Posted by Shelly Duben on Jul 11, 2019
David Munch has taken over as president of the Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers. Thanks to Kris Cacciotti for a great year as president! This club of 57 members has been serving the Sudbury area for 2years. Their club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship.
 
Sudbury Sunrisers Rotarians get very involved in their local and international communities. For the last 10 years, they have supported the Pregnancy Care Centre & Infant Food Bank in their "All We Need for Christmas" Campaign because no one should go hungry over the holidays, especially the littlest community members. They also participate in the Pregnancy Care Centre “Fill a Crib” project. In November, when Sudbury really needed blood donors, the club adopted a Give Life Canadian Blood Services Donor Center for a week. At Christmas, they did “31 Days of Christmas for the Elgin Street Mission”.  They encouraged volunteer groups and businesses to come together during the month of December to serve meals to many in their community and raised funds for the mission to support meals during the slowest months of the year.
 
The club also supports international service projects. The Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers made a significant contribution to the R.E.L.A.Y. Zambia project to help build a well with a solar powered submersible pump and water tower for a rural school.
 
One of their major fundraisers is the annual Vive le Vin wine and cheese gala. In the weeks leading up to the event, they post wine and cheese pairings on their Facebook page as teasers for the event and to promote their sponsors. From the proceeds of this year’s gala, the club was able to make donations to: Access Network; Our Children, Our Future; Alzheimer’s Society; Finlandia Village; Seniors for Seniors; and Maison McCulloch Hospice.
 
This club is very proud of its new member club engagement piece and Porketta Bingo. Over the past six months 10 new members have been inducted to their club. To promote club engagement with the 10 new members, the event “Be the Inspiration” Porketta Bingo was created. Co-chairs Gerry Lougheed Jr., Membership Chair and David Munch, President-Elect coordinated the efforts of the 10 new Rotarians to plan, organize, promote and then select a charity of their choice so each could present a portion of the proceeds from the event. Many ask, “What is Porketta Bingo?” … Well, Google says the following:  “Porketta bingo isn't really bingo. It's a card game played for pork and a uniquely Sudburian ritual. You get 3 cards from a deck of playing cards. If all your cards get called you yell “porketta” instead of bingo and you win 1lb of hot steaming pork with fresh buns and mustard.” The event was held on Thursday, April 25th at the Caruso Club and over 300 Porketta bingo players attended with 300+ pounds of cooked Porketta given out to the winners.  Legendary Porketta bingo caller Melanie Kanerva kept the crowd engaged and entertained.  Fellowship, laughs and an overall great time was had by all with 30 games of Porketta Bingo played. Proceeds from the event totalled $8,000 and at their weekly meeting each new Rotarian presented a cheque for $800 to the charity of their choice. What a unique way to get new members engages immediately!
 
If you happen to be in Sudbury early on a Thursday morning, please drop by to do a make-up at the Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers. The club meets at the Lexington Hotel at 50 Brady Street, Sudbury at 7:15 AM.
 
Visit our "Spotlight on Service" Page for more messages about other clubs.