February
5, 2007
Presenting: The Beach Rotary Club –
Service Above Self in the Beach
One of the areas I really set out to focus on in my Beach
neighbourhood portrait was the local spirit of charity and community
assistance. One of the organizations that I interviewed, the Pegasus
Community Project for Adults with Special Needs, left a deep
impression on me. This is a day-time program for adults with developmental
disabilities that also runs a local thrift store on Kingston Road
to generate funding and to provide practical work experiences for
the participants in the program.
Marie Perrotta, the founder and executive director of this organization,
explained to me that one organization has been tremendously supportive
of her initiative over the last few years: The Toronto
Beach Rotary Club. So she connected me with the President, Barbara
Dingle, who had also been mentioned to me by Sandra
Bussin in connection with the restoration of the Gardener’s
Cottage. But more about that project in a little bit.
Barbara Dingle
On a frigid February day Barbara welcomed me to her home and we
sat down to chat for a couple of hours. Barbara started off by giving
me some general information about the Rotary Club. Rotary International
is the oldest service club in the world. It was founded in 1905
in Chicago, Illinois, by an attorney by the name of Paul P. Harris
who wanted to recreate the friendly spirit of his small town upbringing.
The concept spread throughout the United States and by 1921, Rotary
Clubs had formed on six continents. A 1943 London Rotary conference
promoting international cultural and educational exchanges was part
of the inspiration for the formation of UNESCO (the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) in 1946, illustrating
Rotary International’s impact on a global scale.
The Rotary Club’s principal motto is “Service Above
Self”, and its 1.2 million members worldwide in more than
200 countries provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical
standards in all vocations, and help build peace and goodwill in
the world. The organization is non-political, non-religious and
open to men and women of all cultures, races and creeds. Rotary’s
main objective is to serve the community and throughout the world,
taking up issues such as children at risk, poverty, hunger, the
environment, illiteracy and violence. Youth programs and international
exchange opportunities are also supported.
2007 Toronto Beach Rotary Executive: President-Elect Tom Teahen,
President Barb Dingle, Treasurer Barry Webster, and World Community
Servcie Colin Claxton
Rotary International is organized in local chapters, and the Toronto
Beach Rotary Club is a fairly recent addition to the Rotary
family. The club was chartered in 1999, originally as an offshoot
of the East York Rotary Club which has been in existence for more
than 60 years. Barb explained that the Toronto Beach Rotary Club
is a breakfast club, and that members meet once a week on Tuesdays
nice and early at 7:15 am at the Balmy
Beach Club which generously makes their facilities available.
Barb herself got connected with the Rotary Club about 4 years ago
when a friend introduced her to the club. About a half a year into
her membership she went to approach various retail stores during
a fundraising drive, and from her interactions with the merchants
she realized the amount of respect and cache that membership in
the Rotary Club conveyed. All of a sudden doors started to open
easily, and people started to listen to her fundraising proposals.
MP Maria Minna, Rotarians Paris Quinn
and Jan Lyall along with three happy children enjoying the Bowl
for the Beach Bowl-A-Thon
Barb explains that she wanted to become involved in the community,
but
was not sure where to start. A few visits to the Beach Rotary meetings
opened doors to the kind of opportunities she was looking for. Barb
says
that the club meets once a week for one hour, not a very huge time
commitment, and added that many people might initially be scared
of
committing to volunteer work. Barb feels strongly that an hour a
week is
feasible for most of us and clarified that you can get involved
as
little or as much as you want in the club's activities. Time restraints
on our lives change from month to month, year to year. Barb adds
that "if you have the desire to give back to your community
and to play a small part in
helping humanity on an international level, Rotary Clubs have the
infrastructure to make it happen".
When she first joined she had no idea what the Rotary Club was all
about, and she learned that every Rotary Club world-wide works on
two levels: to raise funds for and help local community organizations,
and to become involved on a global level to support serious international
causes.
On an international level, Rotary Clubs support a broad range of
humanitarian, intercultural, and educational programs and activities
designed to improve the human condition and advance the organization's
ultimate goal of global understanding and peace. The Toronto Beach
Rotary Club’s international initiatives include the removal
of landmines, the worldwide eradication of polio and leprosy, as
well as AIDS orphans in South Africa.
