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PEOPLE OF ACTION

We meet In Person & Online

Thursdays at 12:15 PM

Meeting on Zoom. In person meetings resume at Community House June 10.

620 Lincoln Avenue
Winnetka, IL 60093
United States of America

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Give New Coats to Afghan Refugees

The Rotary Clubs of New Trier Township and other Chicago area Rotary clubs are raising funds to provide new winter coats from Operation Warm to Afghan refugees currently residing at the Indiana National Guard's Camp Atterbury.

We hope to provide new coats to 2,000 children.

So, for every $100 you donate, 6 children will receive the gift of warmth, confidence and hope that comes with a brand new coat.

We are working to get coats to these children in early November, so will be ordering coats on October 25th. So we need your donation now!

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/winnetka-northfield-rotary-charitable-foundation/donate-to-give-new-coats-to-afghan-refugees

Meeting Notes October 14

Posted by David Grant

Attendance: Rotarians in-person: 15, and Rotarians on zoom: 7 (Wes, Marie, Bob, Amy, Liz, Laura, Sylvia).

Thought of the Day: Rich Lalley offered an impromptu classic: It is better to give than to receive.

Announcements:

Barb Tubekis would like volunteers for ‘Make a Difference Day’ on Saturday, 10/23.
Bill Leske prepped us for the District Governor visit on Thursday, 10/28.

Happy Bucks:

Patti Van Cleave thanked Joe Fell for unpacking the new flagpole holder, and Patti in turn was thanked for donating the holder to the Club.
Rich thanked Joe Nash and his committee for organizing the Operation Warm concert held on Friday, 10/15.

Speakers from The Winnetka Public Schools District 36 (K-8 grade): Dr. Trisha Kocanda, Superintendent of The Winnetka Public Schools, led a discussion about how the District continued education through Covid. Last school year most of the students went to school for 50% of each school day on an AM/PM hybrid model. Families were offered a fully remote option, but only 7% chose to stay home, while 93% of Winnetka families chose the hybrid model.

Brad Goldstein, Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer, then spoke about District finances. The four-year average increase in expenditures for the operating budget increased by an average of 2.7% per year. The District also spent $14.1 million from their fund balances to address some of the issues that would have been covered by the school referendum that did not pass. It is possible for the school District to propose a new referendum for the November 2022 ballot, but that will not be decided until February of 2022.

Meeting Notes October 7

Posted by David Grant

Guests: Peter Hansen, Business Liaison with Winnetka-Kennilworth Living Magazine, and Kate Hughes, Communications & Community Relations Coordinator, The Winnetka Public Schools.

Visiting Rotarians: Ron Bernardi from the Northbrook Club.

Thought of the Day: Rick Boerjesson offered two health insights: 1.) The greatest wealth is health, and 2.) If you ignore your health, it will go away.

Announcements:

Co-hosts Rich Lalley, Joe Nash, Laura Cunningham, and Bill Leske are looking forward to seeing you at the Valley Lo this Friday, 10/15 for the Operation Warm Concert. The party will feature the ‘Soul Keeper’ band.
Rich would like some help delivering coats to Afghan refugees for our Operation Warm project.

Happy Bucks:

Tony Kambich double-offered in honor of both Victor Killian, a charter member of our Club, and also Victor’s son-in-law Bob Baker, who has been a member of our Club for 34 years (Congratulations Bob on your Anniversary)!
Happy Birthday to Brooke Peppey!
Wes Baumann will donate $20 every meeting there are at least 20 members attending in-person at the WCH.

Dig and Grin: Ron Bernardi volunteered spontaneous observations about ‘shoe bling,’ ‘jeans brands,’ and ‘olive oil.’

Speaker Mike Stark: Mike was in the printing business, and when he retired he got in the publishing business as the Editor of the Winnetka-Kennilworth Living Magazine. Best Version Media is his back office, which allows him to run a very efficient operation that sources local stories for the monthly magazine.

In addition to the North Shore communities of Winnetka & Kenilworth, Mike also publishes similar magazines for Highland Park, Wilmette, Northfield and Northbrook. All the magazines feature similar upbeat and positive coverage and stories about unique individuals who make their neighbors feel good and proud of their community. A great example of this coverage was the cover story about our Rotary member David Birkenstein. This month’s magazine features coverage of the Winnetka Music Festival.

