Welcome to the Rotary 7080 eClub

Rotary 7080 eClub is Canada's first RAGAS cause-based Club

Rotary 7080 eClub is thrilled to be the first eClub in our district (chartered in July 2024) and even more honoured to uphold a double mandate. We are the first RAGAS (Rotary Action Group Against Slavery) cause-based club in Canada working to raise awareness about human trafficking and we are proud to support youth and diversity in our community. We are excited also to include Interact and Rotaract members within our Rotary family.

The Rotary Action Group Against Slavery (RAGAS) is committed to connect, empower, and equip Rotarians to engage their communities to eradicate all forms of Modern Slavery/Human Trafficking locally and around the globe. 

Follow us on - 7080 eClub Facebook 
 
Rotary 7080 eClub – Canada Day Volunteers

We’re excited to welcome new and returning members to our June Fellowship Meeting as we finalize plans for this year’s Canada Day Celebration!

Join us July 1 at the CW Community Sportsplex in Fergus from 7:00–9:30 pm for an evening of cultural performances, live music, face painting, arts and crafts, henna tattoos, tasty food trucks, Canada-themed ice cream, and a fireworks show at 9:30 pm, proudly presented by the Township of Centre Wellington, in partnership with Rotary 7080 eClub.

 

District 7080 Club Innovation Award Winner

Barbara Lustgarten-Evoy, President of the 7080 eClub, was honoured with the Club Innovation Award at the District 7080 Crossover and Awards Night on June 13. This award recognizes her outstanding leadership and unwavering commitment to advancing RAGAS (Rotary Action Group Against Slavery) initiatives across Canada and internationally. As the Canadian Ambassador and Global Director for RAGAS, Barbara has elevated Rotary’s Avenues of Service through innovative action, community outreach, and public education. Barbara’s vision also helped establish 7080 eClub, Canada’s first RAGAS cause-based club, engage Interact and Rotaract members, launch the RAGAS Canada website, and mobilize action against human trafficking, truly reflecting “Service Above Self.” Congratulations, Barbara — we’re so proud of you!

 

What Canada can do

Field Notes - Rotary Canada Magazine, January 2025
 

The Rotary Action Group Against Slavery in Canada is looking for ambassadors from each of Canada’s more than 700 Rotary clubs to champion the elimination of human trafficking in the country.

The national group is part of the international Rotary Action Group Against Slavery, which includes members from dozens of countries.

Rotary is a respected voice in Canada, says Barbara Lustgarten-Evoy, and bringing Rotary members from all over the country together to advocate on this issue will make a demonstrable impact. "To effect real change, we have to work at changing the laws, work at changing the way things are done," says Lustgarten-Evoy, a member of the Rotary E-Club of District 7080 and the Canadian coordinator for the human trafficking eradication project. To that end, the action group must "connect Rotarians to one another and to the people doing the work around the country. That’s how we get heard, and that’s how we make the change we need to make."

An interactive map, which is scheduled to go live on the action group’s website after this issue’s publication date, will link Rotary members with vetted potential partners. The District 7080 e-club, the first antislavery cause-based e-club in the country, is working in alignment with the national action group.

In 2022, the Canadian government recorded about 530 instances of human trafficking reported to police, and a nationwide organization that operates an anti-trafficking hotline tallied about 2,200 victims and survivors between 2019 and 2022. Because experts believe that trafficking is underreported, particularly among historically marginalized groups, these figures do not capture the full extent of the problem. The Canadian action group is working with Honouring Indigenous People and has a trafficking survivor on its board to help ensure that its work is inclusive and considers survivors’ perspectives, Lustgarten-Evoy says.

Supporters of the cause are encouraged to attend this year’s Rotary International Convention in Calgary. "We want as many people representing RAGAS as possible so we can show the rest of the globe what Canada can do," Lustgarten-Evoy says.

Learn more and get involved at ragas.ca

Find out more about RAGAS at RAGAS in Canada
 
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