Our next August meetings will be a Morning meeting at 7:30am on Wednesday August 19 at the Wilmette Harbor Club and a Lunch meeting at noon on Wednesday, August 26 at St. John's Church.
TIP: Be sure to click on "Click here" at the top of the page to view the entire issue online OR "View entire message" at the bottom of the page to see the whole issue.
Our Hope Walk for the Homeless is THIS SATURDAY, May 9!! Join members from the Winnetka-Northfield, Evanston Lighthouse and Skokie Valley Rotary clubs, friends, and neighbors for a Fun 5k Walk in beautiful Gillson Park. It will start at 10am in the Wallace Bowl area of the Park. All proceeds will go to organizations that provide services to the homeless in Evanston, Chicago, and the local area (e.g. Connections for the Homeless, La Casa Norte, Fraternite Notre Dame, Interfaith Action of Evanston and others). Registration fee is $40 per person, $100 for a Family, and $20 for Students. Leashed dogs are welcome!
REGISTER HERE for the Hope Walk -- tell your friends and neighbors -- this is an easy way to make a difference in your community.
We need a few more volunteers for the day of the event; click VOLUNTEER to sign-up for specific tasks.
At the meeting of April 22, club members voted to elect Sarah Homan and Kurt Zoller as Co-presidents Elect for Rotary year 2026/2027, to become Co-presidents in Rotary year 2027/2018. Kurt has been a member since 2019 and Sarah since 2024, both are active members who will make a great team.
Rotary club members gathered on Wednesday, April 22 to hear a most informative presentation from Wilmette Public Library Executive Director Anthony Auston and the Library's Manager of Digital and Maker Services, Lauren Kelly. The Library is a 5 star library which is a national designation and reflects the Library's public and community access and impact. Wilmette's library also serves Kenilworth residents and has more than 18,000 active library card users and over 260,000 visitors annually. Wednesday's program focused on the Library's digital content services. Library card holders can access books, magazines, newspapers (including the New York Times), thousands of films, documentaries and instructional videos through the following apps: Libby, Hoopla, and Kanopy.
We have received a Membership Application from Robert (Bob) Pankauskas, sponsored by George Pearce. Although semi-retired, Bob is a freelance consultant assisting companies to identify and gain insights into their consumer base. His background includes senior marketing positions with McDonalds, Allstate and other market research firms. He holds a BS from Univ of Illinois and an MBA from Northwestern – Kellogg School of Management. Bob actively volunteers at the Wilmette Library, sorting books for Books Down Under several times a week. He has attended several club meetings and members have had the opportunity to meet Bob in person. Bob is a Wilmette resident and enjoys watercolor painting and exercise.
Last chance to donate this Rotary Year to The Rotary Foundation (TRF). It would be great if every member is able to contribute $100 this Rotary year. If you can contribute $100, that equates to only 27 cents per day or $1.92 per week. But any contribution is welcomed. Ray Z. or Terry P. will be able to tell each member how far away they are from their next Paul Harris Fellow award (PHF). Rememberpart of your contribution comes back toourClub tohelpfund our service programs. Ray Zeiss has indicated that there are several members who are very close to becoming a Paul Harris Fellow, or adding to their PHF status, with credits from our past EREY contributions. Donations will be matched for those within $500 of reaching the next PHF.
Members : It's very easy! Click HERE for a direct link to donate.
Member Sarah Homan with friend Yvonne Levy have co-founded an exciting new interfaith organization, the GraceNote Collective. This new 501(c)3 non-profit organization is an interfaith community gospel choir with focus on celebrating the tradition of gospel music. They would welcome any support with spreading the word to singers (auditions will be held in May) and/or any contributions to their inaugural season launch campaign (https://givebutter.com/gracenotecollectivelaunch). More info can be found at gracenotecollective.org or club members can reach out to Sarah with questions, sarah.homan@ymail.com
Monthly Lunch-packing on September 1, 6pm - The monthly service project of preparing lunch bags for Connections for the Homeless is at St. Joseph's Church, Lake and Ridge, Wilmette at 6pm. Enter through the east lower entrance. A Rotary Club meeting follows immediately after the sandwiches are made. This is now a collaborative project with members joining us from the Winnetka-Northfield and Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Clubs. Sign -up LUNCHES September is Winnetka-Northfield's month. October is Evanston Lighthouse month.
