Stories

Christmas Wish Tree -2019

Posted by Pat Cathcart

The Christmas Wish Tree is set up at Walmart in Bedford/Sackville. Each tag on the tree represents a gift to be purchased at Walmart and donated to the Salvation Army to be delivered during the Christmas Season. Rotary Club of Sackville and Area manage the setting up of the Wish Tree, making, placing and refurbishing the Wish tags, collecting the gifts, delivering them to the Salvation Army and thanking everyone. Shown here by the Tree are Debbie Gascoigne, Ron and Gail Zwaagstra after replenishing gift tags. Also above is Jane Nauss busy organizing and sorting the gifts at Salvation Army.

Community Connections - Keynote Speaker - George Zwaagstra

Posted by Pat Cathcart

Millwood High School Breakfast Program

Posted by Pat Cathcart

A Thank You

A box of cookies (home made by the program's cooks) and a thank you card was presented to Rotary Club of Sackville and Area by Millwood High School Breakfast Program members. Our Club supported the breakfast program and they expressed their thanks with their delectable baked goods. Below pictures of the school presentation and our members enjoying those cookies. Thank you, Millwood, for your great community service.

Shown above Rotarian, Debbie Gascoigne, Millwood Student Isaah Cleveland, Millwood Teacher Stefanie White, Rotarians Pat Cathcart and Wanda White. Enjoying the cookies - Rotarians Ron Zwaagstra, Ross Bartlett, and Wanda White.

Supporting High School Breakfast Programs

Supporting High School Breakfast Program at Sackville High School

Club VP - Beverly Barker and Luke MacDonald, Head of Sackville High Breakfast Program. Beverly flipping pancakes on hot breakfast meal day.

Rotary Club of Sackville and Area is pleased to support Sackville High School Breakfast Program once again this year. On average, 70 to 80 students drop by for nutritious breakfast foods each morning on their way to class. Friday is hot breakfast day, but the cold food days sounded yummy, too! In addition to staples like fruit and yogurt, they regularly have homemade items like muffins, granola bars and breakfast brownies.

Speaker, Michelle Champniss, Executive Director - Sackville Business Association

Posted by Pat Cathcart

In November 2019, Michelle Champniss visited a meeting of Rotary Club of Sackville and Area and spoke about the Sackville Business Association. Michelle is the Executive Director of SBA which represents 300+ businesses in Sackville. SBA is part of our community and members are 90% locally owned businesses who employ more than 2,600 people. More than 13,000 community members and friends attend SBA events each year - Tree Lighting, November 29, 2019, Snow Days, February 14 - 17, 2020 and Sandwich Week, March 7 - 14, 2020.

In 2019 Sackville Businesses invested more that $ 55,000 in streetscaping and park improvements with such projects as 16 planters, 73 hanging baskets 125 bags of litter collected (each year) and 60 holiday lights; also SBA's campaigns raised $ 1,000 for warming centre, $ 4,200 for Beacon House back packs, $ 500 for Acadia Park, $ 1,500 Canada Day Parade and $ 2,116 for Sackville Public Library's Community Cooking Program.

The Sackville Business Association is dedicated to making Sackville a great place to live, work and shop.

Speaker - Roger Chaisson - Rotary Club of Halifax North West

Posted by Pat Cathcart

Roger Chaisson from Rotary Club of Halifax North West was the Guest Speaker at our morning meeting. Rotary Club of Sackville and Area is exploring ideas of different fund raisers for 2020 which will help support the many programs to which we contribute both physically and monetarily. Roger spoke on the success his Club has experienced with a Toonie Toss event. Thank you Roger

Community Outreach Meal Event and "Freedom Kitchen" Food Truck

Posted by Pat Cathcart

On October 17, 2019 Rotary Club of Sackville and Area and Rotary Interact Club helped with the setup, serving, cleanup and take down for the monthly Community Outreach Meal Event held at Knox United Church in Lower Sackville, NS. The meal event was initiated to help target food insecurity in the community. Since the first meal event with participation of 15 has increased to 225.

It was noted that no young adults participated in the meal event, which led to the development of The Food Truck pilot in October 2019. Initial pilot had 147 participants suffering from food insecurity visit the Food Truck.

Our club has taken on a project of "Hunger and Homeless" and has presented a cheque to Caroline Gallop, Chairwoman of the Community Outreach Meal Event Group. It will go towards their Meal Event and Food Truck to help with their great work fighting food insecurity in the community.

Dictionary Project

Posted by Pat Cathcart

Rotary Club of Sackville and Area - Literacy Program

Dictionaries delivered to the Grade 3 students in 12 Elementary Schools

Each year, since 2016, Rotary Club of Sackville and Area has taken part in The Dictionary Project, which makes it possible for Grade 3 students in our communities to receive a dictionary for their own personal use. They will be able to keep this dictionary and use it for a lifetime. By giving children such an important reference tool and with a goal in mind to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, Rotary makes a difference.

Rotarians delivered dictionaries to 12 elementary schools and were received with great interest and great excitement. At each school the dictionaries had to be tested by energetic students. Example - Who could find the word "kind"?....What does it mean?....Can you put it in a sentence? Great fun had by all.

A quote from one Rotarian "We were ushered right into the classroom of excited students. It was awesome."

