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Silent Auction for Tarts and Arts

Help Support Ukranian Refugees by bidding at our Silent Auction this Saturday the 27th at Robert Simpson Park.

Items including a Muskoka Chair, Golf Packages, Dinners at local Area Restaurants and many Gift Certificates from Businesses will be available for viewing and bidding between 9:30 am and 3:30 pm in a tent in the “Tarts and Arts in the Park” Festival there.
Click on Read More to see the growing List below!

Also

•   Local Bakers and Artisan Crafters - buy Tarts!
•   Ongoing Entertainment on stage plus special surprises
•   Children’s Games, splash pad and more!
•   Free Admission and Free Parking at the Hospital
•   See our updated list at ArnpriorRotary.ca

Successful 1st Tarts & Arts in the Park

Arnprior’s Tarts and Arts festival a huge success

The Queen of Tarts has been crowned!

It was a delicious day of family fun at the inaugural Tarts & Arts in the Park Festival hosted by the Rotary Club of Arnprior in Robert Simpson Park on Saturday, Aug. 27.

From kid’s games, to local artists and yummy treats it was the perfect recipe for success!

Diana Tomazin, Arnprior Rotary president hopes it will become an annual event. “I think it’s pretty good for the first year and a good turn out,” said Tomazin.

Tart royalty was out in full force and it was a delicious day to test all the tarts!

The hardest job of the day, judging the tarts, went to Tomazin, Glenn Arthur, Karen DeLuca, Janet Carlile, Darrel O’Shaughnessy, with hilarious commentary by Andy Kalnins. The tarts were judge by appearance, crust flavour, filling flavour, crust baking, filling baking and creativity.

The winners, who were literally crowned with a sparkling tiara, in the Wild tart category was Laura Killoran. In the Original category Erin Welsford was crowned victorious with Alex Everett taking second place.

One of the participants has had impressive experience with Butter Tart competitions. The Grand Champion for Butter Tarts in 2019 from the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies had a butter tart that just melted in your mouth. “I was pretty happy to win and I am going to try again this year,” said Marilyn Misener, of Glasgow Station.She first won at the Carp Fair, next she was the best in the district and finally she was the best out of 256 tarts in all of Ontario.When pressured to reveal the special ingredients, she had this to say. “You never know what’s inside, and I don’t give out my secret!”

There was so much arts and handicrafts on display it was hard not to go home empty handed. Plus they were all local! And there was something for everyone from wood work, to acrylic paint, to hand knitted creations and bead work. It was all beautiful!

One of the best parts of this festival was it was truly for all members of the family. The kids had a wonderful time playing classic games such as limbo, bean bag toss, puzzles and mask making.
Taking centre stage the large crowd saw performances from the Main Street School of Music, Arnprior School of Dance, Balloon Animals and Little Ray’s Reptiles.

The event was run by the volunteers at the Arnprior Rotary Club with funds raised from the silent auction going to support Club Projects including Ukrainian relief.

For more information on the Arnprior Rotary Club visit: https://ArnpriorRotary.ca/

Tarts and Arts in the Park Festival

Updated List of Bakers, Artisans and Non Profits, Sponsors and Silent Auction Contributors Below!

Butter Tarts! In a beautiful setting! But if you need more reasons, there will also be artists, craftspeople, musicians, face painting, Little Ray's Reptiles, balloon animals, food, games & more. And delicious, gooey butter tarts. See the Updated list by clicking Read More!

Mad Duck Tickets 2022

Support the Arnprior Rotary Club by purchasing your July 1st Mad Duck Race Ticket for $5 each. Proceeds go to support Arnprior Rotary projects, like our Tree Planting & Dictionaries4Life for all Gr 3 students.

etransfer to ArnpriorRotary@gmail.com, including

Phone, email, psswd: [Answer name of Our Town] - "A**r". We will send back an image of your ticket.

Schedule:

We are down to our last few tickets. Reach out by email if you wish a ticket

TREES Project Announcement

20,000 Trees and Counting!

Saving the Environment One Tree at a Time

Working with the with the Township of McNab/Braeside, Arnprior Rotary helped to secure funding from Forests Ontario for a significant Tree Planting operation beginning on April 25, 2022. Arnprior Rotary also successfully applied for a Rotary District 7040 Grant to help to expand the Clay Bank Nature Park for Outdoor Learning.

