Tags
Edmonton Oil Kings, Edmonton Sunrise, Fort Edmonton Park, Rotary clubs, Rotary District 5370, Rotary District Governor, Rotary Foundation, Service Above Self, Tourettes Syndrome, World Class
Thinking outside the box! Edmonton Sunrise is not your typical Rotary club. To begin with they meet in a restored hotel in Fort Edmonton Park. We drove through time to attend a breakfast meeting in a beautiful Hotel Selkirk with a delicious hot breakfast. We were delighted to be joined by Royalty of the Canadian Rodeo circuit.. a former Miss Rodeo Canada, Gillian Shields, and CFR Rodeo rep Bob Steadward.
They spent a few minutes talking about the future of CFR in Edmonton…I don’t remember what they said…I was transfixed by their bedazzling belt buckles. Why doesn’t Rotary give their Governors big belt buckles with a flashy Rotary wheel or something. Let’s design one!
Secondly, I couldn’t help but notice that they have chosen to support projects that most people do not know about. For example, their major fundraiser ‘Planes Trains and Auctionables” is raising funds and awareness of Tourettes syndrome. This is a very emotional project that started 10 years ago with a member whose child lived with Tourettes. They turned that into an opportunity to share their gifts and have supported the fundraiser ever since.
Thirdly, this club has developed a special volunteer swap with the Rotary Club of Parkland After Dark. When Edmonton Sunrise hosts their big event, volunteers from Parkland After Dark come to the event to help on the evening thus freeing up the Sunrise Rotarians to enjoy the event and spend time with their guests instead of running around all night making sure the event goes well. Later, members of Edmonton Sunrise do the same for Parkland Rotarians …everyone has a good time and the events go off without a hitch. Who comes up with these ideas…GENIUS!
Two schools in the inner city benefit from their generosity. Rotarians supply a full, delicious Christmas lunch for the 170 students at Glendale as well as Christmas hampers for the families. At Ormsby elementary these Rotarians supply the end of year hot dog fun day and every two months they find a hands on activity like reading or clean up with the kids.
These Rotarians pride themselves on supporting projects that are not in the spotlight. Currently, they are creating a relationship with Glenrose Hospital in an effort to support the family and child psychiatry unit. For the past two years they have sponsored the artist in residence. I didn’t know there was such a thing! Wonderful work!
I’m going to let you in on a secret about this club…wanna know how they always win the Oil Kings Jersey for Shut Out Polio event? The club purchases 50 tickets and then gives them away to those special children in the two schools they sponsor. They believe these kids would never have the opportunity to attend a game without their support. What a GIFT to give! You know the smiles on those kid’s faces and the excitement at the game is the gift giving back to our friends in Edmonton Sunrise!