A special presentation was made on Nov. 1, 2009 by the Sussex Rotary Club to the Fundy Civic Center. President Frank Derrah, Honorary member Harley Geldart presented John Robinson of the FCC the Club's donation of $76, 751.38. Rotarian & MLA Bruce Northrup joined in for the happy occassion.
Top photo- Rotarian Wendy Osborne selling tickets on a GPS to raise the funds to purchase a ShelterBox.
Left Photo- 23 Atlantic Canada Rotary Club representatives who presented Tom Henderson (standing on far left) with ShelterBox funding.
Right Photo- Sussex Rotarian Roger Albert presenting Sussex's $1200.00 contribution for a ShelterBox.
That's what ShelterBox Charity, a Rotary Club International project and brainchild of a real live hero, have accomplished in nine short years.
That's the life-and-death story Rotary Club of Moncton West and Riverview members heard the night Oct. 16th, 2009 at a fund-raising dinner to buy more shelter boxes for disaster relief worldwide. The real live hero, Tom Henderson of Helston, U.K., was the star of the dinner held at Moncton's Crowne Plaza Hotel. Henderson, who has won international recognition for his humanitarian work, recalled how the idea first began and the road traveled to help millions in need each time there is a major landslide, flood, earthquake, tsunami or tornado across the globe.
The shelter boxes which contain a tent for 10 people, stove and cooking implements, water purification, blankets and other necessities offer "shelter, comfort and dignity" to the people homeless in a disaster, he told the 100-plus Rotarians from Greater Moncton and other clubs in the Atlantic Region.
With shelter boxes used in 63 countries, "it's the best aid package in the world," he said with pride.
Henderson was in Moncton at the invitation of Moncton West and Riverview club president Mike Walsh who met the founder of ShelterBox Charity in England and was immediately sold. Moncton is one of 10 stops Henderson made while crossing Canada to promote the project and raise money.
During the evening, 23 boxes each costing about $1,200 were pledged from different Rotary clubs in the region (bottom left photo). At the event representing the Sussex Rotary Club was Rotarian Roger Albert (bottom right photo), who presented our Club's check from funds raised during the 2009 Balloon Festival (top photo) where tickets were sold on a GPS unit supplied by the PotashCorp New Brunswick. Pictured selling tickets is Rotarian Wendy Oborne with the ShelterBox tent directly behind her and the PotashCorp Fossil tent to the left.
Henderson, a longtime Rotarian in England, said the idea of distributing these packages to disaster victims came to him one night when watching a television account showing a relief effort where workers tossed bread onto the ground for disaster victims to scoop up. He said he was upset at the indignity and vowed to do something about it.
What he saw was tens of thousands of these boxes distributed the world around and immediately set to work making it happen beginning with his "1.2 million (Rotarian) friends."
Other organizations, schools, groups and individuals have since come on board to help, raising $50 million to date. But more needs to be done, he said.
A total of 122 boxes were purchased in Canada three years ago. Last year, there were 736 and the push is on for more clubs getting involved buying more boxes. Three boxes previously purchased by the Moncton West and Riverview club ended up in Africa to help people there.
Walsh pointed to the account of Bangladesh woman giving birth shortly after receiving one of the tents. She would have been forced to give birth in an open field devoid of shelter and dignity, said Walsh. "That's payback" for the rotary club effort, he added.
Pictured above is PP Kim Pearson giving some loving care to our flower wheel in McConnell Park on one beautiful day in August, 2009. With her is her nephew Taylor Pearson.
Each year the Sussex Rotary Club creates a Rotary Wheel in the entrance to O'Connell Park in the Town of Sussex, and plants a large flower box as you leave Four Corners coming into Sussex. Rotary members undertake these projects under the Avenue of Community Service.
On June 15, President Donna presented two Youth Merit Award certificates and checks for $100.00 each to Hannah Barrett and Mila McMackin.
Hannah attends Sussex Regional High School where she has been actively involved on student life. She is a member of the Varsity Girls Field Hockey team for the past four years; the school's key club; the newspaper committee and the prom committee. She is a part time employee at Canadian Tire; is a volunteer at Trinity Anglican Church; and sits on the Town of Sussex Youth Advisory Committee, representing the youth of her community.
