The Members Bulletin
 
Chartered 1920
October 7th, 2024
IN THIS BULLETIN... 
 
At last Friday's meeting, October 4th, the Seniors for Climate Action Now (SCAN) spoke to our club. 

Marva Wisdom introduced the speaker from SCAN, Mary Mitchell, highlighting her extensive background in education, including her role on a school board and a year-long sabbatical in France.

Mary began by sharing a personal story about a conversation with her son during a car trip, where they discussed the impact of climate change.
 
The son expressed a pessimistic view about the future, leading Mary to have an "aha" moment and decide to take action.
 
Mary's journey began by connecting with the Ontario Clean Air Alliance which led to the formation of SCAN. 
 
Mary praised SCAN's website for its wealth of information on activism, education, research, and knowledge sharing.
 
The concept of seniors being a "demographic time bomb" is discussed, with SCAN working to change this legacy to one of climate action.
 
In this regard, Mary spoke about the global impact of senior activists, citing an example of 2000 women in Switzerland taking climate action.
 
Mary then shared a video that provides an overview of SCAN and the seniors' movement.
 
The video discuses findings from a study conducted by sociology students at the University of Toronto, revealing that older adults are more engaged in climate action than assumed.
 
The study highlights that 59% of older adults in Canada have altered their behaviors to impact climate positively, and 56% believe Canada is moving too slowly on climate change.
 
Mary then asked Gina Lammel to speak. Gina is another member of SCAN. She explained the qualitative research methods used, including literature reviews and interviews with older adults in the Greater Toronto Area.
 
The interviews revealed that older adults care about the environment and climate change, but many are unsure about how to take action.
 
Gina explained how SCAN can be best understood as a resource to mobilize and guide older adults in climate action, providing opportunities for political engagement and practical measures.
 
SCAN has had many successful campaigns, such as pressuring the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board to divest from fossil fuels.
 
The organization also educates members about the broader consequences of climate change, including potential displacement of over 1 billion people by 2050.
 
SCAN's efforts aim to create a sense of collective action and amplify individual contributions to climate change mitigation.

After this overview by Gina, Mary went on to summarize SCAN's five transitions that are needed to address the climate crisis: recognizing Indigenous rights, energy transition, economic transition, social and climate justice, and a new relationship with the natural world.
 
Mary, a retired teacher and librarian, shares her journey of discovering SCAN and becoming involved in the Guelph chapter.
 
The Guelph chapter has about 15 members and focuses on building a community of effective climate activists and working on actions and goals.

Mary outlines the activities of the Guelph chapter, including monthly meetings and planning sessions.

The chapter's goals include building a community of activists and working on actions to bring about the desired change.
 
Recent activities include a campaign to divest from fossil fuels and discussions on implementing a maximum indoor temperature by law.
 
Mary and Gina were thanked for their insightful presentation and work on climate action. 
 
If you're interested in learning more about SCAN, here is their website: https://seniorsforclimateactionnow.org/scan-guelph/ 
 
Notes taken by otter.ai, edited by Aidan Harris. 
Stories
EHTC Lawn Sign Campaign
Our lawn sign campaign is officially back! Make sure to put up your Stop Human Trafficking lawn sign! 
From October 1st to 31st the Eradicating Human Trafficking Committee is running its lawn sign campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking in the Guelph-Wellington region.
 
Signs are $10 each. If you're interested in purchasing a sign please contact us at (ehtc.rotary@gmail.com). The more signs we put up, the more awareness we raise! 
 
 
Sincerely,
Aidan Harris
Chair of the Eradicating Human Trafficking Committee
 
Read more...
Guelph’s Rotary Duck Race made a big splash in 2024
 
For the 36th time, the Rotary Club of Guelph Wellington’s famous “Got Duck” fundraiser delighted onlookers, prize winners and beneficiaries alike. This year's iconic duck race had a combined impact of $95,000. It’s an astonishing result for a small but mighty Rotary club of just nine members, bringing together their many years of duck race experience and tireless efforts.  
 
 
This year’s result included $21,000 worth of prizes, $24,000 earned by the Guelph Minor Hockey Association for selling 5,000 duck tickets, and $50,000 donated to the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington in support of the food security program Keep Kids Fed At Home, formerly known as Food4Kids Guelph.
 
