Stories

Paige Fernandes is the 2022-23 president of the Toronto-Leaside Rotary Club. She is a passionate advocate for wellness, mental health and fitness. At the 2022 District 7070 conference on October 14-16, she led a breakout session for the delegates on wellness based on a wellness program she designed and delivered to her workplace, a LTC and Retirement facility in Toronto.

Toronto-Leaside Rotary hosted an electronic recycling event this past weekend from October 15-16. Our club endured variable weather: Rain, gusty wind and sun. We were able to collect lots of small electronics from hospitals, homes and other businesses. Thank you to everyone who donated to our events, both monetary and the electronics. We really appreciate your support to help our community! Thank you to East York Town Centre for allowing us to host our event in your parking lot! And a special thank you to the project lead, Ken Lum for all your efforts with the planning, passion and execution of the event and to the volunteers from our club who supported him, we couldn't have done this without you!

 

We are pleased to introduce Suzanne Hanson as a new member of the Rotary Club of Toronto Leaside.

On Monday July 25th, 2022, the Rotary Club of Toronto Leaside inducted 3 new members into the club. We are pleased to have Craig Hutchinson, Peter Hutcheon and Ken Lum join our team.

Today we inducted Paige Fernandes and Liz Compton as the Rotary Club of Toronto Leaside's new presidents. Paige is the youngest president in the club's history. Liz, who has fearlessly led the club for the past 2 years, is now taking on the position of Assistant District Governor effective immediately,  We wish them continued success as we enter the new Rotary year 2022-23.

 

 

    Family Day Scavenger Hunt

 

 

This December, Rotary’s Disease Prevention and Treatment Month, we are celebrating our devotion to fight diseases and create healthier communities around the world. 

The Rotary Club of Toronto-Leaside has agreed to adopt The Toronto Commandery Hospice as a long-term focus.

 

On May 3, 2017 Toronto Leaside Rotary Tree Planting at the Moccasin Trail Park, a beautiful sunny day, students expanded the frontiers and filled in gaps of the planting areas, located on man-made berms immediately east of the Don Valley parkway and south of the rainbow-painted bridge near Lawrence Avenue, There was a good turnout of 250 elementary and high school students and teachers. They planted 335 trees. Bob Barnett, Rotarian also took students and teachers on nature walks throughout the day

For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.

 

After serving her time, Bianca sought help from a local homeless organization, A Safe Haven, and moved to its shelter in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Bianca followed the program closely -- she attended all the required meetings, passed drug tests, and volunteered at every opportunity.

What is it like taking a large team to Africa?  It has probably been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. In mid February, I began leading Rotary members from all over the East Coast of the United States through Ghana. I’ve tried to give the team a warm Ghanaian welcome like I’ve received on my earlier trips. A large trip is a real blessing because each person sees Ghana and our work in a different way.

A highlight for the team was greeting the chief of Sagadugu. The team got excited about buying goats and food for children in the villages where I support eight churches. It was good to see the pastors of most of the eight churches, and I had to explain that we were just passing through on our way to Bolgatanga.

Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011. To mark this historic triumph, Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, "India is polio free."

 

The three-year achievement sets the stage for polio-free certification of the entire Southeast Asia region by the World Health Organization. The Indian government also plans to convene a polio summit in February to commemorate this victory in the global effort to eradicate polio.