Networking with Rotary - Alana Hirtle

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Oct 01, 2019

Rotary Club of Sackville and Area presented Networking with Rotary at Freemans, Sackville Drive on Oct. 1, 2019. Hosted by Past President, Ron Zwaagstra.

Key Note Speaker, Alana Hirtle , helps small business owners at CBDC Northen Opportuities for Business Limited (NOBL) in Truro and spent 14 years as Event Manager at White Point Beach Resort. Alana spoke on her years of experience of making the best of challenging situations throughout her career and gave insight with humour while describing

"Keeping Your Head While Everyone Is Losing Theirs".

She also shared her active community life as Chair of the Truro Heritage Advisory Committee, Member of the Truro Brand Leadership committee, and Past President of Rotary Club of Truro.

Networking opportunities over pizza occurred and a good productive time was had by all.

Speaker - Vanessa Burns, Boys and Girls Club

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Sep 25, 2019

Speaker: Vanessa Burns, Director of Development, Boys and Girls Club Greater Halifax

Vanessa spoke briefly of her fear of heights and subsequent personal journey of successfully climbing a mountain in Italy. This segued into how difficult it is for children to navigate through their childhood to adulthood. From there she explained the programs available at the BGCGH and the benefits of each

Adopt a Highway - Sept. 2019

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Sep 21, 2019

In September, we did our semi annual Adopt - A - Highway initiative from Exit 1K to Fultz House in Lower Sackville.

Thirteen members and friends of Rotary took on the clean up of all the garbage nesting on the sides of the road. Our Club has been a proud participant in the Adopt-A-Highway program for many years now. Twenty bags of garbage plus other various items were cleared from view and sent to their proper disposal sites.

This regular activity makes for a cleaner, environmentally friendlier community. Thank you and congratulations to all. Keep up the great work.

Wayne Pittman - New Rotary Member

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Jul 23, 2019

New Member

Rotary Club of Sackville and Area

Wayne Pittman

Wayne Pittman Consulting

www.wayne pittman.com

CPA, Management Consultant and teaches Productivity Techniques

Wayne, shown here with Ross Bartlett, Club President, was greeted by each Club member and was so anxious to get started with Rotary business, immediately joined the Membership Committee.

Wayne possesses qualities that exemplify the true spirit of Rotary in public, business, social and private life and is a worthy representative of his calling.

We would like to take this opportunity to say Welcome to Wayne, and are sure there are great things to come.

Thank You to Past President - Linda Meldrum

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Jul 18, 2019

Past Presidents's - Debbie Gascoigne, Linda Meldrum, Ron Zwaagstra and President Ross Bartlett

As Rotary Club Past President, Linda has given her time, dedication, skills and much more to Rotary Club of Sackville and Area for the past year. In recognition and appreciation of this service, Linda was presented with an award and thank you by Past President, Ron Zwaagstra. Rotary's international motto..."Service Above Self" .... is what being a Rotarian denotes. It also means maintaining high ethical standards in one's business, one's profession, and in one's personal life. Thank you Linda and congratulation.

Visiting Rotarian - Nathan Gildart

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Jul 17, 2019

Rotarian Nathan Gildart visiting from Japan joined Rotary Club of Sackville and Area morning meeting of July 9, 2019. He joined in discussions on fundraising, membership and existing projects. Nathan takes the time to visit the Club each time he is in the area. It is always interesting to get ideas from clubs in other countries.

Nathan was presented with Rotary Club or Sackville and Area banner by Club President, Ross Bartlett.

Networking with Rotary - Stella Roy

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Jul 06, 2019

Rotary Club of Sackville and Area presented Networking with Rotary at Freemans, Sackville Drive on June 26th. Hosted by Past President, Linda Meldrum

Key Note Speaker, Stella Roy, PT, CAFCI , is owner at Bedford Orthopedic Health Center and Foundation Chair with the Rotary Foundation. Stella spoke how our business and personal networks can help leverage the ability to be successful. She also spoke about Rotary and her passion and goal to "Light the Way" and eradicate Polio in the world.

Networking opportunities were shared over pizza and a good productive time was had by all.

Speaker - Sterling Stephens - Toy Trot

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Jul 05, 2019

Sterling Stephens was the speaker at our June 11th meeting and spoke on The Toy Trot . Through his business, Exit Realty Metro - Dartmouth, he has been sponsoring the Toy Trot for 6 years. This year's event is November 30th at DeWolfe Park in Bedford. It benefits children who need a hand up. You can walk or run a scenic course along the Bedford waterfront. Admission is a toy donation, which is handed over to Salvation Army for Christmas distribution. You can stay after for some camaraderie, story sharing, and hot chocolate.

Sterling Stephens, Exit Realty and Rotarian, Lisa Keddy

District 7820 Conference - May 2019 Pictou

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Jul 05, 2019

A good time was had by all who attended the 7820 Conference in May of this year. There were engaged speakers and opportunities to share best practices with our fellow Rotarians.