Check out the prizes and winners here
 
The Grand Prize of $6,000 in Zehr’s gift cards was won by one of the 200 ducks generously purchased by Linamar to support this charitable event. Linamar immediately donated all the gift cards to the children’s food program for even greater impact.
 
The big splash of 6,100 rubber duckies took place at Riverside Park on August 25, on the Sunday of this year’s Rotary Ribfest which is run by a sister club, the Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium. The picture-perfect weather brought out record crowds with much excitement at the Speed River’s edge in cheering the spectacle of individually numbered yellow duckies racing to the finish line. Some ducks luckily caught a good current and surged ahead, while others meandered and bobbled together at the water’s edge. A catch-net was strung across the river in front of the first weir where waders stood ready to scoop up the winning ducks. Many bystanders then lent a hand in retrieving all the remaining ducks from the shallow water – almost as much fun as watching the race, said some.
 
It is the fourth year that this Guelph duck race has supported food security programming for local kids, “Because children are our future,” said Martin Van Dam, this year’s president of the Guelph Wellington Rotary club.
 
“We know that this fantastic food program currently supports about 500 local kids with food bags for weekends and grocery gift cards for their families during school holidays,” said Martin. “And we’ve learned that another 200 local kids need this support. We love this particular program because it was actually started six years ago by the four Rotary Clubs of Guelph working together, so it is close to our hearts, and we are determined to keep on helping to feed kids in our community.”
 
Donna Graham, a Rotarian and former chair of the board of Food4Kids Guelph, said, “We were overwhelmed with gratitude when we saw how much was being donated by this year’s Duck Race to this food program.”
 
“Ditto,” said Laurie Lantaigne, also a Rotarian and director of finance at the Children’s Foundation, accepting the cheque. “This incredible donation will allow us to enrol about 100 more kids to receive weekend food bags for this school year.”
 
Martin Van Dam had the last word. “Wait till you see how much bigger the Duck Race is going to be next year!”
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION
 
Online:
         Information               www.childrensfoundation.org/what-we-do/food-security
         Donations                  https://donate.childrensfoundation.org/main-donation
 
Read more...
Bulletin Editor
Aidan Harris
Upcoming Events
Fri Oct 11 Meeting - International Service Update
Italian Canadian Club
Oct. 11, 2024
12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
 
Children & Youth/Vocational Service Committee Mtg
Online
Oct. 11, 2024 9:00 a.m.
 
Fri Oct 18 Meeting - End Polio & Rotary Foundation
Italian Canadian Club
Oct. 18, 2024
12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
 
Fri Oct 25 Meeting - Guelph Police Chief & Deputy
Italian Canadian Club
Oct. 25, 2024
12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
 
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Birthdays & Rotary Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Lawrie Jones
October 6
 
Anne MacKay
October 7
 
Felix Arndt
October 8
 
Lloyd Longfield
October 8
 
Helmuth Slisarenko
October 12
 
Jasmine Urisk
October 17
 
Avtar Kambo
October 18
 
Cam Guthrie
October 18
 
Walter Stachnyk
October 20
 
Steve Dyck
October 25
 
Aidan Harris
November 3
 
Nanita Mohan
November 10
 
Carolyn Weatherson
November 11
 
Dan Vitale
November 12
 
Anne - Marie Zajdlik
November 22
 
Join Date
Tracey Curtis
October 2, 2015
9 years
 
Bernhard Vanderkamp
October 3, 2003
21 years
 
Bonnie Evans
October 5, 2001
23 years
 
Jasmine Urisk
October 10, 2014
10 years
 
Bill Stevens
October 13, 1972
52 years
 
Paul Dredge
October 18, 1996
28 years
 
Anne - Marie Zajdlik
October 22, 2010
14 years
 
Lawrie Jones
October 22, 1972
52 years
 
Anne MacKay
October 26, 2018
6 years
 
Barb Holmes
October 26, 1990
34 years
 
Aidan Harris
October 28, 2022
2 years
 
Margaret Trainor
October 31, 1997
27 years
 
Mike Schreiner
November 3, 2017
7 years
 
David Worthen
November 4, 2005
19 years
 
Claire Davies
November 11, 2022
2 years
 
Paddy Grist
November 14, 2002
22 years
 
Walter Stachnyk
November 17, 1972
52 years
 
Nanita Mohan
November 25, 2016
8 years
 
Randy Wilson
November 25, 1977
47 years
 
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