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Organizer Jim Dawson, co-chair of D7090's Honouring Indigenous Peoples Committee, calls it a Rotary relay - the cost of shipping instruments to a remote community is very high (quoted at $3500 ) so when a large amount of instruments were donated to Pikangikum from the Joe Chithalen Memorial lending Library in Kingston, Rotary got to work. In the first leg Jim Dawson of Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise picked up the instruments, which included a cello, three guitars, two violins, 3 guitar amplifiers and a basket of percussion instruments, and drove them to Port Dover, packed them in shipping boxes and took them to Welland, Ontario.Welland Rotary member Brad Wood had a friend down from Thunder Bay so some of the instruments- the cello and large amp went with Mary Druize as she went home to Thunder Bay.
That’s when Dryden Rotary President Patty Vann got in the act and indicated she and her club could help get the instruments from Dryden to Red Lake where Superior Airways offered to fly -in the instruments when there is room on their flights.
Patty's Rotary club put out the need for transport and a friend of a Rotarian was able to pick up the cello and amp from Thunder Bay on the way back from southern Ontario. Meanwhile, NOTL Rotary HIP member Kent McDonald called his old firm of Canpar Courier and they offered to ship the two large boxes of guitars and violins to Dryden. Another Rotarian who is going up to Ref a hockey game in Red Lake offered to take the cello and a large amp to Red Lake. Another Rotarian, who is connected with EMCON Road Maintenance contractors offered to transport the two large boxes to Red Lake.
The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise has been helping the Pikangikum Music program for 8 years and Music teacher Morris Ellington is thrilled to have the new instruments so that he can have instruments for students to take home with them for practice and development. This has been very helpful to students especially during COVID periods where the school was shut down.