Information for Families
The Summer Respite Care Program is one of the Rotary Club of Bowmanville’s signature programs. The Bowmanville Rotary Club has had a long history of support for children with special needs and their families. Recognizing that families with special needs children deserve some respite, especially during the summer months when children are not in school, the Bowmanville Rotary Club offers a Summer Respite Care Program that provides home care for children with special needs.
The program began in 1998 with three families enrolled and has grown to include over thirty-five families with children ranging in age from 3 to 20+. The program involves one of the Club’s respite care givers spending quality time with the special needs child and providing social, educational and recreational activities appropriate for the child.
Not only does the Summer Respite Care Program provide respite for the families and quality care for the children, it also provides meaningful career-related summer jobs for the college and university students we hire.
This year the Summer Respite Care Program will run for ten weeks from June 17, 2024 to August 23, 2024. The Program is funded in part by a grant from the Canada Summer Jobs Program administered through Service Canada and by the Rotary Club of Bowmanville. A family may request preferred hours to meet their particular needs during the summer. The level of support available depends upon the funding available; however, the Rotary Club strives to provide between four to eight hours of respite care per week per child at a nominal cost of $4.00 per hour of care.
If your family lives in Clarington and is interested in the program, please download the three documents found under the Family Application for Summer Respite Care Program heading in the Resources menu on the right of this page. Please read the Information for Respite Care Families document and complete and submit the Family and Child Information Form and the Respite Care Date and Time Availability Form.
Please note that there is a limit to the number children that can be accommodated in the program. Applications will be accepted beginning April 1, 2023 and will be processed as they are received. The deadline for applications is May 17, 2024.
Completed applications should be emailed to The Bowmanville Rotary Respite Care Program at:
or they may be mailed to:
The Rotary Club of Bowmanville
Summer Respite Care Program
P.O. Box 217, Station Main
Bowmanville ON L1C 1N7
For further information, you may contact Bonnie Seto, the Supervisor for the Respite Care Program, at 905-259-3651 or by email at BowmanvilleRotaryRespite@gmail.com.