Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer With Us
You don't have to be a Rotarian to make a difference with us.
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore welcomes friends, family members and community volunteers to join us in many of our hands-on service activities. Fill out form here
Whether you have a few hours to give, want to meet new people, or are simply looking for a meaningful way to help in your community, we'd love to have you join us.
There are many ways to get involved — take a look at the opportunities below and find one that interests you.Ronald McDonald Family Room – St. Catharines
Every Thursday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., members of the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore volunteer at the Ronald McDonald Family Room at the St. Catharines hospital.
Our volunteers help create a warm and welcoming space for new mothers and their families during their time at the hospital. We greet families as they arrive, help them become familiar with the Family Room, and make sure they know where to find refreshments such as coffee, tea, cereal, bagels, muffins and available meals.
We also help keep the Family Room welcoming, organized and well stocked so families have a comfortable place to take a break, have something to eat or drink, and spend a few quiet moments away from the hospital setting.
Sometimes the most meaningful part of the shift is simply being there — offering a friendly face, answering a question or helping a family feel a little more comfortable during an important and sometimes overwhelming time.
For our club, this is a wonderful example of Service Above Self in our own community — a few hours of our time each week can make a meaningful difference for families when they need it most.
Current Volunteer Shift: Thursdays, 2:00–5:00 p.m.
Little Lending Library – Happy Rolphs
Happy Rolph’s Animal Farm stocked with books for visitors of all ages to enjoy.
Club members sign up to take responsibility for the library for one week at a time. During their assigned week, members check the library, add books that have been specially stickered by our Rotary Club, tidy the shelves and remove any inappropriate or unsuitable materials that may have been left in the library.
How often the library needs to be checked and restocked depends on the time of year and how busy Happy Rolph’s is. During popular periods, members may find that additional visits are needed to make sure there is always a good selection of books available.
Although one member is responsible for each scheduled week, all club members are welcome to stop by, check the library or add Rotary-stickered books at any time throughout the year.
It is a simple hands-on project that promotes literacy, encourages the sharing of books and helps our club provide something special for families visiting one of St. Catharines’ favourite community destinations.
Member Responsibility: Sign up for a week, check and tidy the library as needed, remove unsuitable material and keep it stocked with Rotary-stickered books.
Delta Bingo – A Little Time, A Big Impact
Delta Bingo is one of our club's major sources of fundraising revenue, helping provide the funds we use to support projects and organizations throughout our community.
Two club members volunteer together for a two-hour shift, usually from 5:30–7:30 p.m. Our club normally covers two to three shifts each month, with the occasional bonus bingo offered at a different time.
The job is simple. During the shift, volunteers help keep the bingo area welcoming by cleaning tables and gaming machines and assisting bingo players who may have questions by directing them to the appropriate place for help.
And there's a bonus — you have a fellow Rotarian with you! It's a great opportunity to spend a couple of hours chatting with your bingo partner while doing something that generates important funding for our club.
What to Wear
Because we are representing the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore, volunteers are required to wear:
- Club blue and black striped shirt
- Black pants or shorts
- Closed-toe shoes
- name badge
In return for our club providing these volunteer shifts, Delta Bingo provides funding to our club that helps make many of our community projects possible.
Two Rotarians. Two hours. A few tables and machines to clean. A significant contribution to the work our club is able to do.
Member Responsibility: Sign up for a two-hour shift, arrive in the required attire and enjoy some Rotary fellowship with your bingo partner while helping generate funds for our club
Give Blood or Plasma – Help Save a Life
Once a month, members of the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore come together to support Canadian Blood Services through group blood or plasma donations.
Members who are eligible to donate are encouraged to join our monthly group. It's a simple but incredibly meaningful way to serve — and another opportunity to spend time with fellow Rotarians while helping people in need.
Whether you are a regular donor or considering donating for the first time, you are welcome to join us. Donation appointments and eligibility will depend on whether you are giving blood or plasma.
One appointment. One simple act. The opportunity to help save a life.
Member Opportunity: Watch for our monthly blood or plasma donation date and join fellow club members if you are eligible to donate.
Clarice West-Hobbs Contemplative Garden
The Clarice West-Hobbs Contemplative Garden at the St. Catharines hospital is a very special Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore project — and keeping it beautiful is something our members continue to do together.
