Stories
 
At our Dec 4 meeting, Gordon Bose, Thompson Okanagan Regional Director of BC  Search and Rescue Association and Training Officer of Salmon Arm Search and Rescue, outlined the training and work done by our local Search and Rescue Association. 
Local Rotary Clubs matching up to $46,000 in donations to the Shuswap Community Foundation (SCF) Emergency Response Fund to support wildfire recovery efforts. 

[Salmon Arm, November 8, 2023] - In an incredible show of support and solidarity, the Chase and three Salmon Arm Rotary Clubs have made a generous donation of $46,000 to the Shuswap Community Foundation (SCF). This substantial contribution is earmarked for matching donations to the Emergency Response Fund, an initiative aimed at facilitating the recovery and rebuilding of the North Shuswap communities ravaged by this year's devastating wildfires.
 
 
Monday October 2 speaker was Patrick Shea from Shuswap Makerspace, seen above with with some of the woodworking projects created at this  facility.  He explained  that Makerspace is a collaborative learning space available to anyone from youth to senior. It promotes innovation and creativity  by providing  knowledge, shared equipment and expertise and by giving access to learning, skills training and tools in four basic areas: industrial, computer, virtual reality, and electronics.  
 
On Monday 11 September, Thomas Briginshaw, Literacy Outreach Coordinator for the Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society,  spoke to our members about LASS and its mission to promote literacy in the North Okanagan-Shuswap area. A District Literacy Plan has been developed with a focus on literacy awareness, collaboration, and and education in the four pillar areas: Early Learning, K-12 Literacy, Adult Literacy, and Aboriginal Literacy.    Babies, pre-school and school-age children, adults and seniors benefit from programs such as  Books for Babies, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library,  One-on-one Reading, Unplug and Play, Enderby Adult Tablet Training, and Cyber Seniors Computer Tutoring.  Seen here with President Kari Wilkinson, Thomas holds some of the many children's books that are distributed monthly to  pre-school children in the Shuswap communities. 
 


Thanks to the incredible generosity of people in our community, an amazing total of $57,801 was raised for the Safe Society and the Second Harvest Food Bank during the Rotary Club of Salmon Arm’s recent
“Double Up Your Gift” campaign. The goal was to ask individuals and businesses to donate, and Rotary would match those up to $10,000 for each organization. Community donations made were actually
more than that goal!  More and more will be needed from these organizations right now due to major losses incurred by families that were caused by major fires in our area.
 
Pictured with Rotarians Winston Lee-Hai & Kari Wilkinson are Vahlleri Semeniuk from Second Harvest Food Bank and Jane Shirley from the Safe Society.
A person smiling at cameraDescription automatically generatedThis week, new member Morgan Turland gave her Bio to the club. She talked about her childhood growing up in Maple Ridge, her education and how she arrived in Salmon Arm. Business, Architecture and Education Assistant programs are some of her educational successes.
She started a business in creating wooden signs and teaching this craft.
She is a mother of two and is currently working at the School District. She also does numerous volunteering for our community, one being as Rotarian for our club.
 
In 2014 the Rotary Club of Salmon Arm discovered that many students in School District #83 went to school without lunch. The lack of a noon meal meant that they were unable to focus on learning, so their education was compromised. The club decided to do something about the situation, and so a School Lunch Program was born.
 
For nine years, since  September 2014, we have donated $160,000 to support a school lunch program to help hungry students get through the school day. Our partner was Askew's whose gift cards were provided to all 25 of the district schools and Parent Advisory Committees, which include Sicamous, Sorrento, Armstrong, Enderby, Falkland, and all the Salmon Arm schools. Throughout the program, we received positive feedback many times from school principals and teachers about the importance of student lunches in the learning process.
 
