In the Community

The Rotary motto of “Service above Self” is being visibly demonstrated by Kingston Rotarians who have stepped up to help at the largest mass immunization clinic at the INVISTA Centre in Kingston.

Mike Moore, a Kingston Rotarian since 2012 says he was inspired to help when he saw other mass immunization clinics on television news.  “I instinctively thought that this may be something that Rotary can help with. It’s directing traffic or directing people or assisting in any non-technical way, something Rotary would be ideally suited for,” he says. 

Moore took it upon himself to contact the area public health authority to volunteer Rotarians to help. The staff at Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health were very receptive and Moore started organizing the Rotarians in the city.

“Now we have 42 volunteers that are on our shifts and I have many more that would like to volunteer but I don’t have a shift for them yet,” Moore says.

The volunteers come from all four Rotary Clubs and both Rotaract Clubs in the city but there are also many friends of Rotarians that have stepped up to volunteer as well. The Rotarians and friends are working three-hour shifts for now and their roles are mostly greeting, ushering and screening the clients.

“It’s the biggest site in Kingston, we’re hoping to vaccinate up to 2000 people a day at our peak,” says Andrea Kruz, the public health program manager assigned to be the manager for this mass immunization clinic.

“So far, our largest day has been 900, but for this week and next week we’re around 300 to 400 a day based on how many vaccines are available and what goes on at other sites,” says Kruz.

The clinic is already planning on increasing the number of hours they are open as they ramp up the rate of vaccination, and Rotarians are ready to absorb this increased demand.

The clinic is using one of the four hockey rinks at the INVISTA Centre which provides good space for the clinic, including the social distancing required.

“In terms of its operation, it was as slick as you can get. The protocol has been absolutely fantastic. It’s been clearly conveyed and very carefully thought out,” says Sophie Kiwala, a long-time resident of Kingston and a Rotarian for the last few years who volunteered for this clinic.

“It feels great, it’s a wonderful feeling to be a part of group action on something that is really important,” says Kiwala.

“One thing that I know about this community is that there are a lot of people who are interested in helping out, people who want to do their part. There’s a lot of good will in this town,” says Kiwala.