Written by Patrick Hart
Tom Zengeler opened this week’s meeting with a pledge and a prayer, but when he called for a volunteer to step up in lieu of our missing songmeister, no one volunteered.
BRAGS:
We experienced another one of our modest weeks, when none of us chose to brag, which I guess is a good thing, since humility is a virtue. However, I cannot help wondering if we might have gotten a songmeister, if we were not all too shy to step up in front of our peers,
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Tom Zengeler noted that his nephew, who was away at college, had died of Coronavirus, and he emphasized how important it was for young people to take proper precautions.
Our president also mentioned that Rotary members are particularly encouraged to support the foundation during November.
Tom Zengeler reminded us that his coats for veterans drive will continue through the end of this weekend, and you can drop off any coats you wish to donate with him.
Tom Miller reported on our club’s effort to reach out to young adults. A zoom meeting was held Tuesday evening, with nine young adults in attendance, and he assured us that they showed great enthusiasm. Tom expressed hope that this new source of energy might help our efforts to keep up club service projects, which we sometimes have difficulty in generating sufficient support for.
Rick Mittelman mentioned that he is responsible for the club Christmas party this year, and with his search for how to handle the occasion in light of the pandemic, he is eager to hear any suggestions.
Our president reminded us that there is still time to participate in the Rotary drive to end Polio and qualify for matches to our contributions.
FUN AND FROLICS:
With the 2020 event now behind us, Rick Schoeneman entertained us with a World Series trivia quiz. Most of us knew that the Yankees held the record for most World Series wins at 27, but we were a little weaker on knowing that the Cardinals came in second with 11. And what was probably a good thing in avoiding fist fights from breaking out in the room, the Cubs and the White Sox are tied with each team having won 3 World Series.
Our speaker this week was Kathleen O’Connor the Libertyville Township supervisor.
The primary mandate of a township is to provide help to those in need, and Libertyville Township has two principal programs to meet this mission. They provide $400.00 a month stipends for needy individuals. The recipients have to verify that they are searching for employment, and they need to requalify each month.
The township also maintains an Emergency Assistance program, which can provide funds to families facing evictions or utility shutoffs. The fund can also assist with job required expenses, such as repairing a car, which an individual needs for work. A resident of the township can apply for Emergency Assistance once a year.
The township also has a 501(c) (3) organization, which is somewhat unusual for a governmental unit. The charitable entity runs the township food pantry, which our club has contributed to for many years, and the main reason they needed this separate entity is because, if the food pantry was operating as a government entity, it would not be allowed to receive assistance from the Northern Illinois Food Bank, which is another fine organization which our club has contributed to.
The food pantry has 280 registered families, who are qualified to receive distributions, and before the pandemic they were allowing their neighbors to obtain assistance every two weeks. However, they are currently permitting pick-ups every week. The boxes given away vary in the amount of food they contain based on the family size of the recipients. Before the pandemic they would allow the neighbors to pick out food from their selection on the shelves, but safety measures have required them to convert to a drive through operation.
The 501(c) (3) organization also operates a community emergency assistance program, which fills in gaps to cover people the government agency is restricted from helping. The charitable entity for example can help people in need who have not been township residents for a full six months or who are not legally documented.
RAFFLE:
This week we had $25.00 in our regular drawing and $51.00 in the progressive pot with 51 cards remaining in the deck. I was unable to catch who won from my seat in the peanut gallery of Zoom attendees, and I want to thank Diana Taylor for taking the pressure off me. If she had not just won the big pot, people would be very excited about knowing this detail, and I might have been fired for flubbing up on such key information.
NEXT WEEK:
Greeter and Prayer: Steve Risley
Fun and Frolics: Pat Schwartz
QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
"Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism." ~ Earl Warren