Go Green Wilmette’s Volunteer Habitat Work Days – Volunteer with Go Green Wilmette in the Gillson Park Bird Habitat and Mallinckrodt Park. These two parks have areas planted with native plant species, which require hands on maintenance to keep them healthy and thriving. Go Green Wilmette leads work days once per month in each park from 9-11 am. **Gillson Bird Habitat work days happen on the first Sunday of the month, except on holiday weekends: Dates are: September 13 and October 4. Meet in the bird habitat along Michigan Ave. just south of Lake Ave.
**Mallinckrodt work days happen on the third Thursday of the month. Dates are: August 20, September 17 and October 15.
Go Green Wilmette/Wilmette Park District - Beach Clean Ups - Join Go Green Wilmette for a beach clean-up! April through October at Gillson Beach, Gate 3 (Gillson Beach House during the off-season dates), 9am-11am.Bring reusable gloves (not single-use plastic) and a bucket or container. Click Information
Wilmette Rotary Beach Sweep - Saturday, September 19, 9am-11:30am, at Gillson Park. We will partner with Go Green Wilmette as we did last year.We (Rotary and Go Green Wilmette) will base ourselves at the Wilmette Beach Building structure and welcome both Springman School students and the public. One of the unique features is completing the Alliance for the Great Lakes collection form and our sorting process to show what was collected. We will need a few volunteers. Contact Ben Ivory for more information and to volunteer. benjamindivory@gmail.com
Connections for the Homeless - Here is an overview of opportunities for individuals, families, and groups to get involved with Connections this summer: Summer Needs wish list. Assemble hot weather kits
Wilmette’s Sounds of Summer - Enjoy outdoor concerts downtown on the Village Green and in park settings around the community this summer, with weekly concerts June through September. For the full lineup, visit wilmette.gov/SummerMusic.
New Trier Township - Secretary of State Mobile DMV event. Thursday, August 27, 10:00 AM–2:00 PM, Wilmette Public Library. Services will include Driver’s License and State ID cards, including Standard and REAL ID, as well as vehicle registration and license plate stickers. Representatives from the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office and Illinois Tollway will also be on-site. Treasurer and Tollway services are available on a walk-in basis. Appointments are required for DMV services. To make an appointment, email outreach@newtriertownship.com. Be sure to review acceptable document requirements before your appointment at ILSOS.gov.
Wilmette Block Party – The annual Wilmette Block Party will be held on Saturday, August 29 in downtown Wilmette from noon - 10 p.m. The event, co-hosted by the Wilmette Park District, the Village of Wilmette and the Wilmette/Kenilworth Chamber of Commerce, features local food, live music and numerous family friendly activities. We will have a tent in the Kids Zone with a roulette wheel and prizes for the kids. This is a good opportunity to tell their parents about Rotary. Sign-up to help with our booth HERE
Wilmette Community Garage Sale – Saturday, September 26. Time: 8:30 am - 12:00 pm. Location to be announced. Free to shoppers; resident sellers must register and pay fee of $36; non-resident sellers $45. Good opportunity to clean out your closets and garage of unwanted items. Sellers must be 18 years of age and need to set up by 8am. Unsold items may be donated on site after the event. Click for Details.
TEDxWilmette 2026:- On Saturday, September 26, at the Wilmette Recreation Center Auditorium, six amazing speakers will take the TEDxWilmette 2026 stage to share their ideas related to this year's theme: Especially Now. This year's inspiring talks, will delve into human connection, career advancement, food security, and more. You won't want to miss this amazing live event. Purchase your tickets today! To learn more about these impressive women, visit the Speakers page on our website.
Club Information
Welcome!
Our Motto: Service Above Self
Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m.
St. John's Lutheran Church
1235 Wilmette Ave
Wilmette, IL 60091 United States of America
We meet monthly on the 1st Tuesday at 6pm at St Joseph Church, 2nd and 4th Wednesday at Noon at St. John's Church, Wilmette, and 3rd Wednesday at 7:30am at the Wilmette Harbor Club in Gillson Park. Mailing address: PO Box 111, Wilmette, IL 60091
Sarah Oliver and Mariana Alfar will tell us about the plans for when Marian takes over as District 6440 Governor. Our club will be very involved with helping Mariana in this new role. Mariana will be the fourth District Governor from Wilmette (three others from the former Wilmette Harbor Rotary Club).
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