Four new Heritage Ornaments are available online www.RotaryOrnaments.com. These pewter collectibles feature prominent architectural sites in London, Ontario. To shop in person, see locations below:
Grosvenor Lodge is one of the featured ornaments this year and sales of the ornament launched at special function at the Lodge.
Rotary Club of London South in Action. This month we have shown our club is made up of people of action not words.
Thanksgiving Turkeys
In October we have distributed 26 turkeys to NGOs to help provide Thanksgiving meals to those in need. Among the organizations receiving turkeys were Salvation Army, My Sisters Place, Anova, the Men’s Mission and others.
Tree Planting
The club’s commitment to the environment was demonstrated by planting 130 trees in Carroll Park in the Summerside neighbourhood of London.
Calvin Reid from Reid’s Distillery in Toronto described the foundation of the distillery at the beginning of the pandemic and its near-death collapse of marketing opportunities to its current thriving business. Along the way Reid’s created a community-oriented hand sanitizer product they gave away to community members, hospitals, and first responders. The product was made from waste byproducts of the gin distilling process.
The business started when the family realized there was an opportunity for flavoured gins beyond the typical products offered in the LCBO. With a background in craft brewing, the Reids took a gamble and set up a gin distilling business in East Toronto. Just as they started the pandemic hit and they felt their business was doomed. Unable to market through the LCBO and limited by the pandemics impact on their retail store, they saw no way forward. In desperation and looking for a way to get rid of some of the distilling byproduct they created hand sanitizer which was in short supply and subject to panic buying in the early days of the pandemic. Since they could not sell the alcohol-based product, they gave it away. The give away program gained media attention and gave their brand name some customer awareness, they started making gin again and needed a way to get the product out in the market.
Blocked from normal distribution channels and unable to make presentations to the LCBO because of covid restrictions, this family-owned business set up its own distribution channel by providing a home delivery service with no minimum order quantity. In addition to gin the Reids provided mix to customers to go with gin and developed a new outlet for their business as a cocktail ingredient supplier and on line cocktail creation instructor. Word of mouth and promotional activities resulted in a thriving business once the pandemic restrictions eased. Their products are now available through the LCBO.
Calvin’s prestation is a tribute to small business and the ability of entrepreneur’s pivot quickly when an opportunity presents itself.
The business started when the family realized there was an opportunity for flavoured gins beyond the typical products offered in the LCBO. With a background in craft brewing, the Reids took a gamble and set up a gin distilling business in East Toronto. Just as they started the pandemic hit and they felt their business was doomed. Unable to market through the LCBO and limited by the pandemics impact on their retail store, they saw no way forward. In desperation and looking for a way to get rid of some of the distilling byproduct they created hand sanitizer which was in short supply and subject to panic buying in the early days of the pandemic. Since they could not sell the alcohol-based product, they gave it away. The give away program gained media attention and gave their brand name some customer awareness, they started making gin again and needed a way to get the product out in the market.
Blocked from normal distribution channels and unable to make presentations to the LCBO because of covid restrictions, this family-owned business set up its own distribution channel by providing a home delivery service with no minimum order quantity. In addition to gin the Reids provided mix to customers to go with gin and developed a new outlet for their business as a cocktail ingredient supplier and on line cocktail creation instructor. Word of mouth and promotional activities resulted in a thriving business once the pandemic restrictions eased. Their products are now available through the LCBO.
Calvin’s prestation is a tribute to small business and the ability of entrepreneur’s pivot quickly when an opportunity presents itself.
London Cares
Erica Black, the Outreach Coordinator for London Cares, talked about the mission of the outreach program which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week under the Pillars of: Harm Reduction; Prevention; Treatment; Enforcement; and Community Collaboration.
They focus on London's core areas (Downtown, Old East Village, SOHO), Street Outreach Workers engage with individuals experiencing homelessness and support them to move off the street and into a home.
She talked about the importance of our “Keep London Warm” initiative last winter. Many of the homeless could not be housed in the hotel arrangements set up by the city or in the trailers set up on various parking lots. For those individuals without accommodations the street outreach workers tried to find safe and warm locations for them to spend the night – churches, doorways, or other locations. Our kits made them more comfortable than would otherwise be the case.
Erica said London Cares gets 9 5% of their funding from the city and donations like ours make a difference that goes beyond the basics LC can provide. She said the items we provided were what individuals needed and she did not suggest any changes to the kits.
After her presentation we officially launched this year’s Keep London Warm program. Donations can be made at Canada Helps under the Rotary Club of London South Foundation page or click on the link below:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/rotary-club-of-london-south-foundation/campaign/2021-2021-keeping-london-warm-campaign/
Yvone Joubert described the Clubhouse App and how it is connecting Rotarians worldwide. Clubhouse App is a new type of social network based on voice—where people around the world come together to talk, listen, and learn from each other in real-time. Currently a Rotary forum is hosted on the app every Saturday morning for discussion of various topics of interest to Rotarians. One week it might have a forum on fighting poverty and micro loans or other similar topics which Rotarians are sponsoring. The App is available on Google Play or the Apple Store.
Ron Posno's presentation on Dying with Dignity underlined the importance of planning details for end of life. Surprisingly, 65% of Canadians do not have a will. Many have not had a discussion with family members about their wishes in the event of incapacity or suffering from an incurable disease. Ron talked about the history of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) and the status of the legal framework and issues individuals need to take into account.
The first business meeting of the new Rotary year covered a number of topics including:
- Membership Development
- Fundraising
- Community Service Projects
- Kenya Water/Hygiene
Erin Scott talked about what it is like to live with Lyme Disease. Growing up in Norfolk County and playing in the fields she was exposed to ticks and developed a range of symptoms that went undiagnosed as Lyme Disease for many years. Doctors were unable/unwilling to accept that the symptoms were Lyme Disease. When she was finally tested for Lyme using US testing the symptoms made sense as a cluster of symptoms. She became an advocate for testing and getting the disease recognized in Canada.
ADG Howard Shears outlined incoming DG Erin Shankie's goals for her Rotary Year. Her goals are a continuation of the three year strategic plan started in DG Tony's year.
The Wheel of Rotary keeps turning. We held our change over meeting on June 25th. President Anette listed some of our club’ accomplishments during her year as President, Howard Shear ADG administered the oath of office to the new Rotary year officers and In coming President Philippe outlined his objectives for the new year.
Among the accomplishments during President Anette’s year:
- Backpacks for school
- Turkeys for Thanksgiving
- Keeping London Warm
- Habitat for Humanity
- Ornament sales
- RYLA sponsorships
- Kenya water project
- Colombia tablets
- Beirut Hospital funding
- Sports Equipment for schools
- RI Foundation targets exceeded by large amounts.
- Rotaract and Interact sponsorship
- Bravery Bead Bags
- Greenhouse for Food Bank
- Tree planting
- And much more
Incoming President Philippe Goals:
- Increased Fellowship
- Create a Newsletter!
- Three new members
- Increased Social Media presence
- Hybrid meeting creation
- Increased number of Paul Harris
- Include O Canada at our meetings.
- Having Fun
- Recognizing Indigenous Lands at meetings
- Fundraising
- Celebrating our successes
Meetings are being held electronically until further notice
London, ON N6E 1M3
Canada