PASSPORT ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS in APRIL

GOAL – As a club we will log a minimum of 50 hours of environmental pursuits between April 1 and April 30.

HOW – Send an email to sastorie.rotary@gmail.com with your contribution – The person who submits the most items will receive a paid lunch (from your choice of restaurant) from Sue Storie.

WHAT QUALIFIES? – Anything you do to reduce, reuse, and/or recycle, conserve water, conserve hydro. BE CREATIVE!

Some Ideas

• Use cloth bag when shopping (tell me how many bags, how many trips – each counts as 1, so 3 bags for 3 shopping trips counts as 9 hours

• Hang clothes outside – each day counts as 1.

• Plan your driving route to accommodate 3 or more tasks. Each trip counts as 1. If you use your bike or walk instead of driving, you get 10 bonus points.

• Picking up garbage at home or in your community 1 point per session, but if you go for longer than an hour, tell me how many hours.

• 10 bonus points if you attend another Rotary club and mention this challenge (perhaps as a Happy Buck).

• Check Kitty’s newsletter for ideas.

• Read this link for 1 point. https://greatist.com/happiness/ways-help-environment#food-waste

• Have a vegetarian meal. 1 point for each meal.

• Share your ideas!

And more - In Verse form

In a world where trees do sneeze, And polar bears begin to freeze, We humans must take action, please!

The Earth is groaning, can't you tell? It's not a place where unicorns dwell, Our oceans now are choked with kelp.

Save the bees, we do beseech, Stop using plastic for each peach, It's time to practice what we preach.

Oh, Mother Earth, we hear your cry, We'll ride our bikes, we'll learn to fly With solar wings up in the sky.

So join the fight, reduce, reuse, And challenge friends to eco-duels, For in the end, it's Earth we'll lose!

But now with humour, wit, and cheer, We'll work to make our planet clear, And greet the future with a beer!

In a world where the trash does accrue, Green superheroes emerged, who knew? With cape made of leaves and hearts full of cheer, They whispered to all, "Have no fear, we are here!"

They battled the smog, the waste, and pollution, Offering Earth a sustainable solution. They taught us to compost, recycle, and share, And to ride on a bike when we're going somewhere.

Oh, our eco-heroes, so valiant and spry, With wind turbines spinning and solar panels high, Their love for our planet, so vast and immense, They'd hug every tree, without any pretense.

So heed their advice and protect our dear Earth, Together we'll cherish its beauty and worth. A greener tomorrow, we all must create, For the sake of our planet, it's never too late!

SLATE OF OFFICERS FOR 2023-23

President - Sue Storie

President Elect – Mariann Timmers

Secretary - Mariann Timmers

Treasurer - Lynn Coates

Foundation Chair - Rick Storie

Communications Chair - Kitty Bucsko

Service Committee Chair - Bev Andersen

Membership Chair - Sue Storie (hoping to find someone else)

SPEAKERS’ PASSPORT

Meeting summary, March 1, 2023

If you missed last month’s meeting (March1), you missed an excellent speaker and an emotional presentation. Neil Dunsmore from Rotary Club of Fergus-Elora is passionate about what he’s doing to help youth and promote mental health! He sets an example for us all!

From the Fergus-Elora website –

Fergus Elora Rotary Club member Neil Dunsmore took the first steps to stopping the silence around mental health and suicide by walking 531 km or 330 miles from The Township of Centre Wellington to the nation’s capital Ottawa. When asked why he would take on such a challenge, Dunsmore answered with a typical Rotarian response:

“It’s about my community! We are 2.7 times the national average for suicide and that’s an issue for me. Someone needs to raise awareness and get this issue on everyone’s radar, the Federal Governments, the Provincial Governments, and the service clubs. Our community is in crisis and when a crisis hits, we have no choice but to act. Service above self!”

Dunsmore’s goal was to not just raise awareness, but also funds, for local mental health initiatives sponsored in part by the Cody Shepperd Project.

Cody Shepperd was a Centre Wellington Wrestler who, on the outside, had the world at his feet. He was a champion who represented Canada at the Pan Am games and was popular among his peers. On October 17, 2017, Cody died by suicide, and his family’s and friends’ lives changed forever.

