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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 8, 27 members of our club have contributed $5,949 to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Programs Fund, or 68% of the goal set by President Eric and our board. We thank these 27 Rotarians for already making their annual contribution, especially those in bold who are Paul Harris Fellows:
Bob Baker, Wes Baumann, Eric Birkenstein, David Grant*, Lousie Holland, Tony Kambich*, Mark Kotz, Marie Kuipers, Rich Lalley, Denny Lauer, Robert Mardirossian, Bernie Michna, Rodger Morris*, Lee Padgitt, Alan Ramsay, Randy Reeves, Peter Skalski, Todd Stevens, Fred Schwimmer, John Stone, John Thomas, Barb Tubekis, Dirk Tussing, Patti Van Cleave, Alison Wertheimer, 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 68.57 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.
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The program for the week was a great service opportunity lead by Barb Tubekis and Kristen Leahy. Those in attendance put together and packed 180 sack lunches for A Just Harvest. This organization was originally the Good News Community Kitchen, founded by the Good News Community Church and the First Congregational Church of Wilmette 30 years ago in the Rogers Park area of Chicago. They started by serving a weekly meal with members contributing the food and serving the meal. Today the partnership has grown to 35 religious and community organizations. They are committed to “feeding the hungry,” which includes seniors living on a fixed income, the homeless, the unemployed and even those whose full time jobs do not pay enough to provide the basic needs for a family. They also provide snacks for local afterschool programs and serve summer lunches. Everyone left the meeting with a good feeling and saying we should do this more often.