Mila attends Petitcodiac Regional High School where she is a member of the school's Honor Society and currently ranks 1st in her graduation class with an average in excess of 95%. Mila was chosen by her peers in grade 9 to serve the school as a Peer Counselor, a position she has held ever since. She is the Advertising Manager of the Orion 2009, the school's yearbook, a position which takes a tremendous amount of time and patience to complete. Mila went to France in 2008 for a month through Rotary International, and in May will fly to Ottawa to take part in Rotary's Adventure in Citizenship.
Each year the Sussex Rotary Club creates a Rotary Wheel in the entrance to O'Connell Park in the Town of Sussex, and plants a large flower box as you leave Four Corners coming into Sussex. Rotary members undertake these projects under the Avenue of Community Service.
On June 15, 2009 President Donna presented two Youth Merit Award certificates and checks for $100.00 each to Hannah Barrett and Mila McMackin.
Hannah attends Sussex Regional High School where she has been actively involved on student life. She is a member of the Varsity Girls Field Hockey team for the past four years; the school's key club; the newspaper committee and the prom committee. She is a part time employee at Canadian Tire; is a volunteer at Trinity Anglican Church; and sits on the Town of Sussex Youth Advisory Committee, representing the youth of her community.
Mila attends Petitcodiac Regional High School where she is a member of the school's Honor Society and currently ranks 1st in her graduation class with an average in excess of 95%. Mila was chosen by her peers in grade 9 to serve the school as a Peer Counselor, a position she has held ever since. She is the Advertising Manager of the Orion 2009, the school's yearbook, a position which takes a tremendous amount of time and patience to complete. Mila went to France in 2008 for a month through Rotary International, and in May will fly to Ottawa to take part in Rotary's Adventure in Citizenship.
District Youth Merit Award winner Brad Harding pictured with District Chair Kim Pearson at the District Conference in St. Andrews.
Brad is a graduate from St. Sault High School and was sponsored by the Grand Falls Rotary Club. He was awarded a $1000 scholarship.
During the month of May 2009, the Sussex Rotarians did the bi-annual clean up of the highway for five kilometers heading out of Sussex toward Saint John.
Pictured in the above photos are President Donna Gilchrist left, and incoming President Frank Darrah leading the club in the clean up.
The Rotary Club of Sussex has purchased two Shelter Boxes through local corporate donations and Club fund raising.
The cost of a complete Shelter Box is $1200 CAD.
In times of disaster, many thousands of people are often left homeless and without basic shelter and survival equipment. Shelterbox Canada stands at the ready to provide aid to those in need anywhere in the world. Each Shelter Box provides a dry shelter, warm bed, light and heat, clean water, cooking aids and tools for 10 people.
The Shelter Box Trust was established by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard, England. Boxes are pre-packed and warehoused in the UK ready for shipping.
The Shelterbox Canada project was founded within the Rotary Club of Ladysmith, British Columbia, and is promoted and administered by Rotarians from across Canada. It is distributed through Aid Agencies and Rotary Clubs closest to the disaster areas. Most of the funding comes as donations from Rotary Clubs around the world, as well as other organizations and individuals who have given great support to the project. But continuity is the key for the future and funding is constantly being sought. You can donate through The Rotary Club of Sussex now.
The boxes and new equipment are purchased as donations are received. All amounts are welcome and are used to purchase items toward a complete box. Best value is achieved by working closely with leading manufacturers, all items being obtained at less than trade prices!
Each ShelterBox is a large, rugged, green plastic container that holds a 10-person tent and a range of other equipment.
In general, typical box contents could include:
• Thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets
• Waterproof ponchos and bin bags
• A multi-fuel stove that can burn anything from diesel to old paint!
• Cooking pans, utensils, bowls and mugs
• Collapsible water containers and water purification tablets
• A basic tool kit – hammer, axe, saw, pliers, hoe head, trenching shovel, rope etc
• A small, children’s pack containing drawing books, crayons, pens etc.
