Rotary’s main objective is service – in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop and support community service projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty, hunger, the environment, education, promoting peace and conflict resolution. We also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, young professionals, and vocational and career development.
How does the Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston give back to our community and around the globe?
Through our Community Small Grants Program and annual commitments
The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston is very proud to have been able to provide local community grants totaling over $45,000 to various projects serving the Kingston area over the past 24 months through our small grant, spring and fall programs. Recent projects include:
Spring 2023: The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston was very proud to be able to provide grants totaling $9,070 to three projects serving the Kingston area;
$5,000 to the Kingston Community House for Self Reliance for their Back Yard Project which will convert the property behind 99 York Street into a welcoming, inclusive, accessible, and affordable outdoor meeting space for community groups, organizations, and individuals.
$2,500 to Kingston Interval House for the purchase of a new outdoor play structure for Robin’s Hope 2nd Stage Housing, providing a safe place for children to play and allow Moms to enjoy the outdoors while watching their children have fun.
$1,570 to the National Youth Orchestra Canada for their Day-in-the-Life Program which will provide approximately 80 Kingston youths enrolled in Sistema Kingston with the unique opportunity of spending an entire day immersed in musical mentorship, backstage access, an orchestra rehearsal, and a Q and A with professional musicians and a conductor.
Two special grants were also awarded:
$2,500 to BOTH Lunch by George and St. Vincent de Paul Society in light of the dramatic increase in the number of vulnerable Kingstonians who rely on food delivery programs.
Fall 2022: The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston was very proud to be able to provide grants totaling $17,051 to four projects serving the Kingston area;
$7,910 to the Joe Chithalen Memorial Musical Instrument Lending Library for a Music in Schools Program for the purchase of a complete 19-piece Suzuki-Orff starter set of musical instruments which will be used by at-risk children enrolled in Sistema Kingston.
$2,500 to the Kingston Symphony Association for the Share the Music Program which allows children and their parents to attend a Symphony performance. These families would not normally be able to afford to attend a Symphony event.
$2,461 to The Mess Open Art Studio to purchase digital photography equipment that would allow participants to develop skills in another medium of artistic expression.
$4,000 to Kingston 4 Paws to cover the veterinary and food costs for Millie, a service dog puppy in her first year with a foster family. CK Rotary has now helped train three service dogs with K4P.
Spring 2022: The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston was very proud to be able to provide grants totaling $13,055 to three projects serving the Kingston area;
$1,725 Regular Grant to Loughborough Public School’s Classroom without Walls Project for experts’ fees and entrance fees to Frontenac Provincial Park for 5 days of experiential learning for Grade 3 students.
$3,500 Regular Grant to Odessa Public School towards the purchase of an outdoor Kindergarten Play Structure.
$7,830 Regular Grant to Loughborough Public School’s Greenhouse and Teaching Kitchen Project for major appliances, shelving, and student work tables for the new Teaching Kitchen.
Fall 2021: The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston was very proud to be able to provide grants totaling $9,500 to five projects serving the Kingston area;
$500 New Initiative School-Based Mini-Grant to Loughborough Public School, for a perennial food forest, as a complementary addition to the new Greenhouse and Teaching Kitchen project.
$980 to the Autism Network LAC for 14 Autism Sensory Support Kits to be distributed to fourteen schools in the Greater Kingston area, including Napanee.
$2,500 to Kingston Interval House (KIH) to purchase new beds for their shelter and their second stage housing facility, replacing older wooden beds to allow for increased durability and better cleaning.
$2,420 Turtles Kingston for its Nest Protection program through construction of nesting boxes, turtle crossing signs, and educational materials.
$3,100 to The Mess Open Arts Studio for update to flooring in washrooms to improve sanitary conditions, part of replacing old washrooms fixtures.
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). Pathways to Education Kingston has done amazing work helping students from less advantaged backgrounds graduate from high school, F.A.R. will help ensure student success in their post-secondary studies. The project has shown amazing results in its first year alone and has now been extended another year.
Through our Regional and National service commitments
$1,500 to help support the National Youth-to-Youth Truth and Reconciliation Experience. One student from Kingston attended this unique new immersive program in Western Canada involving Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth.
$3,000 to assist in skills training in Tyendinaga First Nation in cooperation with Focus Forward for Indigenous Youth.
$2,300 for two First Nations communities in Saskatchewan for food and critical supplies to help with forest fire fighting and recovery efforts. We worked through True North Aid on this project.
Collection of over 30 boxes of donated art supplies for Northern First Nations Communities to assist Art for Aid. This was a cooperative project with the Rotary Club of Belleville and the Indigenous Peoples Partnership Cluster (IPPC).
$1,500 to fund Christmas gifts for disadvantaged children with Tippi Moza in Kingston.
Through our International Projects
$2,835 to help fund digital mammography equipment for the Stedeford Hospital in Chennai, India.
$2,835 to help finance a digital learning project in Limuru, Kenya. This project will provide computer equipment and training for students at two primary schools.
$4,320 to help finance the purchase and distribution of all-weather blankets to citizens of the Kharkiv area in war-torn Eastern Ukraine.
Through contributions to Polio Plus and 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. 2022 closed with only thirty wild Polio virus cases worldwide. Also, 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
As youth programs return to in-person this year, we were able to sponsor 3 students to the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA), a unique opportunity for high school students to gain insight and knowledge in life and leadership skills. In addition, our Club remains very involved in the Kingston Heritage Fair, and sponsors students to participate in the Regional Fair, and Cataraqui-Kingston Rotary Club members act as mentors for youth at Pathways to Education Kingston. Cataraqui Rotary also sponsored a student to the Rotary Adventure in Citizenship and the Adventure in High Tech, both held in Ottawa.