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City of St. Albert
Rotary Club of St. Albert, 27033, District 5370
The City of St. Albert is a vibrant and growing community located northwest of Edmonton in Alberta’s capital region. Home to approximately 74,730 residents, St. Albert is recognized for its strong quality of life, rich heritage, active civic life, and deep connection to parks, trails, arts, culture, and community service. Founded in 1861 as a Métis settlement by Father Albert Lacombe, St. Albert has a long and meaningful history rooted in community, faith, culture, and connection to the Sturgeon River valley. Today, the city continues to honour its heritage while growing as an inclusive, family-oriented, and community-minded urban centre. St. Albert is known as one of Alberta’s most beautiful communities, with extensive parks, more than 85 kilometres of trails, and approximately 1,100 acres of green space. These natural and public gathering spaces support wellbeing, connection, recreation, and a strong sense of belonging among residents. The city also has a strong cultural and civic identity, with St. Albert Place serving as a central hub for municipal, cultural, artistic, and community activity. Together with its schools, service clubs, community organizations, cultural groups, businesses, faith communities, and engaged residents, St. Albert is well positioned to advance peacebuilding through service, dialogue, reconciliation, youth engagement, inclusion, and collaboration.
The Rotary Club of St. Albert is a community service organization made up of local leaders, volunteers, and community-minded members committed to making a positive difference in St. Albert and beyond. Guided by Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self, the club supports initiatives that strengthen community wellbeing, promote goodwill, and create opportunities for connection, leadership, and service. For more than three decades, the club has contributed to St. Albert through volunteer service, youth programs, community grants, scholarships, food security support, accessibility and inclusion initiatives, and partnerships with local organizations. Major club-supported initiatives include the St. Albert Rotary Music Festival, Rotary Youth Exchange Program, Interact and Rotaract youth leadership programs, student scholarships, ongoing support for the St. Albert Food Bank, the Teacher of the Month Program, and local and international service projects. The club has also undertaken significant community impact projects, including its 35th Anniversary Signature Project: a $100,000 commitment to support AdaptAbilities’ expansion into St. Albert and Sturgeon County, helping increase access to services for individuals with disabilities and their families. The Club also supported St. Albert FoodBank’s warehouse expansion and Salvation Army kitchen renovation. The Rotary Club of St. Albert is a registered Peacebuilding Club with the Peace Action Group and is committed to advancing Rotary’s mission of world understanding, goodwill, and peace. Through its active Peace Action Group, the club educates, engages and empowers community members, supports peacebuilding, and leads initiatives that strengthen community connection and promote a culture of peace. The Peace Action Group guided by a three-year workplan to ensure its peacebuilding activities are organized, intentional, and sustainable. As part of the City of St. Albert International City of Peace Initiative, the Rotary Club of St. Albert brings a strong foundation of service, partnership, youth engagement, inclusion, peacebuilding, and community leadership. Its long-standing commitment to collaborative action makes the club a natural partner in advancing reconciliation, belonging, positive peace, and community connection in St. Albert.
Vision: A compassionate, inclusive, and resilient community where peace is built through service, dialogue, belonging, and shared responsibility. Mission: To advance peacebuilding in St. Albert through collaboration, education, reconciliation, service, and community-led action.
