President Helen Oloroso opened the meeting and led us in “Why We Are Rotarians.” Ann Weatherhead read to us from a Time magazine article entitled “What Kids Say They Want to March for Today,” reminiscent of the theme of the Community Conversation we hosted on Feb. 15, “What Would Make Evanston an Extraordinary Place for ALL Kids to Grow Up in?” A 9-year-old said, “I have a dream that all violence and war goes away so all people and animals are safe. I have a dream that all people can have good food and clean water. I have a dream that all people can have a good education. I have a dream that all people can feel safe and protected wherever you live or work.”
Announcements
Northwestern student co-Executive Directors of the annual Dance Marathon,
Rachel Cantor and and
Eliana Scobey, spoke about the 1,000 students involved in the planning and participation of the 30-hour dance marathon. They will raise around $1,000,000 for two organizations, and for the first time 100% of the proceeds will remain in Evanston. The primary beneficiary is Children’s Home and Aid, a statewide agency. The Rice Center in Evanston, part of CHA, which among other activities provides a therapeutic setting for young children with severe mental and behavioral challenges, will receive those funds for use in Evanston. The secondary beneficiary is the Evanston Community Foundation. All are encouraged to donate, take part in the 5/10k run/walk and other activities the marathon weekend of March 6-8, and help identify potential corporate sponsors. For more information:
https://www.nudm.org/
Rachel Cantor and Eliana Scobey
Bryant Wallace announced the 62
nd Annual Community Service Awards Dinner and Benefit for the Chessmen Club of the North Shore on March 14. Get your tickets quickly, as they are going fast.
https://www.chessmenclub.org/
Charlotta Koppanyi announced that the Evanston Community Foundation and Evanston Cradle to Career (along with our club, which is a coalition member) are co-sponsoring Lifting Up Early Childhood’s event “The First 1,100 Days Last Forever,” Feb. 26, 2020, at King Arts, 2424 Lake St. Registration begins at 5 p.m. Free. Register:
https://evanstonforever.org/about/events/lifting-early-childhood
Chris Joyce – RYLA will take place March 12 – 15 and the first weekend in April. We have 31 students attending! Please let Chris know ASAP if you have any prospective students to suggest.
Patrick Mbullo reported on the recent International Service Committee meeting. They have disbursed about $18,000 of the $42,000 budget for 2019/20. The meeting highlight was a presentation by Don Gwinn about his recent work trip to Ak’Tenamit in eastern Guatemala, which should be presented to the entire club.
Bruce Baumberger discussed the Fireside Chats in lieu of the March 10th meeting. A number of hosts have signed up, and he will resend the email for club members to sign up to attend. Please respond. Feedback from these get-togethers will be combined with feedback from the meeting Zbig Skiba organized in the fall to feed into strategic planning.
John Wertymer of the Wilmette Harbor Rotary Club announced his club’s 3
rd Annual Trivia Night at the Wilmette Golf Club, 3900 Fairway Dr., Wilmette. Organize a team of four, pay $50/person, and have fun! April Fools – Wednesday, April 1, doors at 5:30 p.m. Dinner at 6, Trivia contest at 7. Reservations: Wilmette Harbor Rotary Club Foundation, P.O. Box 731, Wilmette, IL 60091. Proceeds to End Polio and the Ak’Tenamit X-Ray machine. Also, attend the March 6 Open House at the Cornelia Arts Building. For more information:
https://www.corneliaartsbuilding.com/events/
Sam Lovering thanked the club for birthday and get-well cards.
New Member Installation
Helen installed two new members, Sue Patel and Viviane Forsberg. Sue’s sponsor is Kristin Brown and her mentor is Kate Collinson. Viviane’s sponsor is Kathy Tate-Bradish and her mentor is Charlotta Koppanyi. Please say “hi” and sign their attendance sheets!
Kristin Brown, Sue Patel, Charlotta Koppanyi, Vivianne Forsberg, and Kathy Tate-Bradish
Program
Topic: What’s All This Talk About Equity?
Speakers: Dr. Tiffany McDowell and Eileen Hogan Heineman
Linda Gerber introduced Dr. Tiffany McDowell and Eileen Hogan Heineman of the YWCA Evanston/North Shore’s Equity Institute. Tiffany is the Director of the Equity Institute. She brings years of expertise in using an equity lens to inform policy and advocacy. Tiffany partners with organizations through the Becoming Equitable Institutions process, from analysis of their equity assessment through identifying goals, developing strategies and evaluation tools, and celebrating with the organization as they reach their benchmarks. A trained psychologist, Tiffany is co-founder of the Chicagoland Equity Network and former director of the Institute on Social Exclusion at Adler University.
Eileen Hogan Heineman has been a racial equity facilitator and trainer for 20 years. In her nine years at YWCA, she has developed workshops and institutional training modules and has consulted with education, community, faith-based, and civic groups. Every April, Eileen coordinates Stand Against Racism, which includes thousands of people in Evanston and Skokie gathering together to support each other in creating more equitable communities. She is guided in this work by a desire to have a more just society for her grandsons.
They are developing a workshop for our Lighthouse Rotary members. It will be called “Strengthening the Work of Rotary Through Equity and Inclusion.” Mark your calendars for Wednesday, March 25, from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m., at the YWCA. Tiffany and Eileen will facilitate the workshop.
Tiffany and Eileen: The national mission of the YWCA is to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA Evanston/North Shore has been here for 60 years, with everything from aquatics to supportive services such as housing and financial empowerment, especially for survivors of violence.
Promoting racial justice, equity, and inclusion are key components of the YW’s work. To do this, community members must both talk and listen. Fear of talking about race has not served us well, as Eileen points out. The YW works to normalize conversations about race, and also to promote and enable action.
The Equity Institute was launched in 2018 to facilitate this work for individuals, organizations, and institutions. Equity is a goal, and also a process. As Tiffany says, the YW strives to help people closest to disadvantage create their own solutions. And Eileen points out that this is also what Rotary does – find out who’s on the margins and lift them up, internationally and also locally.
To give us a taste of deep listening, we paired up and each listened to our partner talk for 2 uninterrupted minutes about a time they became aware of difference – racial, cultural, religious . . . We shared some of the experiences to the group, and learned a little about the value of asking each other our stories.
Please sign up for our club’s equity workshop on Wednesday evening, March 25. Look for an email.
Dr. Tiffany McDowell, Eileen Hogan Heineman, and Helen Oloroso
Guests and Milestones
Visiting Rotarian
John Wertymer, Wilmette Harbor Rotary Club
Other Guests
Rachel Cantor, Executive Co-Chair, Northwestern University Dance Marathon (NUDM)
Eliana Scobey, Executive Co-Chair, NUDM
Eileen Hogan Heineman, speaker; YWCA Equity Institute
Dr. Tiffany McDowell, speaker; Director, YWCA Equity Institute
Birthday
Carol Pandak, Feb. 27
Club Anniversaries
Neil Gambow, 12 years
Jeff Owen, 2 years
Chuck Bartling, 24 years
Joan Borg, 5 years
Susan Prout, 5 years