President Cynthia Plouché called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the singing of “Star Spangled Banner”.
Len Tenner presented a Paul Harris pin (+2) to Fred Orkin in recognition of his contributions to the Rotary Foundation. He then followed up with a presentation of a Paul Harris pin to himself in recognition of the same. Len has now reached “Ruby” status, signifying that his donations to the Foundation have exceeded $5000. These contributions to the Foundation are essential to sustaining and growing Rotary programs worldwide, and come back to our club in forms of matching District and Global grants. Congratulations Fred and Len!
Fred Orkin announced that we are still looking for volunteers to act as judges for the upcoming DECA competition on March 11 in Rosemont, IL. Over 1400 high school students will be participating at this event. Rotarians interested in volunteering their time should contact Fred as soon as practicable.
Cynthia announced that the SaLT (Service and Learning Trip) Program will be sending several Highland Park High School students to New Orleans this Spring, and is actively seeking donations. Cliff Bregstone has generously committed to match all contributions up to $500 in order to help the club reach the desired $1000 fundraising goal. Many of the participating students are members of our Interact Club at HPHS, so helping this program helps our sponsorship of Interact as well. Len Tenner and Cynthia Plouché will be taking advantage of Cliff's matching gift. Club members willing to contribute should contact Cynthia.
Lastly, Cynthia wanted to remind Club members that the monthly board meeting will be held nextMonday, February 22nd, immediately after the regular club meeting with State RepresentativeScott Drury.
There were no live guests this week, but PresidentAbraham Lincoln made numerous appearances in shape of copper coins, as members donated pennies to the Club’s coffers in honor of President’s Day!
Larry Block, accompanied by Matt Jenetopulos on the piano, led the Club in singing "God Bless America" and “Happy Birthday” to Paul Munk and Yesim Somnez.
Although the meeting was sparsely attended (by 19 members), those Rotarians that showed up this President’s Day were exceedingly happy! Yesim Sonmez made a donation to celebrate her birthday (29th? –just guessing) and her son’s second place finish in a state chess tournament. Diana Sotelo contributed on behalf of her employees who collected aforementioned pennies for our Club. Pete Koukos gave as mea culpa for missing Sunday’s Highland Park Strings concert, and also to acknowledge Yesim’s and Paul’s birthdays. Carolyn Cerf made a contribution in recognition of those Rotarians that pitched in financially to help her fundraising effort for CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), and also to welcome Joanne Gordon back to the fold. Neil Dahlmann donated to recognize Highland Park Strings’ Sunday performance, and MikeBabian chipped in because today’s lunch offering was one of his favorites (apparently, it doesn’t take much to make Mike happy!). Fred gave as penance for forgetting to bring his pennies, and Ted made a donation just because he was happy to be with his fellow Rotarians. Skip Jacobs also contributed to honor the HP Strings concert, as well as to express his gratitude for being back in the United States after returning from his trip to Southeast Asia. Joanne gave to recognize Len for taking her place in attending Rotary Grants seminar (that’s worth more than one donation, Joanne!), Ghida to celebrate her daughter’s 11th birthday and welcome Joanne back, Len to recognize Yesim’s and Paul’s birthdays and Highland Park Rotary Club in general, and Joe Lolli to thank for the help he received picking up pennies after his plastic bag containing them ripped open. Finally, Cynthia made a donation to express her happiness with her middle daughter’s departure to New Zealand for her semester study abroad, and her oldest daughter’s visit this Holiday Weekend.
Carrie Callas, Executive Director at Family Service of Lake County, and fellow Club member, was the Club’s guest speaker. Family Service began in 1930 to provide emergency work and financial relief for area families that were decimated by the Great Depression. Today the organization has evolved to provide services in three core areas of Counseling, Senior and Caregiver Services, and Latino Support Services, and served over 9000 people in the fiscal year 2015. Counseling services address a variety of issues ranging from family relationships to financial problems. These services are provided on a sliding-fee scale, so no one is turned away for inability to pay. Senior and Caregiver services provided in Lake County include individual, in-home counseling, group counseling for seniors, as well as caregiver counseling and resource referrals A grant from the Agency on Aging Northeastern Illinois enables Family Service to provide respite care as temporary relief for caregivers, financial support for home modification and other needed items, and legal assistance.
Family Service's other major area of focus is a comprehensive support of the Latino community in Highwood and Highland Park. Latinos now make up a majority of Highwood population. Latino Support services include educational, referral, and acculturation programs. Nuestro Center in Highwood offers after school tutoring, summer camp, field trips, health and wellness programs, computer classes and English as Second Language (ESL) classes. The Youth Educational Support and Success (YESS) program provides educational and enrichment opportunities and support for Latino middle school students and their families, and promotes successful transition into high school while deterring school dropout. The Latino Youth Initiative (LYI) serves youth ages 13 to 21 and supports them in maintaining healthy lifestyles. Programs include homework assistance, community service, tech center, a soccer league, and field trips. The combination of Nuestro Center, YESS, and LYI provides a continuum of educational support from elementary school through high school and college attendance, and includes parent support programming as well.
Family Service is always on the lookout for more volunteers to help them maximize their impact and effectiveness. Those Rotarians that are interested in lending a helping hand – especially at the Nuestro Center – can fill out a form on Family Service’s website, or contact Carrie directly at ccallas@fsslc.org
Thank you Paul Munk for his excellent and entertaining notes!