	Incoming Leadership Chair Louisa Horne with Beacon. Louisa challenged us to "be flamingos" and affect positive change. Questioned how can our District help us; stating it could be in any avenue of service: club planning, governance, youth, local service, international service, fundraisers, socials - what will help our club be more irresistible? Also introduced us to Beacon, and the possibility of getting Public Image funding by taking the Ro-terrier Puppy public image challenge and build greater awareness of Rotary.
	Rotarian Bill Scammell and Vice President Beverly Barker. Rotary Club of Sackville and Area had great representation at the District Conference. Along with Bev and Bill, it was attended by Past President, Linda Meldrum and Rotarian Pat Cathcart.
	Focus Groups were held on a new approach to club visits by District Leaders and and how our District can help with what our Clubs want. Some creative thinking ideas were on: Strategic Planning/visioning workshop; Board structure/effectiveness workshop; Partnership connection; International Project (planning a grant application or establishing a collaborative committee with other clubs); Have the District Chair participate in an event; Membership session or presentation to a new member event; Public image training, etc. More Pictures........

Supporting High School Breakfast Programs

Posted by Sally Holden on Jun 13, 2019

The Rotary Club of Sackville and Area is pleased to support both the Millwood High School and Sackville High School Breakfast Programs once again this year.

Shown at Millwood High are:

Left to Right: Debbie Gascoigne (Rotary), Principal Mr. Corkum, Dean, Gordon, Miss Webb (Teacher), Ron Zwaagstra (Rotary) and Lisa Keddy (Rotary). Dean and Gordon are two of the students actively involved in the food preparation. On average, 70 to 80 students drop by for nutritious breakfast foods each morning on their way to class. Friday is hot breakfast day, but the cold food days sounded yummy, too! In addition to staples like fruit and yogurt, they regularly have homemade items like muffins, granola bars and breakfast brownies.

The True Rotarian Award 2018-2019

Posted by Linda Meldrum on May 08, 2019

On April 30, District Governor, Rob Christie, presented Pat Cathcart with the True Rotarian Award. The True Rotarian Award is presented to a Rotarian who demonstrates through his/her Rotary and community life that he/she lives by the Four Way Test at all times -

"Of the things we think, say or do"

Is it the Truth?

Is it fair to all concerned?

Will it build goodwill and better relationships?

Will it be beneficial to all concerned:

Congratulations Pat

Presidential Citation Awarded

Posted by Pat Cathcart on May 08, 2019

On April 30, District Governor, Rob Christie present the Presidential Citation Award to Rotary Club of Sackville and Area.

A club earns a Rotary Citation for achieving goals that strengthen Rotary and their club. Goals include increasing club membership, developing sustainable service projects, giving to The Rotary Foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in your community.

The award was accepted by Rotary Club of Sackville and Area, President, Ross Bartlett.

Congratulations

Rob Christie, District Governor visit

Posted by Pat Cathcart on May 06, 2019

On April 30, 2019, we had the pleasure of welcoming District Governor of 7820, Rob Christie to our club as our guest speaker. He presented two awards to our club on behalf of Rotary International; The True Rotarian Award and 2018-2019 Presidential Citation.

His goal, as he shared with us, was to S.H.A.P.E up your Rotary world. He encouraged everyone to Strengthen our clubs, provide Humanitarian service, raise Awareness of Indigenous peoples, tell our stories through a higher Public Image and engage in Environmental stewardship. He noted that each club in our District has responded to this challenge in unique and positive ways........

Adopt A Highway - May 2019

Posted by Pat Cathcart on May 04, 2019

On May 4th, we did our semi annual Adopt - A - Highway initiative from Exit 1K to Fultz House in Lower Sackville.

Eleven members and friends of Rotary took on the clean up of all the garbage nesting on the sides of the road.

Our Club has been a proud participant in the Adopt-A-Highway program for many years now. Twenty bags of garbage plus other various items were cleared from view and sent to their proper disposal sites........

30 Years of Women in Rotary

Posted by Pat Cathcart on May 04, 2019

Rotary is marking 30 Years of Women in Rotary. Rotary Club of Halifax Harbourside invited all area clubs to an informal brunch/meeting today. Our Club showed good representation and enjoyed the camaraderie, networking opportunities and, in general, the enjoyable company.

Notable Facts

It was voted that Women could be admitted to Rotary Clubs Worldwide in 1989. By June 1990, the number of female Rotarians had skyrocketed to over 20,000. By July 2016, the number of female Rotarians had surpassed 250,000.
1995 - Eight women become district governors.
2005 - The first woman appointed as trustee of The Rotary Foundation.
2008 - The first woman elected to the RI board of directors.
2012 - The first woman to serve as RI treasurer.
2013 - The first woman to serve as RI vice president.

Rotary Volunteer of the Year - Lisa Keddy

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Apr 27, 2019

At the 40th annual Lake District Recreation Association Dinner, Lisa Keddy was awarded Rotary Club of Sackville and Area's, Volunteer of the Year.

Since joining our Club a year ago, she has participated in the unveiling

Left to Right-Rotarian Lisa Keddy and Club Treasurer, Deb Gascoigne

of the Canada 150 Mosaics, serves on the Fundraising Team, and is a key contributor and actively partakes in our Chase the Ace on Thursday evenings.

Sackville Business Association (SBA)-Volunteer of the Year

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Apr 26, 2019

SBA Volunteer of the Year is none other than our own Vice President, Beverly Barker. She was awarded this honour at the 40th annual Lake District Recreation Association Dinner held on April 17, 2019. Bev is owner of Beverly Barker Insurance Agency Inc. - the co-operators located here in Lower Sackville.

