Three of our rotaractors Jaymee, Eric & Carter got the opportunity to be facilitators at this years YAIL this past weekend at Alexandra Neighbourhood House in Crescent Beach, Surrey. It was a three day leadership camp for youth ages 15-18 from Canada and the USA within district 5050.
They were apart of such an amazing group of leaders from all over the district. Many of whom have participated and facilitated at RYLA.
Eric & Jaymee also were given the opportunity to present to all 60 students on different aspects of rotary, topics including: Rotaract, Interact, Rotary, YES program, Youth Exchange, RYLA and the SASSY awards. What a phenomenal weekend to change lives!
President Jaymee attended the Area D Christmas Breakfast December 5th at the Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam and got the opportunity to speak on behalf of the club and tell all the rotarians what we’ve been up to!
What a great morning filled with yummy food and great conversation, so many of the rotarians were happy to have a rotaractor attend!
To end off the month right before Christmas, President Jaymee & Vice President Kendra got the opportunity to deliver the food and gifts on behalf of the club. Each year we try to sponsor a family through Share Food Bank, this year we were fortunate enough to take on two families and we were beyond excited to be able to give back to these families in our communities! Big thanks to Eric, Kimberley, Sarah, Carter & Evan for contributing to this years hampers! Way to go Rotaractors!
We’ve been keeping busy these past few years with so many exciting fundraisers and events! Here is a quick recap on what we’ve been up to recently:
RYIA’s Facilitator team
A few of our rotaractors got the be apart of the first ever RYIA (Rotary Youth In Action Summit) held at Loon Lake Lodge and retreat centre in March 2017 put on by the Port Moody Rotary Club. It was a leadership summit for youth ages 14-17 where they got to listen to speakers and participate in activities to strengthen their leadership skills and potential.
Rotaractor Mike at the first interact meeting!
RYIA was a such a great success, so much so that the first interact club was created in the Tri-Cities consisting of youth that attended RYIA!
Jaymee, Kendra, Rad and Mike road tripping for RYLAKelly, Darpan, Jaymee, Kendra and Mike out front of RYLA
In May of 2017 four of our Rotaractors (Jaymee, Kendra, Darpan and Mike) got to attend RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) in Mount Baker, Washington. Very similar to RYIA but for an age group of 18-30 where they got to further develop their leadership skills!
In July we had our first ever Installation night shared between the rotaract clubs in district 5050, it was a wonderful evening where district Governor Lindagene came and inducted the new executive for each of the clubs! Definitely a night to remember!
Facilitator training for RMYIS
In November Jaymee and Mike got the chance to facilitate at RMYIS (Ridge Meadows Youth Impact Summit) at Loon Lake Lodge and Retreat Centre. They had a wonderful time connecting and working with some really passionate young people!
In December we collected food donations and non-perisables in Port Coquitlam and delivered them to the CP Holiday Train for The Share Society it was a great success in one neighbourhood we were able to fill a mid-sized SUV with the amount of donations collected!
Ian, John, Jaymee, Kendra, Michelle, Jessica and Mike getting ready to hand out candy canesSelfie with Santa!
We kept busy as elves in December as we also volunteered at Port Coquitlam’s Winter in the City event at Leigh Square where we got the chance to be Santa’s helpers and promote rotaract all at the same time!
YAIL 2018
Jaymee and Carter got the chance to facilitate at YAIL (Youth Adventures in Leadership) in February another youth leadership retreat for youth from both sides of the border within district 5050!
Raf, Ian, Jaymee & Kendra ready to sell some hot dogs!
In the Spring we got the chance to promote rotaract and sell some hot dogs at the SPCA’s Paws for a Cause walk at Town Centre Park in Coquitlam, it was a great success we raised lots of money for animals in need in the Tri-Cities!
RYLA 2018 was one for the books, Jessica, Jaymee and Carter got to facilitate at RYLA and had a wonderful time growing immensely as individuals and as a team of facilitators while being able to lead an exceptional group of young adults through one of the most life-changing weekends of their lives.
The 2017/2018 rotaract year was wonderful, we were able to make a difference in our community by getting involved as much as possible, we had socials throughout the year to continue connecting as a group, and some of our rotaractors even got to facilitate at multiple youth leadership retreats allowing them to make a lasting impact on the youth around us! we welcomed the new rotaract year with open arms!
