Since 1985, Rotary has been inoculating children in every country in order to eradicate polio. Today the world is 99.9% free of polio with only two countries left reporting cases. Each year, Rotary International brings awareness to its End Polio Now campaign by having Flag Raising Ceremonies everywhere, as close as possible to “World Polio Day” on October 24th. Here in Guelph, we will be raising the flag at City Hall on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 9am, following a few remarks at 8:45am. We thank our sister club, the Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium, for organizing this event each year. All Rotarians plus the public are invited to attend.
On September 29, 2026 our very own Ruth Thatcher received the Ontario Volunteer Service Award at a ceremony in Milton. Two MPPs from Wellington County presented the local awards. The award recognizes the volunteer work Ruth has been involved with at the Guelph General Hospital and the Rotary Club of Guelph over the past many years.
Rotary is delighted to announce that maestro Diego Carneiro, a celebrated cellist and Rotary Peace Fellow, will perform and speak at Heritage Hall in Guelph on Sunday evening, October 4th, 2026 at 6:30pm. He is a musician, speaker, educator, Rotary International Peace Fellow, and president of Amazonarts.org, connecting cultures in 80 countries. Read more about him in the March 2025 edition of Rotary News: “Building bridges between music notes and hearts.”
Preparations start early for our club's annual “Sparkles In The Park” Christmas lights in Riverside Park. On Saturday, October 17th, volunteers are needed to cheerfully unravel, test and sort hundreds of light strings that were taken down and bundled into storage tubs during the freezing cold of the previous January 1st. Our ritual of “many hands make light work” is truly joyful and the best kind of fellowship!
Just three weeks after holding their 39th Annual Rotary Duck Race on August 28, 2026, the Rotary Club of Guelph Wellington held their prizegiving on September 21st. The event's success this year was best ever and remarkable for a club of just nine members. All proceeds have been donated to the community. (See below) We warmly congratulate and thank our friends at the Rotary Club of Guelph Wellington for their positive impact and support of local youth. Onward and upward to the 40th Rotary Duck Race in 2027!
This year, The Grove Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) Wellington-Guelph is celebrating five years of making mental health, substance use, and wellness supports accessible, barrier-free, and available at no cost to youth across rural Wellington County.
Each year, our sister club, the Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium, runs a winter clothing drive. Here are the details for the 2026 drive.
On September 10, 2026, three Guelph Rotary Clubs joined forces once again to host another successful Community Connections meeting with over 50 participants in attendance. This free event invites charities and non-profits to gather for a couple of hours to learn what other agencies are working on in the community, to share ideas and to encourage collaboration. The event is offered twice a year, in April and September. It is a great example of Rotary providing Service Above Self to our local agencies.
August 28, 2026. Right now, over 123 million people around the world have been made homeless by disaster and conflict. The Rotary-inspired global program of ShelterBox is working to change this. By providing emergency shelter and tools for families robbed of their homes by disaster, ShelterBox helps transform despair into hope. Read the update below from our RotaryGuelph ShelterBox Representative, Carolyn Weatherson.
Grandparents for Vaccines share their stories so that today’s children need not suffer the diseases of the past
Learn how Rotary clubs are taking action in Bolivia, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy, and Australia.
Connect with the next generation of global and community leaders at the 2027 Rotary International Convention in Barcelona, Spain.
For years, polio pioneer Dorothy Horstmann stood in the shadow of great men like Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin. Now she’s ready for her close-up.
To discover the 2027 Rotary International Convention host city of Barcelona, start by getting lost.
