The Rotary Club of West Ottawa has dozens of active members intent on making a difference in Ottawa and around the world. 

Thank you for considering a donation to the club! If, however, you would like to donate to the Rotary International's "Rotary Foundation", you can do so directly at: https://my.rotary.org/en/donate, or via e-transfer to: westottawarotaryclub@gmail.com and indicate Polio Plus or Annual Fund. 

Spotlight project:

The Rotary Club of West Ottawa delivers a literacy project called Dictionary4Life.  The purpose is to provide a gift of a beautiful illustrated dictionary to Grade 3 students.  

Our goal in this project is to help develop each child's vocabulary and better their language understanding, build their self esteem, encourage their familiarity with books, give "pride of ownership", and promote Rotary values to the child, family and the community. 

This project is very exciting project and the schools are engaged, very receptive, and keen to receive the dictionaries. We look forward to more connections with the community youth, parents and teachers to enhance their awareness of Rotary International and its support of literacy both locally and internationally. It is an opportunity for schools and the homework clubs to interface further with the community service aspect of  Rotary. 

Literacy touches almost every aspect of people's lives. It is instrumental to personal development and economic opportunity, and a major factor in the ability of an individual to participate as full and active citizens of society. Literacy skills are critical indicators of the preparedness of young Canadians for the workplace and further education. These skills give young people the capacity for innovative thinking and the adaptability required in today’s knowledge-based economy. People with high levels of literacy are also more likely to be engaged in society, which benefits them and the communities in which they live (Cdn. Council on Literacy, CLI). From the International Adult Literacy Survey (Stats Can, OECD) we learned that literacy development: is strongly influenced in early years by a child's education; leads to healthier habits and lifestyles; is linked to economic success; and, contributes to society's overall economic and social performance.

The project started with three schools in 2011 and has grown to include about 20 schools in the National Capital Region but is now available to Rotary Clubs in District 7040 covering Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec and upper New York State. We hope to continue to expand the project so that more youth will be encouraged to improve their literacy skills.