The Rotary Club of Belleville received its Charter (dated April 1, 1920) on Saturday, April 3, 1920. It was identified as Club 645 in District 4. We are now in District 7070. The Club's sponsor was represented by 22 members of the Rotary Club of Toronto, who travelled to Belleville by private railway car for this express purpose. They were entertained with motor car trips around the city, a reception at the Belleville Club, and the Charter Dinner and Banquet at the Hotel Quinte.Karen Baker
A Warm Hello to My Fellow Rotarians
The Rotary Club of Belleville is celebrating its 105th anniversary in 2025. Since its founding, its members have provided countless dollars and labour to humanitarian projects locally, nationally, and globally. Our Club is part of the larger organization, Rotary International, and our projects over the years have supported efforts covering Rotary International’s Seven Areas of Focus:
- Disease prevention and treatment
- Water, sanitation, and hygiene
- Maternal and child health
- Basic education and literacy
- Community economic development
- Environment
- Peacebuilding and conflict prevention
Along with more than 1.4 million Rotarians worldwide, we have raised money and toiled together to support projects in all of these areas, helping to make life better for people we may never meet or who could be your neighbours. We have enjoyed camaraderie with your fellow Club members, volunteers, and benefactors while having a Positive Impact on the world. We should all be proud of these achievements!
This year’s Rotary theme, The Magic of Rotary, came to RI President Stephanie Urchick when she was installing water filters in the Dominican Republic. Young boys were watching as dirty water going into the sand filter came out clean. Their response was, “Show me the magic again.” Something we take for granted was magical in the eyes of these boys, who had not seen clean water before. The impact of this small device was huge – less disease, better crops, improved school attendance and much more.
Over the next Rotary year, I hope that you will join me and your fellow Rotarians as we continue to make a Positive Impact while sharing The Magic of Rotary.
There are exciting things ahead:
- On Friday, July 12th, we will be parking cars for the Waterfront Festival. This event is a great way to interact with the local community while having some fun with your fellow Rotarians.
- The same weekend sees the Empire Rockfest, during which Belleville Rotarians will sort and return cans from the weekend. The proceeds from the returns will go into our Bottle Drive revenue. Remember, you can also contribute to the Bottle Drive program by returning your bottles and donating the money received to the Club. If you want the Club to return the bottles for you, we can arrange that as well.
- July 26th sees the 23rd edition of the RLK Golf Tournament and a return to Party in the Square at the George Zegouras Market Square. Believe it or not, the first RLK tournament was held in 2003-2004, my initial term as Club President.
- On September 28th, we will celebrate the always successful Porchfest in the Old East Hill area of Belleville. If you have never been to this event, you are missing a wonderful display of Belleville's musical talents.
- Also in September is the Fall Fun Fest at Zwick’s Park, affectionately known as Touch-a-Truck. If you have never been, you are missing an event where adults become children again and are fascinated by the array of big rigs that come down to the Park to share their vehicles with the public. And yes, the little ones get to sit in the vehicles and ring a bell or blow a horn as well!
In other news, we will be continuing with our Refresh Rotary initiative, and you can expect to see some more changes to the Club as we progress through the ideas you shared with us at our brainstorming session over a year ago.
If you are looking for an opportunity to help in planning future events and programs, the Board of Directors have approved a return to the Rotary Youth Exchange program. Your input and ideas will be appreciated. Kim McKinney is taking the lead on this. We are also looking at new fundraising initiatives, so if you have an idea, please bring it forward. You can contact Directors Collin Myers or Heather Hall with your ideas. If you know of someone who might be interested in joining our great Club, please let us know. Perhaps it is a colleague at work (or play) or someone new to the community.
As we begin our 105th year, please join me in encouraging all members to get out and help our Club make a Positive Impact, and in the process, you too can experience The Magic of Rotary.