The garden was created in memory of longtime club member Clarice West Hobbs, fulfilling her dream of creating a beautiful and peaceful space where hospital patients, families, staff and visitors could enjoy a moment of respite.
Monthly Garden Clean-Ups
From spring through fall, our club holds a monthly garden clean-up, usually beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Our Garden Coordinator selects an evening when as many club members and Friends of Rotary as possible can attend. Most of the work involves weeding and general tidying of the garden.
Many hands make light work! With a good group of volunteers, we're usually finished in about an hour.
And the evening doesn't necessarily end when the weeding does. Afterwards, many of us head to a local restaurant or brewery for a drink, something to eat and a little Rotary fellowship.
It's an easy, enjoyable way to spend an hour outdoors, work alongside fellow Rotarians and Friends of Rotary, and help maintain a beautiful space that our club has created for the entire community.
Where Is the Garden?
The garden is located behind the St. Catharines hospital along the public walkway that circles the hospital, on the western side of the building.
If you haven't visited it recently, a garden clean-up is a great opportunity to see what our club has helped create.
Member Responsibility: Watch for the monthly garden clean-up date, bring your gardening gloves and join us for about an hour of weeding and fellowship. Friends and family are welcome too — and you might even want to stay for the social afterwards!
Food4Kids Niagara – Packing With a Purpose
Food4Kids Niagara is one of our club's regular hands-on service projects and a great opportunity to work together while helping children and families in our community.
From September through June, a team of Rotarians and Friends of Rotary meets approximately once a month — sometimes every three weeks — to help pack food for children participating in the Food4Kids Niagara program.
We usually meet on a Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. and spend approximately two hours packing between 400 and 500 food packages.
It's a busy couple of hours, but with everyone working together, the packing moves quickly — and there's always plenty of conversation and fellowship along the way.
More Ways Our Members Help
Our involvement doesn't end with packing.
Some Rotarians also volunteer to deliver the food packages to local schools during the school year. During the summer months, volunteers help with deliveries to families so children can continue receiving food when school is out.
Whether you're packing bags, making deliveries or simply lending a hand when needed, this is a project where you can immediately see the difference a few hours of your time can make.
Member Responsibility: Watch for upcoming packing dates and sign up when you are available. Packing sessions generally begin at 10:00 a.m. and last about two hours. Members can also volunteer for school-year and summer deliveries.
Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup – People of Action for Our Environment
Each April, around Earth Day, members of the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore join Rotarians throughout the Great Lakes region for the annual Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup.
The goal is simple — remove garbage and debris before it can make its way into our streams, rivers, lakes and other waterways.
Our club traditionally begins at Charles Ansell Park, a park created by our Rotary Club, and then fans out through the surrounding neighbourhood toward the Welland Canal. Volunteers collect litter and debris along the way, helping keep our community cleaner while protecting the waterways that ultimately connect to the Great Lakes.
This is a true People of Action project. What begins with individual Rotary clubs cleaning their own communities becomes a much larger environmental effort when clubs throughout the Great Lakes watershed participate at the same time.
It's also an easy project for everyone to join. Club members are encouraged to bring family members, friends and prospective Rotarians along for a morning of service.
A few hours. A few garbage bags. Hundreds of Rotarians working together. One Great Lakes watershed worth protecting.
Member Opportunity: Watch for the April cleanup date, dress for the weather, bring gloves and join fellow Rotarians, family and friends as we help keep our community and Great Lakes watershed clean.
coordinator: Bruce
Annual Trivia Nights – It Takes a Team!
Our February and November Trivia Nights are major club fundraising events — and they are also a great example of Rotary teamwork in action.
It takes many volunteers to turn an empty room into a fun-filled Trivia Night. Club members help throughout the event with a wide variety of jobs, so there is something for everyone.
Volunteers are needed to help with set-up and clean-up, prepare and serve hot dogs and popcorn, sell tickets, announce trivia questions, mark answer sheets, and take care of the many other jobs that keep the evening running smoothly.
Some jobs happen before the doors open, others during the event, and plenty of hands are needed again when it's time to pack everything up.
It's a busy day, but it's also one of those club events where members work together, have some laughs and enjoy the energy of a room full of trivia players — all while raising important funds for the projects and organizations our club supports.
Many hands really do make light work — and a successful Trivia Night takes many hands!
Member Responsibility: Watch for volunteer sign-up opportunities before our February and November Trivia Nights. Choose the job and time that works for you and help make one of our club's major fundraising events a success.
