Rotary Clubs of Kitchener - Waterloo
Proudly serving the community for over 100 years.
What is Rotary in Kitchener-Waterloo?
With five clubs to choose from, it may be hard to differentiate between them. However, each of our clubs focus on different charities, support different events and have different meeting times.
For our Kitchener Club, we meet at noon on the first and fourth Monday of each month. Our focus is on the charities of KidsAbility, and African Women’s Education Fund, as well as international projects. Some of our fundraising events include the Car Lottery, 50/50 Lottery, and Rotary Online Auction.
Our Kitchener-Conestoga Club meets at noon on every Friday. Our focus is on the local House of Friendship charity, supporting grants for St Mary’s Hospital, and Grand River Hospital, as well as other community organizations and numerous International projects. Some of our fundraising events include the Turkey Drive, Lobsterfest & Ribfest, and the 50/50 Lottery.
Our Grand River Club meets at 7:30 AM on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Our focus is on the charities of KidsAbility, Nicaragua Health Care Fund, Pride Stables, Send’em Off Smiling, and Nutrition4Learning. Some of our fundraising events include the MudPuppy Chase Family Race, Skate48, and the 50/50 Lottery.
Our Westmount Club meets every Wednesday at noon. Our focus is on the KidsAbility charity, as well as securing grants for the Grand River Hospital, and the Hospice of Waterloo. Some of our fundraising events include Canada Proud, and the 50/50 Lottery.
Our Waterloo Club meet at 6:00 PM on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Our focus is on the charities of KidsAbility, and Supportive Housing of Waterloo. Some of our fundraising events include Golf “Fore” KidsAbility, the 50/50 Lottery, and the Annual Citrus Fruit Sale.
Established in 1922, Kitchener Rotary was the first Rotary Club established in Kitchener-Waterloo. Kitchener Rotary is an engaged community leader that supports the work of Rotary around the globe with a local, city core focus on community, families, and children in need. The efforts of Rotarians led to the establishment of the Rotary Children’s Centre in 1957 – renamed KidsAbility in 2003. We were the first club in Kitchener-Waterloo to support the inclusion of women in Rotary and co-founded the Rotary African Women’s Education Fund.
Meeting time: The first Monday of any month at 12:00 PM and the fourth Monday of the same month, in the evening
Key events: Car Lottery, Rotary Online Auction
Key charities and causes: KidsAbility, African Women’s Education Fund, International projects
The Club was founded in 1971 with the purpose of expressing the objectives of Rotary, by supporting local community causes and international projects – a direction that continues to this day. Over the 50 years our club has existed we have been actively involved in numerous fund-raising campaigns to support our charitable projects, distributing over $14 million in total with over $3 million directed to international projects. The Dream Home Lottery raised millions of dollars over its 30 year life to help make a difference for many local agencies and our hospitals. Turkey Drive raises nearly $400,000 a year to support House of Friendship and other agencies at Christmas. And Lobsterfest has been the primary fund-raiser for our international projects. Of course, all this is done through wonderful fellowship and fun, both at our weekly meetings and the many social events throughout the year.
Mission: Help women and children in health and education both in our local community and internationally
Meeting time: Fridays at 12:00 PM
Key events: Turkey Drive, Lobsterfest
Key charities and causes: House of Friendship, St Mary’s Hospital, Grand River Hospital, other community organizations and numerous International projects
Kitchener Grand River Rotary is a breakfast club in Kitchener-Waterloo. We are a diverse and engaged community organization dedicated to supporting children, youth and future leaders. Kitchener Grand River Rotary is the organizer of two major community fundraising events: Skate48 Charity Hockey Challenge and Mudpuppy Chase Family Race, in support of local charities and international humanitarian projects. For details on these and other initiatives, please visit our website.
