Revisiting some of educational projects Rotary has supported in your community
Everyone knows Rotary for the infrastructure the Woodstock Rotary Club has contributed to our community over the years. The major building campaign over ten years ago saw the construction of the AYR Motor Centre field house, the McCain Community Theatre, and the Thompson Centre at the Woodstock L.P. Fisher Library. Since then, Rotary has donated significantly to the new Sanctuary House, the Valley Food Bank, the URVH MRI project, the Central Carleton Community Complex, and many more buildings and renovations. These are all projects you can visit, touch and see, but Rotary also helps in more intangible ways.
One of Rotary’s major causes is Supporting education through literacy advocacy. The Woodstock Rotary Club has a Literacy Committee that is comprised of a few members and chaired by long-time member Eugene Craig. The mandate of the committee is to:
– Support school libraries through book purchases
– Create literacy promotion for schools
– Partner with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (a free book-gifting program)
– Maintain the little libraries in Woodstock
In his three years as chair, Eugene has been working with the Meduxnekeag Consolidated and Townsview Schools. Partnering with Anglophone School District West’s JoAnne Boone, the Community School Coordinator for these two schools, the Rotary Club has provided age-appropriate reading materials through the classroom or school libraries. In those three years, Eugene says Rotary donations have exceeded $21,000.
One of the Rotarians’ favourite lunch meetings is when, every year, Mrs. Boone visits with a few students from Townsview and/or MCS. They tell us about the books they received, what the book was about, and what they learned from it.
A literacy project that was taken over by the Rotary Club but was started by the former Woodstock Rotaract Club saw the construction of two “Little Libraries” located at King Street by the Farmers Market and in the park on Broadway Street. Books are available for free or for trade. Readers can bring a used book and take one to read at either of these locations. In the future, this ‘all ages’ literacy outreach project will continue to be supported by the Rotary.
Another way Rotary supports education is through high school graduation scholarships. Students from Woodstock, Hartland, Nackawic, and Canterbury can each apply for one of twenty $500 scholarships for a total donation of $10,000 annually. The students can use this money to pay for any aspect of their post-graduation education to assist with their expenses.
Although these education and literacy initiatives may not seem as impressive as a brick-and-mortar construction project, they represent another way that Rotary can impact and strengthen our community.
