Welcome to another issue of our monthly Newsletter! Find out who our upcoming speakers are, information about upcoming volunteer opportunities and upcoming events.
WHAT'S GOING ON IN ROTARY AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD -
December 2025
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
This is my last President’s message of 2025. Where did the last six months go?? As I write this, over 300 Rotary club members and community volunteers are relaxing after a very busy, but very successful, 26th annual Holiday House Tour weekend. Many thanks to each and every one of you who gave of their time and efforts to make the tour another wonderful weekend for our many, many guests. And a special THANK YOU to every one of the HHT committee members who work for most of the year to plan, organize and market our tour – those efforts are the secret sauce that makes it all happen.
I hope to see as many of you as possible at our Holiday dinner on Wednesday Dec 10 at Navy Hall (6 p.m. start). This event will give us all a chance to celebrate the HHT success in person and to reflect and celebrate on all our successes and accomplishments this year. There are still a few members who haven’t sent in their RSVP yet – please plan to join us. It will be a fun night with delicious food - and I’m told there will be music and singing!!!
All of my very best wishes to you and your families and friends for the very best holiday season, full of good food & drink and happy and fun times. I am very much looking forward to working with you all to achieve a productive and successful 2026.
YIR,
Cindy
UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS
NOTL ROTARY CLUB WEEKLY MEETING SCHEDULE
There are no weekly meetings during the month of December.
Thanks,
Chris Hatch
ROTARY HOLIDAY DINNER 2025
Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Location: Navy Hall
Time: 6:00 - 10:00 PM
Cost: $100 pp (includes a welcome glass of bubbly)
Please contact Jeannie Manning for any questions you may have.
COMING SOON - JANUARY GIFT OF LIFE CHOCOLATE HEARTS
Yes it is time to think of Valentine's Day - Believe it or Not, in January the Gift of Life Fundraiser of Chocolate Hearts will start. Chocolate Hearts will be $10 per Heart and you can place your orders anytime - just let me know. I am setting a challenge for our Club to SELL 150 HEARTS RAISING $1,500.
HELP ME MAKE IT HAPPEN - Give Chocolate Hearts to Family, Friends and Co-Workers.
All Funds raised provide Heart Surgery for Children around the World.
Carol Lipsett
COMMUNITY SERVICE COMMITTEE (CSC)
The Community Service Committee is pleased to announce support of the Friends of Fort George.
At the local level, the three main areas of focus for NOTL Rotary are:
Community History and Infrastructure.
Community Service; Support for Mental and Physical Health; and
Support for Women and Youth.
The summer program run through the Friends of Fort George forms a significant part of the celebration of our local and national history around the war of 1812.
The Friends of Fort George is a non-profit organization that works with Parks Canada for the protection and preservation of Niagara’s national Historic Sites. Each year they hire 10-15 students to work at Fort George and Brock’s Monument. The students support the infantry squad program at Fort George and provide invaluable learning experiences both for Niagara’s youth, and the thousands of visitors who visit the fort each year.
The students dress in red coat, learn drill tactics from the War of 1812 and they learn to fire a musket. The demonstrations are held for visitors and constitute a significant attraction to the historic site.
These students also participate in the Canada Day parade, capturing the interest of tourists and residents alike.
Helle Brodie
Chair, CSC
Our club donated $8,900 to Niagara Nutrition Partners for their NOTL school program for one year.
Our club donated $5,000 for Paliative Care & Wellness Niagara.
INTERNATIONAL SERVICE COMMITTEE (ISC)
The ISC has re-organized. Tommy Wegge is now Chair of the Committee. A big thank you to John Boot for all of his hard work and dedication. John has been very instrumental to the success of our club.
The ISC has approved a couple of asks. The most important are donations to:
1. Shelter Box, donation of $5K. 2. Doctors without the Borders / Sudan, donation of $5K.
We have approved some others as well. We will study the possibility of getting more funding from the District to those as well.
We have received some other asks also, but some of them need further information or research.
Tommy Wegge
Chair, ISC
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
Our newest member, Pat Jankowski, being inducted into our club. Welcome Pat!!
RECENT EVENTS/CLUB PICS
Chris Hatch with guest speaker Jordan Mammoliti (Community Development Worker) from Niagara Nutrition Partners.
NoTL supported two very worthy Capital Projects this month in a big way.
Red Roof Retreat is enlarging its respite care facility by 50%. We braved the muddy construction site on Concession 6 to present a BIG CHEQUE for $100,000.
Our club has been a consistent supporter of Red Roof Retreat since its inception. We gathered at the Historical Museum to present another BIG CHEQUE for $100,000 toward their renovation and expansion. Our history will finally be accessible to everyone, and the museum will become a community social hub.