Arnprior is one of the fastest growing small towns in Ontario and the expansion of Highway 417 to Renfrew is now underway. To counteract the tree loss due to that expansion, real estate development, the removal of agricultural windrows, and tree mortality due to insects, Arnprior Rotary and the Township of McNab/Braeside have teamed up to plant thousands of white spruce, red pine and white pine trees - 22,840 over two years to be exact - through the Forests Ontario and the 50 Million Tree Program.

Rotary International’s newest Area of Focus is The Environment into which the Arnprior Rotary Club has leapt with both feet in a significant way.

We are looking for new members and this is just another example of Rotary in Action in our community.

Join us for Earth Day 2022 Cleanup!

Help Us Protect our watershed on Earth Day!

Join the Arnprior Rotary Club 9am - 11am in a Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup on Saturday April 23rd 2022.

We are all connected. Our Watershed includes the Madawaska and Ottawa Rivers, all the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence. All of our local trash that gets into the river will wash downstream.

The two Sites targeted for this year’s Clean Up are The Algonquin Trail and River Road :

A) Algonquin Trail at Division Street on the old Rail bed - meet at the intersection and park nearby.

B) River Road #1 Between Braeside and Arnprior - meet in the parking Lot of Our Lady Perpetual Help Parish on Dochart Street in Braeside

Meet 9 AM April 23rd for Sign In, Orientation and to get Supplies

Reminder that there is always the possibility of Poison Ivy or Ticks in the grass and uneven terrain so please wear appropriate attire. Good Closed Toe Shoes or Boots, Long Sleeves, Pants, and some work gloves are recommended.

Come Join us!

Tarts and Arts in the Park

Paul Harris to Rabbi Bulka

The Rotary Club of Arnprior recognized a posthumous Paul Harris award on the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, who exemplified Rotary’s motto “Service Above Self”. The evening’s award occurred during the club’s weekly meeting and was attended by the Rabbi’s son Eliezer and the current Rabbi of Machzikei Hadas, Rabbi Scher. Rotarian Leo Hughes spoke about how the Rabbi Bulka dedicated his life to spreading kindness, helping people, making a difference, comforting others, and always saying the right thing at the right time to make someone feel better which is guided by the Rotary motto, Service Above Self.

The Rotary Club of Arnprior has two members who belong to the synagogue for which Rabbi Bulka was a rabbi since 1967, and another Club member worked with the Rabbi in delivering "Who is Nobody" kits to schools in the area.

Rabbi Bulka co-founded Kind Canada, a non-profit organization that encourages Canadians to practice kindness daily and support charitable causes The first national Kindness Week is slated for February 2022, and Canadians are called on to carry out acts of kindness in their communities during the third week of February every year.

A Paul Harris Fellow Award is Rotary's highest recognition to acknowledge individuals who contribute to the betterment of our community. The dedication plaque will be displayed at his synagogue in a room dedicated to all his accomplishments.

2021 Christmas Donation Grove Residents

In December, Arnprior Rotary donated to the Grove Nursing Home so that every resident received a gift during the Holiday season. Funds were available due to contributions from Delta Bingo

Environmental Cleanup 2021-09

Rotary Great lakes Watershed Cleanup

Rotary Club of Arnprior Cleans up Algonquin Trail and “Unplugged” Kids Clean up Galilee Beach

On Sept 25, 2021 a dozen Club members, family and friends of Rotary gathered to clean up sites that could pollute local waterways. Also participating in the cleanup as part of an educational outing were 10 children and guardians of the Unplugged Program of St John Lutheran Church.

Some of the cleanup crew on the Algonquin Trail in Braeside. Rod Smith, Gerhard Peters, Jane Peters, Bill Sellers, Vila Smith, Terry Dawson, Bruce Buie, Dave Palmer and Pushpa (bottom row)

An initiative of the Club’s newly minted Environment Committee, approximately 275kg of trash was carted away with considerable effort from the Algonquin Trail (former CP rail line) adjacent to the Arnprior Landfill near Braeside. Afterward, the group gathered for a much deserved lunch at Betty’s Chips in Braeside overlooking the extraordinarily beautiful – and cleaner - Ottawa River.

Unplugged children cleaning up the Beach along the Ottawa River at the Galilee Centre in Arnprior

Ottawa Cash Calendar 2022

Arnprior Rotary is selling this Cash Calendar whose theme is "Ottawa's Nature Path". Perfect Stocking Stuffer!

Cost is $20, with half going to our Club for our programs. Over $20,000 in Cash Prizes and daily prizes from $20 - $200, with 3 special prizes of $1,000. 4,000 Calendars printed.