Now our participation in this program has come to an end because the provincial government will be taking over. "Through Budget 2023, the Province is investing $214 million over three years so school districts can create or expand local food programs in schools throughout B.C. The funds will be used for purchasing food and hiring dedicated staff to co-ordinate providing meals and snacks to students. This is the largest investment in school food programs in the Province’s history." (https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases)
 
We have enjoyed hearing from two interesting speakers on July 17 and 24.  Valerie Rogers, an award -winning nature artist  and resident of Salmon Arm brought a selection of her paintings and explained how her passion for nature and wildlife helps her to create lifelike paintings. She has been awarded  BC Wildlife Federation Artist of the Year twice.  Her most recent notable success is winning the 2023-24 prestigious Pacific Salmon Stamp competition.   She is shown above with Rotarian Hazel Nevrkla and her painting, Vantage Point.
News
 
The Rotary Clubs of Salmon Arm are thrilled to announce the 4th Annual Christmas Day "Take Away" Dinner happening on December 25th, 2023 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM right here in Salmon Arm. If you or your family is unable to have a traditional Christmas dinner this year, don't worry! The Rotary Club is here to spread joy and holiday cheer.
 

We just welcomed back into our fold a previous member, Jim Barmby (on the right, pictured with member Norm and last year's ADG Penny Brown). Jim recently returned to Salmon Arm from the Maritimes. Great to have you back Jim.

 
We are so sad to tell you that we had to cancel this year's Wine Fest.  The major disruptions caused by this year's wildfires led to our not being able to get more than half our usual number of exhibitors committed to the event.
 
The Winefest is a major source of funding for us, allowing us to support local food banks, safe houses, and - this year in particular - efforts to help those affected by the wildfires.  We will continue this through other activities.  Please accept our thanks for the support you always give us by coming to the Wine Fest.
 
We will start planning for a 2024 event early next year and look forward to seeing you again.
 
Last week we installed our Board members for 2023-2024 (July 1 - June 30).
 
 
In the picture, from left: Kari Wilkinson, Dan Hudson, Sterling Land, Darcy Johnston, Rob Marshall, Jenna Robins, Sarah Sigurdson, Garry Hoffart.  Missing - Marvel Holmes, Chaten Randhawa, and Lynda Stepura.
 
Click on Read More to see more pictures.

CLICK THE GRAPHIC TO GO TO THE REGISTRATION PAGE

Put Salmon Arm on the map again this year as the city that flies our Canadian flag.

 
We were recently treated to a bio from new member Chaten Randhawa, who told us all about his upbringing in Vernon (where he met another of our new members - Kyle Gadbois) and his work life which took him all over Canada. On hand to make sure he got everything right was daughter Isabella.
We had an interesting talk by Sapphire Games from the Salmon Arm Visitor Centre (seen here with member Rob Marshall).
 
 
And new member Kyle Gadbois gave us his bio (see here with President Elect Kari Wilkinson.
 
 
After a pause in our Youth Exchange Program because of Covid, we are glad to be up and running again.  Seen in the picture are Porsche (left), our Salmon Arm student who will be going to Austria in August, and Paulina, who came from Austria last August.  They met at the recent Youth Exchange Orientation in Penticton.
 
Chad Foreman from Shuswap Youth Soccer recently came to speak to us about the programs that are offered in our community for kids from the ages of 2 to18 years. Over 1200 youth soccer players signed up last year. The organization is looking for support to fund two turf fields for our community as soccer seems to get more popular every year. These fields would support our community with any growth that is predicted going forward.   You can find out more about this organization at http://shuswapsoccer.com/

Join us at a Meeting

Mondays at 12:00 Noon at the GreenSpace located at First Community!

450 Okanagan Ave E, Salmon Arm, BC V1E 1H6   (See Map).

Speakers
Franz Barnard
Dec 11, 2023
Conflict Resolution
Club Meeting
Dec 18, 2023
Christmas Luncheon
Ethan Porrier
Jan 08, 2024
Conservation Officer
Dr. Kevin Beckner
Jan 15, 2024
Radiology: Shuswap Hospital