With a long history of volunteerism and bringing a community focused attitude to our Club, she participates with high energy in many of our projects. You can witness this energy at Freeman's Little New York on Thursday's with our Chase the Ace Team. Bev is also a key contributor to our Interact Club at Charles P. Allen High School.

Congratulations! Well Done!

Sackville Area Warming Centre - SAWC

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Apr 25, 2019

From Left to Right

Rotarian Bill Scammell; Rotarian Pat Cathcart; Director of SAWC, Mike Proworoznyk; VP of Rotary Club, Bev Barker

On April 16th, Rotary Club of Sackville and Area made a donation to Sackville Area Warming Centre (SAWC). SAWC opened a couple of days a week starting in March of this year as a drop-in centre for all struggling with hunger and homelessness. Anyone without shelter, can stop by, get warm, get clean, and have a hot beverage and food. We are happy to support this community initiative and wish Mike and all the SAWC volunteers much future success.

Speaker - Bedford Sackville Learning Network

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Apr 09, 2019

From left to right Rotarian Sally Holden, BSLN Paul MacNeil, Rotarian Ron Zwaagstra

On February 2nd, speaker Paul MacNeil from the Bedford Sackville Learning Network told us of the free programs offered for their Adult (19 years of age and older) Education program - G.E.D. (General Educational Development), Math, Reading, Writing, and Computer Training. Over 15 years experience working with adults, BSLN continues to change lives by supporting adult literacy in our community. Offered are classroom and one-to-one tutoring initiatives, which help students return to learning, upgrade their education, and/or prepare for a better job. www.chebucto.ns.ca/Education/BSLN/

Rotary Club of Sackville and Area is a strong advocate of literacy and are happy to support the BSLN again this year. Literacy (both child and adult) is one of our Club's highest focuses. Thank you Paul for the many success stories and for taking the time to share them.

Interact Club Annual Coffee House: Believe in Hope for Alexis

Posted by Sally Holden

For the 4^th year the members of the Interact Club at Charles P Allen High School are organising a Coffee House at Bedford United Church. This year’s event is being held on Wednesday April 10^th.

As well as a lively evening of fantastic music from a range of talented musicians, singers and bands, there will be a bake sale and of course coffee! In addition Believe in Hope Jewelry will be on sale, and tickets are being sold for a draw to win framed artwork. All of these components combine to make a successful fundraiser for The Alexis Fletcher IWK Adolescent Mental Health Memorial Endowment.

The Interact Club, and its sponsor, the Rotary Club of Sackville and Area and the Charles P Allen High school community have all supported the foundation since its inception in 2016. Remembering Alexis Fletcher, the foundation was started by her family to be “used for initiatives to increase awareness and education about mental illness in our adolescent population”. In addition it aims to “promote early recognition of symptoms and to teach importance of early treatment to improve outcome for mental illness. To educate students on where to go for help, how to access support and services”.

Interact is a youth programme of Rotary, where young people are able to support local and international communities, raising funds, awareness or providing practical support. The club is self governing with support and encouragement from both the school and Rotarians from the Sackville and Area club.

Its hoped that this will be the most successful event to date raising even more than last year’s total of $705.15

There are still some spots available for musicians /bands, please contact rotarysackville.38@gmail.com.

The event runs from 7pm to 9pm, tickets are $10 at the door and all proceeds go directly to the Foundation.

Mosaic project complete

Posted by Ron Zwaagstra on Mar 27, 2019

We did it. The Rotary Club of Sackville and Area mosaic project at Acadia Park is officially completed with today's installation of the interpretive panel. Hundreds of people from our community painted 400 4" x 4" tiles used to create the mosaics. This project could not have been done without the support of various individuals, organizations, local businesses and countless hours put in by our club members.

Books! Books! Books!

Posted by Sally Holden on Jan 16, 2019

BOOKS! BOOKS! BOOKS!

November was our big book giveaway! For the fourth consecutive year we delivered dictionary / gazetteers to grade 3 students in our local Elementary schools and for the first time we joined up with Sackville Library to give away reading books to young people attending The Holly Jolly party before the Tree Lighting at Acadia Park. We are able to access reasonably priced, good quality books from The Dictionary Project and First Books Canada, and each book we give away has a plate label showing it was a gift from us...…

Reflecting on the 2018 Wishes Tree

Posted by Sally Holden on Jan 03, 2019

This year our Wishes Tree at Wal-Mart in Bedford Commons was the most successful it has ever been, thanks to contributors posting on social media and encouraging a wider reach. Thank you once again to the whole community for support of this project.

However, also through social media, and a question about seeing the same tag more than once, we realised that despite this being the 5^th year for this project, some clarification is required about how the project works.

It has been perceived as a “senior’s tree” and whilst this is not wholly inaccurate it is so much more than that.........................

Rotarians Lending a Hand in the Community

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Dec 01, 2018

The Salvation Army was seeking volunteers for its annual Christmas Kettle campaign, which ran from mid- November to December 24th. Christmas Kettle Attendants were needed to help raise funds at the Kettles located in shopping areas throughout the community. Many Rotary Club of Sackville and Area Members donated their time to help in this effort. The Salvation Army reciprocates with help for our Wishes Tree project. Well done.

