Christian McConkie is the Rotary November Student of the Month. McConkie is active in school music programs, president of Key Club, member of National Honor Society, is a senior patrol leader for Boy Scouts, and plays the organ at his church.
Tracy Kelsey is Executive Director of Pay-It-Forward House in Sycamore. Kelsey updated Rotarians on changes the non-profit went through as they adapted to service during and after the Covid pandemic.
Don’t miss out on an opportunity to volunteer with your fellow Rotarians at the Make A Difference DKC MobilePack event! This is an opportunity to pack meals to support Feed My Starving Children. If you would like to sign up to volunteer during the Rotary shift on November 12, contact Heidi Wright: hwright@suterco.com or 815-761-2341. If you want to pack at other times, you can sign up on line at www.makeadifferencedkc.com. The event is held Nov 10-13th.
Christian McConkie says he is passionate about music and his high school activities reflect this interest. He plays a variety of musical instruments and performs with the high school marching band. He also plays with the pit orchestra for musical productions. McConkie, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, serves as church organist and he also gives piano lessons. McConkie says his involvement with music has helped shape his life and has proved to be a good outlet for stress relief .
McConkie ranks fourth in his class. He is president of the school’s Key Club, is involved in the Senior Business Academy, is a member of National Honor Society, and is a senior patrol leader with the Boy Scouts. He hopes to pursue engineering in college and is looking at Brigham Young University, University of Illinois, or may do a church mission study after graduation. He is donating his $100 Rotary check to the upcoming Feed My Starving Children mobile pack.
Sycamore’s Pay-It-Forward House charity was known for providing a place to stay for family members of patients at the long-term recovery Kindred Hospital next door since its founding in 2005. But the Covid pandemic changed their service model according to Executive Director Tracy Kelsey. The number of shared spaces at the centuries old house used by the non-profit did not meet the isolation needs for health and safety requirements. Upkeep was also an issue. So, Kelsey said the house was sold in 2021 and the organization pivoted to a model using vouchers for rooms at a local hotel that provides lodging at a discounted rate. She said the organization would still like to get back to a home environment for their services, but their requirement for things like multiple bathrooms and necessary zoning to allow lodging to make it difficult to find and commit to buying a property.
Kelsey joined Pay-It-Forward House in August after previously working for the Northern Illinois Food Bank and Marine Corps Community Services. She continues to learn more about the housing model at the non-profit and said she looks forward to sharing ideas with other similar organizations at an upcoming national conference. Pay-It-Forward House was founded by Sycamore residents MaryLou and Phil Eubanks and Joyce Mathey after learning that out-of-town family members of Kindred Hospital patients were sleeping in their cars because they couldn’t afford hotel rooms. From 2005 through 2021, the non-profit has given 22,150 nights of rest to needy people. A modest donation of $10 is asked for although about half the time even that is a burden for those who are helped. Kelsey believes their service embodies the welcoming spirit found in Sycamore and DeKalb County. A popular donation to the charity is giving $110 for an Adopt-A-Day’s lodging to honor an anniversary, birthday, or other occasion which is then publicized to those using the service. Further details are on their website at www.payitforwardhouse.org.
Don’t miss out on an opportunity to volunteer with your fellow Rotarians at the Make A Difference DKC Mobilepack event! This is an opportunity to pack meals to support Feed My Starving Children.
Date: Nov 12, 2022
Start Time: 9:00am
Finish Time: 11:00am
Location: The Suter Company, 1015 Bethany Rd, Sycamore
Who can volunteer: Rotary Club members, family members and friends of Rotarians
Age: 6+
**Seated jobs available for those who can’t stand for two hours
If you would like to sign up to volunteer during the Rotary shift, contact Heidi Wright: hwright@suterco.com 815-761-2341.
If you want to pack at other times, you can sign up on line at www.makeadifferencedkc.com The event is held Nov 10-13th.
The event goal is to pack 1.5 million meals and raise $400,000 to pay for the meals, which cost $.25 each. We expect 5,000 volunteers over 4 days, making it the largest volunteer event in the county.
As with Happy Dollars and fines, 50/50 raffle proceeds have long been earmarked for the scholarship fund for Sycamore High School seniors. In an effort to "spread the wealth" and support more causes, the members of your Rotary Board have determined that 50/50 raffle proceeds collected each month will benefit a different cause.
For the month of May, 50/50 raffle proceeds will help support The Barn on Baseline to rescue and adopt out dogs and cats. The Board has committed that the total amount given to this cause will be no less than $250.
Thank you for your support of this important cause...and best of luck with the raffle!
Posted by Kim McIver, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County on Oct 04, 2022
My name is Kim McIver, and I am the new Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County. With this being the 2nd week on the job, I am humbled to be joining such an incredible affiliate!
Since 1998, this affiliate has built 15 homes and we are going strong on our 16th build in Malta. Having come from a different Habitat for Humanity affiliate, I know just how critical our volunteer base is. I know that every single Habitat home is built with love, and that love is what gives our Partner Families the Foundation to start their future. That every volunteer hour that is spent building a home is a memory that a partner family treasures as they start a new phase in their lives.
You are all a part of that, and with that feeling of building memories for our families, I would like to invite you to join us on Saturdays in Malta at 8am.
Please RSVP to me at kmciver.hfhdc@gmail.com, so we can plan accordingly. And I look forward to meeting you in person on our build site soon. I truly don’t think there are enough words to express our thanks for all that you do.
October 30, 1735 – The 2nd President of the United States and one of the country’s Founding Fathers, John Adams, is born in Braintree, Massachusetts.
November 2, 1795 – 11th U. S. President James K. Polk is born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
November 3, 1908 – Bronko Nagurski, Canadian-American college and pro-football hall of fame fullback who played for the Chicago Bears, is born in Rainy River, Ontario.
November 4, 1916 – United Press International wire service correspondent and later CBS-TV news anchor Walter Cronkite is born in St. Joseph, Missouri. During his lifetime, he is widely ranked as America’s most trusted journalist.
November 1, 1776 – Mission San Juan Capistrano is founded in California becoming the historic place where swallows return each March.
November 2, 1947 – The first and only flight of Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose” takes place in Long Beach, California. The 200-ton plywood eight-engine plane cost $25 million to build; it flew about one-mile at an altitude of 70 feet.
November 3, 1948 – ‘Dewey Defeats Truman” is the banner headline on the front page of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Printed before polls closed, their polling projections were infamously wrong because Harry Truman defeated Thomas Dewey in the 1948 election.
November 4, 1922 – King Tut’s tomb is discovered at Luxor, Egypt by British archeologist Howard Carter.
Bob Brown's grandkids enjoyed breakfast and Julie’s games (with candy prizes)!!
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