapt. The last several months have shown that we — as Rotarians and Rotaractors — can realize these goals as we forge a new path for the future.
Without question, COVID-19 has posed new and previously unimaginable challenges for Rotary. But within every challenge is perhaps an even greater opportunity. And while I could not have known what lay ahead when I selected my theme for the year, Rotary Opens Opportunities has even greater relevance as we begin our new Rotary year.
I am incredibly inspired by how our members have adapted and responded to COVID-19. This global pandemic has made it difficult for many of our clubs to operate as usual, but we persevered, and over the past few months, I’ve enjoyed connecting with my fellow Rotarians and Rotaractors in a new way: by visiting hundreds of clubs from my home. It’s been fun to attend so many meetings virtually. If you haven’t already, I encourage your club to try an online meeting or add an online component, like hosting a guest speaker from a Rotary or Rotaract club located in a different part of the world.
As we build a stronger future for our organization, it’s good that we are reaching out to new people and introducing them to Rotary. It’s important that our clubs reflect the communities we serve. More diverse voices in our clubs and in our leadership will help Rotary stay in touch with a changing world.
So let’s find every opportunity to show we value each and every member. Let’s seize this moment to build on what we’ve learned, to embrace our new reality, to welcome new faces, and to find additional ways to shine. This is how we will have a continuing impact on the world. And if you need assistance along the way, Rotary offers many resources that can help you reach your goals.
Rotary means different things in different parts of the world, but we are all united by our core values and by The Four-Way Test. Rotary may change, but our values remain constant.
I look forward to hearing about how you’re finding new opportunities to engage and make an impact in your club and community. Rotary Opens Opportunities, both for the people we serve and for ourselves.
Thank you.
Holger Knaack
RI President, 2020-21