Contact ArnpriorRotary@gmail.com to order & make an e-transfer. Local delivery early December, along with our Annual Fruit Cake sales.

2021 Literacy Month

SEPTEMBER IS BASIC EDUCATION AND LITERACY MONTH

How does The Rotary Club of Arnprior help with literacy?

Every fall, all Grade 3 students in Arnprior are presented with a beautifully illustrated dictionary called Dictionary 4 Life. Using these dictionaries helps children develop their facility with the English language, stimulate their interests in exploring how to spell words and find their meanings.

One of the most positive aspects of being able to use a dictionary is that it helps to develop autonomy and confidence in the learner — one of the core goals of education.

The Rotary Club of Arnprior, working in partnership with the Rotary Club of Newbury in the UK, recently donated 20 desks to schools in Ukerewe, Tanzania so that every child will have a seat and a good learning environment. Each desk cost $24.

Rotary supports activities and training to improve education for all children and literacy for children and adults. The Rotary Foundation enables Rotarians to ensure that all people have sustainable access to basic education and literacy

Darrel O'Shaughnessy Paul Harris

Recently Arnprior Volunteer Extraordinare Darrel O’Shaughnessy was presented Rotary’s Paul Harris Award by Rotary District Governor Fay Campbell and Rotary Club of Arnprior President Vila Smith at an end of summer gathering.

The Arnprior Rotary Club is pleased to announce that Darrel O’Shaughnessy has been given the prestigious Paul Harris Award for his volunteer efforts within the Arnprior Community over the last decade.

In 2011 Darrel and his wife Betty were involved with the creation of the successful Arnprior Dragon Boat Club (ADBC) which in 2015 led to the annual Arnprior Dragon Boat Festival. More recently he was instrumental in successfully launching Canada’s 22nd Men’s Shed in 2019. He currently serves as Chair of the Greater Arnprior Senior's Council (GASC) and has positions on the Town of Arnprior's Corporate Services Advisory Committee and the Senior’s Active Living Centre (SALC) Advisory Committee.

4-Way Test Awards

Congratulations to the Grade 8 Students who received Rotary's 4-Way Test Award, acknowledging that they exemplify the tenets of Test that Rotarians attempt to live by. Thanks to Delta Bingo for assisting with the financing of the gift of the Notebook that went with the Award.

Ukerewe Desk Donation June, 2021

These children are saying "Asanti Sana' (Thank You).

A year ago, four members of the Rotary Club of Newbury, UK visited the island of Ukerewe in Lake Victoria, Tanzania to evaluate previous projects. Following this visit they launched an appeal for support to supply primary schools with desks and benches. Thanks to donations from a number of Rotary Clubs, including Arnprior, they have been able to supply 126 desks and benches to 5 primary schools.

The teachers are so pleased and have appealed for more desks. Currently the Newbury Club is looking to supply at least 100 more desks.

Jeanette Grant Paul Harris

Jeanette Grant received a Paul Harris Award in recognition of Jeanette’s many volunteer activities since she & David moved to Arnprior in 2008.

Accomplishments:

Joined with 3 other Breast Cancer survivors to form Prior Chest Nuts, which included applying for & receiving Trillium Grant of $28,500 for startup funds
Volunteering at Library led to becoming a Board member
Also involved at Hospital Auxiliary, Opp Shop, Grance St Andrew’s United Church & fun with Red Hats

Despite COVID & ALS, Jeanette continues with gardening & sending Birthday Cards to church’s children

From Jeanette:“Volunteering has been part of my life since I was a child.I love being with people who do things to help make the community be a good living experience.”

Grove Christmas Donation

Some residents of Arnprior's Grove Nursing Home have no one to give them Christmas gifts. For more than 30 years, the Rotary Club of Arnprior has been providing funds to purchase Christmas Gifts for every resident, chosen by the Staff to ensure that the right gifts are chosen.. We could not join them at the usual Christmas Party, so no Fruit Cake was provided, but we continued with the funding of this service to our Seniors with the help from Delta Bingo in Pembroke.

Buy Your Christmas Fruit Cakes!

The Club has our Christmas Fruit Cakes available again! Use the order form below to place an order, and delivery can be arranged to many locations!

A Fillable Order form is available in the Downloads section of this web page, or email j-g.peters at eagleair.ca with name, order, address & phone #. E-transfers can be done to this same email address!

