The Niagara-on-the-Lake Rotary Club is hard at work finding creative new ways to fundraise in 2020 and some of those ideas will come to life in October.

“Everyone needs to think outside of the box this year because some of the more traditional methods of fundraising are just no longer available,” said Lynne LeGallais, who is chair of the the multi-location estate sale, one of the club’s new fundraisers.

“As a fairly new member of Rotary, I can tell you I see a lot of people who care, who want to make a difference and are willing to work hard to make that happen,” said LeGallais.

In keeping with the club’s motto, Rotarians are people of action, says Jolanta Janny, fundraising chair and marketing co-chair of the NOTL club.

The two new events are the estate sale and a virtual tasting tour.

The estate sale is Oct. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the club is seeking item donations now. Money raised will support and feed children in Niagara.

Items collected and donated in the community will be for sale at five Niagara locations, part of an effort to split up attendees and maintain physical distancing.

Donations are encouraged to be dropped off from Aug. 12 to 14. This will ensure the items can sit untouched for a week to 10 days to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Those interested in donating items can contact Rotary members Janny at jolantajanny@gmail.com or 905-468-2297 or LeGallais at rlegallais8@gmail.com or 910-986-1305.

Niagara-on-the-Lake locations include 19 Colonel Butter Cres., 8 Centre St. and 949 East West Line. Niagara Falls locations include 6831 and 6849 Carmella Place. A rain date for the sale is Oct. 4.

The Virtual Tasting Tour will be held on Tuesdays in October:

Participants will be able to purchase a ticket online for each week of tastings.

Each week will feature a different winery. NOTL wineries included in the virtual tastings include Caroline Cellars, Strewn, Hare Wine Co. and Between the Lines. Delivery from each winery will include two bottles of wine, white and red.

The wine will come with tasting notes, recipe suggestions to pair with the tasting and some history on how the wine was produced and aged.

Area residents can pick up their wines from the wineries directly.

As a result of COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions many annual events run by Rotary have been cancelled this year, like the Holiday House Tour, which has operated for the past 22 years.

As a result, coming together to brainstorm and reinvent the fundraising model for the non-profit organization was crucial.

NOTL Rotary president Ken Schander became involved with the club when he moved to town after retiring. Recognizing that everyone involved has something different to bring to the table and make a difference is an important part of what Rotary does, he said in an interview.

“How do we put these people to work, how can we expand what we’re doing because everybody brings a gift” are keys to success, Schander said.