Bill and Bev Scammell lending a hand in Sackville Community

Adopt-A-Highway Sept. 22, 2018

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Sep 22, 2018

On Sept. 22, 2018, we did our semi annual Adopt - A - Highway initiative from Exit 1K to Fultz House.

On Sept. 22, 2018, 14 members and friends of Rotary took on the clean up of all the garbage nesting on the sides of the road by Exit 1K leading into Lower Sackville........

7th Annual live Auction

Posted by Sally Holden on Jul 20, 2018

Its nearly that time again! our biggest club fundraiser and best pre Christmas shopping experience!!

Our 7th Annual Live Auction will be held at Brewsters Bedford Highway on Nov 2 at 5.30pm. Save the date in your diary now!

We are also looking for items to include in the Auction- please email us on Rotarysackville38@gmail.com if you can help us by donating an item to auction. (all items welcome not just gift baskets!)

For each donation received, you or your business will be identified by name at the time of the auction. Business participants will also have the opportunity to get community exposure among the large number of attendees.

This event allows us to continue our high school breakfast programmes, our elementary school literacy support, our book stall and Ker-Plunk game at Sackville Snowdays and so much more!

“Helping Babies Breathe – Helping Babies Survive”

Posted by Pat Cathcart on Jul 15, 2018

Volunteering at the “Helping Babies Breathe –

Helping Babies Survive” Booth

House of Friendship

Rotary International Convention 2018

House of Friendship had approximately 325 trade show booths (Rotary and non-Rotary related) at this year’s Rotary International Convention 2018 in Toronto.

Helping Babies Survive is a growing group of evidence-based, hands-on programs developed to reduce neonatal mortality in resource-limited environments. At the “Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) – Helping Babies Survive” (HBS) booth you could find educational material and equipment available for “hands on” demonstrations. continued.....

Adopt-A-Highway

Posted by Ron Zwaagstra on May 05, 2018

On May 5, 2018, we did our Adopt - A - Highway cleanup from Exit 1K to Fultz House.

Rotarians and Friends did magic and made garbage disappear. On the morning of May 5,2018, 12 members of our team took on the clean up of all the garbage nesting on the sides of the road. And Exit 1K is spotless again. Our Club has been a proud participant in the Adopt-A-Highway program for many years now. Twelve bags plus other various items were cleared from view and sent to their proper disposal sites. Everyone benefits from cleaner, environmentally friendlier communities. These regular cleanups are paying off. Thank you and congratulations to all. Keep up the good work.

World Financial Group Book Donation

On May 4th, World Financial Group's Women and Wealth and Men and Money event donated 112 books to our literacy program.

Believe in Hope

Our Interactors are working hard to create a great show and line up. Don't take our word for it. Come out to the show and see for yourself.

Volunteer of the Year

Pat Cathcart was awarded our club's Volunteer of the Year award at the LDRA 39th Annual Volunteer Dinner at the Sackville Legion on Wednesday.

Hunger and Homelessness Forum

Posted by Sally Holden on Jan 30, 2018

http://www.metronews.ca/news/halifax/2018/01/21/often-hidden-lower-sackville-forum-to-tackle-homelessness-hunger-in-suburbs.html

We are hosting a homelessness and hunger forum at Knox United Church on February 6th at 7:00PM. These are important but often hidden issues in our community. Members of the public and other community groups are more than welcome. Understanding can show us how we can all work together.

THIS IS A NEW DATE as the weather has forced us to cancel our original plans to hold the forum today, 30 Jan

Mitch Dorge raises the roof at CP Allen High

Posted by Sally Holden on Oct 19, 2017

Sometimes even if you know the right thing to do, and do it, life doesn’t always work out if someone else does not make such good choices. Helping others make responsible choices was the message that was made by Mitch Dorge as he recounted the tragic stories of Jacqueline Saburido and Emily Watts. But this was no ordinary life skills lesson! The Crash Test Dummies Drummer, extrovert and eternal enthusiast told stories of his life, his music and engaged the whole grade 10 cohort at Chares P Allen cohort with 2 hours of high energy interaction......

Friendship Exchange

Posted by Sally Holden on Oct 17, 2017

Our latest Rotary Friendship Exchange was made up of seven Rotarians and spouses who represented Clubs in District 5020, namely: Bainbridge Island, Tacoma #8 and East Jefferson, WA and Campbell River, BC

They arrived in Nova Scotia on Sept 30th. and departed on Oct 15th. Their tour started on the South Shore, Bridgewater/Lunenburg area, they continued on to Yarmouth followed by the Annapolis Valley. Finally arriving in Halifax for the period of Oct 11 – 15th.

Throughout NS our guests visited local sites of interest, toured museums, ship building facilities, visited Camp Brigadoon, a vineyard and enjoyed the local cuisine in each area. Our US & BC Rotarians also experienced a Canadian East Coast Thanksgiving. Their stay was full of adventure and plenty of wonderful seafood! They were impressed by the hospitality and generosity they had received while in Nova Scotia.

We are looking forward to sharing a similar experience with our friends from the West, when our District (7820) completes the Friendship Exchange in the spring of 2018.

Fall Clean up: Adopt a Highway

Posted by Sally Holden on Oct 05, 2017

Six Rotarians and 1 Rotary friend gathered at 9 am on Sept 30 to do our 5th Adopt A Highway semi-annual clean up. We were thankful for sunny skies as last Fall's clean up was twice rained out and we were unable to complete it.

