Community Service
Annual Seniors Dinner
The Rotary Club of Port Perry's first Seniors’ Dinner was the first community service project of the Rotary Club of Port Perry in the year 1981, the year of our charter. But this was not just a Rotary project. In fact this was a joint project of the Rotary Club of Port Perry and Royal Canadian Legion Branch 419.
The first dinner fed about 50 seniors from the Port Perry area. The dinner was held at the local Legion branch and the meal was totally prepared by Rotarian Ken Jackson and Legion Auxiliary member Therese Hlozan.
The Seniors’ Dinner was an instant hit and grew year after year. It was held at the Legion
for only a few years until the size of the dinner exceeded the Legion’s capacity. It then moved
to the Catholic Church Hall. When this move was made, the project became solely a Rotary
project.
The dinner has moved a couple of times over the years to it’s present venue, at the
Scugog Community Centre, where over 230 seniors and volunteers receive a wonderful
Christmas dinner year.
2009 Thanksgiving Food Drive
The call went out into the community that there was greater need this year at the food bank. To answer the call about 250 bags, complete with the Rotary logo, were created. Stapled inside each of them was a list of the items most sought after by the food bank.
The bags were then distributed by Rotarians to friends, family and others. The Club was one of the biggest contributors to this year's food drive. Special thanks to Barb Martin and Rotarian Jim Jenkins for coordinating this project.
New President Cleans Up!
President Karl Herder along with John Richardson and township employees Steve Bull, Matt Stewart and Justin Hockley clean up the graffiti on the Rotary Board Walk. The Rotary Board Walk was built in 2006, totalling 180 metres in length. It is wheelchair accessible and provides a great view of Lake Scugog for those that venture down the path.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation awarded the club with a local service club with a $60,000 grant toward the $107,000 cost of the project. The Rotary Club of Port Perry provided the balance of the funding.