Rotaract Monthly Update - Rotaract Club of Burnaby

Since receiving a charter for our club in 2007, membership has increased significantly. With more members than ever, there are more hands getting involved in our annual projects and taking on new initiatives and opportunities. And although there were many amazing projects we worked on last year, there are particular ones we wanted to highlight.

In June, we became the first Rotaract club to send a shipping container through Rotary World Help. With the support and help of our three sponsor Rotary clubs (the Rotary clubs of Burnaby Deer Lake, Metrotown and Burnaby) and fundraising events, we were able to load and send a shipping container full of medical equipment and supplies to a community in need in Costa Rica. All of the medical equipment and supplies were collected from hospitals all across the Lower Mainland.

Another international project we were involved in was the second annual Rotaract District 5040’s Pacific Canada Experience with Rotaract (PACE) roundtrip program. During the summer, we had five Rotaractors from around the world join us for a week and a half to explore the beautiful province. The international Rotaractors were also hosted by the Rotaract clubs of Victoria and Kelowna, which gave them the chance to learn more about other clubs. A big thank you to all Rotary clubs in the district that supported this project too!

During the fall, we organized a community event for Halloween that was held at Maywood Elementary School. The carnival-themed event was funded by the South Burnaby Neighborhood House’s Neighborhood Small Grants Program, which supports projects that improve neighborhoods socially, physically or culturally. The event was held in the gymnasium with various activity and game stations for families that were run by Rotaractors and volunteer leadership students. We had a great turnout of 250 parents and children.

This year, we hope to bring the same level of ambition and passion – if not more – to pursue other amazing opportunities. Some of the types of projects we are looking forward to working on in 2013 include community events as well as environmental and international projects.