Presiding was President Linda Gerber who welcomed club members to the 38th meeting of the current Rotary year. . Paul Brown recited Why We Are Rotarians and his Thought for the Day:

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” --  Confucius

 

 

Harold Bauer announced that we are well on our way to reaching the goal of $5,000 that will take us to our pledge of $5,000 in the ELRC Endowment.  All sizes of contributions are welcome and we are not limited, though it would be wonderful if we could reach $15,000.  Only 12 people are donors so far, and we’d love to see 50 donors or more.  Please consider contributing. Send your check to Kristin Brown,  EVLRC Foundation and memo EVLRC Endowment.  Please know there is a variety of other ways to pay including PayPal and other modalities.  Linda Gerber added you can use a credit card.

 

Katherine Peterson announced that we are convening another discussion group for the United Way of Illinois’s 21-week Equity Challenge beginning on Thursday, April 7, at Noon, via Zoom. Everyone who wants a greater understanding of the issues related to equity is welcome.  Please reach out to Katherine if you’d like to join us or have questions.  Everyone is welcome.

 

Don Gwinn announced that the Reba Place Development workday on Saturday, March 26, was a very good day with a great crew of volunteers.  The day was spent building shelves, organizing supplies, and building a work bench.  Photos of the event were shared, including Rotarians using power tools, organizing supplies and making order.  Next work day is Saturday, April 30, at 743 Brown Ave. 

 

Keith Banks expressed a depth of appreciation for the transformation of the Reba Place space into a modern organization that allows Reba Place staff to work more efficiently and effectively.  The participants included, Don Gwinn, Keith Bans, Dan Coyne, Kate Collinson, Matt Maran, John Osterlund, Marisa, Bill Glader, Chip, Brien Johnson, Hillary Hufford-Tucker, Kristen Brown, the Patel Family, Vai, and Linda Gerber which hopefully includes everyone that made a valued contribution.

 

Linda Gerber announced that Rebecca Mendoza took time this week to clean up for the floor space at Ms. Joanne’s classroom at Family Focus and managed the big task of getting rid of many years of stuff.  She also updated the Empowering Girls initiative at the end of Women’s History month for the final event, and unveiling the website.  There are 45 people signed for the March 31 event taking place at Koi. We will hear responses to the questions about the power of girls and women and feeling excited about the potential of this project. 

 

Susan Prout announced Bundled Blessings, an opportunity for next Tuesday, April 5, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to bundle diapers for distribution at the diaper pantry at First United Methodist Church, on the corner of Hinman and Church Street.  The diapers are for children throughout the area partnering with other organizations. 

 

Kelly Fidel added on-line that the next Lighthouse Happy Hour meeting is on Wednesday, April 6th, 5-5:30 p.m. on the Zoom.

 

Ann Searles announced that long time member, John Wold, died Saturday and details about the arrangements will be shared later. 

 

 

Nick Powers hosted Roasts & Boasts.

 

Don Gwinn boasted everyone who joined the workday on Saturday and encouraged anyone who has not partaken to join and enjoy the camaraderie and Rotary friendship.  Many thanks to all. 

 

Keith Banks also boasted all Rotarians who joined the workday.  He stated he was proud to be a Rotarian, in great fellowship and community service!

 

Linda Gerber welcomed and boasted Tania Margonza of School District 65, specialist for family and community partnerships and fellow board member of Evanston Community Foundation. 

 

 

 

 

Linda Gerber introduced the speaker as a woman making history. Sarita Smith is a lifelong Evanstonian who grew up in the 5th and 2nd Wards. She saw firsthand the struggles many students of color face in the public school system. She now works to bridge the education gap, help students to succeed, and edit the narratives that have already been written for them.

 

Sarita Smith was a first-generation college graduate and struggled to navigate the education system. She graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a degree in Communications and Theater. She later earned her master’s degree in social work at the University of Illinois Chicago. Sarita is the Director of Student Assignments at Evanston/Skokie School District 65. 

 

The Student Assignment Project committee developed a plan approved on March 14 to return a school to Evanston’s Fifth Ward – to build a new K-8 school that will begin to address historic inequities caused by the closing of Foster School. Since 1967, when Foster School, the last public school in the ward, was closed as a neighborhood attendance school, Black children have been bused out of the Fifth Ward to diversify schools in other neighborhoods. 

 

She explained that this work is more than an initiative of the district for her, including the impact of Foster School.  She spoke about how the closing of Foster School impacted her parents, which has been quite personal.  As a leader and facilitator, she is striving to have a neutral and data driven stance.  Instead of her prepared presentation, Sarita chose to speak about community involvement from her experience and insight as a part of the District 65 team.

 

When Sarita came to District 65, she was talking to the community about many concerns. She explained that she is not a status-quo person and wanted to “push the envelope.”  She further reflected that we are “standing on the shoulders of giants” among so many groups and people who have been trying to press the issues of inequity throughout the district for so long.  The district is ready, and the process is different. We learned there is an intersection between what students want and what the district can provide.

 

Student assignment is a relatively new term in D-65. We understood that we need to get into the community to ask questions, get to the communities that represented the whole district, and present to the community before the board.  Feedback was really important, including editing before we reported to the board. 

 

We raised the issues of marginalized communties including Latin-X families. We edited the community survey based on specific marginalized populations pushing them to the top so all voices were heard. There are so many iterations of this presentation based on the feedback we got from every ward.  We have a website inviting personal insights including those directed toward Dr. Horton and many others in the district. That was Phase I.

 

Phase II will last about a year and a half and is going to talk about what needs to happen, where the programming is located, talking to the communities to capture the nuances and characteristics and criteria of the program.  More conversations such as how transportation will play out, to be presented to the community and then to the board.  How do we spend the money directed toward so many areas, discuss with the community for clarity and bring it to the board?  This next report will include all iterations of the conversation. 

 

 

 

John Wertymer, Wilmette Rotary

 

 

Tania Margonza, District 65 Specialist for Family & Community Partnerships

 

Stephanie Mendoza, City Clerk of Evanston

 

 

Dave Simmons, March 31

 

Helen Oloroso, April 2

 

Ann Weatherhead, April 4

 

 

Louis Allred, 30 years

 

Bruce Baumberger, 36 years