Founded in 1922, the Rotary Club of Stratford is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a year of events, initiatives and a special fundraising goal of $100,000.
The Rotary Club of Stratford is marking its 100th anniversary with a year of events and initiatives, along with a special fundraising goal of $100,000, in celebration of a century of care in Stratford.
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First formed in 1922, the Rotary Club of Stratford has consistently dedicated itself to raising money for and supporting important projects in the community, including the Stratford Rotary Complex, the Rotary Hospice of Stratford Perth, the Respite House, the Stratford General Hospital mental health unit and Stratford’s All Wheels Park.
The club has also hosted and sponsored numerous events over the past century, many of which have turned into annual traditions that go back decades, like the Rotary Dragon Boat Festival, the annual golf tournament and the club’s Rural Urban Dinner, which first began all the way back in 1932.
From sponsoring minor hockey to offering scholarships to supporting international projects around the world, the Rotary Club of Stratford has spent the last century building community.
“It’s certainly an honor to be in the role of president for this momentous year,” club president Ken Nesbitt said. “It’s exciting to think we’ve been here serving the community for over 100 years – since 1922. I’m amazed when you think back 100 years ago to the tail end of the Spanish flu pandemic, and they were just starting the club. Here we are now, 100 years later, about to enter year three of our current pandemic, so it just makes you pause and think about what life would have been like then and about the challenges they faced.”
While Stratford residents from a century ago would have been feeling the sting of both the First World War and the Spanish flu pandemic, Nesbitt says this year is cause for celebration.
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Beginning with a virtual kickoff meeting this Thursday, the Rotary Club of Stratford will celebrate its anniversary through local projects and events, as well as what the club has dubbed its Rotary Cares 100 initiative.
Locally, the club has pledged to plant 100 trees across Stratford, including in the Local Community Food Centre’s edible forest, and 100 tulip bulbs at the Stratford Perth Rotary Hospice. The club has committed to another decade of providing annual scholarships for students studying at the University of Waterloo Stratford campus, and will aim to raise $100,000 through donations, sponsorships events and bequests to support its international efforts and local funding commitments.
The club will also celebrate the April launch of local historian and author Dean Robinson’s upcoming book on the history of the Rotary Club of Stratford. There are also plans to host a 100th-anniversary gala in May, or when pandemic restrictions allow, and hold a community appreciation barbecue at Stratford City Hall to celebrate the volunteers who helped the Rotary club and other community groups host mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics during the pandemic.
Through the Rotary Cares 100 initiative, Nesbitt said the club will support or undertake at least one international project based on each of Rotary International’s seven areas of focus: preserving the environment; supporting education; promoting peace and conflict prevention; fighting disease; providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene; saving mothers and children; and growing local economies.
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“Our motto is ‘service above self,’ and (the Rotary Club of Stratford) is an organization that really lives that as far as looking for ways and opportunities to provide that support, whether it’s in our community or internationally,” Nesbitt said.
“It’s about working together with like-minded people with funding from the community to do it. We couldn’t do it without the local community, really, because they provide the funding that supports all the initiatives that we put forth. The Stratford community and surrounding area have been extremely supportive and generous as they’ve partnered with us over the past 100 years.”
To keep up with everything surrounding the club’s 100th anniversary this year, visit rotarystratford.com and follow the club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.