District 5050 Rotaract Installation BBQ in the Park 2018Jaymee & Jessica representing Tri-cities Rotaract
Jaymee accepting an award on behalf of fellow rotaractor Sarah for her continued dedication the the club!
We are so grateful for the continued success of our club and can’t wait to see where this next rotaract year takes us, we have big plans ahead of us to celebrate our 5th year since chartering so keep updated with us as we continue to make lasting impacts on our community locally and globally!
On March 3, 2016 our club held our largest and most successful event to date! Our “West Coast Story” benefit concert, held at Inlet Theatre in Port Moody, was a fundraiser for Jaaja Barb’s Home of Angels Orphanage in Mpumudde, Uganda. The orphanage, started by Abbotsford native Barb Giraud, gives a home to orphans living with HIV/AIDS in acute poverty.
The night featured plenty of local talent including acoustic singers, Taiko drumming, and dance crews, and featured plenty of free food and prizes as well! In the end, we were able to raise $5188 for Barb and her Angels! Thank you to all of the performers, sponsors, and guests, you all helped make the night truly extraordinary!
Our performers:
Chibi Taiko
Hudson Station
Chase Powersmith & Olivia D’amici – Encore Dance Academy
The Echos
Elizabeth Boey
OTW (Ones to Watch) Crew
Jesse Kazemir
Where They From – choreographed by Katie Chartrand and Marcel Tremel
This Christmas, we wanted to spread some Christmas joy to Barb’s Home of Angels, an orphanage of twenty children (and growing!) in Jinja, Uganda. We provided them with money for a Christmas dinner, which allowed them to purchase meat, chicken, matokee, irish potatoes, rice, bananas, watermelon, pineapple, and pop.
A photo of some of the children at Barb’s Home of Angels getting ready for their Christmas dinner! In the middle of the table is a tree they found, which they placed in a pot, and decorated with balloons
There was some money leftover which they used to buy underwear for the children. We also purchased twenty backpacks (one for each child) and filled them with art supplies for the girls, and toys for the boys, along with pencils and a Christmas card. The backpacks will be sent to Jinja in a container in March, which the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen has provided for Barb.
Barb’s Home of Angels is the same orphanage who received the proceeds from our benefit concert in the spring of 2014, and it was wonderful that we were able to help them out again!
Check out the first-ever edition of the Rotaract District 5050 newsletter, written by our Past President and District Rotaract Representative, Kimberley Chong!
Around this time every year, our Social Committee puts together a holiday party for our club members to unwind and celebrate our accomplishments from the past year. This year, our social’s theme was “Minute to Win It” and we were split up into teams to participate in various activities throughout the evening. We also had a blind gift exchange with recycled gifts. Thanks to our “Social Sisters”, Chantal and Nicole, for organizing this fun event!
Want a quick way to find out what our club has been up to recently? Introducing our #RotaractRecap video series, where our members will share our latest and upcoming events and projects in a short, monthly video.
An exciting update for our club! Our T-shirts finally arrived at this week’s meeting on December 18. We’re extremely excited to represent the blue and yellow at our events, fundraisers, and philanthropy work around the Tri-Cities in the new year.
Happy Holidays to everyone, and thank you for making 2013 a wonderful year!
The Tri-Cities Rotaract was officially installed as a member of the Rotary family at a ceremony in Port Moody’s Newport Village on March 16, 2013. In addition to our sponsoring Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Port Moody, members of the three other Rotary Clubs in the Tri-Cities area were in attendance, in addition to family members of our very own Rotaractors. Among the very special guests in attendance at our ceremony were Denis Boyd (Governor Elect of Rotary District 5050), Nick Stebbing (Rotaract Chair for District 5050), Al Stjernegaard (President of the Port Moody Rotary Club), and Patty Klassen (RYLA Chair for District 5050).
Governor Elect of District 5050, Denis Boyd, leads the ceremony to install our officer board.
In addition to a light meal being served and plenty of social and networking time between Rotaractors and Rotarians, our officers were given their official pins and our president, Kimberley Chong, received our club’s Certificate of Organization signed by Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka as well as her presidential gavel. All of our members received their official Rotaract pins as well.
Our president, Kimberley, with her president’s gavel and our club’s Certificate of Organization.
The entire Tri-Cities Rotaract Club would like to thank the Rotary Club of Port Moody from the bottom of our hearts for making this night possible. It has been a tremendously long process getting our club chartered, but our sponsoring Rotary Club has been there with us every step of the way and we cannot thank them enough for their continuous support!
