Grant Application is Now Closed
 
Please note that applications for Rotary 1918 Community Service Grants are now closed.
(October 31, 2022)
 
Please check back in late Summer/ Fall 2023
 
The Foundation Fund is the heart of the club. It is the financial source for all of the club's charitable works and enables its members to make a difference in our community and around the world.
 

LOCALLY: OUR FOCUS IS HELPING CHILDREN

Rotary Club of Windsor Foundation Fund has been a large contributor to many local charities. Over the years, we’ve determined top priorities for service projects by first learning about what the needs of Windsor-Essex County were, and then developing responses that addressed those needs. Below are some examples of how our Foundation has been an integral part in helping our community:
 
EASTER SEALS
Rotary Club of Windsor (1918), along with 6 other Rotary Clubs from Ontario, joined in 1922 to address the lack of resources and support for children with physical disabilities. Easter Seals, then called Ontario Society for Crippled Children, was created to see that children received the treatment they needed and to inform the public about children’s health to prevent the spread of disease. Over many decades, our Rotary Club has raised several million dollars to assist Easter Seals children and their families.
 
THE JOHN MCGIVNEY CENTRE
The John McGivney Children’s Centre provides specialized rehabilitation, education, child care and support services to the Windsor-Essex County community, enriching the lives of children and youth with special needs. From 2015 to 2016 more than 2,800 individuals received service from JMCC’s programs
 
“For over forty years the Rotary Club of Windsor (1918) has been actively involved with our Centre. In November of 1965 the Club commenced planning under the leadership of Rotarian Mr. John McGivney for a new facility providing integrated services for children with disabilities. The Children’s Rehabilitation Centre of Essex County opened its doors on June 26th, 1978. The Rotary Club of Windsor (1918) has actively supported our programs, services and equipment needs over the years to ensure that no child goes without service. Again, in 2007 they have come through at a pivotal time of need as the Centre now embarks on a long awaiting building expansion. We must raise $6 million locally to augment the $8 million provided by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services for our expanded facility. The Rotary Club of Windsor (1918) has committed to be our lead donor with a generous pledge of $1 million to our capital fundraising campaign.” – Elaine Whitmore, CEO, John McGivney Centre
 
CHILDREN’S SAFETY VILLAGE
Annually, the Safety Village provides onsite education programs to as many as 10,000 elementary school children. Since opening, they have provided safety programs to more than 87,000 local school children and families who attended their numerous programs and events.
 
MARYVALE ADOLESCENT & FAMILY SERVICES
"The Rotary Club of Windsor (1918) had always been a driving force for good in this community. In 1991 the Club was considering projects for their upcoming 75th anniversary and became aware that there was no local capacity to respond to children who were suicidal or in psychiatric crisis. They determined to resolve this and, in 1994, founded the Rotary Home for Children and Youth on the Maryvale campus. This in turn attracted child psychiatrists, highly trained specialists, to the community and served as the foundation to expand crisis services for families. This facility serves children in Windsor/Essex and Chatham/Kent and is recognized as a ground-breaking success, being the first place in Ontario where hospital beds for children are located within an established children’s mental health centre. Kids coming out of this program give these comments: ‘I don’t feel like I want to die’, ‘the place was very calm and the staff respected me’ and ‘I know some other ways to handle my feelings now that won’t hurt me’.” – Connie Martin, CEO, Maryvale
 
ESSEX KENT JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION
Essex Kent Junior Golf Association, then known as Essex Kent Boys Golf Tournament, was established in 1928. It is one of the longest running junior tournaments in North America and provides junior golfers an opportunity to learn about the sport, free of charge, and to develop lifelong skills and appreciation. Each year, the winner is awarded with the “Harry Neal Trophy”, Harry Neil being the first president and founder of the Rotary Club of Windsor (1918), and also the founder of the Golf Association.
 
COMMUNITY SERVICE GRANTS
The Rotary Club of Windsor (1918) Community Service Grants program was established to have a more direct positive impact in the local community. Since 2013, we’ve distributed over $300,000 to local organizations. As one example, we provided funds to the Salvation Army to expand their community meal program, where hundreds of people who suffer from homelessness and other issues can get a warm meal:
 
“For over 20 plus years, we’ve been doing a soup kitchen during the cold weather. This year, we decided to do a couple of full meals instead of just a soup kitchen, and the reception to it has been fantastic, and the need is just proven by the number that shows up [.…] The Rotary Club of Windsor (1918) has given us a $5,000 grant to start us up, and we’re grateful for that.” Major Paul Rideout, Assistant Executive Director of the Salvation Army
 

