Welcome to Our Club

TOGETHER WE CAN END RACISM

The Rotary Club of Wilmette offers help and support to all communities locally and internationally wherever and whenever there is need in the human family.

The Rotary Club of Wilmette was chartered in 1924 with 21 members. Today there are over 59 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 well installation at schools in Angola, the collection and delivery of over 20,000 books annually to inner city schools in Chicago, food packing and providing necessities to the homeless in Chicago, supplying ultrasound equipment and related training to people in Uganda, resettlement assistance to legal refugees in the Chicago area, providing disaster relief supplies to hurricane, typhoon, and other natural disaster survivors, food packing for people in Guatemala and Central America, and supporting local food pantries and literacy efforts.

NOTICE: We are currently meeting in-person AND virtually by Zoom on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at Noon, and the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7pm. Our meeting place for the Noon meeting is the Wilmette Golf Club. 3900 Fairway Drive, Wilmette. Those wanting to join via Zoom can contact debora@pftl.net for link. Meeting place for the evening meeting will vary.

We’d love to have you join us!

Welcome!

Our Motto:
Service Above Self

We meet In Person

Wednesdays at 12:00 PM

Wilmette Golf Club

3900 Fairway Drive
Wilmette, IL 60091
United States of America

We have two groups one meets monthly on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday at Noon at the Wilmette Golf Club. In-person and by Zoom. Contact debora@pftl.net for Zoom link. The other group meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 7pm in different locations.

District Site

Bulletins

Venue Map

Hope Walk for the Homeless - May 6

Despite intermittent light showers, our 2023 Hope Walk was a fun event and spirits were high. We had about 70 walkers and many volunteers from all five Rotary Clubs, Wilmette, Wilmette Harbor, Evanston Lighthouse, Winnetka/Northfield and Evanston. Although the final numbers are not yet tallied, we took in over $11,000. The recipients of the funds will be Connections for the Homeless, La Casa Norte, Fraternitie Notre Dame, and Evanston Interfaith Action, all of which were represented at the event.

Our thanks to the organizers who were mostly our RAD group, and special thanks to the Evanston Lighthouse Rotary for widely publicizing the event. Thanks also to our photographers, Jackie Grant and Patty Ohle.

May 10 Program - Phil Andrew

Phil Andrew, principal of the Pax Group, LLC spoke to us about the prevalence of gun violence in the US compared to the rest of the world. His interesting and often shocking information was well-received by our group. Phil explianed how even though mass shootings (4 or more killed) are increasing, most gun deaths occur with one or two people killed. He also said that the most popular rifle, based on sales in the US, is the semi-automatic AR-15. The US far exceeds the number of gun deaths of any nation in the world.

The Pax Group, LLC is a consulting firm that helps groups navigate through conflict and crises through team building, conflict resolution and violence prevention. (https://www.paxgroupllc.com )

April 12 Program - Connie Izquierdo

Connie Izquierdo, gave an interesting presentation about the primary causes of sleep distrubance. She outlined how obstruction of the airway while sleeping can cause the urge to unrinate, to snore and sleep apnea. Inadequiate sleep can contribute to diabetes, heart failure and Alzheimers. While a CPAP device is often recommended to solve the airway problem, it is too cumbersome for some people. Connie runs Interactive Speech Associates in Wilmette where she does myofunctional therapy, which teaches clients how to exercise orofascial muscles to help open the airway for easier breathing at night.

Link to Our Social Media

Public Image Chair, Patty Ohle, has created a link that will open all our social media venues, Rotary website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. With a few clicks you can see our website and respond to notices on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The more people who respond by liking, or following, the notices, the more exposure we get for our club. Patty has made it easy to access our social media. Please click on the link and open the apps indicated.

https://linktr.ee/rotaryclubwilmette

Update on Schools and Wells in Angola

Lynn Cole, Director of RISE International and Rotary's partner in placing wells next to schools in Angola, has updated us on a new well in Lalula. "I wanted to let you know that the well was drilled in December. All are very grateful and excited! The kids love their new well, "our water is so clean and sweet!" they exclaimed. Thanks so much for your generosity, and another life changing gift!"

Rotary's funding enables wells to be built. Building wells then can lead to schools being built near the wells. RISE International is responsible for helping to build the schools so the children can get a better education, which ultimately improves the condition of the community..

March 8 Program - Kevin Sorby, Village Forester

Kevin Sorby, Forester for the Village of Wilmette, spoke to us about his job of taking care of over 18,000 parkway trees in Wilmette. Kevin is involved with everything from planting, pruning and maintenance of the trees to snowplowing. He also advises residents on which trees should be planted on parkways and how to best take care of them. His department tries to preserve trees that have been storm damaged or diseased. The Village of Wilmette has received Tree City U.S.A. status since 1983. This is an award given to recognize communities that effectively manage their public tree resources, for which Kevin's department is responsible. It was an informative presentation with lively Q&A discussions.

This program will be repeated with modifications on Tuesday, March 21 at the RAD meeting at 7pm.

Kids Against Hunger - Food-Packing Event

Several club members and family members joined the Kids Against Hunger food-packing event on Feb 25. The food packages will be sent to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. We had volunteeers for both the 8:30am shift and the 11am shift. The goal of packing 60,000 meals was met. Organized by the Rotary Club of Winnetka/Northfield and the Volunteer Center, this event is always fun and worthwhile.

Help for Earthquake Victims in Turkey/Syria

From Mary Bak, DG Elect: Here are several options for Clubs and Rotarians looking for opportunities to provide relief to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. We will also post the links on the District website.

