Join us again this year for our 3rd annual Lobster Night in East York! This year’s lobster night is shaping up to be another great event. We have Almost ABBA as the main entertainment, a …
Read the full story »Throughout the year we run several events to raise money for the charities and organizations we support.
The East York Rotary Club has been around a long time. Find out a little of our history in East York since 1951.
Much of what we do as a Rotary club is newsworthy. Find out some of the things our club and it’s members have been up to.
Every week we invite a guest speaker to address the club. Speakers range from charities looking for support to professional development.
We raise funds for many charities and organizations. Read about how we’re helping both locally and internationally.
On April 30th, our club had the pleasure of holding a regular meeting at Geneva Centre for Autism. After the meeting, we were given a tour of the facility -they are a valuable and much needed resource for individuals & family with autism.
We were divided into two groups and began our tour of this three storey building. Holly, Sylvia and Shayna were the leaders of one group and we were glad to have one of their clients, Rob, join us for the tour.
They took possession of this building in February 2008 and were open for business in May 2008. As this was previously a commercial building, they were lucky in that few renovations were necessary. It’s very important to have this type of facility for autistic teens and adults, as there are very few programs for them after childhood. They were very pleased that the East York Rotary Club was one of the first organizations to step forward with support.
We were shown around the third floor which has a variety of rooms. There is a reception area where clients can volunteer to answer the phones and greet other clients - this prepares them for the real working world. There are also waiting room chairs and they can practice sitting, as if waiting for a job interview. There are also rooms for a social club, communications, a kitchen, resource centre and consulting. These can be sponsored by companies (or a Rotary Club) for a $50,000 to $100,000 donation.
The second floor has a games room and larger rooms for meetings, exercising, karaoke, etc. Both the front and the back of the building could be renovated into gardens with table and chairs.
We briefly looked at the first or main floor, which is not completed yet. They envision an open concept in an internet café type of setting, with computers, games, music, art supplies and a kitchen.
Autism has always been around, but the diagnostic criteria has improved drastically in the last few years - but it is still difficult to diagnose. Rob was diagnosed at age 13 as having Asperger Syndrome (high functioning autism) and Tourette’s. One of the problems found in autism is the ability to show emotion.
We enjoyed talking to Rob, who explained how this facility helps him to get organized. He has been show how to use his palm pilot, which reminded him to wake up early today! He has managed to graduate from college with a degree in assisting other disabled people. Rob said a lot of other programs at other facilities treat their clients like small children, which is frustrating for teets and adults.
Sylvia took the opportunity to also thank Rob for all his contributions, which include volunteering at the summer camp and entertaining guests at the annual picnic. Apparently he is very good at Elvis impersonations. He also takes the time to speak to organizations such as Rotary about his experiences and how the Geneva Centre has helped him.
We’re looking forward to May 23 when we will feature Geneva Centre for Autism night at our annual Lobsterfest.
On April 11th several members of our club (East York Rotary) spent the day preparing 16 large Sheppard’s Pie for Second Harvest. We all had great fun and are looking forward to doing it again! …
Chris runs and is one of the founders of OGLM (Organization for Good Life of Marginalized) in Uganda. The overall objective is the mitigation & prevention of HIV/AIDS among the marginalized (Sex Workers, Orphan & …
Tom Vosper began his speech with some enlightening facts about public perception of the YMCA. 96% of people in the GTA know about the YMCA; 91% think that the YMCA is doing a good job. …
Stephen Faul is the Executive Director of Second Harvest after having spent many years working and travelling for Operation Eyesight. It always amazes us to find out what people are doing to help other people, …
The Rotary Club of Newmarket is presenting a very special evening with Juno Award and Maple Blues Award Winning Canadian Blues Legend Jack de Keyzer.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
8:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
Roman Palace banquet Hall (map)
1096 Ringwell …
This week we had the pleasure of having Tim Murphy as our guest speaker. Tim started working as senior political advisor to Paul Martin in 2001 when Paul Martin was finance minister. When Martin became …
I have been asked if I would provide a bit of a write up on my adventures in the north every month. So, we will call this my first little write up. Since coming to Yellowknife …
Several Canadian advertising agencies teamed up to help the Make-A-Wish foundation raise money to grant wishes to 100 kids still waiting for their wish to come true. It’s called the 100 Wishes Campaign.
Visit the website …
This is a really great TV spot about how every individual Rotarian can make a real difference in the world when we group together for common causes.