The Rotary Clubs of St. Catharines, St. Catharines South, and St. Catharines Lakeshore recently held a joint Gala Evening at Rodman Hall to honor six members of the community for their meritorious service. Each Club selected two citizens and/or organizations to receive Community Paul Harris Fellowships for individuals or Community Certificates of Appreciation for organizations.The Rotary Club of St. Catharines was pleased to present Community Paul Harris Fellowships to the founders of the Niagara Warehouse of Hope (NWOH) Jim and Mary van der Zalm and Dr. Karl Stobbe of REACH Niagara. In addition, the Club presented the Niagara Warehouse of Hope organization overall with a Certificate of Appreciation (accepted by John DeLaat, President of NWOH).
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines South selected Niagara’s famous Surfing Santa John Fulton and Sam Baio (Socks for Change program) to receive Community Paul Harris Fellowships.
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore honored Isabella Bujor of The Giving Bowl with a Community Paul Harris Fellowship and the RAFT (accepted by Board member Bruce Krushelnicki) with a Community Certificate of Appreciation.
- Eric Jones
The Niagara Warehouse of Hope was founded in 1989 by Mary and Ted van der Zalm Sr. The only known organization of its kind, entirely run by 80 volunteers with only donations of cash and in-kind goods and services, it has one mission: Helping People Help Themselves. The focus is on shipping donated medical equipment & supplies, food, clothing, household items and school supplies to those in need - both locally and offshore. Containers have been shipped to Haiti, the Philippines, Ukraine, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Cuba, Guatemala and other destinations. PHOTO (L to R): John DeLaat, Mary and Ted van der Zalm Jr..
Dr. Karl Stobbe co-founded and serves as medical director at REACH Niagara as well as had a key role in developing the Niagara Regional Campus, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine serving as Regional Assistant Dean from 2007 – 2017. REACH (Regional Essential Access to Connected Health) Niagara provides healthcare to people who are marginalized, including those homeless, precariously housed, living below the low-income measure, migrant agricultural workers, Indigenous people, immigrants and refugees across Niagara. There are no health cards or appointments required to access REACH clinics. PHOTO: Oksana Fisher, Rotary Club of St. Catharines President; Rick Evans, Past President; Dr. Karl Stobbe.
In 1985, John Fulton had been trying to figure out how he could use different strategies to promote his own businesses, a gym and a windsurfing school in Fort Erie, while benefiting local charities. As he was driving down the Parkway, it popped into his head. a Surfing Santa. This year Surfing Santa is celebrating its 40th year collecting underwear by the barrelful and distributing it though Toolbox Niagara and Mobile Closet to the homeless across the Region!PHOTO: Michael Sommer, Rotary Club of St. Catharines South President and John Fulton.
Sam Baio was on his way home listening to the radio in 2016, when he heard a CBC report about people in homeless shelters suffering from foot infections due, in part, to living with constantly cold, wet feet. He knew from his own experience that no matter how warmly he dressed up top, cold feet made him miserable. Socks for Change is a truly local Niagara charity that provides Canadian-made, high-quality, warm wool socks and winter accessories to people in need. The charity supports schools, not for profit organizations and outreach programs across the Niagara Region with 100% of donations go to buying socks.
The Giving Bowl is dedicated to feeding over 1,400 impoverished children in a handful of schools in Eastern Uganda. This non-profit organization also helps with school fees for a small number of their orphaned students as well as medical support. Isabella Bujor took over The Giving Bowl on the untimely passing of its founder six years ago, making four annual trips to Uganda (with the exception of pandemic years) at her own expense, to monitor and ensure the smooth running of the program.PHOTO: Scott Marcin, Rotary 7090 District Governor; Isabella Bujor and Annette Marchionda, Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore President.
Over the last 30 years, RAFT has been committed to serving the vulnerable youth in Niagara. Started in St. Catharines in 1994 by a group of concerned citizens who felt that their community should and could do better for young people, RAFT now serves the entire Niagara region, offering community and school attachment support, shelter, and housing placement. RAFT is proud to have contributed to Niagara having one of the lowest rates of youth homelessness in Canada. RAFT’S ground-breaking prevention services model (which stabilizes young people in their community, school, and housing) is now a national model, duplicated in many Canadian cities. RAFT supports hundreds of youths annually to prevent or end their experience of homelessness and support them to a productive and healthy future.PHOTO: Scott Marcin; Annette Marchionda and Bruce Krushelnicki.