There were 31 members in attendance on June 5, plus our two speakers, Jerry Winslow of the Gurnee Rotary Club and Rev. Simon Muhota from Kenya.
There were reminders about two changes in our meeting time in June. On June 19th we are hosting the two Wilmette Clubs for a 6:00 p.m. dinner meeting to be held at the Winnetka Community House. The speaker for the evening will be Tom Dart, Sheriff of Cook County. Then, the following Thursday, June 26, we will hold the annual installation dinner at 6:00 p.m. at the Community House. Bob Baker will be inducted as our president for the 2014-15 Rotary year. This is a wonderful event to bring you spouse or ‘significant other’ to let them meet the great and interesting group of service-minded fellow-Rotarians that you hang out with on Thursdays.
Kristen Leahy, of the club’s Community Service committee, announced that our club would be collecting items for the New Trier Township Food Pantry. Items the Pantry is looking for include: Laundry detergent, white and brown rice, cooking oil and other condiments (salad dressings, ketchup, mustard, mayo, peanut butter and jelly), pasta sauce, paper goods (Kleenex and paper towels). You can bring the items to our Rotary meetings or drop them off outside the Grand.
The day’s program focused on the work in Kenya of Rev. Simon Muhota and his wife Margadret, who is a nurse. They started an orphanage to serve children who were orphaned by political unrest and AIDS. They broke ground in 2011 and are serving many children who have never seen a traditional bed. For obvious reasons they needed a well to provide water for drinking, cooking, irrigation and sanitation. The Rotary Club of Gurnee initiated a project to build a well after finding a Rotary Club in Kenya to partner with. Our club is one of several clubs in the U.S. to provide financial support. The various clubs contributed over $19,000, which in turn became a grant of over $62,000 to build the well. It was a great demonstration of how the Rotary District and International multiplied the money raised locally for a project that will supply clean water for the use of the orphanage and be sold for additional income. The well is over 600 feet deep and Simon expects that they will be getting their first supply of water when he returns to Kenya, which is very soon.
Please find a substitute if you are unable to fulfill your assignment; Just call or e-mail a fellow member and ask him/her to sub. Tom Evans - tom.evans527@gmail.com- who chairs the service committee, will confirm assignments. Sgt. at arms helps set up and store our stuff, please come 15 minutes early and be prepared to stay a few minutes after the meeting; Greeter greets and announces names of visiting Rotarians and guests; Thought of the Day can be spontaneous or read from a script; Dig 'n Grin can make us laugh or think seriously.
Please bring items for the New Trier Township Food Pantry to our weekly meetings in June. Items the Pantry is looking for include: Laundry detergent, white and brown rice, cooking oil and other condiments (salad dressings, ketchup, mustard, mayo, peanut butter and jelly), pasta sauce, paper goods (Kleenex and paper towels).
The 2013-14 Rotary Year is nearly over, and our club has accomplished much. Our membership is growing; our Operation Warm, Kids Against Hunger and Community Grants programs were all great successes. We have much to be proud about our club, and about being a part of the greater fellowship of Rotary.
One goal we have yet to reach is our contributions to the Annual Program Fund of The Rotary Foundation. Through June 28, 43 members of our club have contributed $8,199 to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund, or 94% of the ambitious goal set by President Eric and our board. We thank these 43 Rotarians for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:
Sam Badger*, Bob Baker, Wes Baumann, Mary Lou Bilder-Gold, David Birkenstein, Eric Birkenstein, Tom Evans, John Gilchrist, Dave Gotaas, David Grant*, Lousie Holland,Tony Kambich*, Mark Kotz, Marie Kuipers, Rich Lalley, Denny Lauer, Robert Mardirossian, Tim McCabe, Bernie Michna, Rodger Morris*, Tom Nash, Chuck Norton, Lee Padgitt, Brooke Peppey, Alan Ramsay, Keith Reed, Randy Reeves, Fred Schwimmer, Mike Shelton, Gina Sich, Heidi Sibert, Peter Skalski, Todd Stephens, John Stone, Liz Taylor, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Dirk Tussing, Patti Van Cleave, Alison Wertheimer, Clyde Willan, Rebecca Wolf and Mike Wurzburg.
* signifies a Major Donor.
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 six areas of focus- Disease prevention and treatment, maternal & child health, education & literacy, water and sanitation, economic & community development and peace & conflict resolution. Learn more by reviewing the Foundation’s annual report.
Contributions come back to support projects of our club, like our coats for kids, Kids Against Hunger and International grants projects like the water well project we helped fund for an orphanage in Kenya and the digital x-ray/community health clinic project organized by District 6440.
Charity Navigator gives The Rotary Foundation its highest “Four Star” rating, giving it a score 60.34 out of 70.
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. You can donate with a check or credit card at lunch; you can send a check to “WNRCF” (mark TRF in the memo line) to our club at 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka; 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, which you can set up on Rotary’s website.
If you have any questions about The Rotary Foundation or how to give, contact Rich Lalley.