PRIORITY 1: Connect and Empower Community Goal: Strengthen belonging, participation, leadership, and connection across the community. Key Initiatives • Rotary Peacebuilding and Understand Week and International Day of Peace Celebrations • Visible Peace Installations • Community dialogues and listening circles • Youth Peace Ambassador Program and Local Government Education Program • Arts, storytelling, interfaith and cultural exchange and engagement • Volunteerism, collaborative service projects and volunteer recognition PRIORITY 2: Advance Peacebuilding, Reconciliation, and Wellbeing Goal: Promote healing, understanding, safety, and resilience through education, reconciliation, and community support. Key Initiatives • Peace literacy and peacebuilding education • Indigenous partnerships and Truth and Reconciliation initiatives • Violence prevention and community safety partnerships • Environmental stewardship and sustainability PRIORITY 3: Build Sustainable Peace Partnerships and Leadership Goal: Develop collaborative leadership structures that sustain long-term peacebuilding impact. Key Initiatives • Establish City of Peace Network • Multi-sector partnerships • Rotary leadership engagement • Municipal collaboration and civic recognition • Funding and sponsorship development • Measurement and reporting frameworks • Annual community peace reporting
Rotary Club of St. Albert and Peace Action Group members at the St. Albert Fights Hunger Event promoting Peace Through Service
Darija’s commitment to peace is deeply rooted in lived experience. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, she was 15 when war forced her to leave home carrying only a backpack. She left with her mother while her father, older brother, and many friends and family members remained behind. What was expected to be two weeks became nearly four years of uncertainty as Darija and her mother stayed with friends of friends and moved through six cities while waiting to reunite with her father and brother. That experience shaped Darija’s belief that peace is more than the absence of war. It is the presence of safety, dignity, belonging and hope. Having known the loss of home and the challenge of beginning again in new country, she understands the life-changing difference a welcoming community can make. Her service is grounded in that understanding and in her gratitude to Canada and the communities that gave her family the opportunity to build a new life. Darija has been a member of the Rotary Club of St. Albert for more than 10 years and has held several leadership positions including Club President in 2024/25. During her presidency, the Club supported initiatives that expanded opportunities for individuals with disabilities and their families to connect, participate and belong. It also mobilized more than 100 volunteers to pack 70,000 meals for communities in Belize. The Club also became a Peacebuilding Club, and Darija established its Peace Action Group. The group brings peacebuilding into community through peace literacy and art programming for children, youth peacebuilding and leadership workshops, a multilingual Peace Pole in Rotary Park, an International Day of Peace celebration, a Community Peace Pledge, and the Mayor’s proclamation of Peacebuilding and Understanding Week. Darija brings more than 26 years of leadership experience across the private, not-for-profit and public sectors. She currently serves as General Manager of Community and Infrastructure Services in municipal government. Darija is committed to bringing people together, building strong organizations and communities, and turning shared purpose into meaningful, lasting change. She lives in St. Albert with her husband, Hari, and children, Tiana and Stefan, who inspire her hope for a stronger and more peaceful future.
Sandra Fenton and Khorusha Naidoo. Sandra is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and the owner of STRT Consulting Ltd., providing bookkeeping, accounting and consulting services to a diverse range of clients. Throughout her career, she has worked across the finance, manufacturing, insurance, regulatory, travel, sport and non-profit sectors. Sandra and her husband, Roy, have lived in St. Albert since 1996, where they raised their two children, Thomas and Taylor. A strong believer that “it takes a village to raise a child,” Sandra has contributed extensively to her community through leadership and volunteer roles in municipal governance, sport, arts and culture, social services and philanthropy. A proud member of the Rotary Club of St. Albert since 2014, Sandra has served as Club Treasurer and Foundation Chair and is currently Treasurer for Rotary International District 5370. She was also one of the first members of the Club’s Peace Action Group, helping to build a strong foundation for its work through peace literacy, collaborative leadership, cross-sector partnerships and service to the community. Her contributions reflect her belief that peace is built through service, shared responsibility and strong community relationships. Sandra’s longstanding commitment to community service has been recognized through numerous honours, including the St. Albert Community Recognition Award for Citizenship–Community Builder and the CMA Community Leadership Award. .Khorusha's dedication to peace, inclusion, and human dignity is rooted in her lived experience. Born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, during apartheid, she witnessed racial segregation from an early age, shaping her belief in equality, compassion, and respect for diversity. At 15, Khorusha participated in a Rotary Youth Exchange, an experience that broadened her perspective and inspired a lifelong connection to service. Her varied professional journey, including work in healthcare, finance, real estate, and counselling, reflects her adaptability, empathy, and desire to support others. As a board member of Alberta Hands & Voices, Khorusha advocates for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families—a cause close to her heart through her family’s own experience. Through her advocacy, Rotary involvement, and community service, she helps build a more peaceful and inclusive community where everyone feels valued and belongs.
City of St. Albert, Order of Eagles, St. Albert Host Lions Club, African and African Descendants Friendship Club, Chamber of Commerce, St. Albert FoodBank and Community Village and Saint City Rotary Club
Peace Begins with One Person and Grows Through Community
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