COMMUNITY
When you join Rotary to give back to your community and world you can bring a cause you and others may support.
That's how Rotary Club of Ladner and Rotary International have made such a positive impact on so many near and far for a better world.
Here are some examples of Ladner Rotary's impact started by our members and achieved with the volunteer and financial resources of Rotary.
Rotarians put their motto “Unite for Good” into action every day here in Ladner and Delta and in every part of the world, generously contributing time and talents to help others. Rotary Club of Ladner members are People of Action. We carry out humanitarian community service projects, often with the generous support of local residents, businesses, City of Delta and other organizations, that address local needs, such as food for families in need, youth leadership and service opportunities, parks and recreation and support for neurodiverse people and their families.
How valuable is this type of volunteerism? A special report prepared for Rotary International by the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, using an internationally sanctioned definition of volunteer work, has estimated the value of Rotary members' almost 47 million volunteer hours worldwide had an economic impact of US$850 million a year. By the same measure, Rotary's contribution to the Delta community has an economic impact of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
At the Delta Hospital, extended care residents have access to the garden and greenhouse for gardening or visiting, enhanced with volunteer time and funding by Ladner Rotary. Delta Hospital Foundation, in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Ladner and Tsawwassen, installed the Healing Garden in the courtyard of Delta Hospital as a space of quiet beauty for patients, visitors and staff to relax and enjoy the fresh air and scenery, maintained by the South Delta Garden Club. Ladner Rotary members decorate that garden and the main entrance at Christmas time.
Across the street from Delta Hospital and between Delta City Hall and Ladner Leisure Centre is Rotary Park which Ladner Rotary developed with the City of Delta as retreat and recreation area with trees, lawn, large pond and walking path. In summer months, children and families, including those using the REACH Children and Youth Development Society facility next door, enjoy the Ladner Rotary Splash Park developed with the City of Delta, which maintains both parks.
At Delta Secondary School, the 50 or more students give back to our community and world through service projects as members of the Ladner Rotary sponsored Interact Club focused on humanitarian service here in our community and abroad, such as food drives, clothing drives, sports equipment for youth teams. Ladner Rotary also sponsors a food pantry for students from families needing a hand up with food they can take home for the weekend.
For Youth, Ladner Rotary sponsors scholarships for graduating students, sponsors one or two students to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Award weekend retreat in Spring with others from various communities in the province to learn leadership skills and more about themselves and sponsors a student to attend Rotary's Adventures in Citizenship in Ottawa to learn more about the purpose and operations of our federal government.
Thanks to local residents and businesses who participate in some of Ladner Rotary's fundraisers, we contribute to the South Delta Food Bank and the collection for, and distribution of, Deltassist's Christmas food hampers to families and individuals in need.
