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The Rotary Club of London South's President, Joanne Johnson, welcomes you to our club.

Are you ready to connect to the world? At The Rotary Club of London South we work together to make a difference right here in London. Come and join us for a breakfast and enjoy great speakers, laughter, and see the impact Rotary makes locally and around the world. We are always looking for inspired people to join us.

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Nature & Nurture

With help from a Rotary Foundation global grant, a group of women in rural Costa Rica are using ecotourism to enrich their families' futures.

Watch: Italian clubs aim to protect hospital workers responding to COVID-19

Rotary clubs in districts across Italy worked together to procure state-of-the-art equipment needed to combat the deadly coronavirus disease for 26 hospitals around the country.

Rotaract rising

The ongoing evolution of Rotaract is redefining its place within Rotary.

Kenyan Rotarians take action to prevent spread of COVID-19 

Rotary clubs in East Africa are forging partnerships to provide hand washing stations and food in areas where social distancing is a luxury that few can afford.

Italian club uses expertise to aid in coronavirus fight

Members help launch site so merchants can sell goods, organize supplies to make sanitizer, and provide food to health care workers.

Club meetings cancelled due to COVID-19
Mar 20, 2020 – Jun 05, 2020

James Coolidge YFC Update

James Coolidge spoke at our May 8th meeting and described the changes YFC made to deal with the Covid pandemic. The programs YFC delivers have gone virtual. Surprisingly this change caused the greatest challenge to millennials who have not dealt with major life changes before. They often went through a grieving process dealing with a changed world. James showed their portal and how programs are connected to participants.

Beyond the change to program delivery the facility on Adelaide Street has become a food distribution centre for individuals, families and youth at risk. Daily drive crews deliver food to those in need. Because YFC operated as a restaurant it has access to the commercial food distribution network and is able to purchase food stuff at a significant discount to grocery prices. They are currently producing and providing 160 meals per night and will be capable of up to 800/900 per day in the future. They have become a collaborative leader helping other social service groups such as Glen Carin purchase, assemble and distribute food. Their operating space has been used by other service groups to stage non-food necessary materials for familles in need.

Thanks James for being a community leader in helping the most vulnerable in our city.

Jon Deactis - Centre of Hope

At our May 1st meeting Jon Deactis brought us up-to-date with the programs the pandemic have put under additional pressure. The Centre of Hope is not just a shelter it provides extensive services to people who come to it for help. As a shelter it is the largest in London. A list of the services is shown below this story. At the same time that the Centre is under pressure for services, it is facing a financial challenge because of its aging building-the roof needs replacing, the elevator has problems and the building is just old. The Centre provide needed service to the most vulnerable in London.

April 24th meeting featuring Strong Start

Our April 24th meeting featured Christine Geise from Strong Start.

Our first club meeting using zoom

We held our first zoom based club meeting on 27 March and shared ideas about how to help in the community during the COVID shutdown. Sargent at Arms David managed to extract a few virtual bucks.

Dave Kirwin says Rotary Rocks

Dave Kirwin wore the Rotary Glasses at the battle of the bands. Rotary Rocks!

Commit to Nicaragura

David Knoppart and Dr. Aman Rai from the Hyde Park Rotary Club presented an overview of their medical clinic trip to Nicaragua. On the "Commit to Nicaragua " trip they worked on medical clinics to help remote villages with health issues such as dealing with diabetes, high blood pressure, and other medial issues. Dental clinics, vision care, hearing care, educational issues and community agricultural development were also part of the mission.

An additional program was part of the trip was to encourage building simple cinder block stoves for cooking and eliminating cooking on open fires. Smoke from this type of cooking causes chronic lung conditions and other medical problems. The Rotary Club of Hyde Park is working on a grant proposal to develop 250 stoves for this part of the country. David outline the grant proposal and welcomed our help.

President Joan receives Paul Harris Pin

President Joanne received her Paul Harris recognition at our meeting on March 6th from PDG Al and Secretary Jim.

Satellite Club discussions

Our club effort to better serve the Hispanic community in London was kicked off with presentations at the Byron Library by club members and follow up presentations Starbucks. Both meeting were well attended by interested individuals. Continuing discussion are planned with participants determining if they want to set up a Satellite Club or join the Rotary Club of London South as members.

Jorge and Sonia visit

Jorge Valez and Sonia Gusman visited to find out what our club was like.

Cheryl Fin - Tourism London

Cheryl Fin, GM of Tourism London, told us the importance of tourism to the London economy. Visitors to London spend $831 million for same day and overnight stays. There are 8,537 jobs associated with tourism (3% of London employment). The visitor centres handled of 20,000 transactions each year. There are four main areas of tourism the city focuses on: experiential tourism, conventions, culture and entertainment, and sports tourism. Recent wins in each of these areas were: experiential tourism/ Unlocked and Inspired 3.0 Conventions/The Association of Municipal ties of Ontario, Culture and Entertainment / Junos Sport tourism / Continental Cup of Curling.

Tourism London is rebranding and the new look of the Wellington Rd. centre is an example of the new brand look.

Glen Carin Community Resource Centre

Stanislav Rajic, Acting Executive Director, of the Glen Carin Community Resource Centre described some of the programs GCCRC offers to the community. Glen Carin is a diverse catchment area and the demographics for the community range from youth looking for something to do or needing support and help to older community members dealing with loneliness. A number of innovative projects are underway to service low income individuals and families including food bank supplement programs, social programs, and a dental clinic.

