When Rafael was just 7 years old, his family moved from the Philippines to Canada. They landed in Edmonton and Rafael started Grade 2 in September at McKee Elementary only knowing a few words of English. He struggled to keep up in class, and his reading and writing skills were understandably well below his grade level. He didn’t have any friends; kids in his class would make fun of him because he couldn’t understand them, and often he would sit … Continue reading
The excitement in the air was palpable. It was early in the morning on Saturday, February 18th and we expected our kids to still be struggling to keep their sleepiness at bay. It turns out that if you give them something as unique as a floor hockey camp with a famous former Edmonton Oiler sleep doesn’t really matter so much. That day, 60 kids between the ages of 9 and 13 from across our after school clubs, including a few … Continue reading
We spend a lot of time talking about the importance of our 3,000 volunteers, and rightly so. They are the ones on the ground spending time with kids and youth and their families to make a positive difference in our community. We are so proud of each and every volunteer and we truly cherish the work they do. So, it’s easy to see why sometimes we forget to share the stories about our team of staff members. Our staff are … Continue reading
Tommy has been attending our West Club for over a year and our staff quickly learned that he was having some trouble in school. One day his mom came into the Club to specifically ask that we help him with his reading and spelling. Our Olivia, a Club staff member, was able to sit down with him every day the week before his upcoming spelling test and help him practice. The following week, Tommy came into the Club, grinning from … Continue reading
November 6 was a special day for 100 of our community’s kids. For the first time anywhere in Canada, the Rotary Club of Edmonton West gave the gift of the holiday season to children in need of warm clothing. Boys & Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters partnered with four inner city Edmonton elementary schools to identify 25 kids from each school who could benefit from a shopping spree at Old Navy. We picked them up by bus at their … Continue reading