 

INTERNATIONALLY: IMPROVING LIVES

The Foundation Fund has also helped to significantly improve the lives of children and their families internationally. From drilling wells so tens of thousands of people have access to clean water, to supplying Mosquito nets in Africa to prevent Malaria, providing eyesight and building several schools, among many other initiatives, our foundation has had a tremendous global impact. Here are just a few projects our Foundation has been a part of:
 
ROTARY CLUB’S “MISSION FOR VISION”
The Rotary Eye Institute was established in 1977 in Gujarat, India to help service the high volume of those suffering from visual impairment. The Rotary Club of Windsor Foundation Fund helped by providing funds to improve outdated equipment and modernize operating rooms. “With new technology, you can do a normal eye operation in 10 minutes. With laser you can do it two minutes […] I saw in India, in my own home town, people who cannot work because they are blind. If you give sight to a person, he has an income stream for the rest of his productive life” said Windsor Rotarian Dr. Hasu Naik. Dr. Naik went on to lead a Rotary team in Nigeria, performing over 2000 eye surgeries and restoring their sight. “Miracles were a daily occurrence. When their dressings were open, the patients started seeing everything. They were jumping for joy”, says Dr. Naik. “I am not a millionaire. I could not do this work without Rotary”.
 
WATER IS LIFE – OUR PROJECTS IN GHANA, WEST AFRICA
Humans cannot live without water, and yet many must either travel several kilometers daily to a far-away village to draw water or get it from ditches or ponds, which quite oftentimes carry waterborne disease, such as: cholera, typhoid and dysentery. The solution is to drill wells in villages to provide clean water. Through our Foundation, we have provided wells in more than 30 villages in Ghana, and yet still have many more villages requiring our help. As of 2018, each well with a hand pump costs an average of $6,000 to install. Windsor Rotarian Dr. Bacheyie says that “wells have reduced sickness and disease and have improved life expectancy. They have enabled more children to stay in school, as they no longer have to take time off school to go search for water”.
 
SUPPORT FOR ORPHANAGE - GHANA
The Sisters in a convent in Jirapa, Ghana, established an orphanage many years ago. Windsor Rotarian Dr. Godfrey Bacheyie and our Foundation have assisted in recent years with funding for infrastructure, supplies and food for the children (between 16 and 24 at any given time).
 
MOSQUITO NETS: HELPING TO PREVENT MALARIA
Night-time mosquitoes infect more than 200 million people internationally per year with Malaria, and results in more than 500,000 deaths annually. Many of those infected are young children and pregnant women. Large Mosquito nets to sleep under, embedded with chemicals in the fibers, are the only answer for many. Our Club has purchased and distributed thousands.
 
 
 
 
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT FOR NEWBORNS - GHANA
In a small rural hospital in Jirapa, Ghana, premature infants were given a substantially better chance of living in 2016, with the establishment of an intensive care unit for newborns. Funds were provided through our foundation and all the incubators and other necessary equipment were donated by Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor. To date, hundreds of children have been given an opportunity to live and grow. Technical respiratory and other training was provided by Rotary for nurses and midwives. This will continue to improve the maternal/child health in the region.
 
OUR PROJECTS IN TANZANIA, EAST AFRICA
Our goal is to improve the social determinant of health for vulnerable populations in Tanzania. The focus is the provision of education sponsorships to orphaned and vulnerable children in Tanzania. Currently, we are providing long-term education sponsorship for over 60 students, from the pre-school age through to university. We are involved in the provision of clean water, agriculture (particularly corn), health care, sports activities and business development. We work collaboratively with the Saidia Agriculture and Social Care Organization (SASCO) an NGO founded and managed by Tanzanians for Tanzanians. SASCO was granted NGO status from the United Republic of Tanzania in September 2011. The Windsor (1918) Legacy Learning Centre is now complete, and we are involved in a Vocational Training Team focused on math education in the elementary schools.
 
Fighting Polio
Rotary International, World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation teamed up to eradicate polio from the world in 1985. At that time, there were approximately 400,000 new reported cases per year. Today, as of June, 2018, there are 11 known cases. A highly infectious disease, polio causes paralysis and is sometimes fatal. For as little as 60 cents (USD) worth of vaccine, a child can be protected against this crippling disease for life. Several members of our Club have participated in National Immunization Days, and have gone in those countries where polio still existed, and have given the vaccine. Our foundation has provided more than $300,000 US dollars in support of this initiative.

 

Want to help? You can donate now to any of the projects our Club is currently working on, or leave a legacy by giving the gift of publicly traded securities.