Mike is always looking for good stories, and he would appreciate your input. He believes in “letting you tell your stories,” so you can expect community voices will be heard every month.

Meeting Notes September 30

Posted by Patti Van Cleave

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

After some technical issues, Wes Baumann (on Zoom) offered the following thought of the day:

Life is like a camera, if focusing doesn’t work out, you just take another shot.

We had no visiting guests or Rotarians, and there were no birthdays or anniversaries.

Announcements:

Our Operation Warm concert event is on October 15 at Valley Lo Club. Rich asked for volunteers to sell drink tickets, and encouraged all to but tickets to the event soon!

The Wilmette Harbor Club is working with a military base in southern Indiana where there are 8,000 Afghan refugees housed. Wilmette Harbor will be providing them with coats – we are encouraged to support this effort.

Our District Governor visit is on October 28. All are encouraged to attend this meeting.

Happy Bucks:

President Bill offered a buck because his son got engaged yesterday!

Moha offered a buck for the Northwestern Wildcats football victory last Saturday.

Barb offered $76 in memory of her son’s father-in-law, who was double vaccinated yet died from COVID at age 76.

Dig N Grin –

David Birkenstein offered humorous thoughts about what God has planned for us as we age.

Speaker –

Bob Sanfilippo introduced Kim Hassenfeld, staff member at CCNS and Jessica Gardiner, school social worker at Glenbrook High School to discuss the impact of COVID on adolescents' mental health.

Some facts from their presentation, which can be seen as a Zoom recording:

According to 2020 statistics, depression and anxiety among teens has skyrocketed, as have suicide attempts – as recorded by hospital emergency room data.
Since COVID began, additional stressors of losing family members or having them get sick has worsened the situation.
According to Jessica, “what we’re seeing” at high school are increasing instances of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, grief, hospitalizations and safety assessments for self-harm.

Glenbrook has enacted pass/fail option to decrease stress. Jessica noted that kids are experiencing more social anxiety – as they are “out of practice” with social interaction. They are seeing increasing numbers of students being referred for psychiatric evaluation and medication.

According to Lurie Children’s Hospital, 48% of parents have talked to their primary care doctor about mental health concerns with their children in the past year. It is estimated that 20% of Illinois children have a mental health problem.

Glenbrook sees 250 kids individually, and has formed many support groups. They are the first school in the country to create a Mental Health First Aid Training program for staff and students.

Q&A followed this presentation.

President Bill adjourned the meeting at 1:30, and we recited the Four Way Test.

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.

Grants Committee Makes Annual Community Grants Awards

The board of the Winnetka Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation has awarded grants to the following organizations:

Blues Kids Foundation

Career Resource Center

Counseling Center of the North Shore

Good News Partners

Jhoole

North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic

The Volunteer Center

SamaraCare Counseling

Special Gifts Theater

Winnetka Youth Organization

The committee has set aside $700 to match additional donations by our members. If you would like to make a donation and have it matched, email Rich Lalley with the amount of your donation and which organization you are supporting. The foundation match will be awarded on a first come, first served basis, and is capped at $200 per member and $700 total. Contact Rich if you have any questions.

People of Action- The Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield and The Rotary Foundation Provide Relief to Those Impacted by COVID-19

The Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield has met weekly at the Winnetka Community House since 1924. That streak ended in mid-March, when the club suspended its weekly lunch meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, this did not stop the club from continuing to meet and live up to its well-earned reputation as People of Action. Almost immediately, the club began to meet on Zoom every Thursday at its regular 12:15 time, and the club’s board and committees did so as well.

Over the club’s 96 years, it has undertaken many notable service projects. So, it is no surprise the club quickly responded to the needs of those affected by COVID-19. Supported by donations from members and friends of the club, and a grant from The Rotary Foundation, the club took the following actions:

Supported the local food pantry and provided financial assistance to families experiencing severe financial need through a $5,000 donation to the New Trier Township Angel Fund.