Rotary Awareness Month: Club adds value to community

Rotary Club of Powell River president Ross Cooper is serving in that role for the second time, and he is just as enthusiastic about it as he was 20 years ago.

“As long as I have been a Rotarian in this club, I never stop feeling in awe of what we as a group accomplish,” said Cooper. “And that continues on back to June 1955 when this club was chartered.”

People only have to look around the community to see the structural impact Rotary has had from the campsite, Popeye and Friends figures, waterpark, pavilion and pre-school playground equipment at Willingdon Beach, the Westview viewpoint and monolith, the Rotary Chateau cabin in the backcountry, the garden at The ARC Community Event Centre to a recognized dog park shelter.

“Plans for that dog shelter will be used to create a structure at Palm Beach Park after consultation with qathet Regional District,” said Cooper. “And as a result of that consultation, there is a proposal for Rotary to build yet another one on Texada Island. Our members love to work hands-on where they can accomplish a needed project and enjoy the camaraderie of working together.”

In addition to physical projects, Rotary contributes financially on an annual basis to many local organizations including Christmas Cheer Fund, Powell River Action Centre Food Bank, Brooks Secondary School Scholarship and Bursary Fund, and qathet SAFE.

Internationally the club supports Polio Plus, ShelterBox Canada and Kiva loans, as well as a collaboration with other clubs on the Sunshine Coast to fund a mother’s school in the slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Rotarians also volunteer their services to Breakfast with Santa put on by City of Powell River and run a very popular Bike Safety Rodeo in May with prizes for all participants. Every year, the Rotary casino is requested for Dry Grad by grade 12 students.

For 29 years, the club has sponsored an Interact club, which is open to young people aged 12 to 18. Brooks Interact members undertake community and international projects, supported by their fundraising activities. The club adopted a family at Christmas, buying food and gifts, purchased a baby change table for Family Place, sent money to Ukraine and purchased a bicycle to change someone’s life in a rural village in Africa.

Coming up next month is the biggest community service project for the club with Powell River Festival of the Performing Arts. Rotary has been organizing the longest continuing cultural event in the community for 20 years.

“Trying to think of all the things that our club has initiated or been involved in over the decades is a tall order,” said Cooper. “And we are not finished yet. We have a list of potential projects that have been suggested to us by community members.”

Cooper is proud to be club president the year that Rotary International has its first female president in 117 years. Jennifer Jones, from Windsor, Ontario, has been a Rotarian since 1997 and is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Her theme Imagine Rotary has inspired the 1.2 million Rotarians in 35,000 clubs in 200 countries around the world.

“Our club is no different from the other 34,999 clubs in following Jennifer’s example,” said Cooper, “to imagine even more ways to make our community and the world a better place.”