Beirut Donation Update

A second load of donated medical supplies including wheel chairs, walkers and other materials was delivered to Rotarian Peter Labelle in Cornwall. These supplies were added to others collected by the Rotary Club of Cornwall-Sunrise and delivered to Toronto for shipment in a container to Beirut on October 26, 2020. The value of the medical supplies collected through the Rotary Club of Arnprior alone is estimated to be well in excess of $70,000.

At this time, the Rotary Club would like to offer our sincerest THANKS to our partners that helped assemble all these donations: Ed Byers, County of Renfrew Paramedic Service; Lorna Byers, Rotary Club of Eganville; Darell O’Shaughnessy and Glenn Arthur of the Arnprior Seniors Active Living Centre and Arnprior Regional Health; John Wilson, Rotary Club of Renfrew; and Joyce Dawson, Friend, Rotary Club of Arnprior. A resounding shout out to all of you!

Beirut Explosion Medical Supplies

A big thank you to Rotarians Vila & Rod Smith for collecting and delivering medical supplies collected from multiple Rotarians in the Ottawa Valley. They will be added to the 40' container destined for Beirut.

A particular shout out to Ed Byers of the Rotary Club of Eganville for collecting supplies from the Paramedics in Renfrew County.

If you or anyone you know has medical supplies that can be added to the container please email us and we can make arrangements.

Beirut Explosion Support

(Reuters: Mohamed Azakir)

On August 4 2020, a devastating explosion in Beirut has killed and injured least 200 people and injured an estimated 5,000 others. In a city of 2 million up to 300,000 people are now homeless.

Three hospitals were badly damaged and forced to close with two others left only partly functioning, resulting in first aid and healthcare services becoming overwhelmed. Health care workers have struggled with reduced resources and facilities as they care for the thousands injured by the blast.

For immediate needs, The Rotary Club of Arnprior is asking for donations of medical supplies (wound dressings 4x4's, saline, IV tubing, wheelchairs, walkers, beds), and any financial contributions will be appreciated. For longer term rebuilding, our Rotary District is working with Beirut Rotary Clubs to support one of the hardest hit hospitals. It serviced some of the poorest residents in Beirut who have no means to pay for health care.

Contact Vila Smith (see the Executives area) through this website. People can also donate by visiting www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-rotary-club-of-arnprior-charitable-trust/

Renfrew County Receives Needed Help

During the current COVID-19 crisis, the need to help struggling families is now. The Arnprior Rotary Club met with Dawn McAdam, Customer Service Representative of Ontario Works in Arnprior, to hand over $10,700 in Food, Gas and Supply Gift Cards to aid ongoing Disaster Victims as provided by a group of Rotary Clubs. This adds to the $3,050 funds donated by Rotary Clubs to help Flood victims last fall.

The obtaining of these funds was spearheaded by Gerhard Peters of the Arnprior Rotary Club and the money comes from all District 7040 Rotary Clubs including the Ottawa Valley Rotary Clubs in Renfrew County. Contributing District Clubs come from Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec and Northern New York State.

The total $10,700 of $50 Gift Cards included:

$5,700 from President's Choice for groceries and medications (through Shopper's Drug Mart)
$2,500 from Canadian Tire (including Gas),
$ 750 from ESSO Gas,
$ 750 from Ultramar Gas.
$1,000 from Home Hardware

These cards will be delivered to Andrea Patrick, Ontario Works Manager - Social Service Department, to disburse throughout Renfrew County to selected qualifying clients in need of this aid.

For more information about what Ontario Works is doing: https://www.insideottawavalley.com/news-story/9917608-emergency-funding-available-through-ontario-works-in-renfrew-county/

Rotary Club of Arnprior Charitable Trust: Donations would be welcome and could be sent to PO Box 481, Arnprior, ON K7S 3L9

Food Bank Donation

Rotary Club of Arnprior donated $500 to the Arnprior Food Bank to help with the increasing numbers of families needing assistance during our COVID-19 shutdown

Meeting Online

The Rotary Club of Arnprior announces that we are now meeting Online during this period of Physical Distancing.

Shoe Bank Canada

Arnprior Rotarians Dave Palmer and Mike Steeves show off some of Shoes collected by the Rotary Club of West Ottawa through support from Shoe Bank Canada and Dymon Storage. These new shoes were distributed to Arnprior & Renfrew Food Banks, and Arnprior's Opportunity Shop and Neighbourhood Link. http://shoebankcanada.org/