IN THIS BULLETIN...
We discuss last week's meeting, January 24th, where our club honoured two volunteers, from Shelldale Community Centre, with the 'Sevice Above Self' Recognition.
President Martin began the meeting with a toast to Canada and a toast to 'winning the genetic lottery' as Canadians. He then gave a land acknowledgement to recognize the Indigenous land that we work and live on.
President Martin then turned the podium over to Helmuth Slisarenko to announce and recognize our guests.
Helmuth also discussed the Grand Slam Curling championship that took place in Guelph, at the Sleeman Centre. For the men's tournament, a team from Sterling, Scotland, won. Helmuth curled in Sterling, Scotland, several years back. For the women's tournament, a team from Sweden won. Helmuth, as the Sergeant-at-Arms, placed fines on anyone that did not attend or watch the tournament.
Helmuth also announced that he will hold a quiz on the latest edition of the Rotary Magazine for this week's meeting. Make sure to read up!
After Helmuth's Announcements, President Martin had the honour of presenting a Paul Harris Fellowship to Noma Vales. Noma was the Rotarian that sponsored Brian into the club. This is her second Paul Harris Fellowship.
Peter McSherry then welcomed our two newest members into the club: Francesco Braga and Rita Marinetti-Braga. Congratulations to you both! A full story about their acceptance into the club will be available by the end of the week.
Noma then made an announcement about her fundraiser and dinner event to raise money to send young Rotarians to the Rotary International event. If you'd like to participate, please send a message to Noma!
Lastly, Aidan Harris made an announcement about the Eradicating Human Trafficking Committee's panel on February 24th. Full story and details on registration can be found below.
After Lunch, Terrie Jarvis introduced our speakers from Shelldale: Diana Boal, the executive Director of Shelldale, and the two volunteers our club honoured, Avery and Dan.
Before Diana spoke, Terrie turned the floor over to Michele Richardson who provided an overview of the history of Shelldale and Rotary's involvement.
Michele began by apologizing for not being at the meeting in person (she is away in Portugal). She then spoke about Shelldale's history, "it's my pleasure to provide our club with some background on a program that is very near and dear to my heart, and one that was also very, very dear to my father, Charlie Whittaker, Charlie, as many of you know and some may not, was a long serving Rotarian of this club. He was president in 1990 to 91 and district governor in 1995 to 96 he was passionate about Rotary and particularly the work that our club did for children in our community.
"I grew up in the willow Road area, now called the onward Willow community. My parents emigrated to Canada in 1967 to live out their dream to have endless opportunities for their two young children, they had a home built just a three minute commute from where Charlie worked on Dawson road, and just four houses down from where Doug Gansby, another very fine Rotarian from This club, had built his home.
"Doug later sponsored my dad to join rotary in 1974 this newly developing neighborhood initially had no community. Junior K to six public school, we had to make a hike each day to Paisley Road Public School, a long walk for a five year old in kindergarten and across a busy road. In 1968 Shelldale Crescent public school was built, and with that, a new sense of community for the area.
"I began grade one at this new school. My mother joined the school as a secretary when my sister and I graduated, she too loved the school and the community.
"In 1991 the province of Ontario implemented a project called Better Beginnings Better Futures, or BBBF. The objective was to understand whether primary prevention programs would reduce the risk for children in high risk communities. The Willow Road area, as it matured, was identified as one of several Ontario sites that showed high levels of poverty, unsafe street areas, second rate housing, violence and crime.
"Determined project leaders for the onward Willow BBBF saw positive changes starting to happen in the community, but the program was designed to support families with children ages zero to six years. It did not support school age children or youth. But at the same time, through community partnerships, a breakfast program was set up to assist the school aged children.
"The vision of better beginnings, better futures was to create a neighborhood of healthy children, healthy supported families and healthy, thriving communities. To support new moms and little children was really important, but that level of support needed to extend to the school aged children and to the youth in the community.
"Jesse Narayan, program, coordinator for the area's BBBF Program, approached the Shelldale Public Schools principal to see how they could work together to provide for the children and youth in the community. Could they develop programs to extend support to families and provide preventative programming for children to enhance their emotional, behavioral, physical and educational development? A very tall task, but relationships and partnerships between and among agencies such as the public health unit, Willowdale daycare, the Community Health Centre, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and what would become a huge partner, Family and Children Services and the Shelldale public school staff worked tirelessly to gain trust in the community and subsequently built what is now known as Onward Willow Community.
