Guest Speaker
This week's guest will be our own Heather Scott.
Moment of Silence - Councillor Mike Ciolfi
The club members reflected on the service commitment of Town of Pelham Councillor Mike Ciolfi who passed away recently. Mike was a great community member and helped with our Rotary club. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. The members held a moment of silence in Mike's honour.
ZOOM Link
Mike indicated that the ZOOM meeting link is now a recurring link so he won't send out a new link each week. Please save the email for each meeting login until such time as we can meet in person.
Face Masks
A number of Rotarians and community members are supporting an organization called "The Sewing Army" to sew face masks for community groups.
Huge thanks to Jennifer and Paul Allen and Tove Bowman who are among the team. Dave placed an article in the Voice.
Donations via e-transfer
Mike indicated that should members be willing and able to donate their breakfast funds to the Rotary Club of Fonthill, the donation will be forwarded to Rose City Kids or Food4Kids Niagara to support these organizations. This is entirely volunteer.
Mike will email information regarding e-transfer capability once it is confirmed.
Funfest
Paul and Paul indicated that Bissell's has chosen to withdraw from hosting Funfest this September. They have been receiving lots of cancellations and feel that it is unlikely to have large group gatherings in the fall. The club fully appreciates and understands the situation that they are in. To date there have been sponsorships and some expenses made for Funfest. The issue will be discussed at the Board Meeting on April 22nd.
Special Guest
Our guest speaker this week is our own Heather Scott.
Heather shared a presentation on the role of the Canadian Cancer Society which has been in existence since 1938. The Canadian Cancer Society has four pillars of work - Research, Advocacy, Support and Funding. It functions at the provincial and national levels. Organizations such as Prostrate and Breast Cancer have now joined in to the larger group.
The Research component has seen over $40 million go to researching all spectrums of cancer. Heather pointed out that research grants take time for consideration and approval and there are lots of initiatives that come forward. The CCS also participates in lobbying governments for funding but again, there are numerous groups also lobbying. Heather acknowledged that some cancers do not get the type of recognition as others.
Heather shared the importance of healthy lifestyles by all - while the risk of smoking is well known thanks to CCS efforts, it is also important to consider other risks such as sun safety. Heather recommends members take a look at https://itsmylife.cancer.ca/
One of the big supports that the CCS offers is the Peer matching. As a cancer patient or loved one, the CCS will match you with someone with a lived experience who can be a real support in a difficult time.
Another important resource is the Wheels of Hope program which offers drivers to take people to appointments. In Niagara, the drivers take patients to London, Toronto and Hamilton.
Another service is the Wig Room. With staff and volunteers who are mostly cancer survivors, this room is a place of hope for many.
Heather shared concerns regarding the impact that COVID has on the CCS and patients. As examples, drivers for Wheels of Hope have withdrawn as they are often in higher risk groups, patient treatments have been slowed but most importantly and there is an impact on the fund raising opportunities.
The long term impact of COVID on the CCS and other charitable organizations is unknown but will likely be significant.
This April's Daffodil campaign is fully on line and can be found at
Rotary Moment
Hugh shared the following video
Please note that Mike will send a link to the ZOOM recording of the meeting each week but will then delete it prior to the next meeting.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 22nd Board Meeting, all welcome.
|