However, a range of equipment is kept in stock. This allows ShelterBox to be flexible and adjust the contents of the box according to local conditions and what is most urgently needed.
We also have sleeping bags that can be used in particularly cold conditions.
Sometimes – particularly if other resources are available locally and the overwhelming need is for shelter – we will just send tents and pack two in each box.
Once assembled, boxes will be banded and sealed ready for transit. They are also individually numbered so each box can be tracked and donors can know its final destination.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS!
http://www.shelterbox.ca/
In the spirit of this years International motto Make Dreams Real, The Rotary Club of Sussex Inc. is raising funds to benefit the Fundy Civic Centre.
Throughout various businesses in Sussex and surrounding area, water Bottles have been displayed and filled with your change to help the community meet the funds needed to build our Fundy Civic Centre.
Bud Pearson was the first resident to contribute to the fund raiser. Bud has been collecting pennies and loose change into bottles for years at home and donated them to our cause. Bud, a former Rotarian himself, believes that this is a great way to get everyone to dig deep and make a difference. The Rotary Club wants the community to help. If you have change to donate, drop it into the water bottles as you are shopping. Have a casual day at work and donate the collection. If your piggy bank is too heavy to bring in, we will pick it up from your home! The fund raiser will run until until early 2009 and all proceeds will go to the FCC.
We will be updating the progress in the Kings County Record weekly. Look for the Water Bottle!
On a June 23rd, 2008 Rotary Monday, a group of Sussex Rotarians went to Rotary Camp to do some needed work on Sussex Station. Pictured above is Past President Murray McGibbon and his grandson Connor. In the background is PP Bob Kimball.
On March 19, 2007, President Elect Donna Gilchrist (R_L) and President Kim Pearson presented a cheque for $1000.00 to Wanda Steeves of Crosswinds for their CASP program. Wanda Steeves and Wanda Green were Rotary's guest speaker to talk about Crosswinds projects and their operation. The donation is given to support Crosswind's Community Academic Service Project.
They gave our Club an excellent presentation about Crosswinds and its role in the community. Crosswinds works to develop community connections and improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities. Crosswinds was established in 1978 and began operations at the Lions Den. In 2002 the organization moved to its present location at 100 Leonard Drive. Crosswinds receives approximately 80% of its funding from the provincial Department of Family and Community Services however there is a significant amount of fundraising required for the organization. Crosswinds operates CASP (Community Academic Services Program) and provides employment services for all underemployed members of our community (not just those with disabilities). Crosswinds is constantly looking for new business opportunities and can provide workers for a variety of tasks.
Each past year, the Rotary Club of Sussex Inc. has contributed 5% of its total fund raising dollars to the Rotary Foundation Annual Giving Program. On Feb. 26, 2007, the Club unanimously agreed to again do the same. Shown above is a check presentation of $1212.00 to Gordon Dempsey, Assistant District Governor, by President Kim Pearson, President Elect Donna Gilchrist, and Vice-president Haley Bettle.
Dear Presidents of the Hampton, Rothesay-Kings, Saint John and Sussex Rotary Clubs:
Gordon Dempsey has just informed me that your members have agreed to support the World Community Service project jointly sponsored by the Rotary Club of Fredericton Sunrise and Brits (D9250) to supply hearing aids, school supplies and teachers aids for handicapped children at the Genesis Centre near Brits. In this you will join the Rotary Clubs of Fredericton, Fredericton Sunrise and Sackville to provide the financing for this project which will, after addition of DDF from our district and matching funds from the Rotary Foundation, be a total of US$27,700.
Please pass on to your members my very, and those of the Rotary Club of Brits, grateful thanks for their support of this project and the children in the schools for handicapped children. I have had the pleasure of visiting the Genesis Centre and I can assure you that were it not for the school these children would have very little contact with anyone outside their families. With the gift of hearing they will now be able to experience a much greater world and, hopefully, learn to communicate with their parents, siblings, teachers and other children. The additional teaching materials and teachers aids will increase their abilities and quality of life.
We will now start the process to put together the matching grant application.
