Reporter: Tav Macpherson
MC
Jessica Vander Veen started the meeting promptly at 12:15 p.m. She opened by extolling the value of literacy
and the impact that it has on the lifestyle and standard of living of a
society. Standard literacy tests have
been developed worldwide. It appears
that even in an advanced country like Canada, literacy rates are of concern. 22% of adult Canadians are not literate and a
further 23% function at a very basic level.
After
the singing of O’Canada, Cory Burger delivered the invocation.
Guests: welcomed by Jack Petrie
From
Rotaract: Lauren Askew, Jasmine Neville and Ferni Tunde-Oladepo attended. In addition, Stacey Lund, Lindsay Player and
speaker, Kelly Graham (all from PISE) and Sandy Richardson (CEO of the Victoria
Foundation) joined us. It
is always a pleasure to welcome the offspring of club members and Janna Malo introduced
baby Garon and Alexander Evanchuk came along with Heather Aked.
Announcements:
- Mary Canty – the health of the club is good although Renate Gibbs is recovering from foot surgery.
- Heather Aked reminded us of DLTA to be held in Centralia on 27-28th March. She also reminded us of the 31st March club meeting at which we visit Disaster Aid and then adjourn to Spinnakers for lunch.
- Peter Lawrie gave a reminder of the International Committee meeting.
Guest Speaker:
Neil
Rawnsley introduced our guest speaker, Kelly Graham from the Pacific Institute
for Sports Excellence (PISE). Last year
our club contributed $20,000 of the proceeds from the car raffle to The Adaptive
Physical Literacy Program which is administered by PISE. The Victoria Foundation generously matched
our donation.
Kelly
Graham is the Physical Literacy Co-ordinator at PISE. She organizes 41 physical literacy classes
across Victoria and has 23 leaders working with about 700 children. Kelly holds a Bachelors degree in sport and
fitness leadership and has an impressive list of programs in which she has been
involved.
Kelly spoke of the Adaptive Physical Literacy program. Setting the scene, she indicated that society has changed in recent years and children are not getting adequate physical activity. Because "screen" time is increasing drastically, only 9% of boys and 4% of girls in Canada are meeting the guidelines for daily activity (60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical exercise). Unstructured play is becoming extinct and walking to school and playing in the park are examples of activities that are disappearing. The result is seen in poor health, both physical and mental, in our children. Obesity, diabetes and diminished bone density are just a few of the indicators.
Physical
Literacy is the development of fundamental movement skills such as running,
jumping, throwing, catching and kicking. All these skills are important not only in
sports and games but also in every-day living.
Confidence and competence makes every day living far more enjoyable.
PISE has a commitment to providing physical literacy programs to those who might not otherwise have access to them including vulnerable youth, children and teens with disabilities, aboriginal youth and low-income families. These groups often face barriers. Finances may be a problem but also a lack of information and input are adversities. Schools rarely have the resources to teach physical education to the physically and mentally challenged and many programs are not user-friendly to them. A high degree of creativity and empathy is required in establishing programs.
PISE’s vision is to be recognized as a passionate and innovative leader contributing to sport and physical excellence in Canada. The program leaders start with a “yes” in mind when they are faced with a challenge and understand that they need to accommodate unique situations. There are four unique programs for children with disabilities.
- I CAN have physical literacy, a partnership with the Canucks Autism Network, in which a number of different visual aids have been developed to held non-verbal participants
- Community Connections, a partnership with Community Living Victoria.
- Power Play also with Community Living Victoria
- Early Childhood Intervention, in partnership with the Queen Alexandra Centre. For further information, visit www.piseworld.com
Kelly
concluded by thanking the Rotary Club of Oak Bay and the Victoria Foundation
for their financial support and for the opportunity to inform us of the
incredible work performed by PISE and the leaders who help youth gain physical
literacy.
There
was a question period followed by Heather Aked’s eloquent thanks to Kelly
Graham on behalf of all those in attendance.
Lorna
Curtis reported on the Rotary Car raffle.
Nine of the 11 local clubs have agreed to participate this year. Thrifty Foods is offering incredible support by providing the vehicle, a Nissan Rogue, and assisting with the banners and marketing. The Victoria Foundation has agreed to partner in the program and the aim is to raise funds to form a collaborative network with other charities for the distribution of food items that would otherwise go to waste. Lorna called for volunteers to administer the Car raffle.
MC
Jessican Vander Veen closed the meeting after the singing of “God Save the
Queen”.(Editor's note - Dr. Perry Bamji provided the following report of events that happened during the week: As part of its on-going commitment to support the local community, the Rotary Club of Oak Bay recently donated $3,000 to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation towards purchasing a Blood Pressure Monitor for the Pacemaker Clinic at the Royal Jubilee Hospital.
 |
| Heather Aked presenting cheque to Ms melanie Mahlman, Executive director of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation |
An automatic blood pressure machine takes a patient’s blood pressure at scheduled intervals. Special features of this essential equipment include a heart rate monitor and a finger clip to measure blood oxygen content. This equipment ensures cardiac patients are closely monitored automatically and enables nurses to continue other duties and support other patients.)
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