Welcome to the Kitchener Rotary Club Charitable Foundation

 
Established in 1967, The Kitchener Rotary Club Charitable Foundation was formed to receive bequests and other gifts.  Within the constraints imposed by donors and the tax laws,  the Foundation supports charitable and educational community projects and the charitable activities of the Rotary Club of Kitchener.
Foundation News
In August 2018, my wife, Diane, and I travelled to Kenya and had the opportunity to meet a number of the young women who have received scholarships for their university education through the Rotary African Women’s Education Fund (RAWEF).
 
The students who are supported through RAWEF are from Uganda and the western part of Kenya. The western part of Kenya was very hard hit by the HIV/AIDS crisis and there are many families where the father has passed away leaving the mother with no means of support for her family, or perhaps both parents have passed away. Many of the young women who graduate from Secondary School have no hope of being able to attend university, due to financial constraints.
Music has been an important part of leading an ordinary life for students at the Music School for Children With Disabilities in Honor of Paul Harris in Lublin, Poland. Founded by Rotary members, the school serves 20 students with various disabilities, including Down syndrome, autism, and visual impairments. The Rotary Club of Lublin-Centrum-Maria Curie-Sklodowska has provided funding with help from Rotary Foundation Matching Grants and the Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society, which houses the school.
 
After their son Mateusz was born with underdeveloped eyes, Mariusz and Joanna Kania looked for ways to help him be active. When he showed an aptitude for music, they looked for a teacher and were thrilled to find the Paul Harris music school.
For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.
 
After serving her time, Bianca sought help from a local homeless organization, A Safe Haven, and moved to its shelter in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Bianca followed the program closely -- she attended all the required meetings, passed drug tests, and volunteered at every opportunity.
Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011. To mark this historic triumph, Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, "India is polio free."
 
The three-year achievement sets the stage for polio-free certification of the entire Southeast Asia region by the World Health Organization. The Indian government also plans to convene a polio summit in February to commemorate this victory in the global effort to eradicate polio.
 
What is it like taking a large team to Africa?  It has probably been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. In mid February, I began leading Rotary members from all over the East Coast of the United States through Ghana. I’ve tried to give the team a warm Ghanaian welcome like I’ve received on my earlier trips. A large trip is a real blessing because each person sees Ghana and our work in a different way.

A highlight for the team was greeting the chief of Sagadugu. The team got excited about buying goats and food for children in the villages where I support eight churches. It was good to see the pastors of most of the eight churches, and I had to explain that we were just passing through on our way to Bolgatanga.
 

JOIN A PROJECT


Change your community with us by volunteering on a local project.

PARTNER WITH US


We work with groups and organizations of all sizes to accomplish even more.

DISCOVER NEW CULTURES


Discover and celebrate diverse perspectives with a global organization.