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Community House. Check our bulletin to see if we are meeting in person. Zoom is always an option.

620 Lincoln Avenue
Winnetka, IL 60093
United States of America

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Meeting Notes August 11

Posted by David Grant

Barb Tubekis chaired the meeting.

Visiting Guests: Matt Butler was introduced to the Club by Robert.

Announcements:

Patti & Barb both attended Nancy Badger’s service. Barb appreciates her as a wonderful woman to emulate, and Barb also contributed happy bucks in honor of Nancy. Other opportunities to donate are listed in this bulletin.
Rotary International announced the R.I President for 2024/2025 will be Stephanie Urchick. More Info: Stephanie A. Urchick selected to be 2024-25 Rotary International President | Rotary International
Amy calls our attention to a new program guide for the WCH featuring adult programs with evening speakers. The next program is the Fantastiks Musical Show 8/26 – 9/4.
Rich organized a planning committee meeting for the Operation Warm concert for next Thursday, 8/18. The concert will have the same outstanding band as last year: the Soul keepers. Ron Bernardi has agreed to auction items at the event. Proceeds will go to distributing coats at local libraries.

Happy Bucks:

Bill & Therese Leske celebrated their 40-year wedding anniversary.
Patti is happy that Donna Goodman is reading the Club Bulletin and following our Club.
Peter & Betty Skalski both passed their driving tests.

Speaker: Carol Rosenstein is on a mission to start musical groups around the country for people with degenerative or cognitive impairments. Rich and Bob met her at the Rotary International Conference and were impressed with her mission even before Carol appeared on the front cover the May edition of the R.I. Magazine. Carol’s husband had Parkinson’s dementia, and his participation in a music group helped him. Carol shared several videos with us. During the pandemic, zoom saved their ‘Music Mends Minds’ program. She is now trying to help other rotary clubs start similar programs. Do any of us want to help organize such a group?

Meeting Notes August 4

Posted by Keith Reed

Patti chaired the meeting which was called to order at 12:15. There were 18 members present and 3 attending on Zoom. Our special guest was Safiyyah Hassan’s 4 year old son, Muhamed.

ANNIVERSARIES: There were no birthdays but Brooke Peppey has been a Club member for 26 years and Peter Skalski for 30 years.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: There will be no Board meeting in August; the August 11 Club meeting will feature Carol Rosenstein speaking on how music therapy can “mend minds”; our August 18th Club meeting will feature Paula Turelli from Mothers Trust Foundation; and our August 25 regular meeting will be the Club Assembly meeting to discuss status, future and development of our Club. Rich reminded everyone of the Club Benefit (this year benefitting Operation Warm) to be held October 14 at Valley Lo Club in Glenview and featuring star blues singer Gerald McClendon.

HAPPY BUCKS: Tony donated $100 in honor of his and wife Carolyn’s 61st anniversary and also his 25 year old son who is getting married soon. Fred donated in honor of his and Ellie’s wedding date which was one week before Tony’s. Robert then donated subject to the condition that Tony does not count his Son’s wedding dinner as his special night out with Carolyn in celebration of their 61st!! Barb donated for the relief she’s had completing the clean out of her Mother-in-law’s house. Patti donated due to her experience in coordinating efforts of North Shore Country Day and a Wilmette Rotary Club in providing sleeping bags for the homeless.

PAUL HARRIS AWARD: Patti presented Chuck Norton with his 4th Paul Harris award which means he has donated at least $4000 to Rotary over the last few years.

SPEAKERS: BETTY GRIEBNOW (Winnetka Library Assistant) and SYDNEY CLARK (Northfield Branch Librarian). The most important message from these library representatives was that these library operations found a way to prosper and develop new programs/services during the pandemic!! It seems that the most beneficial development was the use of virtual communication in presenting most of their programs. Their Summer Booklet listed the following programs for the 3 summer months: Books on the Beach, Mystery Book Club, Cookbook Book Club, Nonfiction and Fiction Book Clubs, Author Events, Dramatic Performances, Food & Drink, Health and Wellness, Business & Financial, Home & Garden, Poetry & Writing,Travel, History-- just to name a few. They had an extensive summer reading program for kids and adults of all ages with prizes given to kids who read at least 20 minutes a day for at least 40 days. Another interesting program was the “Library of Things” collection that members could borrow from the library things that the no longer keep at their home—for example a metal detector, telescope, VHS to Digital Recorder, 8mm converter, DVD player, VCR, sewing machines and even knitting needles. Another successful development was for 100 or so libraries in Illinois joining together to have big name authors make virtual presentations which were seen by hundreds of interested readers. It was easier to get big name authors because they didn’t have to spend money for travel and lodging and all the participating libraries could share in speakers’ honorarium charges.