Clear-A-Landmine raffle winners at the Quigley's fundraiser
Barb explained that to support the landmines program, the “Night
of a 1000 Dinners” was held last November at Quigley’s
Pub and Bistro, a popular restaurant in the Beach and a strong supporter
of local charities. Quigley’s generously donated a gourmet
four-course dinner for 50 guests that was accompanied by local guitarist
Tom Price. A keynote speech was given by Scott Fairweather, the
CEO of The Canadian Landmine Foundation who is also a Rotarian.
A Clear-a-Landmine Raffle was held, and the top prizes, a watercolour
painting donated by generous community supporter Ann Francis Oakes,
and a day of golfing fun at the Toronto Hunt donated by Graham Sanborn
went to two lucky winners. In total $2500 were raised from this
event and presented to the Canadian Landmine Foundation.
In addition to international causes the Toronto
Beach Rotary Club
is very involved in supporting the local Beach neighbourhood. The
Club's annual
"Bowl for the Beach" Bowl-A-Thon provides funding to the
Pegasus Community Project , as
well as scholarships to local high school students and after school
programs, and The Haig Family Resource Program. This year the Bowl-A-Thon
will be held on April 21 at the Thorncliffe Bowlerama, and Barb
indicated that the event is always great fun, and many different
groups from the community participate.
Bowl-A-Thon suporters Brian Pape, Investors Group, and Tim Mowers,
the Leprosy Mission with Rotarians Mike Major, Agnes Walkinshaw
and Barb Dingle
Another popular initiative is the Free Movie for Seniors, a weekly
free
movie night at the Fox Theatre, a real landmark in the Beach and
the
oldest continuously running movie theatre in Toronto. In addition,
a
Christmas lunch donated by Quigley's Pub and Bistro was held for
the
seniors at St. Aidan’s Church.
More than 300 seniors enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner, and Quigley's
generosity was much appreciated
Barb also explained a major community effort that has left a lasting
legacy in the Beach: during the late summer / early fall of 2005,
renovations to the Gardener’s Cottage (the historic Kew Williams
House) were undertaken as a joint project by the City of Toronto,
spearheaded by City Councillor Sandra
Bussin, the City’s Parks and Recreation Department and
the Toronto Beach Rotary Club. The Gardener’s Cottage is a
treasured landmark at the foot of Lee Avenue, and was in need of
repair.
One of the major strengths of Rotary is that each club is comprised
of a
cross-section of vocations. By drawing on the club members' wide
variety
of skills and connections, amazing good work is accomplished. As
a
long-term collaborator with Canadian home décor queen Debbie
Travis, and
a past associate editor for House and Home Magazine, Barbara Dingle
had
the perfect idea: to restore this treasured Beach icon together
with a
group of talented local designers who each took over one section
of the
building. The verandah, the entrance hall, the parlour, the dining
room,
the kitchen, the upper hallway, the girl's and boy's bedrooms, the
bathroom and the master bedroom were all authentically restored
and
decorated by different designers to reflect the Queen Anne period.
A
large number of merchants and business people donated everything
from
labour, paint and lumber to fabrics, draperies, lighting, plants,
accessories and furniture for the project. More than $70,000 worth
of
goods and services were donated, and the entire Beach community
came
together to restore a beloved neighbourhood icon. The results are
stunning.
For the beautiful results of the renovation visit www.torontobeachrotary.org
For three weeks in September and October of 2005, Barbara and her
team put together the “Dream Tour” which provided the
public with an exceptional opportunity to view the designs and the
contributions of the local designers and merchants. A beautiful
full-colour magazine was put together to showcase the project, the
history of the Kew Williams House and each section of the building
that had been so lovingly restored. Funds from tour ticket sales
were donated to Toronto East General Hospital’s Mental Health
Program for Children and Adolescents. In total a donation of $15,000
was raised and passed along to the Mental Health Crisis Unit at
Toronto East General Hospital – a true demonstration of an
entire community coming together to make positive things happen.
Another big event in the works is an Annual Rotary Lobsterfest
in the Beach. The Toronto
Beach Rotary Club together with the East York Rotary Club is
planning a fundraiser where people can feast on a fresh lobster
dinner with all the fixings, listen to some great music and play
games. The event will be fun for the whole family. Proceeds from
this fundraiser will be donated to the Woodgreen Community Services
Homeward Bound Program - a program dedicated toward helping women
acquire life skills, computer skills, a community college education
and employment training so they can learn to provide for themselves
and their children.
