Renovations for The Mustard Seed, aboriginal art for George Jay-Quadra Village community centre and music therapy for brain injury patients are just a few of the items being funded by Harbourside Rotary as it doles out nearly $100,000 for Victoria causes.
The annual donations are raised through garage sales, Christmas cakes and the popular Roses for Rotary drives, which nets about $20,000 alone each year, said spokesperson Troy Alexander.
“We also had a former member who donated $1 million to us and that money, we can spend the earnings,” he said. “We’ve definitely got a preference towards supporting local community: youth, at-risk persons and families.”
There are 11 rotary clubs across Greater Victoria, with each managing and gifting donations to worthwhile causes. Harbourside Rotary also gives $1,000 scholarships to high school students preparing for university.
“A lot of people think Rotary is a lot of fuddy-duddys or rich old men who just get together and eat, but the one thing I like to try to promote is that rotary is for people of all ages and all walks of life,” Alexander said.
A typical weekly meeting involves a presentation over breakfast. Speakers range from Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin to experts in the Fukushima disaster or Afghanistan.
The $97,100 annual donations will be officially presented June 18 at the Union Club, 805 Gordon St., at 7 a.m. Potential new members can gp online to harboursiderotary.org for more information.
dpalmer@vicnews.com