Northbrook Rotary has been billed for three of the five new peace poles in our community. Each one was $330. The winner of our last Bingo Raffle earmarked $1000 of her $1500 prize for our club to use for peace poles. Beyond that, a District 6440 public image grant of $500 was sent to our club for the 2024-2025 Rotary year, earmarked for Peace Poles. Our club budgeted a matching $500 for peace poles during that same year. This Rotary year, a District 6440 $250 peace pole grant has been applied for and is waiting for funding – preference is being given to clubs who are doing their first peace pole.
Financial recap: $990 has been spent of the $1500 available before the $500 club budgeted is used. If we get the $250 grant, that will also be used before the club’s budgeted $500 is touched. [Installation was/will be provided by each of the places where the pole(s) are located.]
These three Peace Poles at Village Hall, the Chamber building, and waiting at the library for spring installation join the one at Wintrust Bank and another at Northbrook United Methodist Church (paid for by the bank and church and do have the Rotary insignia) and the original one at the Devine Word, Techny Campus, installed by the Sisters.
Our five new Peace Poles join the 250,000+ world wide that were begun by a Japanese man after Hiroshima. Please see the key reasons for installing a Peace Pole and where they are found.
District 6440 was so impressed by our club responding to seeing a Peace Pole being installed at Rotary International Headquarters during President Stephanie’s year and club member Mitch Portugal posting a photo of his grandson and him seeing a Peace Pole while on vacation that the plan (hope) is that 125 poles will be in our district for the 125th anniversary of Rotary when we celebrate at the Chicago convention.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Lee Gulley
(Peace Pole initiator)
