Welcome to our Club!
Members of the three Salmon Arm Rotary clubs, First United Church, Broadview Evangelical Free church and Second Harvest teamed up to provide more than 600 individual meals to those in need on Christmas. Some of the many volunteers, Dan McPherson, Ron Hooper, Vahlleri Semeniuk, Lloyd Nakagawa, Lis Leach, Norm Brown, Rob Hislop and Patrick Webb take time out at the Evangelical Free church, a meal pick-up point, for a photo on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
More than 600 meals made their COVID-safe way to Salmon Arm residents in need on Christmas Day, thanks to an abundance of caring volunteers.
Salmon Arm’s three Rotary Clubs, as well as Second Harvest, the First United Church and Broadview Evangelical Free Church, donated funds to pay for the food, the meals were cooked and put together by the churches, and volunteers from all the groups pitched in to distribute the packages.
Norm Brown, president of the Rotary Club of Salmon Arm, said the idea was born when a Penticton Rotary Club used a similar system for a lobster dinner.
The work in the Shuswap, following pandemic protocols, started about a month and a half before Christmas, with everything coming together in just five weeks.
“All three clubs jumped on it. We had volunteers – we had to turn them away, we had more than enough,” said Brown.
A total of 620 Christmas dinners-to-go were produced.
Over the past four years the Shuswap Rotary Club has invested $530,000 in community and international programs. This was made possible largely from the generous support of local businesses and donors to the Club’s annual fundraising auctions.
Of the total contributions, $366,000 was dispensed within our community to: Youth Programs - $122,500; Seniors & People with Disabilities - $82,500; Food Banks & Families in Need - $72,500; Community Organizations - $75,000; and The Arts - $13,600.
The remaining $165,000 supported: Rotary International’s program to eradicate Polio; our Club’s Barani school project in Kenya providing student lunches, classroom computers/internet, and High School sponsorships; Health & Water initiatives in Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti & South Africa; as well as Rotary programs that promote world peace and understanding.
If you would like to know more about our Club or are interested in making a donation, feel free to contact us at www.shuswaprotary.org or on Facebook @ShuswapRotary.
(L – R) Fred Goodman, Foundation Director; Cookie Langenfeld, Executive Director, Shuswap Hospice Society; MJ Berezan, President; Sherry Gilroy, Community Service Director
The Shuswap Rotary Club continued its support to Salmon Arm non-profit organizations with a $5000 donation to the Shuswap Hospice Society on October 21, 2020 with funds from a BC Gaming Grant. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Shuswap Hospice Society has experienced a significant increase in demand for its services. The Shuswap Rotary Club has long been a financial supporter of the Shuswap Hospice Society and its ‘Dancing with the Shuswap Stars’ fundraiser.
So far in this Rotary year, our Club focus has been on supporting Community Food Banks, the S.A.F.E. Society, Shuswap Family Center, Shuswap Hospice Society and our Club’s School Food Program.
Shuswap Rotary Club is extremely honoured to be able to use Adam Meikle’s painting of Salmon Arm’s wharf as a banner on our website. Mr. Meikle is the owner/operator with his wife Jenna of Meikle’s Social Art House on Lakeshore Drive. His talent as an artist is evident to anyone who has purchased one of his paintings or has visited his studio. Adam has been instrumental, with the vision of Bill Laird, in creating the following: the Giraffe at Westgate Market, the Monarch Butterflies on the Monarch Building, The Largest Treble Clef in the World, and the Osprey Mural on Hudson Street. Adam is a wonderful asset to Salmon Arm and has made a real impression in the few years he and his family have been here.
Shuswap Rotary members have been volunteering at the the Shuswap Community Teaching Garden, including Sherry Gilroy, Rita Greggor, MJ Berezan, John and Elaine Hansen.
The Shuswap Community Teaching Garden was developed by the Shuswap Family Centre. The food produced supports 2nd Harvest and the SAFE society. There are a few areas set aside for individual folks who plant, weed and harvest for themselves.
Volunteers are welcome. Everyone who volunteers needs to sign a liability waiver and to sign in each day they attend the garden. Shuswap Rotary helps out at 8:30am every first and third Tuesday and every second and fourth Sunday at 8:30 am.Melanie is the coordinator. She is usually there Tuesday mornings. The other 2 Rotary Clubs in Salmon Arm are also volunteering.
Shuswap Rotary presented five members of the club with Paul Harris Fellowship Awards at the induction meeting on June 23, 2020. Three more Paul Harris Fellowship Awards have been also awarded this summer.
Janice Ross Fred Goodman Dave Woolliams
Eddie Turner
Five of the awards were based on their personal contributions to the Rotary Foundation. Janice Ross received a 'Paul Harris Fellow +1' which means it was her second PHF recognition. Fred Goodman received a 'Paul Harris Fellow +7' which means it was his 8th recognition. Dave Woolliams received a 'Paul Harris Fellow + 6', Dr. Eddie Turner received a 'Paul Harris Fellow +2', and Ralph Owens (not pictured) received a 'Paul Harris Fellow +3.