Exchange Student Duda

On Valentine's Day, our Brazilian sweetheart, Eduarda Mendoca Dercy fondly known as Duda, gave an excellent presentation of her home country and specifically the city of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim where she is from in the southeast state of Espírito Santo, We learned about Duda's family and friends, career aspiration to become a doctor and her favourite Brazilian foods.

Vanessa Brown

Vanessa Brown, local author and historian, treated us the strange cold case of the murder of Jackie English. Jackie was murdered in 1968 and was found outside of London, but lots of clues in the city. There were too many coincidences to a coincident in this case. Murder, clues, arson and a Scottish verdict in a trial make this story a spell binder. Jackie's murder and several others are outline in Vanessa's book make this a must read for all of London. If you don't have a copy of the book- GET ONE.

Every day Microbiology

We were treated to an entertaining and informative talk by Dr. Darryl Gopaul about microbiology. Darryl explained the nature and location of various forms of bacteria found on the human body and how they spread. He outlined the nature of bacteria, how they interact with viruses and how some are helpful and some are harmful. Slides of the actual bacteria were shown and some anecdotes were used to help us understand the nature of some of the bacterial function. Among the bacteria he explained were tetanus, e. coli, and strep.

Coleen Jones- St. Joe's Health Care Foundation

Colleen Jones, from the St. Joseph's Health Care Foundation described the work their Foundation does in helping St. Joe's get the extras not funded by the province. One of the major efforts the foundation is helping with is mental health imitative for youth and for those needing assistance in finding the proper medication. The Foundation also funded the refurbishment of 11 operation rooms at the hospital. In the area of research, the Foundation provided a "state of the art" microscope allowing researchers to more closely identify disease at the genetic and cellular level. Among the other initiatives by the hospital and the Foundation is a outreach program for indigenous people. The work of these foundations make our community a leader in medical research and care.

Project of Significance White Oaks PS Library

Over this Rotary year we have engaged in providing the White Oaks Public School Library with upgrades the school could not otherwise afford. Some of the upgrades include furniture, carpeting, and bilingual books in Arabic/English. Below are some pictures of equipment we have purchased.

Fanshawe South Tour

We had a great tour of the new Fanshawe South facility on Wellington on Jan 17th. The tour was lead by Nord Mensch, The Associate Dean for the South Campus. This campus is one of the six Fanshawe locations and currently has 411 students, but will have over 1,000 in the fall. Four programs are offered at the South Campus: Business Management, Business Information Systems Architecture, Agriculture Business Management, and Retirement Residence Management. Most of the students at South Campus are International Students and Fanshawe works at integrating the students into south London. They are helped with finding accommodations, job placements, and community relations. The tour include viewing the various types of facilities and class room used by the students.

Moira McKee - Art Appraisals

Moria McKee, Owner and operator of Excavo Art Gallery explained the focus of her gallery in supporting up coming artist in London and beyond. She also explained her role in appraisal of art. Appraisals are conducted in a different fashion depending on the purpose of the appraisal. Appraisal for insurance purposes is different from estate appraisals. However, determining value either for replacement (insurance) or market value (estate) starts with finding comparable works recently sold or auctioned. Moria also advises collectors in art selection for purchase.

Welcome our newest Member Elisa Yaquian

On January 3rd we welcomed an new year and a new member. Elisa is a second generation Rotarian since her mother is also a Rotarian.

Christmas Carols at London South

Our annual Christmas Carol meeting featuring Sam and Dave (Kirwin) with many favourites including Frosty and !2 Days of Christmas.

Joyful Socks

We were delighted to host Elaine and Brian Crombeen for breakfast and get an update on the Joyful Socks project Elaine sponsors. When she started this project, the donated socks were distributed at Missions Services and provided a Christmas present of socks and personal care items for the Men's Mission clients during the Christmas season. The project has grown so much that now supplies last until July. So far this year 6,500 Joyful Socks have been collected.

Dani Bartlett- United Way

Dani Bartlett, Labour Coordinator for Middlesex London United Way, spoke about the United Way's initiatives to support the anti violence against women initiatives in our community. One of the programs the UW undertakes is the "New Beginning Loan Program". This is a micro loan program allowing women to get a new start in a violence free environment. The average loan size is $299.44. However, a loan a small as $27 can pay for cab fare to allow a rural woman to escape an abusive relationship. In 2018 63 women have taken advantage of the program.

L'Arche Offsite Meeting

Our offsite meeting on November 22nd was a L'Arche London in their impressive building in Lambeth. After a short club meeting, we learned the history and mission of L'Arche. L'Arche London operates three residential homes where individuals with intellectual disabilities share living accommodations and responsibilities with community members. At L'Arche"s Gathering Place in Lambeth a range of day programs are offered including music, art, ceramics, kitchen skills and other activities. In addition a cafe is operated by the organization where community members can enjoy an coffee along with freshly baked goods and treats. After a short club meeting we learned more about L'Arche, its history and mission. We were treated to a tour of the Gathering Place and its facilities.

Club Assembly

Rememberance Day Commeration

Our annual Remembrance Day Ceremony was held this Friday with Major Veneables playing "Last Post" and moments of silence observed. Members talked about family members who served. A special speaker, Vinod Varapdravn explained the role of the Indian Army troops in WWI. 1.2 million Indian solders took part in the war. Many were there at the early stages of the war in France and came with limited arms and summer Khaki uniforms. They took part in the capture of Haifa including a cavalry charge with lances and swords. To commerce the role of the Indian Army 108 trees have been planted on Veterans Memorial Highway at the corner of Hamilton Rd. and Veterans Memorial Highway.