As I have indicated, your contribution will be credited to your club for Foundation Recognition points which can be used for Paul Harris Recognition if you so wish.
Mike Ross of the Fredericton Sunrise Club will be the International Contact for this project and will keep you informed at every step as to progress on the project so that you can communicate with your members.
I am attaching a photo of some of the children at the Genesis Centre who, already, want to say “Thank You” for your love and support.
In Rotary,
Rotarian Mike Street
District 7810 Chairperson
International Projects
On Oct. 14, 2006, the Sussex Rotarians and their friends gathered at Tim Horton's to undertake the fall clean up of their designated piece of highway between Sussex and Norton.
In the picture are Frank Skaling, Harley Geldart, Cindy Coates, Keri Walker, Frank Derrah and Kim Pearson. Missing from the picture were Andrew Palmer, Audrey Skaling, Donna Gilchrist, Mark Pearson, Robert Lockhart and Sharon and Byron Armstrong.
During the spring of 2006, the Club under the direction of long time Rotarian Harley Geldart updated the signage and added a decorative rock base to the service club signs located on two of the entrances into Sussex.
Pictured from L-R are Rotarians Keri Walker, President Kim Pearson, Harley, Gerald Randall, Frank Derrah, and Peter Haines.
From May 14 - 16, 2006, the Rotary Club of Sussex hosted the Group Study Exchange from France. From L-R are Nicolas Konig, Alix Chevrier, Pauline Loyer, team leader Jean-Yves Saucey, and Eduord Boban.
On Sunday, the team were met at the Broadleaf Ranch for lunch, and then went on tour along the Fundy coast. The team were hosted for dinner by PP Frank and Audrey Skaling.
On Monday, the team toured the Royal Gardens in the morning (top photo), Prestige Homes in the afternoon (middle photo), and were hosted by the Hampton Rotary Club for a supper BBQ (bottom photo).
On Tuesday, the team left for Grand Lake to visit Camp Rotary and to be hosted by the Rotary Clubs in Fredericton.
Members of the Rotary Club of Sussex spent Saturday, May 6th, 2006 on the sides of the busy highway leading from Saint John to Sussex picking up litter as part of the Club's latest community project. This hands-on project is designed to help the environment as well as build community spirit and pride. This project was undertaken as part of the Province of New Brunswick's Adopt-a-Highway program.
The Adopt-a-Highway program, developed in 1996, compliments and adds to the existing Annual Spring Roadside Cleanup. These programs are joint efforts of The Tree House (a Fredericton-based environmental organization which manages the program), the Department of Transportation, and groups of volunteers who work together to keep our province roadsides clean and beautiful.
Through the Adopt -a-Highway Program, interested groups take on a three-year commitment to cleanup roadsides along designated stretches of provincial highway. Official highway signs are posted to give public recognition to the adopting group for its contribution to the province's cleanliness.
The Department of Transportation supplies participating groups with safety information, garbage bags, caps for roadside workers, and temporary warning signs.
Groups can adopt sections of highway that are no less than five kilometers long in rural areas and three kilometers in urban areas. Groups are asked to schedule two litter cleanups per year, in the spring and in the fall.
Rotary Club project coordinator Frank Skaling was pleased with the keen response of Rotarians to this challenge. The Club hopes that other volunteer groups in the local area will also consider signing up for the Adopt-a-Highway program.
Under the leadership of Rotarian Harley Geldart, the Sussex Club collected contributions for the Easter Seal Campaign from various business locations around town. Pictured (L_R) are Rotarians Dana Black, Harley, Frank Skaling, President Kim Pearson, Sharon Armstrong, Tom McGibbon, and Tom Snowden.
In 2005, our Club joined other Rotary Clubs with a $500.00 matching contribution to supply water and washroom facilities in a school in Peru. The project was completed in 2006.
Each Christmas, the club sells and packages Christmas boxes as a fund raiser. Included in the box are products from local community companies such as King Cole Tea, Barbour Foods spices, etc.
