An update from district 5040's Squamish club!

 

Rotaract Club of Squamish

 

The fall of 2014 has been an exciting start to the year for the Rotaract Club of Squamish. We believe this will be our best year yet. The club, currently in the second year of operation, is continuing to establish its presence at Quest University and in the Squamish community. This year we are working to improve the connection between Quest and Squamish through events and networking, as well as building our membership to ensure support for the club well into the future.

The Rotaract Club of Squamish has acquired a handful of new members boosting the active membership above 15. Our club meets every second Monday evening at Quest University and hosts socials every third Friday of the month. Since September, we have hosted two socials including dinner at a local Squamish restaurant and a Breakfast for Dinner themed evening. The club continues to plan fellowship opportunities for the remainder of the year. Plans include ice-skating, swimming, and a Whistler Retreat, all of which are open to other Rotaractors, Rotarians and Interactors. The yearly plan also includes four club-organized events, as well as ongoing involvement in two community-volunteering positions.

The four events for the year include the Halloween for Hunger food drive, Christmas bake sale, Valentines Day matchmaker fundraiser, and an Easter egg hunt. The Halloween for Hunger food Drive will take place throughout the month of October, in addition to trick-or-treating on October 31st. Rotaractors and the local Intertactors will team up to collect non-perishables door to door from Quest and selected areas of the Squamish community on Halloween evening. All non-perishables will be donated to the Squamish Helping Hands Society, where it will be redistributed within the Squamish community. Planning for the other three events has yet to begin beyond their scheduling.

In addition to the events club members are offered optional volunteer positions in the community. The club has established close connections with two volunteer organizations in particular; the Squamish Community Volunteer Center, and the Elementary School Breakfast Program. The Squamish Community Volunteer Center, also known as the Hotspot is a volunteer hub that aims to assist the educational, cultural, and volunteer needs of the Squamish community. The Hotspot hosts multicultural programs, computer-tutoring programs, ESL tutoring programs, and youth engagement programs in addition to many other volunteer opportunities. The Rotaract club of Squamish began volunteering at the Hotspot in 2013, and has continued to fulfill its role this year. Rotaract members generally assist in manning the front desk on weekends as well as organizing the bookstore, computer lab, and donations. Additionally this year, the Rotaract club has secured a connection with the Squamish Elementary School Breakfast Program. The program, which is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Squamish, provides students at the elementary schools in Squamish with breakfast before school starts to help ensure that every child has access to food at school. The Rotaract Club of Squamish participates every Thursday morning at Garibaldi Highlands Elementary School. During this time we spend 45 minutes providing students with cereal, milk, and fruit before class. This is a very rewarding volunteer experience and we hope to continue participating into the future.

 

If you want to participate and contact us we meet every other Monday evening at Quest University Canada, in Room A208, from 7:15PM-8:00 PM. You can also reach us at by email at rotaractsquamish@gmail.com, facebook at Rotaract Club of Squamish and Instagram @rotaractsquamish.

 

 

Kyle Fawkes & Patricia Wu

Co-presidents

Rotaract Club of Squamish