Rotary Foundation: Give to the Turkey/Syria Disaster Response Fund.
Rotary District 2430 in southeast Turkey is seeking contributions to it's Earthquake account. Survival items purchased with the funds raised will be delivered to the affected areas by local Rotarians. You may make a contribution here: Online donations.
Shelter Box. The emergency response team from Shelter Box is already working in Turkey to provide shelter and essential goods.

Wilmette Theater Tour - Feb 21

Our Rotary After Dark (RAD) group scheduled a tour of the Wilmette Theater for their second meeting of the month. Amy Falkowski, Program Director, took the group into the small theater room with comfy chairs and discussed how the theater operates now as a non-profit organization. The group also viewed the projection room where films are shown digitally (no more reels). The theater also has live performances, and can be rented for birthday parites and adult parties,

After the tour, several members met to discuss how our Rotary Club can help the theater with funding. Many ideas were generated. One was to mention upcoming theater events in our newsletter. Go to https://www.wilmettetheatre.com/ to see their amazing schedule of films, stand-up comedy, and other events.

February 22 Program - Senta Plunkett

We were honored to have Senta Plunkett, Wilmette Village President, speak to our club. Senta informed us about the new developments in the business areas of Wilmette She gave us an overview of the current and future plans for new restarurants, shops and events, including an Art Fair in August. We heard about the some infrastructure plans, public safety, affordable housing efforts, sustainabilty programs, a new tree ordinance and more. This was a very interesting and informative presentation.

Lunches For the Homeless

This on-going project drew 10 volunteers on February 7 to help prepare and pack 160 lunch bags for distribution to the homeless. The group met on the lower level of St. Joseph Church in Wilmette. Sandwiches, fruit, chips, cookie, condiments and napkins were all packaged for transport (by Mariana) the next day to Connections for the Homeless in Evanston.

Jan 17 & 25 Program - Alliance for the Great Lakes

Ted Glasoe, an ambassador for the Alliance for the Great Lakes spoke to us about importance the Great Lakes in our lives as well as some of the major issues impacting them. He cited some astonishing facts about the scarcity of freshwater on the planet. Only 2% of all the water on earth is freshwater, and the Great Lakes supplies 95% of that. There are several issues that threaten this valuable freshwater. One of the most dangerous is the Line 5 pipeline from Canada which runs over much of Michigan. Other threats include invasive species (e.g. carp, zebra mussels), climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction, This was an eye-opening presentation for many of us.

December 28 Program - Fire Chief Brian Lambel

Wilmette Fire Chief, Brian Lambel, spoke to us about the many services that the Fire Department provides besides fire-fighting. These include emergency medical services, technical rescue, underwater and surface water rescue, hazardous materials incident mitigation, fire prevention, public education and fire investigation. The Department is part of MABAS Division 3 which is a partnership of 17 North Shore fire departments, and can collectively provide service from 35 stations and over 750 firefighters if needed. Chief Lambel also spoke about the difficulty of hiring and retaining staff. There are strict requirements, both mental and physical, that must be met by new recruits.

2022 Holiday Drive for the Homeless:
A Success

Our 3rd Annual Holiday Drive for the Homeless was a success. In collaboration with the Sisters of Fraternite Notre Dame, much-needed items will be distributed to the homeless in Chicago. All the items on the Gift Register with Amazon were purchased, approximately 70 % from donors and 30% from our fundraising. We hope these items will bring a little bit of relief to those unfortunate people living on the street in makeshift shelters and tents.

A big "thank you" to Mariana Al Far, President-Elect and Community Service Chair, for organizing, selecting items, and publicizing this event.

April 18 RAD Speaker - Builidng Peaceful Bridges

Lori Lucchetti and Ahlam Al-Jebory, co-founders of the nonprofit, Building Peaceful Bridges (BPB), spoke to our RAD group about the work they are doing to assist refugees in gaining a sense of belonging in America and achieving self sufficiency. Lori, President of BPB, explained how BPB since 2015, has transformed from an informal gathering of committed women to a growing and impactful nonprofit organization. Refugees have very little assistance once they get to the US.

Ahlam, a former refugee from Iraq, related how she survived war, torture, prison, the tragic death of her eldest son, and began her life in the US. Her incredible journey from Baghdad to Damascus to Chicago is told in A Disappearance in Damascus by Deborah Campbell. For more information about BPB, see https://www.buildingpeacefulbridges.org/.

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Jim Pockross and Jim Waite

Jun 14, 2023 7:15 AM

World Travel, Places and People

Members Jim Pockross and Jim Waite wuill share stories about their experiences while travelling worldwide.

Location: Wilmette Harbor Club

Lynn Cole, RISE International

Jun 14, 2023 12:00 PM

Update on Wells and Schools in Angola

Lynn Cole is the Executive Director of RISE International. She first traveled to Angola with her husband Andrew in 1998 to celebrate their 25th anniversary, and was forever impacted by the experience. Andrew and Lynn led mission teams to Namibia, Zambia and Angola, and co-founded the African Refugee Committee, which became RISE International in 2003. They have four adult children and two son-in-laws, who also have a deep love for the Angolan people. Since Andrew’s untimely death in 2004, Lynn remains committed and passionate, moving the work and vision of RISE forward.

Location Wilmette Golf Club

Lynn will give an overview of RISE and its mission to build primary schools in rural Angola to educate children, empower communities, and contribute to the rebuilding of the country. RISE provides access to education and clean water at the school sites. Since 2003, RISE has built 194 schools, which give 140,000 children a seat in the classroom each year.

Katie Hanlon, Executive Director

Jul 12, 2023 12:00 PM

Project C.U,R.E.

Beth Drucke

Aug 23, 2023 12:00 PM

Go Green Wilmette

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