Category Archives: International Service

Rotary Supports Internationally – Syrian Refugee Crisis

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This message comes from ShelterBox Canada:

There are now over 1.6 million refugees, three quarters of them being women and children, seeking safety and shelter in foreign countries. This places unprecedented strain on communities, infrastructure and services in host countries.

For the past 18 months ShelterBox has been helping Syrian families in need throughout Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. The vast majority of fleeing families arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs.

The ShelterBox mission is to provide humanitarian aid in the form of equipment and materials that bring shelter, warmth and dignity to families made homeless by natural and other disasters like the Syrian refugee crisis.

By supporting ShelterBox, you provide more than shelter, warmth and dignity. You provide protection, comfort and a sense of normalcy to those who would otherwise be living in fear.

The Bathurst Rotary Club has supported ShelterBox initiatives in the past, and has purchased numerous ShelterBoxes.

Donate online

Rotary Donates to Help Losotho

Peg Hebert founder of Help Lesotho (a charity working to help with HIV and AIDS awareness and other programs in Lesotho, Southern Africa), visited Bathurst and attended a Rotary Luncheon. Rotary gave a donation to Help Lesotho when she was here. Gary Branch continues to support the project through various community initiatives and our district. Shown in photo from left to right: Gary Branch, Peg Hebert, Audrey Ronalds

Group Study Exchange 2011: Welcoming a Delegation from Mexico

From Wednesday, April 20th to Saturday, April 23rd, the Bathurst Rotary Club
welcomed a delegation from Mexico. Members of the delegation included: Luis Rodrigo
Gonzalez, Sandra Soto, Luza Angelica Fernandez, Diana Acosta and team leader, Jaime
Armendariz.

The Bathurst Rotary Club organized a wine and cheese reception at Nectar. From left to right: Luis Rodrigo Gonzalez, Sandra Soto, Luza Angelica Fernandez, Diana Acosta, Jaime Armendariz and Don McKay, club president

On the 20th, the GSE subcommittee organized a wine and cheese reception at Nectar, where
members of the delegation gave a presentation that showcased their country, district, profession
and family.

The delegation visited City Hall and had a tour by Mayor Brunet as well as signed the guest book. From left to right: 3rd row: Jaime Armendariz, Sandra Soto and Luis Rodrigo Gonzalez 2nd row: Luza Angelica Fernandez and Diana Acosta 1st row: Mayor Stephen Brunet

The following day, the delegation and some Rotarians visited the Port of Belledune, the CCNB-
Campus Bathurst Art Exhibit and City Hall. Mayor Brunet provided our Mexican friends with
information about Bathurst and the Chaleur region and each member signed the City guest book.
The highlight of the evening was a traditional Mexican supper prepared by GSE members.

The delegation participated in a guided tour to Daley’s Point. See group on observatory. From left to right: Diana Acosta, Luza Angelica Fernandez, Sandra Soto, Luis Rodrigo Gonzalez and Jaime Armendariz

On Friday the 22nd, the group visited Daley’s Point in celebration of Earth Day. Janet Doucet
offered members a guided tour and informed participants about the flora and fauna in this natural
habitat. The delegation and Bathurst Rotarians enjoyed a delicious salmon supper as part of the
evening activity.

The Group Study Exchange is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for
businesspeople and professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early stages of
their careers. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits in paired areas
of different countries. For four to six weeks, team members experience the host country’s
culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and
professional relationships, and exchange ideas.

Bathurst Rotary Profile: Vanessa Blanchard, Rotary Exchange student

An Experience of a Lifetime

Grade 12 student, Vanessa Blanchard, spent last year in France as part of a Rotary exchange. She was the guest speaker at the January 17^th meeting. Here is a question and answer session with the dynamic student:

What were the highlights of your Rotary Exchange?

My highlights were meeting all of the new people who were so very welcoming. These people became some of the friends that I will never forget. I also visited a lot of places and experienced different cultures. It was also nice to live with different host families.

What did you gain from your experience abroad?

I learned a lot about myself and how to live with people from different countries.

What is some advice that you would give to a student that was considering being a part of a Rotary exchange?

My advice is, if you feel to do something like that, don’t think about what people say…just do it, because it’s a once in a lifetime experience.

District Governor John Carkner visits Bathurst

The Bathurst Rotary Club was pleased to welcome their District Governor, John Carkner, and the Assistant District Governor, Nancy Theriault, to their Monday noon meeting at the Atlantic Host today (Monday October 18^th, 2010). District 7810 is made up of 39 Rotary Clubs throughout New Brunswick, Canada (28) and Maine, USA (11)

District Governor, John Carkner, born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario met his wife, Marilyn, in 1975, and they were married in 1976. She works at UNB in Adult Education. They have 2 daughters, Jennifer and Meaghan, born in Cornwall, Ontario in 1979 (31) and 1982 (28).

John joined Sears Canada in 1967 and worked there 38 years and 2 days, retiring in 2005. John advanced in the Company and opened new stores in Cornwall, Ont, Dartmouth and Halifax, NS, and Bathurst, NB. His final move was to Fredericton, NB in 1993. Self professed golf hackers, John & Marilyn, play the game of golf for fun. They enjoy various bottles of wine and have a modest wine cellar.

John was sponsored into Rotary by Evan Moffitt of the Bathurst Rotary Club in 1990. He joined the Fredericton Sunrise Club when he transferred there in 1993. Just like in his work experiences, John held many positions within his Rotary Club (Committee Chairs to Treasurer and Club President). He served as an aide to the representative of the President of Rotary International at the District Conference in Oromocto in 2007. He also served as Assistant to the District Governor from 2006 until nominated to be District Governor in August 2008.

