The Rotary Club of North Renfrew was Chartered in May 2006 and has had a maximum membership of 22 but currently has 18 very active members. Their Participation score is well over 100% and often topped the district’s list of clubs. This Rotary Club is certainly an example of what all Rotary Clubs a striving to be.
There is only so much space, so maybe a list of ongoing successes maybe be the most word efficient why of highlighting this club.
  • 44% of their current membership are female.
  • Youth Exchange program since 2006
  • Interact program, very active with approximately 50 students.
  • Earlyact Club was started in the fall of 2013 with about 12 members.
  • Since 2006 the Club has been successful in receiving 7 District Simplified Grants and 1 Matching Grant for a total of about $36,947.
  • Since 2006 the members have contributed $29,988 USD to the Rotary Foundation
  • The Club supports many Community Projects and Events
    • North Renfrew Family Services
    • Canada Day celebrations
    • Rhubarb Lunch
    • Book Tree Project
    • Deep River Community Woods Project
So what is new for the Club?
In any effort to revitalize and focus the Club around an issue most members could support a new committee was formed, Environmental Working Group, which will look at a wide range of issues. An initial activity is a Community Waste Reduction Challenge and Reuse/Exchange Day (April or May 2015 ), both part of a broad Community Education Plan.
 
Another new committee is exploring the possibility of initiating a housing project for senior residents of the area. They are currently looking for possible building sites.
 
 
So what are the Challenges, for a club that is so successful?
Well it is the same problem of many clubs in our district. The Rotary Club of North Renfrew needs to attract new members and work on ways to prevent member burnout. In the short term they partner with local groups to provide people power and use their success Interact Program to their advantage. But to some extent their success hinders the effort to solve their membership problem.
 
A quote from the Club’s Publicity, Communication and Membership Committee:
“ Because of our high visibility in the community, there is a common perception that our members must either work too hard or that the club already must have 50 or more members or so to achieve everything we do, so no more members are needed. “