In addition to 37 members and our speaker, we had one guest in attendance at the May 7 meeting. Mimi Majerus of Glenview was the guest of Joe Nash.
President Baker gave Sam Badger a recruitment pin for bringing in Carl Yudell to our club. Bob is anxious to give out more such pins so keep looking for potential new members. The president then encouraged attendance at our Annual Benefit on May 16th. Realizing some members will be unable to attend the benefit, he suggested a contribution equivalent to the cost of one ticket. This benefit is the main source of funding for our local agency gifts. John Thomas is cautiously optimistic about attendance but said the idea of having a lower price ticket for guests has not yet shown the desired results. Please think of one or two persons you would like to bring to help more people understand the good works of the Winnetka-Northfield Rotary. Keith Reed and his Royal Rotarians will be providing the entertainment. He is assembling a vocal ensemble of members to perform one number in their show. Catered by Design will provide the buffet dinner.
We celebrated with song the birthdays of Bob Baker, Joe Fell and Barb Tubekis. Barb also celebrated her third Rotary anniversary.
Happy Buck$ were given by Marie Kuipers who announced her engagement to the astrophysicist, Dr. Alan Zablocki, who was our speaker last month; Ned Meisner for the good professional advice from Tom Nash; Tony Kambich in honor of Jeanne Beckman and her service dog who performed in Arlynn Presser’s recent play Remembrance; and finally from Barb Tubekis for soliciting volunteers for focus groups for to discuss the Volunteer Center.
Everyone was happy to see Rodger Morris back from his fall.
Bob Baker announced that next week’s meeting on May 14th would be held at the Takiff Center at 999 Green Bay Road in Glencoe. Parking and entry are in the back on the east side of the building.
Our speaker was Kerri Elliot, a former Special Education teacher at Antioch Community High School who went to Tanzania in 2008 to ‘see elephants.’ What she did see, in addition to the elephants, was an opportunity to young people in the African country. Almost all students attend elementary school, which is taught in Swahili, but many fewer attend high school, which is taught in English. All secondary schools are boarding schools and require tuition. Kerri returned to the U.S. and told her students about the experiences of the Tanzanian students she observed. Many were eager to get involved. Kerri learned about the international service orientation of Rotary and she was able to form an Interact club at her school. Kerri was concerned about the large number of young people who did not attend high school due to many obstacles that were difficult to overcome. The students at Antioch High School raised money to send school supplies to Tanzania. One of the goals was to raise funds for scholarships so that eligible students would be able to attend high school.
Kerri moved to Tanzania last June where she became a member of the local Rotary. With help from Rotary a non-profit organization called EdPowerment, Inc. was formed. It is dedicated to enabling education for neglected teenagers and youth with special needs through grassroots support. Through its
Kilimahewa Educational Centre it serves local teens, most often from broken homes, and struggling adults who live in abject poverty, excluded from public & private education. Those teens lack food, family support and clothing. The homes they come from lack electricity and running water. There is no government assistance, church support or community relief programs. But most important they lack opportunity. EdPowerment works locals and helps improve sanitation by constructing latrines and teaches them to raise chickens for food as well as a business.
For the past three years EdPowerment has conducted a two-week exchange program in summer. The Kilimahewa Education Centre provides care for about 120 children.
