The Light Newsletter

Jean Saunders read the Why we are Rotarians statements, which she originally brought to the club! She then shared her Thought for the Day. She said she was inspired by Jimmy Carter, who sadly went into hospice this week and being that it is President’s Day week, she chose Jimmy Carter’s quote: “You can do what you have to do and sometimes you can do it even better than you thought you can.”

 

Next Kathy shared the land acknowledgement, that we sit on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa, as well as the Menominee, Miami, Ho-Chunk, and other tribal nations. 

 

 

 

Bill Glader made the following announcement regarding this year’s Taste of Evanston:

 

We will kick off our Sept. 17 Taste of Evanston plans on Monday, March 6, at Bill Glader's home, 733 Asbury Ave, Evanston, IL 60202. Pot Luck at 6 p.m., meeting at 7 p.m.

 

Specifically, we need people to help plan things like supplies (forks, spoons, plates, stereo, etc.), running electricity to restaurant vendors, setup and teardown, social media, and sponsorships, etc.  He will send out an email to invite so anyone interested in attending can RSVP.  

 

Jose Lopez made the following announcement regarding a fundraiser in support of a  Rotary Club  in the Dominican Republic:

 

Jose announced that last Friday, Feb. 17, was Rotary’s Random Acts of Kindness Day. Jose invited all members of our club to join him in making a specific, not random, act of kindness for a Rotary Club in the Dominican Republic.

 

He suggested buying a ticket from the Santo Domingo Mirador Rotary Club’s annual fundraising raffle. That RC is unaware of EVLRC’s flash mob act of kindness. The tickets sell for the equivalent of $9.00 US dollars. The first and third prizes are US$1,200.00 and US$500.00 respectively. The second prize is a trip to their annual district conference.

 

Jose urged everyone to contribute $10. If ten people buy a ticket, each paying with a 10 dollar bill, the extra dollar will pay for an eleventh ticket assigned to EVLRC. Jose plans to inform the Mirador Rotary Club how many tickets our club purchased prior to their evening meeting this coming Thursday. At the meeting this morning, five tickets found buyers. A win, win, win situation for all involved. Jose’s Venmo account is Jose-Lopez-1633.

 

Christine Torres’s announcement following the meeting today regarding the Rotary Peace Fellowship:

 

Thank you for your letting me join your club meeting today and for the warm welcome. What an engaged and busy club!

 

Applications for the 2024 Rotary Peace Fellowships are now available!

 

Rotary and Rotaract members can help promote peace in the world by encouraging peace and development leaders in your community to apply for the Rotary Peace Fellowship.

 

Each year, Rotary awards fully funded fellowships for peacebuilders from diverse backgrounds to study at one of our peace centers located at premier universities around the world.

 

This year, we’ll select 50 peace fellows to study in our master’s degree programs and 40 fellows to earn a professional development certificate. We look for candidates with education and experience in disciplines related to peace and development. (Rotaract members who are not also Rotary club members are eligible to apply if they meet the other qualifications.)

 

Rotary Peace Fellows use their training to amplify their work at the local, regional, or global level. Clubs and districts can partner with them on peacebuilding initiatives before, during, and after their fellowships.

 

Members can learn more and help promote the program by:

Candidates have until May 15 to submit applications to The Rotary Foundation.

Thanks to generous support from donors and the dedicated participation of Rotary members, the peace fellowship program has more than 1,600 alumni working to make positive change in more than 140 countries.

 

Aimee Resnick shared the following announcement:

 

As a reminder, the Northwestern Art Review and the Northwestern Rotaract Club will be co-hosting an abandoned art auction from 6-8 p.m. on March 1 at the Alice Millar Chapel at 1870 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208. Light snacks will be served. Please RSVP on EventBrite here.

 

At the auction, you can bid on a variety of beautiful works ranging from oil paintings to ceramics to photography. You will also network with members of the Evanston Rotary Club, the Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Club, and the Evanston Nouveau Rotary Club, and the ETHS Interact Club.

 

Finally, you will hear from a variety of exciting speakers as we join together in service. 

 

You can also participate in the auction remotely! Here is the link to our online auction. Evanston’s best local businesses have donated a wide variety of items available on our online auction platform. 

 

These include gift cards, value baskets, shopping sprees, and service vouchers. Additional items will be added throughout the month! Bidding is open today and will close on the evening of March 1! 

 

We are also thrilled to be auctioning two original framed fine art photos by Robert Shivert. You can find images of these beautiful works attached to this email. Bidding is open here!

You can also make a direct donation to our cause on our auction page. 

 

Currently, our Rotaract Club is partnered with Evanston Township High School and Haile-Manas Academy to raise funds for rural education in Ethiopia.

 

The elementary school attended by students at Haile-Manas Academy is tragically underfunded. Currently, the school has no desks, floors, or writing utensils: students instead practice writing and solve math problems by drawing with sticks in the dirt.

 

Moreover, their playground is in dire need of replacement. Currently, it consists of rusty metal structures built decades ago.

 

We plan to buy school supplies, floor rugs, and a new playground for the school. All purchases will be made in Ethiopia from small businesses to stimulate their local economy.

 

Thank you to Edzo’s Burger Shop, Hecky’s BBQ, Aim and Ailie Hair Boutique, Dawn Skin Studio, Bowdental Evanston, Raising Cane’s, Inspired Indian, Madison Grace, Firehouse Grill, Taco Diablo, Stumble and Relish, D&D Finer Foods and Robert Shiverts for their generous donations.

 

If you have any questions, please contact me at aimee.r.resnick@gmail.com or text 303-515 0816.
 

We look forward to seeing you on March 1.
 

Bruce Baumberger made the following announcement:

 

Yesterday you received an email about our Reba place gifting program.  Martha Byrne said the residents are very excited about all of the items that we are giving to them. They think it's Santa Claus. Whenever a package arrives we happen to have a new gift list link because of change in Amazon. So when you plan to to give, please use the new link that came in yesterday's email .

Another item operation and warm coats for earthquake victims. about that program for only $19 per coat, we can equip someone in Turkey and Syria with warm winter coat and that project is going to be receiving donations through Sunday.  So please click on a link, and and join many of us in in supporting the earthquake victims. 

 

Last item is to reinforce the importance of finding time to attend our member Orientation event. That's going to be right here at one Rotary Center on Friday from noon to 4 p.m. 

 

Linda Garber made the following announcement:

 

Following up on Bill Glader’s announcement, she said that next week we are going to be awarding the checks to the beneficiaries from the Taste of Evanston 2022 and it will be a big day for us.

 

Special Guest - One of our previous outbound Rotary Youth Exchange students, Bella Hubbard, showed a short video she made during her time recently visiting Ecuador to support an endangered indigenous Amazonian community.

 

She talked about the struggle indigenous people were facing against mining corporations and how the corporations even change their names to make it legally difficult for the indigenous people to challenge them without incurring the additional costs.

 

Macedonian Rotarian Dr. Ernest Debreslioski addressed the topic “The Impact of the Ukrainian War on My World.”

 

 

 

 

Charlotta Koppanyi – 11 Years

 

Sue Patel – 3 Years

 

Neil Gambow – 15 Years