Santa's annual visit to the historic Gardener's Cottage
Barbara added that the Toronto Beach Rotary Club is a small club,
but it has done huge things for the entire neighbourhood. The club
has many volunteers, loosely referred to as “Friends of Rotary”
who are not full-fledged members, but who love to donate their time
to help out. At the moment the club is looking for new members and
has started advertisements with the headline “Do you need
Rotary? Rotary needs you.” Barbara describes her volunteer
work with the Rotary Club as an extremely rewarding experience.
She explained that joining is quite simple: a prospective member
would come out to the breakfast meetings for several weeks in a
row to assess the fit with the Rotary organization. At the end of
this trial period they can officially join and become a regular
member. The reasons for joining are many: not only does the Rotary
Club provide the opportunity to serve and support local and international
causes; it also provides a great realm for friendships and business
development. The special events run by the club offer an opportunity
for personal growth, leadership and ethics development. In addition,
exposure to community and global programs provides learning opportunities
for greater cultural awareness. All in all it’s a win-win
situation, for the individual, for the club and for the communities,
locally and abroad, that are supported by the Rotary Club.
Christmas dinner, donated by Quigleys and served by 55
Division police officers
Naturally I also needed to inquire into Barbara Dingle’s connection
with the Beach. Together with her husband John she moved into this
area in the fall of 1975 because they saw the Beach as a great place
to bring up children. Their children Geremy and Emily attended local
schools where their love for music and drama was fostered along
with strong academics. She added that the Beach today is an area
on the move, similar to 30 years ago. Everyone is renovating and
"a spurt of youth" is being injected into the neighbourhood.
The Beach is an eclectic mix of teachers, artists, professionals
and people from all other walks of life, “a great tapestry
of people and a very egalitarian place”, to use Barb’s
words.
Barbara obviously loves the neighbourhood, and together with her
friends at the Toronto
Beach Rotary Club she has chosen to give back to organizations
in her own community and to needy people around the world.
Related Articles:
Celebrate Toronto
- an article series to celebrate my chosen home town
Gene Domagala - a human convenience
store of charity and community involvement in Toronto's Beach
Arie Nerman & the Beach Hebrew Institute:
the People's Synagogue
Glenn Cochrane - Media
Personality, Author and Expert Fundraiser – A Champion of
the Beach for almost 40 years
Michelle Gebhart: a
true Renaissance Woman: From Army Brat to Expert Renovator, Biker
Lady, Successful Restaurateur & Dedicated Youth Volunteer
Michael Prue: a working class success
story - from Regent Park to Queens Park
Alex Winch & the
Beach Solar Laundromat – Unstoppable when it comes to Championing
Renewable Energy & Innovative Entrepeneurship
Mary Lee: a restaurant owner with a heart
for the arts
Marie Perrotta from the Pegasus
Community Project - Reaching for the stars
Burgie and Benedetta from the Konditor
coffeehouse create Austrian delicacies in Toronto's Beach
Bob Murdoch from Community Centre
55 - 25 years of community service in the Beach
Steve and Paul from Accommodating
the Soul B&B: hospitality with a personal touch
John Dowding: a private lesson in
photography from a true master
Lucille Crighton: A textile
arts Hall of Famer in Toronto's Beach
Lido Chilelli: Founder
of the Toronto International Beaches Jazz Festival
Fire Station 227: History, heroism
and local connections in the Beach
The Green Eggplant: Healthy Mediterranean
food and big solid portions
Sandra Bussin - City Councillor
and Deputy Mayor shows me her neighbourhood
The Balmy Beach Club - Legend
by the Lake & Toronto's best-kept secret
Ralph Noble: Firefighter,
Lifesaver and Creator of the Most Famous Mural in the Beach –
A Noble Man Indeed
The Beaches Lions Club: Charity
and community projects in the Beach since 1935
The Beach Business
Improvement Area: a general overview of the Beach and the merchants
and activities on Queen Street East
Maria Minna:
an Italian-Canadian immigrant story and a life-long fight for social
justice
The Beach Metro Community
News: much more than just the news
The Kingston Road Business Community:
a neighbourhood undergoing revitalization and an integral part of
the Beach
Andrew Smith and Rachel Howard:
creative entrepreneurs and dedicated community builders
Nevada's Ristorante: where
hospitality is a family affair
Maria Minna: Another neighbourhood
walk and talk
St. Aidan's Church: the spirit of charity
in the Beach comes full circle
Gene Domagala takes me on a history
of the eastern and northern part of the Beach - a perfect day of
discovery
A walk along Kingston Road:
a shopping district definitely worth a visit
55 Division: Community policing
in action
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