Celebrating Rotary Week
It’s Rotary Week and, despite having a challenging year like no other, the Truro Rotarians have a lot to look back on and celebrate this week.
“With COVID-19 disrupting the way we have traditionally done things, our club was forced to rethink our initiatives in many ways,” says Jane Gourley-Davis, Rotary Club of Truro President. “Our club immediately went to Zoom weekly meetings, allowing us to stay connected and engaged; our Bollywood event became the community’s first take-out fundraiser, raising $10,000 for us to give back to our community; and (though) all travel-related initiatives had to be postponed, our Rotary Yearbook, was able to continue, largely unchanged.”
The Rotary Club of Truro turns 95 this year and continues to work hard to solve real problems in our community through effort, commitment, and vision. Their main focus locally is to support youth and individuals with disabilities. For example, they have provided a significant donation for the construction of the Colchester Community Workshops Rotary House, as well as providing on-going hands-on support towards operating the facility. Local club members also serve as directors on the Workshop and Foundation boards.
Club members are also involved in operating the Christmas Index program in Truro, which supported 620 families and 825 children this past year. In addition, the Club provides thousands of dollars annually of financial assistance for specialized medical treatment, adaptive equipment or other costs (not covered by MSI or private insurance) to local residents who are in need.
The members of the Rotary Club of Truro are always looking for new ways to connect with the community and make an impact. Each year, the Club provides thousands of dollars in bursaries to students and to organizations and groups to provide services, spaces and resources, primarily for youth. In addition to sponsoring youth to attend Camp Tidnish, assisting with facility upkeep and supporting the CMHA building campaign, this year saw the development of the Portapique Build Up Project and Debert Elementary School Playground Project in response to the tragedy that took place in our communities this time last year.
The major fundraisers for the Rotary Club of Truro are the annual Rotary Yearbook, which raises thousands of dollars that goes directly back into the community, and Bollywood Night, which has raised close to $85,000 for the community over the past seven years. This year a cheque for $3,500 was presented to the Colchester East Hants Hospice Society to be used for new child and youth grief programming.
The reach of the Rotary Club is both near and far. It is worldwide and it is close to home. Rotary members are community and business leaders representing different professions, experiences, and perspectives but with a shared desire to connect with others to address the challenges affecting our community and communities around the world. We are so lucky to have passionate members in our community working hard every day to improve conditions for those in need.
“What I’ll recall of my time as President during this year, in which we were distinctly close to home, is Rotary’s commitment to our local community,” says Gourley-Davis, “and (initiatives like) our annual Yearbook’s ability to very clearly show just how dedicated our community continues to be.”
To find out more information about the projects of the Rotary Club of Truro or, if you would like to look into becoming a member, please visit www.rotarycluboftruro.ca or follow them on Facebook.