Rotary Week a good time to reflect on club’s work
TRURO - The end of April is a special time for the Rotary Club of Truro.
During Truro town council’s recent monthly public meeting, Mayor Bill Mills read a proclamation officially declaring the last week of the month (April 24 to 30) as Rotary Week, adding the Rotary flag will be raised at town hall to start the week.
“We have seven pillars which come from Rotary International. We take the seven days and dedicate one day to each,” said president Tom Savary.
He said some of the pillars reflect more of what the club does locally, while others involve their contributions to international causes.”
Rotary’s seven pillars are: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, saving mothers and children, supporting education, growing local economies and protecting the environment.
Adam Harris, Rotary community chair, talked about their mandates of helping children and youth, as well as those with disabilities, and how that is reflected in local projects supported over the past year.
“A donation to the hospital foundation for some equipment and a larger donation to the work at Victoria Park pool,” Harris said, adding the Truro Curling Club’s accessibility lift was another project they provided a significant contribution.
“Improving accessibility, things children can use, those fit in well with our mandate,” Harris said.
The local club serves all of Colchester and another significant project they have been involved with over the last couple of years, spearheaded by member Alana Hirtle, is work in Portapique around the community hall. The playground project portion, with support from Rotary, held a grand opening last October.
They also contributed to the playground work at Debert Elementary School. In both cases, accessibility of the equipment was a focus.
“When it comes to a community project, if it fits within that scope (helping children, youth, and those with disabilities), we tend to look at it,” Savary said. “And for the community in itself; if there is something in the community that is going to benefit everyone, certainly we would like to try and participate in it as best we can.”
Harris said they like to pinpoint where a donation goes.
“Not just put our money in a big pot, so we contributed to a specific piece of equipment for that (Debert school playground) project, which was an accessible, low-impact piece of equipment,” he said, referencing the Volta inclusive spinner.
As for fundraising, both men pointed to their annual Community Yearbook as a major one, as well as Bollywood Night held in October.
“And we participate in a lot of other community activities,” Savary said.
He said the Truro club has one of the largest memberships around, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more. Both he and Harris said the best way is to visit their website – rotarycluboftruro.ca – and click on the ‘Explore Joining Us’ link.
The current president said he joined not long after moving to Truro around a decade ago.
“I didn’t know much about Rotary at the time, but I was thinking about what I could do to get involved more in the community,” he said. “I was attending Chamber (of Commerce) meetings and all of those things but wasn’t a member of a club. So I joined in 2016 and then joined the board in 2017, to present.”
Savary said, to him, it’s about serving the community.
“It’s a way to give back to the less fortunate,” he said.
“I see Rotary as a way of being able to participate and help out, not only within your community but internationally as well.”