Meeting July 11, 2011

13/07/11

President Robert welcomed one and all to breakfast.

Rotarian Gavin Holt and his wife Sonia from the RC Whitely Bay, Newcastle England visited us this morning.

Gavin and President Robert exchanged Club banners. The RC Whitely Bay is 75 years old and has focused its' Community Service projects on local schools, fundraisers include an annual Youth Boxing Competition.

Rotary Moment: President Robert reminded us of the added benefits of Fundraising events: these events raise community awareness of Rotary and the needs it is fulfilling, the events also engage not only the members of the community but also the businesses and governments making them more aware of the issues and needs of the community and the world

Rotary District 5360 has issued a request for flood relief funds to help southern Alberta recover from the recent disaster. The Board will be considering the request at their next meeting - Members are requested to submit any items for discussion or comments on the Club Strategic Plan in time for our July 18th meeting.

Todays' guest speaker was Linda Whitehead, Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Semiahmoo White Rock.

Linda spoke to us today about her work and the work of the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation. Linda began by saying that mobility is not an issue for most people but for those without mobility it impacts on virtually all aspects of their lives. The Canadian Wheelchair Foundation was created to raise awareness of mobility issues and to distribute wheelchairs around the world to those in need.

And the need is great: the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 70,000,000 people around the world are in need of a wheelchair while only 15% of those have access to one. The CWF is working hard to meet this need. The CWF is only 10 years old this year but has already provided 32000 wheelchairs to the disabled in 40 countries around the world.

The CWF has built partnerships with 6000 organizations including Service clubs, manufacturers and NGO's globally. On a regular basis the CWF sends out a container of 280 wheelchairs to areas of the globe where they are needed. Through partnerships the CWF is able to send a wheelchair out for the cost of $150.00, a fraction of the actual retail value not including shipping.

The CWF helps Service clubs and charitable organizations become involved in the project by providing advice, suggestions and guidance. The chairs become tools build better lives for the users.

Chris Loat thanked Linda for speaking to us today. - 50/50/happy/sad/fines: no winners, no losers. Meeting adjourned.