Feb 12, 2019 Luncheon
John Boot introduced to the Club Ms. Rima Boles, Director of the Niagara Pumphouse Art Center.
Rima provided an overview of how NPAC is interested in making Summer Art Camps accessible to those who can't attend due to financial restrictions. NPAC is celebrating their 25th anniversary and they wish to celebrate this milestone by offering day art camps to disadvantaged children as a means to encourage budding artists through learning.
(Photo by Don MacDonald)
Niagara Pumphouse Art Centre (NPAC) - Presentation - Summer Art Camps
by Helen Arsenault
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John Boot introduced to the Club Ms. Rima Boles, Director of the Niagara Pumphouse Art Center.
Rima provided an overview of how NPAC is interested in making Summer Art Camps accessible to those who can't attend due to financial restrictions. NPAC is celebrating their 25th anniversary and they wish to celebrate this milestone by offering day art camps to disadvantaged children as a means to encourage budding artists through learning.
- Rima stated that they are working with the Educational Foundation of Niagara soliciting the Foundation's expertise and assistance to add more sessions and this is a program that the Rotary Club would be supporting
- she said that the Rotary Club's contribution could fund up to 30 children in need
- she also provided several testimonials in support of this program
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Questions were taken from several members and Rima responded as summarized below:
- NPAC has partnered with Sobey's and they will be providing snacks
- the Summer Art Camp program will be supervised by 2 art instructors who will have to undergo routine police checks; the instructors are not required to have attained a formal art education
- the cost of the program is $230 per week per child
- last year's attendees consisted of 60 registered children who paid for themselves
- the Education Foundation of Niagara selected the children for the program
- NPAC wishes to increase attendance by 40 additional students
- the Entrepreneur Program did not generate as much interest as anticipated; that program is different from the Summer Art Camp program
- only 10 students participated and their feedback was as follows:
- they did enjoy the Entrepreneur Program in that they found it very organized;
- however, they wanted to have instruction more related to visual arts; they wanted practical hands-on instruction
- the Entrepreneur Program is not financially viable in its current structure
- the Summer Art Camp program runs for 6 weeks from July to August
- they have given no thought to date regarding transportation arrangements for those children who would require it; she suggested perhaps car pooling
Ian McEwan presented Rima Boles with a certificate stating that a donation has been made on her behalf to the Rotary International End Polio Now program.
Meeting adjourned 1:25 p.m.
February 5, 2019 Luncheon
John Boot provided the Invocation at the start of the meeting.
Rotary Club Honorary Members - Introduction
Nadja Lepere introduced the following Honorary Members:
- Steffanie Bjorgan
- Petra Browning
- Sally Macdonald
Educational Foundation of Niagara
- A cheque in the amount of $2,000 was donated by our Club to the Educational Foundation of Niagara
- Laura Byers accepted the cheque with gratitude and briefly talked about where the funds will be allocated i.e. school supplies and generally whatever the needs of the schools and students are
John Boot - Kenya Trip
- John Boot spoke about his recent 3-week trip to Kenya to film the water sanitation project in the Kenyan District
- He met with the Minister of Education and received approvals both from the Ministry and the District to build a teachers training facility to teach in remote schools
- John presented to Nadja Lepere on behalf of the District in Kenya a banner to mark that project
- Carol Lipsett mentioned that she was selling on behalf of another member chocolates in support of the Gift of Life campaign
- Lord Mayor Betty Disero announced that at last night's Council meeting, the budget came in just under 4.5%
- Ward Simpson announced that the Super Bowl pool held at the Sandtrap raised $3000 for the Red Roof Retreat.
- Paul Lalonde asked the attendees to sign a birthday card for the exchange student.
Exchange Student Update
- Jason Lalonde read out an email from Victoria who is an exchange student in France and her wonderful experiences in France these past 5 months.
- Jason said that his Committee is looking for a family to sponsor an exchange student coming to NOTL in August; it is unknown at this time whether it's a girl or a boy but the student will be between the ages of 15-18.
Nadja Lepere acknowledged the recent social event held at Pamela Wilson's home in January and said that despite the brutal cold, a great time was had by all.
Nadja Lepere spoke at length about the new name badges
She said that both the Club and the company are disappointed in the look and quality of the badges, the company will be redoing the badges and they are embarrassed at how long it took to make them, she asked that members let her know what they want to see on the badge.
Announcement - Paul Harris AwardsBill French provided background information on the history of the Paul Harris awards and announced that this being the 25th anniversary of our Club, they would be awarding five awards and not the usual three.
This year's recipients are:
Joe Pillitteri, Howard Kudlats, Paul Lalonde, Jason Lalonde and Darcy Belanger (Indigenous activist in the community).
The presentation will be held on April 30, 2019 at the Prince of Wales Hotel and it will be a black tie event.
Feature Presentation
Bryan Rose of the Niagara Community Foundation provided an overview of who they are and what they do, how they collect funds, how they allocate funds and who they partner with.
- the Foundation was established in 2000 and is fully accredited
- to date they have dispersed $12.6 million to numerous charities in Niagara Region
- they work with 42 charitable organizations including Educational Foundation of Niagara
- their Foundation is one of 191 community foundations across Canada
- they have experienced 19 years of success due to the Foundations's adaptability and flexibility
- their mandate is to ask organizations what their dreams are and then to specifically tailor to those needs by providing options and opportunities
- Bryan emphasized that once a Gift Agreement is signed, the partnership does not end there - it's all about leaving a legacy where lifestyles are enhanced and impacted
- Bryan Rose also spoke in detail about the David S. Howes Foundation and the generosity of the Foundations's trustees in their disbursements of funds throughout the Niagara Region
- He noted that on a macro level, there are fewer donors, less volunteers but yet people are giving more
- he also acknowledged the Niagara-on-the-Lake Fund which was established in 2016 and is part of the Niagara Community Foundation's community funds
- members include Councillor Wendy Cheropita, Joan King, Joe Pillitteri and since 2016, the Fund has raised over $1 million for charities in Niagara-on-the-Lake
- he emphasized that money raised in NOTL stays in NOTL
He concluded his presentation by stating that the Niagara Community Foundation has partnered with Rotary Club in St. Catharines, is currently in conversation with the Rotary Club in Grimsby and should our Club wish to partner with NCF, then he'd be pleased to start a conversation and the Foundation would be proud to stand with our Club.
Brian Carberry presented Bryan Rose, of the Niagara Community Foundation a donation in his name from the Club to the Wipe Out Polio campaign.
Nadja Lepere noted that they are looking for more people for their trivia night event. They currently have a table of 8.
Club activities, social events, and volunteer projects offer.jpg)
networking opportunities that build personal and
professional connections. And Rotarians can extend
those networks by visiting other clubs around the globe.
About Rotary Club of Niagara-on-the-Lake
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