The remarkable thing about this clean up is the fact that there was only 4 bags filled: mostly fast food containers as opposed to the 30 - 35 bags we collected when we first started the project .

It is a fact of human nature that people are less likely to litter on a clean area . And Exit 1K is spotless again . Thanks to all who came out to help and a special thanks to Sandra Lively of Dept of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal for organizing our supplies once again .

The Fultz House Museum again allowed us to use their property as a base of operations, which makes access to the junction easier and safer: we could not do this without their support.

We all enjoyed a well earned Tim Hortons afterwards and felt very satisfied that our area of highway is so well maintained.

Weather willing, the Spring clean up will be May 5 2018

Inspiring speakers

Posted by Sally Holden on Sep 19, 2017

The Rotary motto is “Service above Self” and so many people in the world inspire us by having the very same values. Today was no exception. Paul MacNeil continues to change lives by supporting adult literacy in our community and his clients can earn their GED and go on to make our community better, we were delighted to support his work at the BSLN again this year as part of our literacy programme. Then our speaker Lindell Smith told his own story of supporting his community when he was a very young man, through music and art so young people in his neighbourhood could find a brighter future. This selfless community service was recognised and he was persuaded that “politics”, done right, is helping and healing communities. With this view he successfully ran for election and is the youngest councillor in HRM. He is helping to raise issues that have not previously been to the fore, but will have so much positive impact in our city. We are grateful for the impetus they both gave us.

Ladies After Dark

Posted by Sally Holden on Sep 19, 2017

In 1989 Rotary voted to admit women into what was an all male preserve. Clearly they could foresee that 28 years later our club would be hosting an event titled “Ladies after Dark”!. This event was a fundraiser for Literacy, one of Rotary’s six areas of focus.

The Ladies bought tickets and were entertained by a wonderful author Genevieve Graham, talking about breathing life back into Canadian History. The men served wine and hors d’oeuvres to keep the evening lively and also acted as designated drivers in a fleet of limousines!!

What a fun way to continue our support for elementary students and adult learners. Watch out for the date of the next event – coming Spring 2018.

July 11th meeting - A visitor from Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley

Today we welcomed Rotarian Nathan Gildart of Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley.

This week, we inducted 3 NEW members. Congratulations to all!

Yard Sale

Come to the yard sale. You never know what you will find. You can buy your own table for $10 or donate items. Contact 902 499 7287

Four-Way Test - May 30th

The more you look at The Four-Way Test, the more you will realize how helpful it can be in decision making and not so easy situations in all aspects of one's life. At this week's meeting, we broke into one on one conversations on each statement of The Four-Way Test and some very interesting thoughts emerged.

Happy Community Project May 16, 2017

Today, Barry Braun of the Happy Community Project spoke to us about What makes a Happy Community?

Today we heard from Tracey Keiley of Sandler Training who spoke on what our club's 30

second commercial could be as we engage with others whether it be for sponsorship and

fundraising opportunities or general community participation.

Adopt-A-Highway May 6th

Posted on May 15, 2017

Another successful roadside cleanup. You don't know how much litter brings you down until you see how great things look when it is cleaned up.

They grow up so fast...

On April 28th, we celebrated our 5th birthday and named guest speaker Peter Stoffer a Paul Harris Fellow.

We were once again delighted to take part in the Sackville Snow Days opening. Lots of fun at the giant Kerplunk game but we think there was more excitement at our book table. Thumbnail images shows our Interactors setting up at last year's event.

Interact Club Update

Posted by Sally Holden on Jan 18, 2017

Our Interact Club at CP Allen High School have already been busy this school year. Firstly they “Scared Hunger” in Bedford on Halloween to collect supplies for Feed Nova Scotia, and were inundated with supplies from local families.

They are now working on raising funds for humanitarian projects.....

2016-17 Literacy project

Posted by Sally Holden on Jan 08, 2017

Our Literacy project is drawing to a close, and it was wider in scope than ever before. We have supported Sycamore Lane Elementary School’s Adopt a Library project for a number of years and last year added a gift of personal dictionaries to Grade 3 Elementary school students and this year we continued both and also added a focus on Adult learning....

Christmas Wishes Tree 2016

Posted by Sally Holden on Jan 02, 2017

Sometimes Santa needs just a little help, and our Annual Wishes tree is aimed at making Christmas a bit more special for older youth and adults. We partner with the Salvation Army who distributes gifts from this project to local families.

This year thanks to an article in the Bedford and Sackville Observer the community responded better than ever....

A tree of friendship

Posted by Sally Holden on Dec 13, 2016

The gift, from Nova Scotia, of a Christmas Tree to the people of Boston resonates with us all, but with the centenary of the Halifax Explosion due in 2017, some of our members joined a Rotary party who visited Boston for the lighting of the tree gifted this year from Cape Breton. As well as an occasion to remember the special friendship between our two cities, it was an opportunity to meet fellow Rotarians in Boston. The Halifax Rotarians were treated with exceptional hospitality and the seeds have been sown for joint humanitarian projects....

Club Members on Tour

Posted by Sally Holden on Aug 07, 2016

Whilst in Edmonton, Club member Sue Paynter decided to make a visit to another club. Here she is at the Rotary Club of Edmonton.

