The Rotary Club was delighted to welcome Lyle Johnson, Executive Director of the Emmanuel Foundation for International Community Development (and Ted Cowtan's brother in law) to our meeting today. Lyle has been the Executive Director of the Foundation since 2007, and prior to that served as a pastor for 27 years at several Northern Alberta churches.
Lyle was a Rotarian of the 100 Mile House Rotary club, where he served in a number of capacities, including Youth Service and Youth Exchange. He is currently the President of the Sherwood Park Rotary Club for the 2017-2018 Rotary year.
The Emmanuel Foundation believes in serving through effective partnerships, much as Rotary tries to do in our international service. The Foundation began as a way of re-purposing decommissioned playgrounds from Alberta communities and using them in the developing world. Since they began in 2003, they have installed some 85 playgrounds in 23 countries around the world. The Emmanuel Foundation has operated the international shipping arm of Rotary District 5370 (HAWS - Humanitarian Aid Warehouse Society) since 2010. They serve Alberta Rotary Clubs, Medicinal Mission Agencies, Churches, Charitable Societies and Foundations in their international projects, by supplying and shipping humanitarian goods, which support sustainable community transformation.
EF currently have over 25,000 square feet of inventory available to support international service and development projects. Since 2010, EF has sent over 110 - 40 ft Containers to international destinations.
Great work and great to know this service exists in Alberta for some of our International Projects.