"And then the Harris government dropped the big bomb, small schools would be closed. And so it was that Shelldale, this K to six school would be closed, and neighboring Willow Road Public School would become a K to eight school. The community was devastated. How could we save shell Dale? Where do we protest?
"Many in the community realized the writing on the wall. The neighborhood children had grown and moved away. Two schools were not needed to support the community, but that community really wanted to keep Shelldale and so the concept of a community hub was born, a building with a purpose that now several agencies just conceived: The Dream.
"Now we needed some magic. Jan Muir, the shelldale Public School Principal, Jennifer Waterston, who is the chair of the Upper Grand District School Board. Joe Young, Mayor of Guelph, and our Rotary Clubs.
"Charlie Whitaker met with Mo Brubaker, who was the Executive Director of Family and Children Services of Guelph and Wellington County at that time to encourage Mo to buy the building for the community. At that time, the BBBF Program of Onward Willow was still under Family and Children Services. Mo and Charlie and this team went to many meetings over many months with the city and the school board to work out the logistics about how.
"And if you know my dad, it was never 'if' it was possible, but 'how' it could be done. How could this be done? Eventually, the building was sold by the upper grand District School Board to the city of Guelph, which then sold it to Kindle Communities Inc. Kindle is a not for profit corporation that was set up to protect Family and Children Services assets, and describes itself as a not for profit landlord that supports the space needs of community based organizations that serve vulnerable children, youth, families and neighborhoods. This is exactly what we had in the onward Willow area.
"Start up funding was provided through a donation from Family and Children Services capital fund with the business plan dependent on onward willows better beginnings, better futures and communities agencies renting space there honor Willow better beginnings, better futures was a first renter in this fantastic new community hub. Honor Willow better beginnings, better futures became Shelldale Family Gateway."
Michele then welcomed Diana Boal up to discuss Shelldale as it stands today.
Diana began by thanking the club for having her at the meeting. She then discussed how shelldale is situated in the middle of the Willow nieghbourhood, and how this central location is key to their ability to help vulnerable families in the area.
The Willow neighbourhood has the largest density of social housing units in Guelph and lacks backyards and greenspace for families. This is part of what makes Shelldale, with a large field and community garden, so important.
In the neighbourhood there are a disproportionate number of single parents and families who emigrated to Canada as refugees. Many of the families are low income and have greater problems in terms of upbringing, mental health, and sometimes addiction.
Most of the families that come to Shelldale face daily food insecurity. At Shelldale's breakfast Club they see anywhere from 50-60 children a day with 90 families registered. Before, the pandemic, this number would reach a maximum of 45.
Shelldale's mission is to support children and youth by providing services like the breakfast program, after school program, summer camps, lego clubs, soccer leagues, a choir, and so many more fantastic programs. The idea is to provide vulnerable children with the opportunities and upbringing that other children, from more well-off families, would receive.
Unfortunately, Shelldale, like every other community organization across the city, is not receiving the funding it needs to meet rising demands. For example, the funding that Shelldale receives for the breakfast program has been reduced by 25% and it was originally calculated to feed 45 kids perday. Not the close to sixy kids they see on a daily basis. This means that Shelldale is only able to provide hot food three days a week instead of five. On the days where they don't have hot food they still provide fruits and nutritious meals.
The crunch of funding mixed with the high demand and high price of food makes it challenging to ensure that every child in the program receives a nutritious breakfast everyday. Margie, the coordinator of the breakfast program, who was there at our meeting, does a fantastic job ensuring every meal is as packed as it can be!
Diana then turned the podium back to Terrie so that she could present the 'Service Above Self' Recognition to Dan, an 88 year-old who is a recipient of the Charlie Whittaker Lifetime Achievement award and the stepdad of Diane Dance and partner of our retired Rotary member Anne Dance, and Avery, a 13 year-old who has been Dan's protégé for the past four years! Congratulations to both recipients, and thank you for the amazing work both of you do for our community and for Shelldale!
President Martin concluded the meeting as there was nothing more for the good of Rotary.
Notes taken by Otter.ai., edited by Aidan Harris.
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