The Rotary Club of Edmonton celebrated its 100th birthday on April 1 this year, and as part of its celebrations had a visit from the RI president. They have over 160 members and even have their own Foundation!

This week their speaker was Brian Jean, leader of the Wild Rose Party and opposition leader in Alberta.

Brian spoke to the club about the wildfires in Fort McMurray, their impact on the community and also the personal impact on him: he lost his own home.

Rotary will be there to help Fort McMurray rebuild its community and economy with a successful fundraiser and hands on support.

Report Card!

Posted by Sally Holden on Aug 04, 2016

A New Rotary Club is started when existing club(s) identify a community that Rotary could serve better if it had a local club. The Rotary Clubs of Dartmouth and Halifax Harbourside recognised that the communities of Sackville, Bedford and Fall River did not have a club of their own and set about forming what is now the Rotary Club of Sackville and Area.

Those clubs are our "Parent Clubs" and Past President Ron has visited both with our most recent report card!

Winning the District Club of the year award would not have been possible without the help and input of our parent clubs and so we wanted to share with them what work we do in our local area and further afield.

Successful projects such as our Christmas Wish Tree were suggestions made during the early days of the club, that we have taken on and amide our own!

High School Breakfast programmes

Posted by Sally Holden on Jul 20, 2016

We know how important education is, and learning is so much harder without a good breakfast to start the day. We have supported breakfast programmes in our community for several years and this year gave $500 each to Millward High and Sackville High schools. Breakfast programmes allow students to have access to free nutritious healthy food to start their day. HRSB say "Breakfast programs have been found to decrease student absenteeism, in-class disruptions, and to increase student performance. Research has demonstrated that students who start their day off with a healthy breakfast have higher academic performance." http://www.hrsb.ca/about-hrsb/program/health-promotion/school-nutritionist/breakfast-programs

Annual Lobster Boil

Posted by Sally Holden on Jul 20, 2016

4th ANNUAL LOBSTER BOIL!

Make a note in your diary! This is one of our favourite annual events. We love hosting it and it gets better every year. The Indian Lake Golf Club look after us so well - the food is delicious, the atmosphere fun and friendly. It is our annual fundraiser for the Rotary Foundation, which among other things has eradicated 99.9% of Polio cases worldwide.

Come and join us, 5pm 20th August, whatever the weather. We need to place our lobster order least a week before so be sure to get your ticket in plenty of time!

Community outreach

Posted by Sally Holden on Jul 18, 2016

This week we invited friends from the community to join us for breakfast at Freemans Little New York. ( & we can certainly recommend their breakfast!) It was a relaxed event where we made new friends and contacts, and it helped us get across a bit more about what Rotary does in Lower Sackville and beyond. Lots of guests offered to come back and give us a presentation about their work and passions so watch our events page as we get them booked in over the coming weeks and months. We were also able to offer our own support and that of our Interact Club in helping our local community.

Changing of the Guard!

Posted by Sally Holden on Jun 29, 2016

The unsung heroes of Rotary are our significant others, who support our passion, come to events, and get involved as the army without the pin. Over and above the call of duty Gail Zwaagstra shared her 37th wedding anniversary with a group from the club who descended on her home (invited!) for a potluck supper to celebrate the end of her husband Ron's tenure as Club President. The Rotary Club of Sackville and Area would not be where it is today without two years of outstanding leadership from Ron, and the support of Gail. Here he is looking pensive and reflective! Read on for more about our change of leadership.....

2016 Yard Sale

Posted by Sally Holden on Jun 24, 2016

The Sun shone again on our Yard Sale at Knox Church, The community rented tables from us and we also sold baked goods as well as a trove of treasure collected over preceding months. $ 568 was raised and will help fund our community projects.

Peace Fellow - Kalina McCaul

There are only 100 Peace Scholarships awarded by Rotary each year, so every recipient is a very special individual. We are lucky that two of them this year are from Atlantic Canada, and Kalina (who graduated from Saint Mary’s in 2009 Magna Cum Laude with a BA Political Science with an honours in International Relations) took time to talk to us before starting her programme in Uppsala, Sweden in the Fall.........

Our Interact Club is official!!

Posted by Sally Holden on May 24, 2016

Today we handed over the official certificate (the "Charter" ) which recognizes the forming of our Interact club and our sponsorship of it. The preparation for the Coffee House Fundraiser was paused: and club officers were presented with their pins. We all celebrated together over a pizza supper!

We look forward to working with our Interactors over the coming years, and wish the graduating Grade 12's all the very best in their future!

Interact Club Coffee House

Posted by Sally Holden on May 24, 2016

Our Interact Club, whose members come from students at C P Allen High School, had their first major fundraiser at Bedford United Church tonight. The "First Annual" event raised around $2700 Alexis Fletcher IWK Adolescent Mental Health Endowment.

District Conference Day 1

Posted by Sally Holden on May 15, 2016

The District Conference is a chance to meet up with old friends from around our district which comprises Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and St. Pierre et Miquelon . It also gives us the chance to reflect on our Rotary year and be inspired by speakers who are making a real difference to the world. We were also delighted to be awarded a Gold Presidential Citation, recognition for how much we have grown as a club in the last 12 months..............

Celebrating the impact of volunteers!