Our Club was very fortunate to host Jetta ?? from Germany for three weeks in June 2005. Pictured here is President Kim Pearson (left) accepting a Club Banner from Jetta's host club. Emily Cormier (right) will be returning to Germany with Jetta for a similar exchange n July. The picture was taken at Rotarian Bob Kimball's home on July 11, 2005 when he and Theresa hosted the Club for a barbecue.
The Sussex Rotary Club partnering with the Mill Stream Voluntary Fire Department sold tickets on a Duck Race which took place at Apohogue on July 1, 2005. The proceeds went toward the Dialysis Machine for the Sussex Health Center.
The Duck Race has been a Club project since 2003, and the proceeds go to different community projects each year.
Our Club committed $24,000 towards the funding drive for the Sussex Health Center Dialysis Unit. Dialysis Unit Fundraising chairmen Emerson Kaiser and Ron McLaughlin are pictured with Club members during a presentation at a Rotary Club meeting on June 15, 2005.
Rotarians (L-R) Robert Lockhart, Lou McNamara, Peter Haines, President Kathy Cole, Harley Geldart, Gerry Randall, Kim Pearson, and Andrew Logan look on.
The Sussex Rotary Club has donated a flower garden in the form of A Rotary Wheel to O'Connell Park for the last few years for the enjoyment of the visitors.
Rotary Club of Sussex President Kathy Cole presents a cheque for $1,000 to Camp Rotary Assistant Camp Director Greg Denton of Minto (August 15, 2004). The funds were raised through a Motorcycle Run from Sussex to Grand Lake and return that saw more than forty motorcycle enthusiasts join with the Rotary Club to assist Camp Rotary, a residential summer camp on Grand Lake that has served people with physical and mental disabilities for over 50 years. Each year, the Rotary Club of Sussex also provides funding for local children to attend a week-long summer program at Camp Rotary - for many of these children this is their only chance to experience "summer camp".
Rotary Club of Sussex President Kathy Cole was on hand at Crosswinds Centre to present a cheque for $1,000 in support of CASP (Community Academic Services Program) - an adult literacy program which has helped provide hundreds of adults in Sussex and the surrounding area with reading, writing and numeracy skills over the past ten years. For the past five years the Sussex CASP has targeted the local disabled population, however the program is open to everyone.
At present, CASP has more than 40 learners enrolled in the program. CASP instructor Pat McGovern custom designs the program for each individual learner based on his or her interests, so that topics are interesting and relevant for each participant.
Crosswinds is the sponsoring body for CASP in Sussex. CASP is primarily funded by Literacy New Brunswick, however each year the local CASP must raise $3,000 to deliver this program in Sussex. "Rotary has been an important financial sponsor of our program for many years," stated Crosswinds manager Wanda Steeves, "without local support, our program could not continue."
"2004-2005 is a special year for Rotary International," explains President Kathy Cole, "This is our Centennial year. Rotarians around the world are being asked by our International President to address literacy issues, and we are proud to be able to support this very worthwhile local literacy program".
Rotary International Director David Roper reinforces why literacy programs are so important. "Adults who can't read can't help their children to read, and the cycle of illiteracy and poverty is passed on. The ramifications of illiteracy are endless," said Roper. "Helping people to achieve literacy and numeracy skills and become self-sufficient is the most critical tool available for fighting poverty. Regardless of the community, there are many opportunities for Rotarians to promote literacy."
The twenty-three members of the Rotary Club of Sussex are part of a worldwide network of more than 1.2 million Rotarians who work to address various community and international service needs.
Tom Snowdon, Frank Skaling
Tom Snowden, Kim Pearson
Sussex Rotary funds $30,000 toward the construction of Jubilee Hall.
Each Christmas, the Sussex Rotary Club packs Christmas boxes and distributes them within the community.
Judge Don Taylor, Tiffany Alford, Missy Beeton, Kim Williams from RI District 5910
In November of S2003, the Sussex Rotary Club donated 60 chess sets to the Sussex High School Chess Club. Rotarian Brenda Lamb, Frank Skaling....
Keri Walker, Kevin Kilfoil
Kim Pearson, Keri Walker, Harley Geldart, Frank Skaling
