RCNS Bulletin – August 12, 2026
Chair of the Meeting: President Basil Dias
Anthem: Tom Boyko
Toast to The King, Canada and Rotary: President Basil Dias
Land Acknowledgement: President Basil Dias
Attendance: 9 Members and 2 guests
President Basil asked all the Committee Members to present their to-date reports for the better understanding of all Rotary Members and Guests.
Rocko Colangelo – Club Service GroupThe Club Service Committee is responsible for the running of the Club.
The group meets every 2nd Monday evening to plan Rotary functions such as Club Duties, weekly meetings, Speaker booking, club activities social events,
- Weekly Rotary Club Meetings
- Guest Speakers coordination
- Contact Sick and Visiting
- Advertising on Club Runner
- Club activities and social events
- Weekly Meeting Organization
The lunchtime meetings are organized through the POD system. Each month, one of the three group committees is responsible for managing the POD, with responsibility rotating to the next group the following month.
The director of the committee in charge assigns meeting duties to members of that group. The POD serves as the planning template for each meeting and identifies who will:
- Serve as Sergeant-at-Arms;
- Prepare the meeting agenda;
- Collect meal fees at the registration desk;
- Introduce the guest speaker;
- Thank the speaker; and
- Appoint the meeting reporter.
Alan Meredith is the club’s speaker coordinator. Members who would like to invite a guest speaker should contact Alan, who will confirm available dates and help coordinate the booking.
Frank Allison is the club’s contact for sick and visiting support. If you know of a club member who is ill, under the weather, or bereaved, please contact Frank so he can arrange for a card to be sent, where appropriate.
Advertising space is available on ClubRunner. For $200 per year, advertisers can have their website linked through ClubRunner. Members who know someone who may be interested should contact Rocco Colangelo for more information.
Gordon Brown coordinates the club’s activities and social events. While weekly Rotary meetings are normally held on Wednesdays, the third Wednesday of each month is set aside for an evening fellowship event, such as a pub night, Charter/President’s Party, or Christmas celebration.
Barry Smith – International Service GroupThe International Services Committee is tasked with contributing to international health, education and peace and, by doing so, to forge and support international cooperation.
Our Club can be proud of all of the initiatives that we have taken to actively support international causes through cooperation with both local and overseas Rotary Clubs.
We have accomplished much over the years. This past year, we have supported various projects worldwide including Sneakers for Kids in the jungles of Mexico, supporting underprivileged people in Egypt through ROOTA, responding to worldwide disasters through Shelter Box and Global Medic, bringing schools to rural areas of India through EKAL Canada, as well as supporting long standing projects such as Operation Eyesight and Sleeping Children Around the World.
We sponsored Foundation Scholar, Shadi Pouryahya, so that she can study in the UK at Oxford in the area of disease prevention and treatment.
Whenever possible, we stretch our dollars by supporting projects that qualify for matching grants through R.I. or the District. Some projects that qualify for matching grants that we have recently supported include: a Global Grant Project to provide 3D-printed prosthetics to those injured in the war in Ukraine, Assistance to Turkiye to rebuild following the recent devastating earthquake, Steve Rutledge’s water and menstrual pad projects in southeast Asia, the van purchased for the Ukrainian Education Center in Poland that is now being used by a Polish orphanage.
We are hoping to support these and other worthwhile projects this coming year, but our club is facing a budget crunch.
The International Services Budget for last year was about $22,000. This year, we were asked to reduce it to $15,000, which we did. This reduced budget was, however, shelved by the Board of Directors until they are convinced that we have funds to cover this budget. Hopefully, when disasters occur this year, we will be able to respond.
Saira on behalf of Courtney Fisher – Community Service GroupScarborough is home to a remarkable range of charities and non-profit organizations serving diverse communities and addressing a wide spectrum of social needs. The collective impact of these organizations is one of the many factors that contributes to making Scarborough a strong, caring and resilient community.
The services provided by these charities and non-profits run the gamut—from sport and recreation to housing and homelessness; health care and wellness; mental health and addiction; seniors’ services; education and lifelong learning; and many other essential areas.
Given this extensive range of needs, our committee was tasked with identifying priority areas of focus and directing our available resources toward organizations where our financial support could make a meaningful difference.
With an approved budget of $34,500 for F2025–2026, the Rotary Club of North Scarborough, through its Community Services Committee, provided support to the following organizations and social service priorities:
Social Service Area | Organization | Funding |
Food Security | Rising Sun Food Drive Foundation | $3,000 |
Poverty and Community Services | Agincourt Community Services Association | $3,000 |
Social Services Access | East Scarborough Storefront | $1,000 |
Mental Health and Family Services | Community and Family Services Ontario | $3,000 |
Women’s Empowerment | Scarborough Women’s Centre | $2,000 |
Newcomer Settlement | Canadian Centre for Refugees | $2,000 |
Autism and Disability Support | Kerry’s Place Autism Services | $2,000 |
Community Wellness | PACT Urban Peace Program | $2,000 |
Cancer/Life-Threatening Illness Support | Shine Through Rain Foundation | $1,000 |
Supportive Housing | Seeds of Hope Foundation | $1,000 |
Domestic Violence Recovery | Dr. Roz’s Healing Place | $1,000 |
Child and Family Wellbeing | Native Child and Family Services | $2,000 |
Cancer Funding and Research | Ride for Cancer | $1,000 |
Winter Clothing | Warm Hands | $2,500 |
Dhaani Ramdeen – TreasurerDhanni presented a detailed Financial Report and Budget for the year 2026- 2027. Emphasized the need to focus on finding innovative ways to raise more funds for the club and sustainability
This Rotary year will be a different year. Our major financial contributor has retired from his job. We now must rely on the backs of our club members to seek out donations.
This is why it is extremely important that each and every member participate in our major fund-raising project, the Gala. In 2023-24 Rotary year, under the presidency of Avrum, our club partnered with SCRO(Scarboro Community Renewal organization) in our first 2024 Gala, we raised $ 12,855. In 2025 Gala, we raised $21,338.
This year, 2026, our goal is to raise $30K and above. We can achieve this, but each member must do his/her part through:
- Attaining sponsorship.
- Seek out donations
- Invite friends
- Seek out items for the live and silent auctions
- Seek out items for the door prizes.
This is a transitional year and looking ahead at the projected forecast, I have proposed to the Board to reduce the budget distribution to programs and projects by 25% in the coming year until we see the outcome of donation received.
2025-2026 2026-2027
Community & Youth Services $33,000 $25,000
International Services 21,435 15,000
RI Foundation 7,000 6,000
Total 61,435 46,000
Suresh Agarwal - Rotary Foundation
No report was presented due to being away from Toronto for personal reasons. Suresh promised to present the report on August 26, 2026. Suresh Echoed Dhaani Ramdeen's thoughts on the need to raise funds.
President BasilBasil presented his report, including the upcoming Foundation walk for September 27th, in Campbellford and new members from various area clubs, and the upcoming Rotary Annual Gala event for October 16th, 2026. Collective efforts are paying off as ticket sales auctions items are on the rise.
There was no Sargeant-at-arms this week
President Basil: With no additional business for the good of Rotary, the meeting was ended.
