What a wonderful evening...full of fun and new friendships, delicious food, dynamite dancing, and great anticipation trying to unlock the cage! Our 2nd annual Kindness Gala was a big hit!! And our online Silent Auction was also a great success with bidders grabbing up over 40 amazing items. Thanks to the kindness of our community, funds raised for the Moreau Park - Kindness at Play project are growing...we will have an update soon.
Runners and walkers of every age and stage enjoyed the annual Thornbury Turkey Trot in support of the Thornbury-Clarksburg Rotary Club this past Saturday October 7th. The event attracted over 700 participants, and is a major fundraiser for the Club. Proceeds from the annual event supports the many needs of the local community along with a variety of international aid projects.
Read more and see list of winners...
Recently, we helped another group of students from BVCS benefit from the amazing program at the Hope Haven Therapeutic Riding Centre. Over the last several years, T-C Rotary has been pleased to provide the needed transportation for select students from BVCS to attend a transformative program at Hope Haven in Markdale. Hope Haven's mission is "to provide a transformative experience through our distinctly designed programs for individuals with (dis)abilities or unique needs".
The feedback from the most recent program was, as always, extremely positive. Here are a few of the comments received by the BVCS:"Hope Haven is the highlight of much more than his week. He is now confident and has friends!" (a parent)
"If it weren't for Hope Haven, we would still be struggling to get him to school. This is the most confident we have ever seen him!" (a parent)
"The best part about Hope Haven is that I now have friends!" (a student)
A message to T-C Rotary:
"On behalf of the students, families and staff of BVCS, we can't thank you enough for giving these students the opportunity to grow into more confident versions of themselves! From: Caitlin Roach, Learning Resource Teacher, BVCS.
Many thanks to Hope Haven for providing such an awesome and transformative program, and also to the staff at BVCS for making it possible for the students to include this as part of their learning program.
And many thanks to our TBM community members for helping us make a difference in young people's lives.
Recently, the T-C Rotary club donated $5,000 to support the building of new washrooms for the primary school in Cihuatlan Mexico (a small town on the Pacific Coast near Manzanillo). A large earthquake last September 19th severely damaged the existing washroom wing of the primary school. That facility was condemned with the result 
that the 195 students and staff have had to rely on two port-a-potties on loan from a local farmer since then. Replacement was needed as the farmer needed them back for his own use early this spring. One of our members spends winters in the area and is an honorary member of the nearby Rotary club of Costelegra that organized the project to build 8 new washrooms (4 for girls and 4 for boys) at a cost of $23,000 Canadian. The balance of the funds were raised locally along with another large contribution from a Rotary club in the US.
that the 195 students and staff have had to rely on two port-a-potties on loan from a local farmer since then. Replacement was needed as the farmer needed them back for his own use early this spring. One of our members spends winters in the area and is an honorary member of the nearby Rotary club of Costelegra that organized the project to build 8 new washrooms (4 for girls and 4 for boys) at a cost of $23,000 Canadian. The balance of the funds were raised locally along with another large contribution from a Rotary club in the US.The washrooms were completed in April. The school principal is happy with the completed project and is very appreciative of the Rotary Clubs who have funded this project. No longer do 200 plus students and staff have to share 2 port-a-potties that stood in the blazing sun.
Thank you to our community members for making it possible for us to help those in need beyond our borders! Our international work is an important, though smaller part, of how we distribute donations and is a key part of the Rotary International Mission to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace".
T-C Rotary club was pleased recently to receive a very interesting presentation about a new program being run through Grace United Church. As presenters Diana Dolmer and Carol Clarke explained, Georgian Bay Home Share is aimed at matching up individuals in the community that are home “seekers” with others in the community who are prepared to be home “providers”. Driven especially by the local demographics and the affordability of accommodation, the basic model of Home Share seeks seniors in particular who are living alone in their homes and could use both a little income and some help around the home. The company and fellowship of such an arrangement can’t be ignored either.
T-C Rotary has recently completed the final component of its 3 year International Services’ project to help Elgon Ngoma Troupe (ENT) – a non-profit providing housing, food, mentoring and education to street kids in Mbale Uganda – to become self-sustaining. The Mbale area is one of the poorest in the country and is believed to have the highest number of street kids. The latest work consists of:
- The installation of a solar system with battery storage to bring electricity to their farmhouse in nearby Mawululu village. Now there are lights inside and outside and enough power to charge small appliances and tools.
- The purchase and set up of beds and bedding for 12 youth. Now the farmhouse can finally house additional Troupe members.