Meeting time:The second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:30 AM
Key events:MudPuppy Chase Family Race, Skate48
Key charities and causes: KidsAbility, African Women’s Education Fund, International projects
In March 1981 members from the three existing local Rotary clubs in our Region came together and formed the Rotary Club of Kitchener Westmount. Seven original members from the Rotary Club of Kitchener, the Rotary Club of Kitchener Conestoga, and the Rotary Club of Waterloo gathered another 31 and with a total of 40 members were chartered as the Rotary Club of Kitchener Westmount. The Kitchener Westmount Rotary Club is making positive changes in our community and the world. Our members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship, connecting a diverse group who share a drive to give back.
Mission: Service Above Self.
Meeting time:Wednesdays at 12:00 PM
Key events: Canada Proud
Key charities and causes: KidsAbility, Grand River Hospital, Hospice of Waterloo
The Rotary Club of Waterloo was founded in 1963 and has been built upon the loyalty and hard work of dedicated and positive members and friends. The strong track record won by its faithful and hardworking contributors has led to many endeavors and successes in its history. We support and contribute too many community initiatives and proudly support KidsAbility, Supportive Housing of Waterloo and many other local not for profit agencies. We run many fundraising events within our community including the Mayor’s State of the City Breakfast, our Golf4KidsAbility tournament and our Citrus Fruit sale. Our goal as Rotarians is to support our community locally as well as participating in Rotary International humanitarian projects.
Mission: Service Above Self.
Meeting time: Wednesdays at 12:00 PM
Key events: Golf “Fore” KidsAbility, Annual Citrus Fruit Sale
Key charities and causes: KidsAbility, Supportive Housing of Waterloo
One of Rotary’s initiatives is to connect passionate people with diverse perspectives to exchange ideas, forge lifelong friendships, and, above all, take action to change the world. The five Clubs in Kitchener-Waterloo are coming together to connect in the community through acts of service.
Our Supporters and Events
Leadership Waterloo Region is in the people business.
LWR is a charity dedicated to leadership development across the diverse spectrum of talent that makes up Waterloo Region. They envision a community that is vibrant, resilient and inclusive of leaders from all walks of life, experience and passions, and strive to empower and equip those leaders with the tools they need to make their mark Waterloo Region in meaningful ways.
Over 480 Core Program graduates are out in our community making an impact on over 400 committees and boards. In short, LWR leaders are not only positioned to bring ideas forward, but they are equipped to bring the community together to actually make change a reality.
Why is this important when there are so many challenges facing our community, like affordable housing, mental health, food insecurity? If you ask LWR’s CEO, Diane Wiles, she agrees but adds, “there are a number of issues that need time, care and resources. But who, if not leaders like those from LWR will step up and commit the time and those resources to tackle them?”
LWR works to ensure the long-term vitality of our great community. They engage facilitators to speak on relevant topics that are critical at times of need, and also for those times when we need to sit back, reflect and stretch ourselves about what we think we know.
It’s easy to see how LWR aligns with Rotary’s vision to build communities where its citizens thrive and are connected to each other through service. If you’d like to learn more about LWR, Diane would love to buy you a cup of coffee!The Ongoing Sensory Garden Project at KidsAbility
Our 5 Clubs came together on October 23rd, 2021 to complete the first step of this project!
On June 18th, a sunny Spring morning in 2022, Rotarians from the five local clubs (Kitchener, Waterloo, Kitchener-Westmount, Kitchener-Conestoga and Kitchener Grand River) came together armed with garden gloves, shovels, rakes, garbage bags, knee pads, wheel barrels, a big mountain of mulch donated by Moser Landscaping and an extra dose of goodwill to clean up the Sensory Garden at KidsAbility, an organization that supports over 9,000 children and youth to reach their communication, social, physical and behaviour goals each year.
This garden provides an environment designed with the purpose of stimulating the senses by the use of plants and materials that engage the senses of sight, smell, touch, taste and sound. The children and youth who experience this garden are also invited to assist with planting various species that they can watch grow and mature to their full capacity – much like the journey they are on at KidsAbility.
Please click HERE to view a video of our local Rotary People of Action having fun and making a difference in our community!
