Tonic: Rotary After Five has the following signature programs and projects:
Rotary Advisers
A pro-bono consulting service for local charitable or not-for-profit organizations. Small teams of club members are formed to provide advice on governance, strategy and operations. Launched in late 2017, Rotary Advisers (RA) has provided consulting to a variety of not-for-profit and/or charitable organizations in Hamilton. Comments from past RA clients include:
- “Our board is engaged like never before.”
- “The process was very valuable – provided us with insights we were not able to perceive ourselves”
- “The CEO benefitted from the mentoring”
Rotary Advisers for Youth
We provide career advice and job-hunting tips to at-risk youth struggling to find a toehold in the world of work.
Community Service Projects
We initiate approximately four community service projects annually in support of a defined local need. For the 2021/2022 year, our focus is food security and we are actively engaged in projects around that theme.
Scholarships Committee
Helping exceptional people around the world receive the kind of international graduate education they need to become future leaders with global impact is the focus of our Scholarships Committee. Our club is recognized as a leader in Rotary Scholarships, with four Rotary Peace Fellows and two Global Grant Scholars having received scholarships worth approximately $300,000 US. Half of our six Rotary Scholars are Canadian, while the other half come from Botswana, New Zealand and the United States.
District and Rotary International (RI) Projects
We are part of District 7090, which includes part of southern Ontario and New York State. There are district projects, such as the Great Lakes Watershed Clean-Up, in which Tonic participates. The District is also a source of ongoing individual leadership training and club development support.
There are RI projects such as “Pedal for Polio” is an annual fundraising bike rally to raise money for the eradication of polio world-wide – a major goal for Rotary.
Helen Pelton Fund
Helen Pelton was a well-respected local lawyer and long-time Rotarian. She was a founding member of Tonic: Rotary After Five and continued to serve Rotary with style and enthusiasm, even after her diagnosis of cancer. Sadly, Helen died in November 2019. One of her many legacies is the Helen Pelton Fund, which supports the work of Tonic: Rotary After Five. We miss Helen and will always be grateful to her for her generosity.