Having a habitable farmhouse with clean water and solar power means ENT members can now live there permanently, work the crops, learn farming skills and provide much needed security for the farm’s operation. While also relieving overcrowding at their home in Mbale, their presence on the farm makes successful crops more assured and virtually guarantees food security year-round for all Troupe members.
T-C Rotary is grateful for the opportunity to make such a difference in the lives of homeless youth in the Mbale area of Uganda and thrilled that ENT is finding ways to leverage our efforts to create even more much needed benefits in Mawululu. We are also very grateful for the support of our Blue Mountains community members who have donated to this cause and for the steadfast support and hard work of the Metropolitan Mbale Rotary (MMR) Club who has ensured the successful implementation of the project.
A BIG congratulations and out heartfelt thank you to RICK OFFORD for his 46 years of membership in our Thornbury-Clarksburg Rotary club....Rick never does anything in half measures and his huge passion for all things Rotary has produced remarkable results!
Over the years, Rick has played key roles in many T-C Rotary endeavours, including the Rat Race, the Haiti Project, the Chili Cookoff, the BVCC build project, ShelterBox, the Tent Rental Program and the Ashanti Coffee sales, to name just a few. Also, Rick and his wife Roberta have hosted at least 16 inbound exchange youth from all over the world and Rick was the club Youth Officer for over 20 years.
His Rotary passions and the good works he has done for our community and well beyond our borders are numerous....
(Photo: Rick (l) with club President Lib Kennedy (m) and Heather (Offord) Walton (r, Rick's daughter and fellow club member)
Congratulations to Diane Anderson, T-C club member and past Chair of our Community Services Committee! Diane was awarded the PHF by the club for her tireless work for the community during the covid pandemic. During this time, Diane delivered food to those in need every Friday, organized the free potato drive of PEI potatoes to people in our community, helped organize the Seniors Fair at Bayview and made sure that Rotary was prominently displayed. Diane also lead our Community Service Committee during this period and was relentless in her effort in helping the community during a very unprecedented and challenging time.
Thank you Diane for your service to our community!!
Photo: Diane flanked by fellow members Steven Schofield (l) and Michael Atkins (r) at her award ceremony.
Last week, our club celebrated Michael Atkins for his 45 years of service as a Thornbury-Clarksburg Rotarian! And what an amazing 45 years! Michael was a key organizer, and often leader, of many memorable local events including the Rat Race, the Chariot Race and the Chili Cookoff, fundraising for the building of our current BVCC and arena, the building of the Bayview Pavilion. He was also instrumental in the success of the Haiti Project and the Hand Up Program. And Michael delivered two successful terms as club President, several terms as an Assistant District Governor and a term as the District Governor. These are only some of his accomplishments. What can we say other than THANK YOU Michael! YOU are AWESOME!!! Read more to find out just how awesome Michael is...
The Thornbury Clarksburg Rotary Club hosted another successful annual ski day event for inbound international exchange students of our District 6330 Clubs. A fun time was had by all as many students attempted their first time on skis! Rotarian coaches helped them get suited up and onto the slopes...well let's say the magic carpet :) ! Students were hosted for a dinner which included social time, a talent show and sharing stories about their respective youth exchange experiences.
A big thank you to our billet families that helped to host the students for the time they were in our area!
There is scientific evidence that kindness actually helps us heal emotionally and physically. Repeated acts of kindness decreases pain, stress, anxiety, depression and blood pressure – while increasing happiness and lifespan. And acts of kindness are contagious; when one is the recipient, its contagion makes it easier to pay it forward!
Share your kindness-related literary or art work at #tcrcommunitykindness...we will periodically chose some of those posts for display in our Kindness Korner.
John Bailey
While the COVID pandemic and its subsequent lockdown has presented us with many obstacles, it has also presented us with an opportunity. An opportunity to stop, get quiet, and really ask ourselves what matters most. This opportunity helps many of us to realize that a lot of the things that we surround ourselves with - that we thought we needed - that we thought made us happy, actually do not matter as much as the people that we surround ourselves with. What matters, what truly matters is making sure that we are taking care of each other!
Taking care of ourselves. And taking care of this beautiful environment that we are lucky enough to call home! When we do this. When we take care of each other, it changes who we are on a fundamental level. When we do this, it changes our sense of value, and how we act and respond; which benefits our community and ripples out into the world. This is important as it reminds us of how we, no matter our experiences and perspectives, can come together as a single community. A community of unmatched kindness.
Please join me, and the rest of the Thornbury-Clarksburg Rotary Club in showing the world that Our Community Runs on Kindness!
Sincerely / Miigwech,
John Bailey
Thornbury-Clarksburg Rotary Club
President 2023-2024
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