Our Holiday Fundraiser is nearly over and your participation is needed. Go to www.rotarygifts.com today! Order gift items, buy Raffle tickets, or just donate to contribute to the humanitarian and philanthropic projects your club supports.
Don't forget to contact your friends, relatives, business contacts, etc. to let them know about this great opportunity for charitable giving before yearend.
Important Deadlines:
Saturday, December 2 - Jim Bowman will be at Panera in Wilmette from 9:00am to 10:00am. All outstanding checks and paper orders must be given to Jim at this time.
Wednesday, December 13 - Last chance to buy Raffle Tickets, which will be offered at the Holiday Party at Valley Lo
The gift items this year include wines, chocolates, cheese, smoked salmon, olive oils, and more. Members are expected to purchase, sell, or donate to this fundraiser. Emails have been sent to members to explain the specifics of the Holiday Fundraiser. Questions should be directed to Jim Pockross mpockross@comcast.net
Thanks to everyone who came and helped make sandwiches and lunches for Connections for the Homeless in Evanston, John andYvonne Held, Mariana, Mary White, Mojgan Bowers, John Kilner, Jim Pockross, Frank Chesswick, George Pearce, Laurie and Mike Cavalier and Ellen Fox. On 11/7 we were able to pack 170 lunches and made 197 sandwiches that were delivered on 11/8. Thanks to Martha Sheridan for helping with the packing and loading.
Winter Warmth event, hosted by Connections for the Homeless, was well- attended by Rotarian volunteers. Volunteers distributed coats, boots and other necessities for the frigid Illinois weather to community members in need. Every year, Winter Warmth distributes winter gear to anyone who needs it, without having to turn away recipients, which Connections’ Chief Executive Officer Betty Bogg said is usually the hardest part of the organization’s work. Connections anticipated approximately 500 participants to attend.
Every year on Thanksgiving day, I, Jim Pockross, conduct a Ceremony of Gratitude. This year will be its 49th year. The ceremony is simple. A group of people get together and simply say what they are grateful for in their lives when their turn comes. I have done this many times with the morning group, and participants feel the event is meaningful for them given that the day is Thanksgiving. For many of us the Thanksgiving holiday is one of family, food, fun and football. The Ceremony of Gratitude connects us to being thankful on the special day.
All members are welcome to join in. This will be done over ZOOM on Thursday, November 23 at 10:00 a.m., so it doesn’t interfere with the day or watching all the football games. A ZOOM link will be emailed out shortly before Thanksgiving.
The Happy Hour on December 6 was an informal holiday celebration enjoyed by all those who attended. Members, spouses and guests were treated to a performance by the New Trier Swing Choir. Thanks to the members who brought food, there was a large variety of great appetizers and desserts. Special thanks to Frank Cheswick who organized the event (with some help from your editor) and Frank's wife, Georgia, who was there to help setup and cleanup.
Hands-On Service Sub-Committee: John Held has agreed to help form a sub-committee that will focus on finding hands-on service opportunities for our members who want to be more involved and work directly with organizations and clients. Please reach out to John if that is something you want to become more involved with. johnjheld@gmail.com
Diaper Distribution: Had some follow up from Tina Kalil from Bundled Blessings, a diaper bank on the north shore. If anyone is interested in volunteering with them to load and unload diapers or coordinate a diaper drive for Wilmette, contact her at here
Building Peaceful Bridges: If anyone wants to volunteer to help build a team or assist a refugee family with the folks from Building Peaceful Bridges, please let me know and I will put you in contact with Lori or visit their website here
At this moment, we are about 1 sleeping bag and 1 pack of blankets shy of our goal of 100 of each for our donations to the Fraternite Notre Dame Sisters for their un-homed clients in the city. Most have been delivered to them already. Thanks for all of your generous donations. We still have some money in our budget so we will be ordering warm hats, gloves, socks and scarves to send to the Sisters to distribute as needed.
This project provides sleeping bags and blankets for the 100 homeless people living in a tent city under Chicago's expressway. These people have been adopted by the Fraternite Notre Dame Sisters who run the bakery in Wilmette and have their Mother Home in Chicago. They have worked in Chicago's poorest neighborhoods for many years helping the homeless to survive. We annually coordinate with them to provide what they tell us are the needs of these homeless individuals.
Thanks to everyone who has bought so far. Final items can be purchased today, Sunday, HERE with direct shipment to Fraternite Notre Dame.
The deadline for purchasing online tickets was yesterday, however, if you still plan on coming, you must let Yvonne Sito know that you are coming and what your meal preference is (beef, salmon or vegetarian), no later than today, Sunday.
Our gala Holiday Party for all club members and guests will be on Wednesday, December 13 at the beautiful Vally Lo club in Glenview. The evening begins at 6pm and ends at 9pm. There will be cash bar, and a sumptuous 3-course sit-down dinner will be served at 7pm. Dinner entree choices will include a 8oz filet of beef with bordelaise sauce, or a seared Atlantic salmon with lemon dill sauce, or grilled vegetables and parisian potatoes with vegan marinara sauce. Caesar salad and sides of mashed potatoes and asparagus included, with a chocolate sundae for dessert. Brian Bradley has agreed to be DJ after dinner for those who want to dance and party further.
TRF Earthquake Response Fund - The Rotary Foundation Trustees established a new Morocco Earthquake Response Fund in September 2023 to support immediate relief efforts for people affected by the devastating earthquakes. Contributions will be accepted until 31 December 2023. To contribute online, click
ShelterBox is on the ground in Morocco - Teams are assessing the severe damage to villages and providing temporary shelter and supplies. If you wish to donate you can do so online at www.ShelterBoxUSA.org or mail gifts to: ShelterBox USA P.O. Box 103299 Pasadena, CA 91189-3299.
The Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield is currently raising funds for an NGO in Timoullit, Morocco, which is the birth home of Winnetka-Northfield Rotarian, Moha Bouacha. Donations to the earthquake victims in this area may be made to the Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Charitable Foundation online here.
Maui Relief - Rotary District 5000, Hawaii, has established a Maui Fire Relief Fund through their Foundation. The Hawaii Rotary District Foundation is a registered 501c3. The Maui Fire Relief Fund aims to provide immediate assistance and long-term recovery support to the people of Maui, as they navigate the path to rebuilding their lives and communities. effectively. You may find all the details at https://rotaryd5000.org/ if you would like to contribute. ShelterBox USA is not responding with direct support to Maui, however they have announced a $50,000 donation to the Rotary District 5000 Fire Relief Fund.
Welcome!
Our Motto:
Service Above Self
Wednesdays at 12:00 PM
Wilmette Golf Club
3900 Fairway Drive
Wilmette, IL 60091 United States of America
We have three groups: two meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 7:30am at the Sheridan Shores Yacht Club and at Noon at Wilmette Golf Club. The other group meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 7pm. Mailing address is: PO Box 111, Wilmette, IL 60091
The Record North Shore is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom dedicated to the North Shore suburbs of Chicago. Joe Coughlin is a co-founder and the editor in chief who guides editorial policy, leads investigative reporting, and manages operational and fundraising efforts. Joe was the publisher for 22nd Century Media and is an award-winning investigative reporter, feature writer and photojournalist. Joe is also a former editor of The Wilmette Beacon and Chicagoly magazine.
Ben Wozney, Lakefront General Manager for the Wilmette Park District, will tell us about how the lakefront, sailing beach, swimming beach, Wallace Bowl, concessions, etc are managed and coordinated.
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