Rotary’s main objective is SERVICE – in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop and support local, national, and international service projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty, hunger, the environment, education, and peace and conflict resolution. We also support programs for youth, provide educational opportunities for students and young professionals, support international student exchanges, and support opportunities for vocational and career development.
The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston is proud to give back to our community and to support humanitarian initiatives around the globe through our fundraising efforts, including our Annual Auction. We do this in the following ways:
- Through our Community Service Small Grants Program
In the past 24 months, the Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston proudly provided local community grants totaling $49,552 to various projects serving the Kingston area. Recent projects include:
Spring 2025: The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston was able to provide grants totaling $10,411 to four projects serving the Kingston area.
$5000 to Family and Children’s Services of Frontenac Lennox and Addington for their project, “A Great Start for Families – Something for Dads,” for meal provision.
$1484.88 to Turtles Kingston for their project, “Turtle Awareness Day” (on May 24, 2025).
$2300 Kingston Secondary School – KSS JAZZ BAND for their participation in the “MusicFest Nationals Competition.”
$1626 Kingston Community Health Centre – Pathways to Education for their project, “Cultural Cravings Cooking.”
Fall 2024: The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston was able to provide grants totaling $10,202 to four projects serving the Kingston area.
$5000 to Kingston 4 Paws for the purchase of a service dog puppy and for expenses related to food and vet care in its first year.
$1000 to Ryandale Transitional Housing for the purchase of two outdoor barbeques to promote social engagement for residents striving to overcome their social isolation, addiction, and mental health challenges.
$2780 to Melos Choir and Period Instruments to enable six choristers to join and participate in the Choir through financial assistance, extra coaching, and special materials for the visually impaired individuals. Twelve choristers will benefit from extra classes in basic music theory.
$1421 to St. Thomas More Catholic School for a supply of personal hygiene products that would be available to all students, regardless of financial ability, as part of a program to teach positive hygiene practices and increase overall well being in young students.
Spring 2024: The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston was able to provide grants totaling $24,449 to eleven projects serving the Kingston area, including;
$5,000 to Joe’s M.I.L.L. Music Lending Library to provide new musical instruments for Sistema Kingston, which offers free music lessons for children who otherwise could not afford them.
$2,000 To H’Art Centre, to upgrade technology to allow instructors to better teach workshops in visual art, dance, and music to neurodivergent adults 18 years of age and older.
$500 to Martha’s Table for an indoor gardening project to increase food security for their clients.
$3,000 to Loughborough Public School for their “Classrooms Without Walls’ program, designed to help students visit Frontenac Provincial Park and area museums for hands-on educational experiences.
Fall 2023: The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston was very able to provide grants totaling $4,490 to two projects serving the Kingston area;
$2,490 to The Mess Studio Kingston for the revitalization of the pottery program at the studio.
$2,000 to the Kingston chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology Kingston Chapter for the establishment of a native species edible garden on Queen’s campus. Tended by students, the garden will benefit the Queen’s Food Bank.
Also, in Spring 2019 the Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston embarked on a major project with Pathways to Education Kingston to provide mentoring and other support to Pathways graduates as they transition to post-secondary studies. The project, which has now come to fruition, has been named the F.A.R. Project (Facilitator of Alumni Relations). Members of Cataraqui Rotary continue to act as mentors at Pathways, and our club remains involved with Pathways events.
- Through our Regional and National service commitments
$ 2,000 to help support the National Youth-to-Youth Truth and Reconciliation Experience of Rotary HIP (Honouring Indigenous Peoples), an immersive program bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth across Canada.
$ 2,000 to Water First to support year-round skills training to help solve critical water issues in Indigenous Communities.
$ 3,000 towards the Rotary Park of Hope, an accessible playground in Cornwall, an initiative of the Rotary Club of Cornwall-Sunrise.”
$ 2,500 to Rotary’s “Indigenous Peoples Partnership Cluster”, to support Art for Aid, Tipi Moza, True North Aid, the Red Cedars Women Shelter, Sewing Circles, gym equipment and laptops in Nibinamik, disaster relief in Pelican Narrows, and donations of fabric and clothing.
$2,000 to True North Aid Hockey Cares, a cultural exchange program to foster positive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth in Canada.
- Through our International Projects
$5,000 to equip Rushooka hospital in Uganda with an x-ray machine to better diagnose Tuberculosis cases
$1,000 to help fund the provision of and ambulance in rural Burundi, where people have no means of transport to hospital.
$1,000 to support 2 Tanzanian primary school students with school fees and supplies, the second year of a five-tear commitment.
- Through our annual contributions to Polio Plus and the Rotary Foundation
Thousands of dollars per year for Polio Plus with the goal of ending polio forever. Today, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic. 2024 closed with only 99 wild Polio virus cases worldwide.
Thousands of dollars per year to the Rotary Foundation through our Paul Harris Award recognition of Kingston Community Leaders.
- Through contributions and programming for Youth Leadership
We were able to sponsor 2 students to the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA), providing a unique opportunity for high school students to gain insight and knowledge in life and leadership skills. In addition, Cataraqui Rotary Club members act as mentors for youths at Pathways to Education Kingston. Cataraqui-Kingston Rotary also sponsored a student to the Rotary Adventure in Citizenship, the Adventure in High Tech (both held in Ottawa), and the Adventure in Understanding (held at Curve Lake First Nation). We also lead a very active Interact Club (high school Rotary Club) at Kingston Secondary School.