Today's guest was Barb Swanson from the Pioneer Center.

Today's 50/50 side-bets winner was Dave.  Thank you for donating back to the Paul Harris Foundation.  Aside from winning the side-bets, Dave also managed to pull the black tee.  Congratulations, Dave!

Today's program was presented by Barb Swanson from the Pioneer Center. Barb discussed the three programs offered by Pioneer Center; Developmental Disability Services, Behavioral Health Services and Homeless Services. She expanded greatly on the last program which supports the homeless community in McHenry County. In addition to the PADS programs offered by local churches throughout the County, which is sponsored by Pioneer Center, their facility located in Woodstock provides a comfortable bed and other housing necessities for those who are need of this temporary service. Barb stated that a donation of $2,500 allows organizations or individuals to "adopt a bed" for one year. To learn more about the other services offered by The Pioneer Center and volunteer opportunities, visit their website at https://www.pioneercenter.org

There will be a "Big Check" presentation at McHenry County College on Wednesday, December 12th. The meeting will be held in room A-217 and will begin at 3:30pm. Use the north entrance by parking lot A.

This year's Holiday Party will be held at The Onion Pub & Brewery on Thursday, December 20th. Please let Chuck or Sandy know if you will be attending.

The club will again be participating in Home of the Sparrow's Holiday Gift Card program. Club members wishing to help out with the worthwhile program should consider purchasing a $25 gift cards from department stores such as Target, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. Cards from local grocery stores are also encouraged. Please bring your cards to the meeting in the next couple of weeks, and Sue will see that they get delivered for you.

The community sign in Fox River Grove has been installed and is now working. It is located by the Metra Station.

The Rotary Club of Cary-Grove will be holding a social gathering on Thursday, December 27th for those wishing to learn more about Rotary. The meeting will be held at Cary Ale House , located at 208 W Main street in Cary, and will begin at 6:30PM. If you are interested in getting involved with a club that works on local and worldwide issues, consider stopping by and checking us out.

Application materials now are available for the District Leadership Academy Class of 2019.   We invite all club members to enroll in this outstanding online educational program and commit to graduating with this next class. Click the link below to learn more about this program.

 

Who says men don’t remember! A couple were Christmas shopping.  The shopping centre was packed and as the wife walked around she was surprised to discover that her husband was nowhere to be seen. She was quite upset because they had a lot to do and hence, she became so worried that she called him on her mobile phone to ask him where he was.

 

In a quiet voice he said: “Do you remember the jewelers we went into about five years ago, where you fell in love with that diamond necklace that we couldn’t afford, and I told you that I would get it for you one day?”
     

The wife choked up and started to cry and said: “Yes, I do remember that shop.” He replied: “Well, I’m in the pub next door!”

Volunteers are invited to participate in a Polio Immunization Day to be held in India on February 3rd, 2019. Travel dates will be from February 1st through the 9th. Click on this link for Information and Registration details. This information will remain available in our Events section for those interested in participating.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out McHenry County Living's Upcoming Events. Might not be Rotary related, but attending sure will "build good will and better friendships."

Our guest speaker at last week's meeting was Brett Weiss of the Weiss scholarship Foundation. Brett is a member of the Rotary Club of Naperville.  Since 2009, Brett has traveled six times to Kenya in pursuit of following his dream for combating poverty in the village of Dago. Most of his efforts have been directed toward improving the education level of the children that live there. Dago is a tiny community of 3,000 people with an average family income of less than $2 per day. In Kenyan, the average education is only four years. Only 20% of the children actually go to High School.

 

To combat this, Brett established The Weiss Scholarship Foundation in 2011. The goal of this foundation is to have a positive impact on all of the youth members in Dago and the Kenya area. By providing a guaranteed source of income for students to continue their education through High School, Brett's hope is that the economic & health conditions of the area will improve. Since the Foundation was started, 42 full four year scholarships have be issued. Eleven students have graduated from High School and four have gone on to University.

 

A full sponsorship for four years of High School is approximately $3,500. To learn more about The Weiss Scholarship Foundation and how you can help support it, visit their site at https://weissscholarshipfoundation.org.

As mentioned at today's meeting by Sue, Tiffany Au has developed a website "The Greatest Wedding Ever Donated". Tiffany is a graduate of Cary-Grove High School and is a past recipient of the Decker Scholarship awarded by the Rotary Club of Cary-Grove. Her website highlights her upcoming wedding to Caleb Remington and talks about the work they are doing together to raise funds and awareness for the fight against Cystic Fibrosis. Visit her site http://www.thegwed.com to learn more about their efforts and to learn how you can contribute toward this wonderful cause.

 

Need a makeup but find it difficult to get to another club? If so, consider using Rotary's Web-based Rotary eClub One. Click on the link and go to the "Makeups" tab to get started. Doing makeups could be easier. Let us know how you like it.

Lots happening in the world of Rotary.  Read all about it in The Rotarian Magazine.

Rotarian Action Groups are autonomous groups of Rotarians, family members, program participants and alumni who are experts in a particular field, such as micro-credit or water and sanitation. More information about these groups and their purpose can be found on RI's website.