Cody’s parents, Paul and Darcie Shepperd, started the Cody Shepperd Project to help families and youth in our community understand Mental Health issues, and raise awareness of the services that are out there. Their motto Stop the Silence resonated with Neil, and he knew it would be the perfect fit.

“As a professional Speaker and Speaker Coach, I know the quickest way to reach people is by sharing your story and being honest and vulnerable! Talking about the people in our lives and sharing your own story helps others realize they are not alone, realize they are not the only one, and by sharing your success they find hope!”

Dunsmore is currently a Township of Centre Wellington Councillor, but prior to that he was a Provincial Corrections Officer and a Crisis/Hostage Negotiator, so he understands the power of connecting with people and he felt now, more than ever, was the time to do this.

“COVID19 has shut my business down and no one is having speakers come to their organization to speak. I realized so many people will be struggling mentally with this isolation, and they need to know there are people and services here for them. It was a financial hit, as I should have, and could have, taken a job to help with our personal finances, but this was a burning need, And that old motto of Service Above Self kept ringing in my ears!”

Click here to read the rest of Neil’s story on the Fergus-Elora website.

Well done and thank you, Neil!

The Race to Erase is not a running race! The challenges are a combination of savvy and smarts – no goofy shorts required. On Race Day, teams compete to complete the challenges in the fastest time. Everyone gathers together at the start to register before heading out to different locations, and only after they have completed the first challenge, are they give the location of the next one. Watch the video below to learn more.

Click here to view the video that tells us all about this excellent community fund-raiser, co-ordinated by our own Rotary member, Rich Bouchard!

Watch and listen for more to come!

Click here to learn more about the Race to Erase!

The Race to Erase was founded by Scott McKay and Rich Bouchard. They had two connected goals in mind: they wanted to create a fun and creative event for people to take part in, and they wanted it to positively enhance the community. First discussed over a game of golf, both agreed that it would be fun to send teams of four on a road rally fundraiser throughout the community, competing in timed challenges along the way. Due to safety concerns (and a high Insurance price tag), the driving would not be timed, only the actual challenges.

The first Race to Erase was held in October 2006. The Race committee partnered with Sarnia’s Inn of the Good Shepherd for the Race to Erase Hunger. The event was an immediate success with 30 teams participating and more than $38,000 raised. In the second year, the Race to Erase again raised funds for the Inn of the Good Shepherd, but this time the Race was called the Race to Erase Homelessness as the funds went to building the Good Shepherd’s Lodge, a homeless shelter in Sarnia. More recently, the Race has evolved to allow more charities to participate and receive a portion of the funds raised. The Race has also expanded its scope. While the first Race Days were held in Sarnia and London, the Race has recently expanded to include Cambridge, and may soon appear in a number of other communities across Ontario.

The Race remains committed to three core principles: having fun, fundraising and community spotlight. The event is first and foremost intended to be a fun way to spend Race Day with friends. Like a Corporate Challenge on wheels, teams get to drive to different challenges and do things together they wouldn’t normally do, whether that is feeding someone a sundae blindfolded, running through a corn maze or learning a Celtic dance routine. Teams are always laughing as they experience the Race.

It was also always important that this event be tied to fundraising as a way to help positively enhance the community. Each team is asked to raise a minimum of $500, which the committee always believed was reasonable for any team to achieve. All teams are encouraged to raise more than the minimum.

Finally, the Race also works to shine a light on the many great businesses and not-for-profits that our community has to offer. Our goal is to ensure that everyone finishes the race knowing a little more about our community than they did at the start of the day. Each participating challenge works with the organizing committee to create a memorable event that ties into their core message, thus exposing their goals in a fun and unique way.

Why

Remember

Chat about “stuff” and what’s important to you. Let’s get to know our members!

Plan to join our Zoom Meetings! Click here.

Our Every Rotarian, Every Year (EREY) initiative encourages all Rotary club members to contribute at least what they can afford every year to help us reach our goal to support the Rotary Foundation financially each year

One who contributes $100 USD every year is a Sustaining Member. With EREY, we encourage you to contribute an amount you can afford every year.