Playing Since the 80s !
CAMBRIDGE NORTH ROTARY MEMBERS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO BINGO SINCE THE 1980s AND NEVER WON A GAME. BUT THE CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY HAS WON >$250,000 FROM THESE EFFORTS!
During the last 40+ years, Members of the Rotary Club of Cambridge North (CNR) have contributed to Charity Bingo and never won a game. Yet, these contributions have allowed the Cambridge community to win more than $250,000 during this period.
Some CNR Members have been involved with Charity Bingo in Cambridge since the 1980s, well before the involvement of the Ontario Casino Corporation (OCC) started in 1994. Back in the 1980s, bingo was identified as a useful way to generate funds to support charity activities in Cambridge. On the evening of a bingo, Members of CNR would visit the bank before a shift and then arrive with a minimum of $200 in small currency (i.e., $1, $2, and $5 bills). These Members needed the currency for a financial float, as they would actively sell bingo cards as part of an evening. Back then, the total funds allocated to a charity were proportional to the number of bingo cards sold. At the end of a bingo, they also helped to count the proceeds, and helped to clean the Bingo Hall. It has been described by Members of CNR that in the good ‘olde’ days, they would often complete bingo shifts that lasted for more than three hours, arrive home tired after 11 PM, and smell of cigarette smoke. These were busy and smelly volunteer hours during the 1980s and 1990s! It has been said by more than one CNR Member that coordinating Bingo Shifts and filling in for absences was often the first responsibility of a new Rotarian. Our CNR Members remember when the need to bring the $200 financial float ended during the mid-1990s, under the OCC. Then on July 1, 2005, smoking was banned from bingo halls by Ontario, as a great way to start a new Rotary year. During 2006, the OCC transitioned to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Corporation (OLG), leading to no need to handle money. The recent years have allowed CNR members to witness the arrival of computer-based OLG bingo machines that play without any help from a patron!
Funds generated from Charity Bingo have been used for myriad community projects and groups across Cambridge and Waterloo Region. Examples include the Cambridge Food Bank, Langs Community, Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, Community Support Connections (Meals On Wheels), Waterloo Regional Block Parent Program, among many others.
With all of these contributions, it seems fitting to acknowledge CNR Members by name for their constant contributions to completing bingo shifts and diligent efforts to support the community, as follows:
- Dave Kinder completed his first volunteer bingo shift in 1980, before he joined CNR;
- Allan Fox and Fred Schiedel - since the 1980s;
- Peter Ashenhurst and Don Daggett - since the 1990s;
- Doug Cameron, Jeff Matyas, Dave Thomas, and Stephen Witteveen - since the 2000s; and
- Sean Carragher, Dean Fitzgerald, Paul Goetz, and Laureen Van Gronigen- since the 2010s.
Pictured above on left is Dave Kinder and on right is Allan Fox, at bingo during April, 2024.
It is clear from this history that Members of CNR did not need to call Bingo! to win for the Citizens Cambridge from the 1980s until now.
Submitted by Dean Fitzgerald
Rotary Club of Cambridge North