To summarize, the local libraries have been very energetic and creative in remaining a very valuable part of Winnetka and Northfield. (It was mentioned that these services are available only to residents of these two villages who live in the two library “districts” within the villages, but any questions regarding this condition should be discussed with the local librarians.)

ADJOURNMENT: At 1:25 pm, Patti led the group in the Rotary 4 Way Test and the meeting was adjourned.

Ongoing social service opportunities

Posted by Safiyyah Hassan

1. Call to Action! The New Trier Township food pantry needs our support. The pantry is low on essential items that support Township residents and workers. We will be collecting non perishable food items and hygiene supplies at each Thursday meeting. Donations can also be dropped off at the Community House every other day of the week. This service project will run through the end of September. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever that we support and uplift one another.

2. Additional items that we will be collecting at each Thursday meeting are pop tabs from aluminum cans and bread clips. The pop tabs will be donated to Ronald Mcdonald House for recycling and they go towards offsetting the costs of helping children and their families.

The bread clips will be donated to 'Scarcely Resourced' who will be recycling them in partnership with 'Danielle Cares for Chairs'. A few thousand of these bread clips will purchase a wheelchair for a child in need. The bread tags are also now being utilized by a prosthetic clinic to strengthen the molding process of making a prosthesis.

Meeting Notes July 28

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

President Barb called the meeting to order at 12:20.

Patti offered some thoughts from famous people about England in honor of our guest from England.

David Grant led the Pledge.

Visiting guests & Rotarians

Andy Vass visited us from the Northbrook Club. He is also a board member of Hunger Resource Network and a former Assistant Governor.

Barb introduced her guests: David, who runs the Volunteer Center in Chesterfield, England, and local Volunteer Center board members Darlene Kolton and Colleen Harlow.

No Birthdays or Anniversaries.

Announcements

Sylwia and Safiyyah, our new Community Service chairs, are organizing a food drive for the New Trier Township Food Pantry.

Bill thanked all who participated at the Farmer’s Market last Saturday.

Happy Bucks:

Rich shared a picture of his new granddaughter Claire, born on Sunday afternoon.

Patti shared a buck of gratitude to Bob Baker for his quick response in installing a new hot water heater at her house on Monday morning.

Barb gave $20 in honor of meeting Dave in 2020.

Dig N Grin: Andy shared a joke, followed by Fred. A double header!

SPEAKER:

Bill introduced Kerry Smith, who is Director of Development for Hunger Resource Network. HRN is “taking a bite out of hunger”, serving many non-profits by providing frozen chicken, as well as a food program for students in Northbrook.

President Barb adjourned the meeting at 1:25, when we recited the 4 Way Test.

Meeting Notes July 14

Posted by Keith Reed

Our new Chair Barb Tubekis called the meeting to order and reported that our other new Co-Chair Patti Van Cleave, is doing better with her Covid problem. There were about 15 members present at the meeting with no Zoom participants. There were no anniversaries but Mary Lou Bilder-Gold had a recent birthday. Liz Taylor had the “thought of the day”.

“Dig N Grin” was handled by Bob Baker who listed all the famous events that occurred on past July 14s—such as U.S. landings on Mars in 1965 and the moon in 1969—plus Henry Aaron hit his record breaking 500th home run on this day, but not sure the year.

Announcements—this is the last day our Club can make donations to the Highland Park July 4th victim funds through our Foundation—such donations have been significant to date; Rich announced that our annual benefit (this year benefitting Operation Warm), will be held at Valley Lo Country Club on either October 7 or 14; it was announced that our Club now has a “budding” R n R singer with Amy Skalinder being featured with a band at one of the WCH garden “Thirsty Thursday” evenings which are held once a month with the next one being August 4th. In addition to this musical career, Amy is in charge of our Club’s survey of members regarding their assessment of our Club’s performance. This survey needs to be completed by members ASAP so that the Board can take action on the results—so far only 22 out of 40 members have responded.

