Red Roof Retreat

Local Service Committee

The mandate of the Local Service Committee is to use our members’ talents and professional skills to identify, plan, and carry out service projects within our community. Through funding and volunteering that improves the quality of life for those in our community, we serve the public interest.

Our local focus in 2022-23 is Community History and Infrastructure; Community Service; Support for Mental and Physical Health; and Support for Youth.

Below you can find nonprofit organizations we are supporting this year.
Community History & Infrastructure 
 
 
 

Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum: Containing artefacts from Indigenous settlement to the present day, the Museum is home to over: 8,500 artefacts, 41,000 documents, 4,000 photographs and 900 books.
The site consists of three independent buildings that are merged together.  The three buildings are: The High School building (1875), Memorial Hall (1907), and the Link Building (1971).
The Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum contains one of Ontario’s most important local history collections. The galleries host a permanent exhibition, titled Our Story, chronicling the history of our community.  Two temporary exhibitions are also mounted each year.

Heritage Trail: In 2019 an official committee of the Town was established to raise funds and to restore the trail into a multi-use recreational trail that will support walkers, cyclists, equestrians and eco-tourists. Its full restoration will make it an important multi-use pathway connecting the Old Town with St Davids and Queenston. 
It is proposed to establish a 3-metre wide path for the full length of the trail, which will be fully accessible. To date, donations have  enabled 1.5 km of the 10 km long trail to be restored from John Street to East West Line. 

Community Service

 

Disc Golf: The new course was made possible through a generous donation from Carole and Kurt Von Pasecky on behalf of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Rotary Club. It's a 9-hole course, free to play, and great for both beginners to disc golf and those with experience.

Breakfast Program: Volunteers serve free breakfast for the downtown St Catharines community at St. George’s Anglican Church. This program has run every day for the past 25+ years
Our organization provides approximately 90 breakfasts/day to people from all walks of life. About 8 members from Rotary Club of Niagara-on-the-Lake volunteer once a month, starting at 6:30 am. Each breakfast contains 2 sandwiches, oatmeal, juice, and coffee or tea.

The Farm Worker Hub: Migrant farmworkers are essential to our communities – leaving their families for most of the year and risking their health to ensure that we have access to a high quality, consistent food and wine supply. The Farmworker Hub acts as a vital link to connect migrant workers to the products and services they require.
It  was launched in March 2021 because of the COVID pandemic during which migrant workers had limited access to retail outlets or charity shops to purchase food, warm clothing, personal hygiene supplies and small household items. We gathered warm clothes through our local Buy Nothing group, sorted and then dropped off the items at the farms.  Once the restrictions were lifted, we opened our doors to farmworkers on July 15, 2021.
In our first season, we served over 1,900 workers. In 2022, over 2,800 farmworkers came to The Hub. We have a team of dedicated volunteers who share our core value of serving these hard-working men and women with dignity and respect. They are our friends and neighbours. 
Our Mission is to provide a friendly, safe, central location where Niagara-on-the-Lake's seasonal agricultural workers can get access to products needed for everyday living – at no cost – donated by local residents, charities and businesses.

 

 

 

 
Rotary Rocks: The limestone seating arrangement at the beach was the club’s gift to the town, with members helping to raise money and also doing some of the work toward installation.
‘Have you made someone’s life BETTER today?..." words were meant to call people to action, to reflect and to start conversations.
“We hope this positive message and story will impact many lives and change the world, even if it’s in a small way.”  
Paul Lalonde
 
Links for Greener Learning: The Community Garden is an open space and a place where you can grow your own vegetables, fruits and berries.
The Good Food Box is aimed at improving the health of our communities by providing fresh and affordable produce.wiches, oatmeal, juice, and coffee or tea.

Support for Mental & Physical Health

 
Red Roof Retreat: Red Roof Retreat (pictured at the top of the page) provides quality recreational and respite services to children, youth and young adults with special needs and their families.
Red Roof Retreat creates a place where relationships are developed, awareness created, and bonds are nurtured through understanding and respect for each individual’s special needs.
They create opportunities for relationships to develop and for skills to grow.
‘A home away from home’.
Thanks to the Icewine Cocktail Party fundraiser, our Club recently donated a $5,000 gift – more to come!
 

 

Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Palliative Care: Hospice palliative care is an approach that strives to improve the quality of life of individuals, their families, and caregivers facing the problems associated with life-threatening illnesses.
Since 1986 Palliative Care has been providing care, support, education, equipment and companionship, FREE of charge to the residents of NOTL and their families.
The ending of a life deserves the same amount of attention, care, and nurturing that the beginning of life does.

 
 
Westview Centre4Women: 

is a Resource Centre created by women of the Queenston Street neighbourhood for the women of the neighbourhood.  It's a place they can call their own. The Centre fosters a non-judgmental environment that accepts women exactly the way they are. Run largely by women from the community, the Centre demonstrates that every individual has something to offer. Whether it is helping in the kitchen, sorting clothes, being a resource of knowledge or a shoulder to cry on, each woman enriches the community.
Women of all walks of life are welcomed into a safe environment.

Reach Out Niagara: Our vision is to engage individuals and families in the healing process. We provide attachment based, trauma informed psycho-education and services, aiming to empower those of all ages afflicted, their families, friends, and support givers.
Our mission is to provide client-centered, effective, and efficient programs to improve the mental health and wellbeing of individuals of all ages afflicted, their families, friends and caregivers.

 

 

Support for Youth


Yellow Door Theatre Project: Yellow Door Theatre Project is a registered charity that offers musical theatre skill training and performance opportunities with the intention of changing lives.
Drama, musical theatre, dance classes offered are non-auditioned and offered year-round.
The Teen Performance Company is under the leadership of an artistic team of theatre professionals. 12-14 teens rehearse and present workshop performances of a new Canadian musical.
 
 
Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre: The Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre is the art hub that connects our community by providing art for all.
It offers visual arts programs, exhibitions & events. They give back to the community by providing access to the arts for those in need.
With a passion for the arts, the team is committed to ensuring art is accessible for all. A not-for-profit, charitable organization that relies on the generosity of their donors, sponsors, partners and members.