John’s belief and personal motto is “to leave it better than you found it and have some fun along the way” He has found that Rotary permits him to accomplish this on a much larger scale than it would be possible individually. He spoke to the Bathurst Rotarians and guests about the importance of inclusion and increasing their membership while congratulating the Club in their 26% increase (12 new members last year) which was the best in the entire 7810 District.

District Governor Carkner also spoke of the 4 methods to contribute to the Rotary Foundation so that dollars are returned to our District for various projects. He encouraged us to promote ourselves more because the Bathurst Club has been used as a role model for various initiatives like Interact, the Community BBQ, supporting the Weekend of Thanks for the Chaleur Regional Hospital and the up-coming Radio Auction.

Terry Fox Elementary Students Raise over 700$ for Shelter Boxes

Patrick McLaughlin presenting a cheque to Cletus Doucet, Bathurst Rotary's contact for the project.

Students at Terry Fox Elementary have, over the year, raised over 700$ to go towards purchaising a Shelter Box/Disaster Aid box. The students, under the guidance of teacher Patrick McLaughlin, raised the money through various activities, such as pooling together loose change and Barbecues. The activity was also a learning experience for the students.

A cheque was presented to the Rotary Club of Bathurst for the purchase of the disaster aid relief equipment.

Congratulations to the students at Terry Fox Elementary!

First Shelter Boxes arrive in Haiti (Video)

Here is a video of the Shelter Boxes being unloaded in Haiti.

Our local Interact Club has raised money to purchase 8 Shelter Boxes. The Rotary Club of Bathurst has purchased Shelter Boxes in the past, and, with communication with those on the ground in Haiti, is in the process of deciding where to best put their donations.

Below is another video from Shelter Box’s team the day after the earthquake, which gives more perspective on how these teams operate:

Shelter Boxes in Haiti

As part of the relief efforts in Haiti, Shelter Box is sending hundreds of boxes to Haiti. Every box provides shelter for a family of 10 for up to 6 months.

The Rotary Club of Bathurst has purchased, in past few years, a few of the boxes (approximately 1000$/box).

Interested in learning more? visit ShelterBox.ca.

The Rotary Club of Bathurst Inducts Three New Paul Harris Fellows

On tuesday night, the Rotary Club of Bathurst honoured three community leaders with Paul Harris Fellowships. The inductees, Dr. Colleen O’Connell, Jocelyn (Josh) Ouellette and Loftus Benjamin, joined the ranks of 37 other Paul Harris Fellows honoured during such ceromonies.

Established in 1957 the award, named for the founder of Rotary International, honours individuals who have made substantial contributions to humanitarian and educational causes while being leaders in community service.

From left to right: Loftus Benjamin, Leftenant-Governor Herménégilde Chiasson, Dr. Colleen O'Connell and Josh Ouellette

Dr. O’Connell grew up in Bathurst and completed medical school at Memorial University in Newfoundland. She specializes in neuro-rehabilitation and is Research Chief at the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation in Fredericton, N.B., holding faculty appointments with Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine and the University of New Brunswick Institute of Biomedical Engineering.

In addition to her clinical and research practice, Dr. O’Connell is the founder and chair of Team Canada Healing Hands. Through the not-for-profit organization, she has been leading teams of health care professionals and support volunteers on outreach initiatives in Haiti, and has had an opportunity to work in the areas of care delivery, training, and research in Haiti, Mozambique, Thailand, Malaysia, Kenya, and Nicaragua.

Mr. Ouellette, who was born and raised in Dalhousie, joined the Canadian Forces Military Police after high school. After serving at various postings throughout Canada for 14 years, he joined the Kedgwick sub-detachment of the New Brunswick Highway Patrol in 1986. Two years later he accepted a position with the Bathurst City Police, where he remained for 20 years.

Mr. Ouellette helped establish the Bathurst Youth Centre in 1998, and remains its president to this day. He also established the nationally recognized “Adopt A Cop” program, which remains active in both the English and French school districts in the Bathurst area; and helped form the Bathurst Crime Prevention Association. Mr. Ouellette has also given tirelessly of his time to speak at schools, community groups and organizations on everything from business security to bullying to illegal drugs and continues to counsel young people and their parents on issues affecting the today’s youth.

Mr. Benjamin was born on the British Island of Dominica in the Caribbean. After graduating from the University of New Brunswick in 1965, where he specialized in Chemical Engineering, he was asked to take on the job of process engineer at the Belledune Fertilizer, eventually becoming plant manager in 1972. After a stint as Emergency Response Coordinator for the Noranda Group in Canada, he joined NB Power and was one of a group of engineers who assisted in the design, construction and start up of the Belledune Power Plant. I the mid-90’s, Mr. Benjamin became an investment executive and he continues to work for the firm of Partners in Planning Financial Services in Bathurst.

A member of the Bathurst Rotary Club since 1994, Mr. Benjamin has served as the club’s vice president for three years, been its sergeant at arms for six years and has been a member of the club’s board of directors for the past 12 years. In addition, he served as chairman of the membership and extension sub-committee for Zone 6 of Rotary District 7810 from 2003 to 2004. Mr. Benjamin is also a past member of the Kinsmen Club of Bathurst, the management council of Holy Family Church and a past executive member of the Bathurst Aquatic Centre finance committee.

The guest speaker, Leftenant Governor Herménégilde Chiasson, shared his great knowledge of our region and offered praise for the work done by our volunteers, and the Rotary Club in particular.

It was a beautiful, well-attended evening that attests to our recipients’ contribution to their community and the world.