SPEAKER ELISE LARSEN, Executive Director of Special Gifts Theatre based in Northbrook.

This is the only educational and therapy based theatre in the Chicago area. It deals with all sorts of disabilities including cognitive, physical, social and emotional. It has 12 programs operating in 7 locations on the North Shore with about 330 students participating and about 32 part time staff including special education teachers and therapists.

It operates throughout the year primarily through 4 activities/programs: Creativity in Motion is for students age 7 or older who engage in embodied storytelling using music to tell stories through movement; Musical Theatre is for 10-22 year olds with its purpose to enhance social skills, develop emotional literacy and increase self esteem; Musical Theatre Winnetka actually produces a musical play performed at Skokie School in Winnetka; there is a Peer Mentor Program for those 10 years and older who work with experienced peers on educational activities, choreography and stage work; and then there is the Creating Outside the Lines for those over 22 years of age to develop team work, public speaking and self confidence leading to employment readiness.

The overall organization operates with about a $500,000 budget provided by donations from several organizations like Rotary clubs and the New Trier Township, benefit campaigns/ activities, ticket sales and government grants. There is no required tuition payment, and any such payment is usually based on ability to pay. It uses training and performing space at local grade schools and studios located primarily in Winnetka, Northbrook and Northfield. It does draw students from at least 8 North Shore suburbs as well as some Chicago schools such as Edison Park in Chicago.

We were treated with a presentation by Ruthie, a junior at New Trier who has been an active mentor in the program specializing in teaching musical numbers and communication skills to non-verbal children. She thanked our Rotary Club for its contribution to this very important community activity for special needs young people.

At approximately 1:25 Barb adjourned the meeting and lead us in Rotary’s 4-Way Test.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY, July 7 2022

Posted by Robert Mardirossian

Shock, despair, anger, frustration, fear, sadness, concern for our country, impotence, withdrawal, distress, relief, denial.

These are just a few of the many thoughts, feelings and actions people have had since Monday’s horrific assault on our neighbors in Highland Park.

There is no script how one should feel or respond, as much as we wish we could find relief and peace. We each try to find a path that allows us to move forward.

For many of us, part of moving forward first requires pausing to acknowledge the horror of what happened and share it with those we care about.

The tragedy of what occurred in Highland Park, is not an isolated incident. This year alone there have been four mass shooting that have taken place. The impact of the other tragedies can have a cumulative effect on how we process Monday’s shooting. Try to be understanding of our feelings and responses and the feelings and responses of those around us, even if they don’t seem to make sense.

In the midst of witnessing the worst of what one person can do to many, we also heard and saw what the best of what many human beings can do for one another.

To the extent possible, let us strive to exemplify the best of humanity. Let us extend kindness and compassion to ourselves, to those we love and even to strangers we encounter.

In memory of the seven people who lost their lives Monday:

Katherine Goldstein

Irina McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy

Stephen Straus

Jacquelyn Sundheim

Nicolas Toledo-Zargoza

Eduardo Uvaldo

and all those who suffered physical and emotional harm, let us have 30 seconds of silence and send healing thoughts, energy and prayers to their families and friends, and the entire Highland Park community. Thank you.

Every Rotarian, Every Year- Contribute to The Rotary Foundation

As the 2021-22 Rotary Year concludes, please join the millions of beneficiaries of projects funded by The Rotary Foundation in thanking our members who have honored their commitment of Every Rotarian, Every Year, contribute to The Rotary Foundation's Annual SHARE Fund.

These gifts support the local and international work of Rotary Clubs and Districts through District and Global Grants. A significant portion of these gifts support projects of our club like our recent contribution to Shelter Box, our annual Operation Warm coats and shoes for children projects, local COVID-19 relief efforts, Kids Against Hunger, and our Ecuador "Farm to Table" Global Grant.

