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Valentine’s weekend saw the culmination of the Rotary Club of Grimsby’s newest fundraising effort,  and a significant pivot in this time of COVID restrictions. Donate and Dine – This Valentine was a great success, garnering over $10,000 in gross receipts for the club over a span of 18 days of club members’ efforts.Using a virtual platform, the fundraiser included an online silent auction website, a take-out dinner component, and an opportunity to donate to local or Foundation efforts. Community members were encouraged to pre-order either a Lobster Roll/Clam Chowder dinner or a Full Rack of Ribs dinner online and use curbside pick-up the evening of February 13th to enjoy Valentine’s dinner with their loved ones, families, and partners. The instant notification function on the virtual auction site made bidding almost as much fun as at an in-person silent auction. The promotion was primarily via word of mouth, donated mobile signs, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to keep costs down and generate an on-going virtual sense of excitement. | ||
Pictured right is the curbside pickup with Rotarians directing traffic into the multiple food/auction item pick-up
lanes and bringing orders out to the cars. All activities respected social distancing, and everyone was masked at all times.
lanes and bringing orders out to the cars. All activities respected social distancing, and everyone was masked at all times.The next event is another pivot for The Rotary Club of Grimsby, a special edition of the Rotary Speaker Series on March 8th, International Women’s Day. This event supporting Rotary’s vocational focus will involve a virt
ual lunch-time session with Ms. Mariek Schmidt, who is a participating scientist with the NASA Perseverance Mars rover mission that landed in the red planet’s Jezoro Crater on February 18th. The Brock University earth sciences professor will be speaking virtually with secondary school and middle-school students in the West Niagara area about the NASA mission, her part in the efforts to search for signs of ancient life millions of miles away and encouraging the participation of young women and girls in STEM vocations.