Caring People Serving Locally and Impacting Globally Through Partnerships, Friendship, and Fun
Wednesdays at 7:30 AM
Meetings at Coal Harbour Community Centre are paused at present during the pandemic.
480 Broughton St
Vancouver, BC Canada
WE ARE CURRENTLY HOLDING MEETINGS ONLINE THROUGH ZOOM EVERY WEEK. PLEASE CONTACT OUR CLUB PRESIDENT FOR DETAILS. WE WILL RETURN TO THE COAL HARBOUR COMMUNITY CENTRE ON JANUARY 11, 2023.
Our Walk to Help Future Generations Walk Polio-Free
On a rainy October 24th evening, a hardy group of 75 Rotarians, family members and friends donned their Gortex jackets and red regalia to celebrate and raise awareness about Rotary International's End Polio Now Campaign.
The Polio Proclamation was signed at City Hall by Councillor Peter Fry, acting on behalf of the newly elected City Council. He was joined by Lisa Dominato and representatives from each of Vancouver's Rotary Clubs, as well as District Governor John Berry, Assistant Governor Mary Anne Velayo and area club presidents.
The proclamation was followed by the Walk for Polio, with two groups meeting at Science World - one from downtown and one from City Hall. Reminder - You can make your annual Polio Plus donation here through the website that was set up
You can still make your annual Polio Plus donation or help the cause by donating through AG Mary Ann Velayo's donation site set up for the October 24th walk here:
Strathcona Interact President Eva Yeung was our guest speaker at our August 18th meeting, bringing us an account of the many activities and accomplishments of the club.
Strathcona is a community-based, as opposed to a school-based interact club. All members have a connection to the Strathcona community and wanted to give back. While some attend Britannia Secondary, others grew up there and live or attend school elsewhere.
They are a small but mighty young team whose first-year accomplishments reflect the power of a few creative and dedicated people to make a big difference. In 2020-21, they:
Partnered with Vancouver Chinatown Foundation to create Covid-19 Experience Stories for the Chinatown story-telling centre.
Organized a Holiday Craft event where they taught local day camp kids the importance of giving during the season. They were able to deliver this event successfully following Covid-19 restrictions (pictured above).
Raised funds to produce 48 wellness packages to local seniors at the May Wah Hotel that houses low-income residents and seniors. Each package involved supplies such as dental hygiene, socks, masks, and hand-written cards from the Interact members.
Hosted a Financial Literacy workshop for members and other youth on basic banking.
Their goals for the 2021-22 year include increasing the membership and diversity of the club and working on several projects, including a sustainability project to educate local youth on invasive plants and an international project to build and deliver 100 kits with school supplies to kids in need.
Currently, the Strathcona Interactors are working on two fundraisers: a Bottle Drive and an Art Auction. President Ed and our (new) fundraising team will be following up to explore how we could support or partner with their members on these two initiatives and possibly other service projects.
Former club member and fellow Rotarian Ted MacCormac joined us on August 4th to share his advice and experience on tax and estate planning.
Ted walked through the most popular topics (FAQs) and services sought by his accounting clients which include the capital gains inclusion rate, taxation of different types of investments, estate planning, tax treatment of foreign property, and more general business tips.
Ted's top tips for estate planning include:
Keep it simple
Be aware of the BC Wills Variation Act
Donation bequests can be carried back from the Estate to the final personal income tax return
Assets at the date of death go to a testamentary trust until they are distributed
The testamentary trust does not have exemptions like the personal income tax return has, but it does have marginal rates for three years
Thanks very much to Ted for making this special guest appearance and for walking through these scenarios with us. It was a great reminder not to put off until tomorrow what you can do today!
As our newest member, Antonio delivered his classification talk to our Rotary Club on August 25th. He was born in Veracruz, Mexico and his parents are both professionals who still reside in Mexico. Antonio has a degree in accounting as well as an MBA. He is currently doing further studies. These facts we learned early in his presentation. The rest involved a romantic tale behind how he and his wife came to be living in Vancouver.
At the age of 15, and about to be sent to military school due to his spirited behaviour and poor grades, he negotiated a last-chance deal with his father. His father would pay for a 6-month trip to Vancouver if he improved his behaviour and grades, which he in fact did. Antonio loved Vancouver so much, he promised himself he would return to live here one day.
About 15 years later, he was about to fulfill his dream of moving to Vancouver. The timing coincided with the end of one serious but difficult relationship and the commencement of a new exciting one. In the end, the new woman in his life decided to stay in Mexico. Heartbroken, he made the trip on his own. However, shortly after arriving here, he had a dream that involved a woman, a baby and a tall building with a tree on top. Soon after, he learned that his original girlfriend was pregnant, so he decided to return to Mexico to fulfill his responsibilities and spent the subsequent years parenting and building his career.
Fast forward another 15 years, he now lives in Vancouver with his wife (the woman who decided to stay in Mexico 15 years ago) and they look forward to his son joining them in the coming months. Along the way in this journey, Antonio discovered the building with a tree in his dream was Eugenia Place on Beach Avenue in the West End (pictured above). Thank you Antonio for the reminder of the power of dreams and second chances!
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