Year to date, we are 57% of the way to Presidents Bill and Greg's goal of $12,000 for the 2021-22 Rotary year.

Please thank these 20 Rotarians (plus our good friend Donna Goodman) for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:

Sam Badger*⁺, Wes Baumann, Connie Berman, David Birkenstein*⁺, Eric Birkenstein, Moha Bouacha, Donna Goodman, David Grant*, Tony Kambich*, Marie Kuipers, Rich Lalley*^{+^}, Bill Leske, Robert Mardirossian, Lee Padgitt, Bob Sanfilippo, Heidi Sibert, Peter Skalski, Todd Stephens, Liz Taylor, Barb Tubekis, and Patti Van Cleave.
* signifies a Major Donor ⁺signifies Paul Harris Society ($1,000 per year) ^Bequest Society

There are many reasons to give to the The Rotary Foundation:

Contributions support humanitarian and educational projects initiated and run by Rotary Clubs and Districts in seven areas of focus- Disease prevention and treatment, maternal & child health, education & literacy, water and sanitation, economic & community development, protecting our environment, and peace & conflict resolution. Learn more by reviewing the Foundation’s annual report.
Contributions come back to support projects of our club's projects, like Operation Warm Soles, support for ShelterBox, last year's COVID-19 Response efforts, Kids Against Hunger and International grants projects like our Farm to Table eco-agribusiness project in Ecuador, the water and sanitation projects we helped fund for schools in Guatemala and Kenya, and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440. This year, we received $3,671, and next year we will can receive $4,876. But we must give to receive.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 100 out of 100.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals named The Rotary Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation of 2016!
Giving to The Rotary Foundation is an easy way for you to participate in Rotary’s service work beyond our club, providing you a personal connection to this great organization and the good it does throughout the world.

It’s easy to give. Bring a check to made payable to “WNRCF” (mark TRF in the memo line) to our club, (or mail it to our club at 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, 60093); you can donate via PayPal by clicking here, or you can donate directly to The Rotary Foundation at www.rotary.org or by calling 866-976-8279. One very convenient way to give is by making a recurring monthly gift on your credit card or from your checking account, which you can set up on Rotary’s website.

If you have not already supported The Rotary Foundation this year, please do so now.

If you have any questions about The Rotary Foundation or how to give, contact Rich Lalley.

Meeting Recordings

One of the nice features of meeting virtually is that our meetings can be recorded. This of course depends on your meeting host (me) remembering to start the recording (sometimes I'm a bit late in starting it).

Here are links to view our recent meetings:

Suburban Rotary clubs team up to collect new shoes for children in need

Rotarians from Cook and Lake counties partnered with Operation Warm this month to provide 1,530 pairs of new shoes to area children.

The shoes were delivered to local nonprofit organizations and schools for distribution to families. The 11 participating Rotary clubs gathered Saturday morning at a Northbrook warehouse to pick and pack shoes for Operation Warm’s new Warm Soles program.

“It’s all about the kids, it’s all about taking care of the kids in the area,” said Bill Kolb of Zion, who delivered shoes to northeastern Lake County recipients.

Rotarian Gary Moriello of Northbrook helped deliver shoes to Waukegan.

“We have so much ourselves,” Moriello added, “and then to have a chance to give to somebody else who doesn’t have (new shoes) is a great idea.”

The program was funded from contributions from each participating club and a matching grant by Rotary District 6440 and The Rotary Foundation.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Got Questions about Rotary or our club? We've got answers.

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Mar 11, 2013

Are you thinking about joining our club, but have some questions? Or have you recently joined and want to know more about how things work? Check our our new FAQs:

Still have questions? Send them to info@wnrotary.org and we'll send you an answer and update our FAQs.

Doing Good in the World

Posted by Richard (Rich) Lalley on Feb 10, 2013

Last year, our club helped fund a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant program supporting a Rotary Club sponsored prosthesis clinic in Bolivia. Our club's funds were matched with funds from The Rotary Foundation; $2.50 for each $1 we contributed. Take a look at the impact this program has had on one gentleman!

Our club was able to participate in the matching grant program because our members contribute each year the the Annual Programs Fund of The Rotary Foundation. You can make a contribution via PayPal by clicking here.