The regular meeting on January 28 has been replaced with a tour of the Rotary International headquarters in Evanston (deadline for attendance confirmations was last week). February begins with Lunch-packing on February 3 at 6pm at St. Joseph Church, lower level, east entrance, followed by a Noon meeting on February 11 at Sheridan Shore Yacht Club, and a Morning Meeting at 7:30am on February 18, also at the Yacht Club.

Katie Arnold, Executive Director and Bob Moran, Board Member and Parent, gave us a wonderful update about their special organization, Our Place.  Our Club has supported and continues to support Our Place, which provides a safe haven and resources for teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.   Participants learn life skills, creative arts and the social skills needed to contribute to the community. Our Place has recently bought the church building where they have been located since 2008.

               

Our Annual Beach Sweep was on Saturday, September 20;  this year we partnered again with Go Green Wilmette and the Alliance for the Great Lakes.  Students from the Springman Middle School came prepared to scour the beach for debris, as well as veteran Go Green volunteers, many with their children.  Lots of trash was collected and sorted by project coordinator Carolyn Lvoff, GGW Board member, Rotary members, Ben Ivory (who also helped organize the event), John Kay, Debora Morris and Alice Chow, and former Rotarian Chris Simcox (who also helped organize the event).  It's truly amazing how much trash people leave at the beach, especially plastic stuff.

         

Operation Warm Fundraiser - The 7th Annual Operation Warm Benefit Party will be held on Friday, September 26 at the Doubletree Hotel in Skokie -- 9599 Skokie Blvd.  Sponsored by the Winnetka-Northfield Charitable Foundation, there will be a Buffet Dinner, Cash Bar, Auction and Raffle. Proceeds provide new winter coats from Operation Warm to Chicago area children living in need, including at neighborhood library events.   Purchase tickets

 

This is a wonderful opportunity to further support a project our Club has been involved with for years!

 

Youth Job Center Golf Outing- 9/15 -- Sarah Homan, Debora Morris and her husband, Joe, played in the golf outing organized by the Youth Job Center (YJC). Our club supports this organization which provides resources for young people 14-25 to pursue job opportunities through workforce training, coaching, financial assistance and employer partnerships. The golf outing was a highly attended event on a beautiful private course in Riverwoods.

 

                   

 

 

Rotary International's theme for September is Basic Education and Literacy Month, an area of focus that aims to strengthen community capacity to support education, reduce gender disparity, and increase adult literacy worldwide. During this month, Rotary clubs and members are encouraged to raise awareness, identify local needs, launch projects, and form partnerships to improve literacy and access to education for children and adults.