Connections for the Homeless held their annual Block Party last Saturday, and several members volunteered to help.  We helped to organize the lines of people waiting for the pony rides and ice cream truck.  The event was well attended by a very diversified crowd of adults and children. Our members had a good time and will return to help again next year. Volunteer members, from the left, Debora Morris Valerie Hector, Frank Cheswick, Brian Bradley, Heidi Voorhees and Lee Brodne.

The next monthly Lunch-Packing project will be held on Tuesday, August 4 at St. Joseph's Church at 6 p.m. and is hosted by the Wilmette Rotary Club. We typically pack 160 lunches, which are delivered to Connections for the Homeless the next day.  Sign -up LUNCHES

Rotary is responding to the recent earthquakes in Venezuela through two trusted relief efforts. Rotary Districts in Venezuela have launched the Rotary for Venezuela campaign to provide emergency assistance and support long-term recovery. In addition, ShelterBox, Rotary's disaster relief partner, is providing emergency shelter and essential supplies to families affected by the disaster.  Both opportunities to give are highlighted by Rotary Zones 25B & 29. If you would like to help, please consider supporting one of these relief efforts.

Rotary for Venezuela: https://rotaryforvenezuela.org/   ShelterBox Venezuela Relief: https://shelterboxusa.org/venezuela-earthquake/

The Rotary Club of Evanston Lighthouse is having its annual Taste of Evanston on Sunday, August 30th, again on the lakeside lawn of the Charles Gates Dawes House, home of the Evanston History Center. 3pm-6pm.  As live music plays, more than forty restaurants, wine shops and breweries will serve “great food for a great cause.” A silent auction and a raffle for exciting prizes will build suspense. Tickets  are available now at www.tasteofevanston.org

Big Book Drive started October 1 and will run until November 13 at all Wilmette public and private elementary schools and Loyola Academy, Regina Dominican  HS, and New Trier HS.  Start saving books for our Big Book Drive.  We will partner again with Bernie's Book Bank to collect books for under-resourced schools in Chicago, kindergarten through high school.  Contact Maurice Sullivan for more information mauricewsullivan@aol.com 

TEDxWilmette Salon - Burning Questions: What Are Yours? Join a panel of three TEDxWilmette speakers to discuss the most burning questions on their minds right now. What are your burning questions?    Sunday, November 8.  1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Baker Demonstration School, 201 Sheridan Road, Wilmette.  Purchase tickets ($20 each)

Convito Cafe & market - Thirsty Thursdays, now through November 19, after 5pm in the cafe, $2-5$ off wine and cocktails. https://www.convitocafeandmarket.com/

Many people are a bit confused about how to recycle properly. Knowing how to prepare items for regular recycling is integral in recovering resources and minimizing landfill waste. There are other ways to recycle compostables and other items, but for regular recycling, follow these simple tips to Recycle Right: 

• No plastic bags of any kind.  No Styrofoam and other hard-to-recycle plastics (there are other ways to recycle this).

• Empty and rinse bottles, cans, and containers to remove food or beverage residue
• Do not bag recyclables (even in paper bags) - they should be loose in the cart
• Flatten boxes
• Leave the caps on plastic bottles and milk jugs – do not crush!
• Remove tops from glass bottles (tops smaller than 2 inches should be thrown in the garbage)
• Remove wax bags from food boxes (such as cereal or cracker boxes)
• Labels can remain on jars/bottles and plastic windows on envelopes
• Keep the lid on your recycling cart closed at all times to keep materials dry