My Life in Rotary – Emma McDonald’s Story
Posted by John Borst
on Aug 24, 2015
Emma McDonald is a young Rotarian, currently residing in Sioux Lookout who told Dryden Rotarian, Carl Eisner her story while he was visiting that city. He invited her to share her story with the Dryden club.
Emma has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Masters of Public Health and is the daughter of Thunder Bay Rotarian Jim Mc Donald, so has been exposed to Rotary for a long time.
From an early age, she would be taken to Rotary meetings with her Dad. While in public school, she attended a Rotaract Leadership camp. This led to joining an Interact club when she was in Grade 9 and attending a RYLA camp.
After graduating high school, she went to Toronto for her first year of University but then returned to complete her undergrad studies in Thunder Bay. There she joined the Rotaract Club.
Their main fund-raising project was filling sandbags for use in half ton trucks as extra weight in winter.
By the time she graduated, the Rotaract club was down to 3 members.As a result Emma became involved with the Fort William Rotary satellite club which would meet in evenings where they would have a short meeting with no mandatory meal and no dues.
As Rotarians they focused upon hands-on projects with some financial support from the parent Fort William club.
Another project was providing KIVA loans. KIVA is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.
Emma is now living in Sioux Lookout and has applied to become a member of the Sioux Lookout Rotary Club.