The United Way of Guelph Wellington Dufferin has launched a new awards program for the “Top 7 Over 70” in our region, to celebrate seven extraordinary individuals who, after the age of 70, make significant and lasting contributions to our community. The deadline for submitting nominations is June 15, 2026. See details below. 

Club members will be sad to hear that Marlene Jofriet passed away on May 25, 2026, at Hospice Wellington in Guelph, at the age of 91. She was the wife of our beloved former member, Jan Jofriet. Amongst her many talents, Marlene was an accomplished artist and often contributed one of her beautiful paintings to help raise funds for Rotary, especially at Lobsterfest auctions. Her obituary is beautifully written, as was Jan's three and half years ago. 

Marlene Jofriet.   Jan Jofriet.  

Our beloved club member for almost 46 years, Tom Funk, passed away suddenly on March 29th, 2026. See “Remembering Tom Funk” here. A large number of Rotarians attended his funeral at The Basilica on April 10th and formed an Honour Guard for Tom and his family. On May 22nd, our club held a memorial tribute to Tom at our club meeting. 

On May 12, 2026, the Children's Foundation of Guelph and Wellington (CFGW)  held their annual donor recognition celebration called “Bouquets of Sunshine”. This year, our club was recognized for reaching the “Visionary Level” of donating $50,000+ in total. A framed drawing was presented to our club. It was also a celebration of CFGW's 35th anniversary. Trivia: our late Rotarian, Paul Truex, was one of the four founding member of the CFGW in 1991.

Calling all parents and grandparents:  you are invited to hear from Bella Hamilton, an exceptional local student in Grade 12, about the dangers lurking online for kids to get caught up in human trafficking. She is giving this same presentation on two different days, so choose your preferred date. You can attend in-person, or on Zoom. Either way, reach out to Shelley at shelleyad@live.com to reserve a spot and/or receive the Zoom link. Read the June 2026 local newsletter, Against Trafficking, here.  

On May 1, 2026, the guest speaker at our club was Justine Richardson, Director of the 400-acre Arboretum at the University of Guelph. Justine provided an informative update on how this Guelph Treasure continues to grow, improve and delight all who visit. Part of its rich history includes the “Rotary Tree Grove” described below, and the invitation for Rotarians to consider expanding Rotary's imprint at this beautiful location. Watch this short VIDEO about our amazing Arboretum, and see the WEBSITE here.  

Three Rotary Clubs in our Guelph-Wellington Cluster (Guelph Trillium, Guelph, and Guelph South) worked together to host a special meeting of non-profit agencies in Guelph, which was attended by 48 organizations, on April 23, 2026. There was a real buzz in the room as they networked and shared their main needs. The goal was to foster connection and collaboration. The meeting was a great success and a great example of  how we can Unite For Good.

Rotary loves supporting literacy, especially for children, and our club is proud to have a Reading Buddy program at a local elementary school where some of our members spend one-on-one time each week with a child to read together, chat and provide encouragement. Our volunteers love it, and so do the students. Now we are considering a new challenge: how Rotary could perhaps support the Guelph Kids' Literacy Program held at The Bookshelf each May, open to all local schools. 2026 marks the fourth year of this local festival.