The other three PHFs were identified by a committee based on their significant contributions to the club and Rotary. The club presented PHFs are for Rob McKibbon, Mark Ellis, and John Hansen.
Rob McKibbon has just stepped down as RYE director after 6 years and after hosting a multitude of exchange students. Exchange students were very lucky to have Rob and Lynn as their host parents because they each got treated like a combination of family and royalty. He and his wife Lynn have been tireless supporters of Rotary and the youth exchange program since he joined Rotary in 2011. Rob served as president of the club in 2014-15 and he maintains our club Facebook page. He has also been a huge supporter of our fundraising auction acting as its MC the past few years. Rob has a valuable special ability to get generous auction supporters and donors to help make our auctions a huge success.
Mark Ellis has been highly involved in our Barani project in Kenya. He is passionate about helping the children who benefit from our Barani project. He travelled with 5 other club members in 2017 to visit Barani school and our sponsored students. He has also chaired the Barani committee. As fundraising chair he has overseen several very successful auctions which have enabled our club to be very generous in offering services locally and internationally. Mark has also served as president of the club. 
John Hansen has served as our club president this year after helping out in a big way with this position in the previous two years. John has done an incredible job in transitioning and guiding us through this new world that we are now experiencing.John has served on the Barani committee and works tirelessly behind the scenes in many capacities as well as to help make our auctions a success, and gives our auctions some class by appearing in a tuxedo every year!Congratulations and many thanks to all 8 Paul Harris Fellowship recipients for their contributions to Rotary.
Shuswap Rotary sponsors 20 Kenyan secondary students at various secondary schools. These students were sent home from their boarding schools at the start of the pandemic, and will miss the entire Term 2 before they can hopefully return to school September 1. These are students from poor families who would not go to school without help. They have sponsorship guidelines that must be met to ensure continued sponsorship. Shuswap Rotary decided to use the money we have set aside for Term 2 fees to support these students in this difficult time. We are providing maize flour and beans, two staples of the Kenyan diet. The photos show some of our students as they are receiving this assistance in May.
Update - we have also distributed food in June, photos of this are in the Photo Albums, located on the upper right side of this web page. Click on 2020 Barani Food Distribution.
Shuswap Rotary is presenting a cheque to S.A.F.E Society for help during the COVID-19 pandemic. The need has increased significantly and the funds were greatly appreciated. Shown in the photo, left to right are Paige Hilland and Jane Shirley (SAFE Society) and Sherry Gilroy (Shuswap Rotary).
In light of the recent Covid-19 virus outbreak around the world, our regular Rotary meetings are cancelled until further notice. This cancellation is to ensure that as a club we are following the guidelines for social distancing announce by our health officials. As soon as we have received an "all clear" from our health officials we will resume our regular meeting schedule. In the meantime I urge all members to watch your email and Facebook (if you have an account) for updates. I have included an excerpt from Rotary President, Mark Maloney letter to us."As Rotary’s president and president-elect, we have been thinking of these issues very seriously in regard to upcoming Rotary events. As you may be aware, we have made the difficult decision to cancel two Rotary Presidential Conferences honoring our relationship with the United Nations- one in Paris, another in Rome. In the near term, we recommend that Rotary districts and clubs cancel or postpone meetings or events following the advice of national and local health officials."We hope that Rotarians will keep in regular contact with each other. Members are asked to check email and the website for information. Take care of yourselves!from our President, John Hansen
As in person meetings have been cancelled, we are working on ways to include speakers on the website. For earlier speakers (before March 15, 2020) click on Read More below.
Our Co-President, John Hansen, is currently in La Paz, Mexico. He has been sharing pictures and information about our club projects, especially Barani School in Kenya, and the Brain Bikes here in the Shuswap. He sends these pictures.
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John is in the back row, in the brown plaid shirt.
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John is receiving a club banner from the La Paz Rotary Club.
Brain Bikes are child-sized exercise bikes. Very sturdy and amazingly quiet, they are used in classrooms, and managed by teachers so they are not a disruption. Their purpose is to give children a short brain break with exercise. This helps students develop the habit of using exercise as a means of self-regulation, an essential life skill.
Three Rotarians are shown with students from Ranchero Elementary who are demonstrating how brain bikes are used. Rotarians are Dave Woolliams, Fred Good man and John Hansen (left to right) Brain bikes are used by students for short exercise intervals that are improve learning and self-regulation. ALSO - see the Brain Bikes Photo Album in the right column of this webpage.
'Service Above Self'
Salmon Arm, BC V1E 2W7
Canada