Thunder Bay charities celebrate Rotary Club support
The Fort William Rotary Club is celebrating another year of generosity after donating more than $580,000 to the community in 2025.
Representatives from charities across the city met Wednesday at the brand-new Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA) gathering hall to recognize the Rotary’s contributions. The RFDA received $100,000 from the Rotary last year to assist in renovations.
“We have over 20 charities that we give to year over year,” said Rotary President Stephen Margarit. “It’s so great reading about the projects we helped to fund. We’re a small organization of just over 40 people, so to be able to make that huge impact in our community reflects the great work we do.”
The event doubled as a 40th anniversary celebration for the Rotary’s 50/50 House Lottery, one of the club’s largest fundraising initiatives.
Margarit wouldn’t give away exactly what’s in store, but the Rotary plans to announce “something special” in the coming weeks to honour 40 years of the lottery. Last year, the winner received a 1,360 sq. ft. home at Bruin Crescent. There are a total of $50,000 in Early Bird prizes up for grabs this year.
“The Fort William Rotary Club has a long history of giving back in our community, and it’s not just about those big cheques. Us Rotarians are out in the community, we’re volunteering at a lot of these organizations, and we see firsthand where a lot of the money goes,” Margarit said.
A complete list of 2025 charity contributions made by the Fort William Rotary Club:
| • 70th Thunder Bay Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron – $20,000 • Camp Quality Canada – $16,000 • Children’s Aid Society of the District of Thunder Bay – $8,000 • Conseil Scolaire de District Catholique des Aurores Boréales – $500 • Dayna Elizabeth Karle (DEK) Addiction Recovery Foundation – $7,600 • Easter Seals Canada – 5,000 • Evergreen: A United Neighbourhood – $2,500 • George Jeffrey Children’s Foundation – $53,400 • Hospice Northwest – $6,520 • Lakehead District School Board Scholarship Fund – $2,000 • Lakehead Festival of Music and the Arts – $12,500 | • Northern Nishnawbe Education Council – $500 • Our Kids Count Thunder Bay Inc: – $50,000 • Regional Food Distribution Association of Northwestern Ontario – $100,000 • St. Joseph’s Foundation of Thunder Bay – $76,788 • The Salvation Army Thunder Bay – $10,000 • Thunder Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club – $25,000 • Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board Awards Trust Fund – $1,000 • Thunder Bay Christmas Cheer Fund – $10,000 • Thunder Bay Emergency Shelter Inc. – $75,000 • Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Foundation – $134,180 • Wilderness Discovery Centre – $10,000 |
“I’m in awe of the amount of money that they’re giving to us,” said RFDA Board Chair June Gaw. “It’s helping us so much in our project, we couldn’t do it without them. Thank you so much, Rotary.”
In addition to their new gathering space, the RFDA also launched a community training kitchen to provide food banks across Thunder Bay with professional facilities for educational cooking classes, community meals and food rescue initiatives.
“The Fort William Rotary is just a group of individuals from all walks of life and all ages that get together to do community work,” said Rotary Chair of Community Service Nancy Patterson. “It’s good to know you’re making a small dent in the vast needs of our community.”
Wednesday’s event was also a good networking opportunity for the various charities partnering with the Rotary.
“This night is just for everyone to get to know each other and see what the other charities are doing, what the money is being used for that we’re giving to them, and just to celebrate partnerships. It’s just great to be a part of Rotary and to be able to help in any way that I can,” said Rotary member Laurie Etter.
