Continuing our club's long standing Thanksgiving tradition, we will once again partner with the Volunteer Center to provide post-holiday groceries for families in transitional housing who are served by Good News Partners in Chicago's North of Howard neighborhood. We will purchase groceries in bulk at Costco and club members will bag the groceries at our November 16th meeting.

 

Please donateto help us provide post-holiday groceries to these families in need. You can bring a check or cash to a lunch meeting, make a pledge by emailing your pledge to info@wnrotary.org, or donate online by clicking here: DONATE NOW. We hope to provide over 150 bags of groceries, and have a fundraising goal of $4,000. We already have a matching grant from The Rotary Foundation for $1,760. This will be easy if everyone contributes. 

 

Around 11 pm on Friday September 8th, the strongest earthquake in more than a century struck Morocco. Moha Bouacha grew up in Timoulilt, a small village at the foot of the Atlas Mountains. Moha says that while his village suffered some damage, villages higher and deeper in the mountains were devastated. Over 3,000 people died and 5,500 injured. Some villages were reduced to rubble and 80% of their population perished. According to a UN report, 50,000 homes were destroyed and 300,000 people were affected in the three regions close to the epicenter, including the historical cities of Marrakech and Taroudant.

While Moha was President of the Belvidere, IL Rotary Club, he began a relationship between the club and Timoulilt Association for Development (ATD), an NGO in Timoulilt, Morocco. ATD is focused on the socio-economic development of Timoulilt and its region. They have partnered on projects with The Rotary Foundation on a Global Grant administered by the Rotary Clubs of Casablanca and Belvidere; USAID and the European Union and many other International aid organizations. 

Here is a video recapping early earthquake relief efforts conducted by ATD shortly after the quake.
 

Donations to support long term recovery efforts organized by ATD can be made here. 
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/winnetka-northfield-rotary-charitable-foundation/morocco-earthquake-relief