ROTARIANS AT WORK – GATHERING WARM COATS FOR THOSE IN NEED
Your help is needed to collect 2,000 Coats Before the Big Frost!
For over a decade, the Rotary of Northbrook has been helping residents stay warm during the winter with its annual "Coat Off Your Back" collection drive.
In true Rotary spirit they are partnered with the Glenview Sunrise and Deerfield Clubs in their growing endeavor. The drive is specifically focused on collecting winter coats for the many refugees that are resettling in the North Shore and Chicagoland area, along with homeless residents.
Distribution includes Connections for the Homeless, PADS, World Relief Chicago, and Stock the Shelves. So far the count from Week 3 (normal barrel pickup + Illuminate Northbrook) was 397 winter coats. Coats are being delivered by Two Men & A Truck to PADs, Refugee Community Connection Albany Park and Rogers Park, and St. Malachy.
"Every year, refugees from different parts of the world end up being resettled in the Chicago area, frequently arriving with few possessions from home," Rick Rosenfeld, the coat drive's organizer. "There was an influx of refugees each spending their first winter in Chicago."
The clubs are hoping to help the community repurpose their gently-used or new winter oats as they shop for new things this season. Coats for school aged children are a big need so that they can safely walk to classes. Teens are often forgotten, and they need warm coats too.
"We know there are many heavy coats in people’s closets that are no longer being used, so if area residents take a few moments to check for those that could benefit from a new owner, we would be grateful." Rosenfeld said.
Donations bins are throughout the communities, all locations and updates will be posted on the Rotary websites.
Here are a few places to note: Northbrook Village Hall; Northbrook Chamber; American Weathermakers; North Suburban YMCA; Northbrook Library; Sunset Foods; Sanders Cleaners; Northbrook Bank Trust on Sanders; Waterways; Northbrook United Methodist Church. If you have kids – their schools may also have drop locations.
Don’t forget to bring a coat to Illuminate on November 22 in Village Green. The Two Men and a Truck team is again a partner in this effort, transporting coats across the greater Chicagoland area.
Your donation can make a difference in someone’s life. We thank you in advance for helping us. Due to the warm weather – donations are down so help is needed. Here are the locations you can drop coats off at now!
Northbrook drop sites:
American Weathermakers
Ancient Tree
Glenbrook North High School
Greenbriar Elementary School
Maple School
Meadowbrook Elementary School
Northbrook Bank (Sanders and Dundee)
Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Northbrook Junior High School
Northbrook Library
Northbrook United Methodist Church
Northbrook Village Hall
Sanders Cleaners
St. Giles Church
Sunset Foods
Waterways (Waukegan Road)
Wescott Elementary School
Westmoor Elementary School
YMCA
< Kids enjoying Illuminate, and the Two Men in Truck mascot, plus Bella Svoboda & Angelina Drivas -GBN Intern Volunteers.
Rotary may have one of the most democratic legislative system of any organization. It is a little clumsy and expensive, but very effective. Any Rotarian in the world can make a change in how Rotary International operates, and change any part of the constitution or bylaws. The legislative body is called the Council on Legislation (COL). It meets every three years and is made up of one representative from all 500+ districts in the world.
This three-year term our representative for District 6440 is Carlos Früm. The alternate representative is Lyle Staab. The role of the representative is to share the potential enactments that could change how Rotary functions, discuss them with anyone interested, and vote them up or down.
An enactment is created by anyone that has a better idea of Rotary management, convince his or her club, and have the district vote on the idea. If a simple majority in the district votes positively, it will be considered by the COL.
A positive vote by the COL is an automatic change in Rotary operations, two thirds for a RI constitutional change, simple majority for bylaws or club constitution change.
The 2025 COL will meet in Chicago, April 13-18, to debate and vote on 86 potential enactments or changes. They are now listed in the Rotary website and Carlos encourages anyone interested to read and share your thoughts. They usually are very interesting reading as individuals from all parts of the world, and many views, contribute to modify how Rotary should function.
You can find the enactments by the following steps. Go to:
Rotary.org
My Rotary (sign in)
Knowledge and Resources
Policies and procedures
Council on Legislation, then
Scroll down to Council on Legislation and click on “Proposed legislation – 2025 Council on Legislation”
Any questions on how to find or read them contact Carlos Früm, email: carlos@frum.com or by phone: (847) 341-1716
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