It is an honour and a privilege to lead the Rotary Club of Ancaster AM, a dynamic club whose mission is to positively influence our community, both local and global, while engaging in fellowship and having fun.  Our club comprises 28 members of diverse ages, backgrounds, careers and interests, all who have a single focus of making a difference.  Indeed, our 2020-2021 Rotary International President Holger Knaack's theme is "Rotary Opens Opportunities".  Our club not only supports our local community but is involved in international projects including wheelchairs, water and sanitation.

 

Locally, we are making a difference to enhance the lives of children of all ages - our club sponsored the splash pad behind the Ancaster Library, we partner with an inner city school to provide hot lunches and library books, we hold an annual Spelling Bee and we have made a $100,000 donation to the construction of the Ancaster Arts Center. We also have supported the local DECA program at Ancaster High School,  and many of our fundraising projects have supported the McMaster Children's Hospital and the Juravinski Cancer Center. Last year we supported the Ancaster Community Service Christmas Program and again with $10,000 when Covid 19 arrived in our community. This year we are supporting TEAD, an organization that works with handicapped youth with horses.

 

Internationally, our club partners with Rotary International and the Gates Foundation to eradicate polio.    We have also been involved in supplying backpacks to school children and wheelchairs to the disabled in countries such as the Dominican Republic. One of the mainstays of our international activities is the Rotary Youth Exchange program, where students 15-19 have the opportunity to travel to another country for either one month or one year to experience a new culture and learn a new language.  Our club has certainly been enriched by hosting students from countries around the globe.

 

Interested in making a difference while gaining a new "family" and having fun?  Please come and join us!  You are always welcome to come to a meeting and learn more about Rotary and our club.  I hope to see you soon!

 

Yours in Rotary,