Posted by Sally Holden on Apr 19, 2016

We were delighted to again attend the Lake District Recreation Association Annual Volunteer dinner. We were catered for splendidly with a delicious supper at the Sackville Legion and heard about the history of the LDRA. There were many local voluntary organisations present each enjoying the evening and taking the opportunity to recognise their own volunteer of the year. President Ron presented ours to......

Tanya Wiltshire - NSSC

Posted by Sally Holden on Apr 18, 2016

This morning Tanya Wiltshire came and shared with us the work that is done at the Nova Scotia Securities Commission. She explained how companies and individuals who sell securities have to be vetted and regulated in order to raise funds or trade in Nova Scotia. There are similar organizations in each province and they work together to protect Canadians. The NSCC can help individuals who have complaints or feel they have been the victim of fraud. Her team of 19 ensure that we are educated and informed and she warned particularly of the "Binary Option" which is a current scam that is particularly targeting Facebook users.

Interact is "official" !!

Posted by Sally Holden on Apr 11, 2016

We have received the Charter certificate that confirms that the Interact Club of Charles P Allen is officially registered with Rotary International. The Club will be presented with the charter at a Pizza Party ahead of their Coffee House Fundraiser on 11th May.

Breakfast with Peter Stoffer

Posted by Sally Holden on Apr 11, 2016

8 Club members and 4 guests all met for breakfast and enjoyed a short meeting before the much anticipated conversation with Peter Stoffer.......

"BITE" - an Incr "edible" success!

Posted by Sally Holden on Apr 04, 2016

Thanks to some great organisation, a hunger (!) to help Halifax Hospice and some generous restaurateurs BITE was even more successful in 2016. Locally we supported Tom's Diner, Chefs Menu and Beaverbank Station and that helped raise almost $1100 from these 3 eateries alone. Across Metro around $6600 was raised from 24 participating restaurants.

Dictionary project update in numbers........

Posted by Sally Holden on Mar 22, 2016

3528 books gifted to the Club (and 3528 plate labels peeled and stuck!)

120 books sent to schools overseas.

82 books to Rotary Youth programmes for their projects

90 Elementary schools in HRM contacted

3139 books delivered to 79 schools

48 to Refugee / ESOL programme

Approx 1960 kms for deliveries

Around 124 volunteer hours, phoning, packing, sticking and delivering!

145 books still awaiting their forever home! For the full story.....

Doors Open Halifax

Posted by Sally Holden on Mar 09, 2016

Hugh Mackay spoke to us at the meeting this week about Doors Open Halifax. Doors Open is a concept started in Glasgow, Scotland where heritage or other buildings, not usually opened to the public are made available for visits and tours. 2016 is the 4th year for Halifax where around 30 buildings including the Clock Tower, Keith's Brewery, Province House, The Neptune Theater and many buildings of worship will be open free of charge and brought to life by volunteers. There are 40+ programs in Canada, in Halifax it is run without government funding, on a small budget and with the help of 400 + volunteers. Look out for the full listings of buildings open on 4th & 5th June 2016 on www.doorsopenhalifax.com, it is REALLY worth a visit!!

Supporting Shelterbox Canada

Posted by Sally Holden on Feb 15, 2016

This morning we presented a cheque for $1200 via a conference call to Shelterbox Canada. We spoke to Shelterbox Canada Ambassador Carol Robar who was able to update us on improvements to the scheme. The main program holds Shelterboxes in locations around the world so that they can easily be transported to areas of natural disaster or conflict in the Developed and Developing world. Shelterboxes contain...

Sackville Snow Days - Ker-Plunk

Posted by Sally Holden on Feb 12, 2016

We were excited to be part of the Sackville Snow Days Festival for the second year. Our contribution to the fun opening event at the Royal Canadian Legion on Friday 12 Feb was a Giant Ker-Plunk game. The tournaments were set up and run by members of our Interact Club based at Charles P Allen High School, and all the kids who played won a goodie bag, book or McDonalds gift card. It was a great family event and the games of Ker-Plunk continued long after the end time of the event!

Literacy Project - first steps!

Posted on Jan 21, 2016

Today our first gift of Student Dictionary and Gazetteers was delivered. Bev Eisner accepted a box of 24 dictionaries on behalf of Saint Benedict Parish. Each book is a gift from us to a student of English at the Church. Saint Benedict RC Church has a busy and successful refugee program and also holds ESOL (English as a Second Language) classes. They are keeping 10 books as classroom resources, and the remainder will be given to students to keep. We hope to be able to provide more books in the future to support their work as our program is very large..............

Happy New Year!

Posted on Jan 06, 2016

Happy New Year! It was a cold but clear start to our 2016 Rotary efforts. A good turnout to the meeting meant that we made progress in new and existing projects. What's on for the next few months in 2016...

Auction Night!!

Posted by Sally Holden on Nov 12, 2015

Auction Night!

Our auction was a great success. Over $4000 was raised...

Hit Fore Hospice

Posted by Sally Holden on Sep 22, 2015

We joined forces with the other Rotary Clubs in Metro to support the 2nd Annual Hit Fore Hospice golf tournament organised by Dartmouth Rotary Club. Pictured is our very own Rtn Mark Hooftman and his team. The event raised $17000 for the Hospice Society of Greater Halifax.