The Light Newsletter

 

From Aimee Resnick, the Soup for Scholarships silent auction is officially open. Win great deals on gift cards to your favorite Evanston restaurants and stores! Proceeds will be used to fund four $500 scholarships for students at Evanston Township High School, Beacon Academy, Roycemore, and F.A.A.M. The scholarships will raise awareness of Rotary and reward youth who benefit their community through service. Bidding will end at midnight on March 4th. Bid here: https://www.32auctions.com/SoupforScholarships?r=1&t=all

 

With Soup for Scholarships now an ‘online only’ event, Keith Banks encouraged everyone to participate by bidding on some great auction items.  Bryant thanked the Young Leaders Committee for their timely pivot to an online format.   Joy Joyce, former teacher at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, echoed the importance of these scholarships!  They are significant to the recipients and they raise Rotary awareness among students and the community.

 

In keeping with this year’s Mental Health theme, Aimee explained that the Evanston City Council, on behalf of the ELRC, has declared Feb. 26 – March 1 Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

 

Noting Scribe Vaidehi Ravikumar’s leave of absence (post-surgery), Club Service Chair Joan Borg encouraged Rotarians to step up to “scribe” during our club meetings.  Not an onerous task, scribes typically spend 1-3 hours/month helping us keep a written record of our meetings.  If interested, please contact Joan.   

 

Steve Goranson and Zbig Skiba represented our club at the recent E-Town Sunrise presentation of the ‘Green New Deal for ETHS’ developed by students and just approved by District 202.  Carrying signage expressing support (and the fact that Rotary’s 7^th area of focus is the Environment), they joined students, parents, and community leaders in celebrating this first step.  The plan calls for better resource management, reduced waste and energy consumption, and greater sustainability. ETHS is only the third school district in the country to pass such a policy.

 

Jean Saunders briefly explained Rotary International’s annual “People of Action” Campaign which selects six individuals for recognition from hundreds nominated by Rotary districts around the world.  Taglined “Champions of Impact” this year, our Club (through Don Gwinn) has a connection to one of the recipients -- Steve Dudenhoefer.  A Floridian who encountered Guatemalan landscape crews in his construction work, Steve traveled to Guatemala for the first time 33 years ago.  He was touched by the poor conditions, lack of formal education, and limited opportunities for the Mayan children in the Rio Dulce area.   He relocated to Guatemala and founded the Guatemalan Tomorrow Fund and its related school (Asociación Ak’ Tenamit).  Steve’s efforts have been truly life-changing for the families there.  Don has made 11 service trips to Guatemala to work on projects at the school.  Joan Borg, Gary, Katherine Peterson, and Keith Sarpolis have also volunteered there, participating in RC of Buffalo Grove-organized trips.  Our Club continues to support the project financially with grants by the International Service Committee.   For more information on Steve (https://thegtfund.org/) and the other honorees: https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-honors-six-members-people-action-champions-impact

Kathy Tate-Bradish roasted herself for not knowing that eating a banana would dislodge a vitamin stuck in her throat that sent her to the Emergency Room recently at 10:30 p.m.  Her son-in-law, a knowledgeable masseuse, offered the successful banana suggestion while Kathy was still awaiting treatment at the ER. Bottom line… keep a banana in reach at all times!  

 

Neil Gambow boasted his grandson Will, a student at DePaul, who impulsively signed up for an Indigenous Studies program in the Australian Outback this summer -- before asking his mother, “Do I have a passport?”