Welcome to Our Club

The Rotary Club of Wilmette was chartered in 1924 with 21 members. Today there are over 50 active members who gather to do good for others while enjoying good fellowship.

Our Club members enthusiastically live the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” both locally and internationally. Recent projects include water wells installation at two schools in Zambia, the collection and delivery of over 22,000 books to schools in Chicago, and sponsoring the annual Thanksgiving Dinner for seniors at the Wilmette Park District.

We meet Wednesdays at 12:15 PM at the Wilmette Golf Club, 3900 Fairway Drive, Wilmette, IL 60091.

We’d love to have you join us!

Helping Students One-on-One

Carey Kogol, Senior Development Director at iMentor Chicago, told our Club how iMentor works to secure funds from foundations, corporations, and individuals to build mentoring relationships that empower first-generation students from low-income communities to graduate from high school and succeed in college. iMentor is a national program with locations in New York City, the Bay Area, and Chicago. iMentor's program has increased college enrollment at participating schools by an average of 15 percentage points. Students at those school are nearly three times more likely to graduate from college than their peers. Ms. Kogol has been instrumental in helping iMentor Chicago reach from one high school in the westside of Chicago serving 207 students to four high schools throughout the city serving 1,334 students in three years.

Eradicating Sex Trafficking in Chicago

On October 10th, Gayle Nelson and Cathy Carmody from the Jewish Coalition Against Sex Trafficking (JCAST) spoke to the club about JCAST's efforts of eradicate sex trafficking in the Chicagoland area through public awareness efforts, community engagement, and advocacy at state, local and national levels. JCAST partners with interfaith and human rights groups, non-profit organizations, government officials, and law enforcement agencies to work with congregations, clergy, Jewish organizations and secular groups to educate the community and to take action to end demand for purchased sex and to protect children.

District Governor Visits Club

Rotary District Governor Julie Clark attended the Club meeting on August 29, 2018. She commented on the Club's activities and provided an overview of what is happening in the District. As District Governor, she will be visiting all 68 clubs over the next year. Pictured with Julie are Rotary Club of Wilmette President Pat Brown (left) and Assistant District Governor Rich Lalley (right).

Help for the Homeless

Mary Coy, Director of Development for HOW, addressed the members of the Club at the August 22, 2018 meeting. She described the various measures taken by HOW (Housing Opportunities for Women) are designed to prevent homelessness and support those in precarious living situations.

The Importance of Eye Care

Dr. Stuart Sondheimer was the speaker at the August 1 meeting. Dr. Sondheimer is a board certified ophthalmologist from Skokie, IL. He spoke about the recent advances in eye care, the use of lasers to remove floaters from the eye and recent improvements and rehabilitation options in cataract surgery. Dr. Stuart is also spoke about his participation as a volunteer in providing cataract surgery in the developing world.