2013-2014 Rotaract Club Board of Directors
A BIG WELCOME TO THE NEW BOARD FOR THE 2013-2014 ROTARACT YEAR
President – Kelly Ku
Vice President – Neisely Eugene
Immediate Past President – Netila Demneri
Secretary – Sarah Hui
Treasurer – Melanie Watts
Club Service – Maria Shibaeva
Community Service – Leslie Lee
International Service – Faridah Saadat
Communications – Eric Muller
Professional Development – Faiyyad Hosein
CONGRATULATIONS!
Dear Friends,
We’ve come a long way since the days when people believed that you could contract HIV by breathing the same air as someone with HIV. We now live in a day and age where HIV-positive moms can safely breastfeed their infants. Despite recent reports of HIV-cured cases, HIV/AIDS is a battle we haven’t won yet.
The Rotaract Club of Toronto is participating in the Rotary Trump AIDS Poker Walk on April 27th and we would love the support of each of our members. This Walk has been going on for the past 6 years in Toronto and we’ve raised close to $500,000 for AIDS action.
This year the funds will go to Ongutai AIDS Clinic in Uganda and Ikhwezi Lokusa Wellness Centre in East London, South Africa. I was an Intern at Ikhwezi back in 2006 and saw firsthand the comprehensive care they provided to HIV/AIDS patients. Without clinics like Ongutai and Ikhwezi, HIV/AIDS patients will not receive the critical care, support and education they need to live healthy lives.
Please help our teams, Toronto Rotaract AIDS Trumpers! And P-P-Poker Face raise much needed funds for this worthwhile initiative. Our combined team goal is $3000. We have raised $1840 so far! Please help us exceed this goal for AIDS action!
You can donate by visiting either of our team pages and clicking on a team member to “sponsor”:
Toronto Rotaract AIDS Trumpers!
Donations of $20 or more will receive a tax receipt.
We thank you for your support in advance.
My very best,
Faridah, on behalf of Toronto Rotaract AIDS Trumpers! And P-P-P-oker Face
Rotaract Club of Beirut Metropolitan 2013 Calendar
Thank you to the Rotaract Club of Beirut Metropolitan who has shared this International calendar with Rotaract Clubs around the world. In late 2012, the club put out a call to all Rotaractors to contribute with their club logo; Clubs from all over the world participated in their project: 112 CLUBS, 112 LOGOS, 365 DAYS.
“For all the Participants in this calendar, WE THANK YOU for making our project come true.
Our Best wishes are for you forever. Have a promising and fulfilling new year!”
On a beautiful Sunday, a group of Rotaractors came together to volunteer at the Toronto Animal Services to build feral cat shelters. We received an orientation on volunteering and learned about the different opportunities with the organization including cat cuddling, dog walking, and the various programs that help at risk youth. We learned about the educational awareness program where workers bring in their canine partners into schools. We also learned about the importance of this organization and its efforts to promote pet adoption and pet identification.
We then heard from a master feral cat house builder and his work with Toronto Street Cats. Their mission is to improve the lives of Toronto’s homeless cats by offering spay/neuter services free for feral cats and building shelters for the cats during the winter months. They also work to increase public awareness about Toronto’s homeless cat population and the importance of spay/neuter and trap/neuter/return.
After the presentations, our group went right to work to build 20 feral cat shelters! These shelters are vital for feral and stray cats as the cold winter months in Toronto can cause frostbites on the ears and paws of these cats and in worse case scenarios these cats may be impacted by hypothermia. Building the shelters required strong team working skills as it required a group of people to cut out the styrofoam that insulates the plastic tote shelters, then another group to construct and insulate the shelter using tape, Styrofoam and a plastic pipe, and finally when all that was done, straw was added into the shelter.
Upon completion of the 20 feral cat shelters, our group was given the opportunity to receive a tour of the facility where we saw some cute cuddly cats kittens and some adorable dogs!!
For more information about this, please see the article that was published in the Toronto Star on Friday, January 25, 2013.
By: Aislynn Austin, International Service Director
The Rotary club of Toronto (RCT) is currently celebrating 100 years of service in the Toronto community and internationally. The club is celebrating this wonderful milestone by donating in excess of $ 1, 000,000 to local and international agencies for their life-changing programs. On January 18, 2013, The Rotary Club of Toronto hosted their 6th centennial lunch for the year, which highlighted and commemorated “Women’s Initiative’s” in Rotary. The centennial award of $100,000 was awarded to the “Working Women Community Centre” (WWCC) for their innovative program that gives immigrant women a stepping stone into their new environment via “The Women’s Meeting Place” (WMP) . WWCC has been providing community engaging services for over 35 years in the priority neighbourhoods of Toronto to new-comer women. These services have afforded the participants their right to meet their full potentials by allowing them to connect, educate themselves and foster better development for themselves and their families. WMP is the first collaboration between RCT and WWCC and is envisioned to act as a hub that will continually help to identify issues, create solutions and provide the environment that will allow generational success.
Rotaractors attend the January Centennial Project meeting of the Rotary Club of Toronto
Apply for the 2013 Youth Civic Leadership Awards!
Youth Civic Leadership Awards 2013
Youth in the GTA show civic leadership in many ways across all sectors of our society. We believe if we wish these young people to continue their leadership with compassion, creativity and tenacity, we must acknowledge and celebrate their many accomplishments.
Rotary would like you to join in this celebration. Are you a young person who has made a contribution to the community in which you live? Do you know of someone who deserves recognition for the leadership they show? Please help to encourage civic leadership in our city by recommending this individual for a Rotary Youth Leadership Award.
Our club is proud to support these awards alongside the Rotary Club of Toronto, the Rotaract Club of the University of Toronto, and Toronto Community Housing.
Click here for the full application form.
Please submit your application by March 31, 2013.
Best of luck!
