April, 2006 My Fellow Rotarians - Rotary's Global History Fellowship

District 6440 Histories 2005
1998-99 – Libertyville began the year with 62 members and ended up with 65. The club raised $4,800
by running the beer tent at Libertyville Days, which was added to the club fundraiser. The club raised
$33,000 for charity—including $6,000 in scholarships. Diana Diger was our outbound Rotary Exchange
student from Mexico. The club unveiled a new Paul Harris matching plan and induced $11,000 in gifts
from 18 people in its first month. We sent five students to RYLA. For the first time, the club mandated
10 percent of its total fundraising would be sent to Rotary Foundation for annual programs.
1999-2000 – The club’s first Rotary Open golf tourney at Thunderhawk on Sept. 23 raised nearly $7,000
for club projects. 87 golfers participated at the event. In all, the club distributed $36,000 in support of
$7,500 in scholarships and $28,500 in gifts to 25 charities. Cindy Chen was our outbound Rotary
Exchange student to Port Alegre, Brazil. The club held a book drive for the libray at the new Vernon
Hills High School. Our WCS project resulted in a new well fr the people o Dharmapuri, India. RotoLib,
our newsletter got its first distribution via e-mail. Club members donated $3,600 to Turskish earthquake
and the club’s board oted to add $4,000 in club funds. We also spent $3,000 to support a Polio
surveillance station in Africa.
2000-2001 – The club’s biggest new project was participating in the Christmas in April program on the
North Shore with a thorough cleanup of Lake County Haven and some new furniture for the residential
program for homeless women and children. The annual fundraiser earned $28,000, with $9,500 of that
going to scholarships and the rest to various community groups. The club donated $375 to fight hunger
in Ethiopia, welcomed inbound Rotary Exchange student Katariina Kainulainen from Laminstranta,
Finland. The club grew from 57 to 60 members.
2001-2002 - The club assisted the Libertyville High School Interact Club in staging a most successful
Holiday Adopt-A-Family program. The Interact Club produced a holiday dinner for 100 families,
feeding 300 people and being sure all kids received gifts. The club supported the avoidable blindness
campaign with $1,250 and gave $1,000 for special education program in the Philippines spearheaded by
the Antioch Rotary Club. Club members volunteered to help the Mainstreet Libertyville organization
serve beer at its Oktoberfest, Mainstreet’s biggest fundraiser. In our own fundraisers, the 3 rd annual
Rotary Golf Open, we raised over $5,000 and our winter fundraiser collected $28,990 for local
scholarships and charitable gifts. We sent five students to RYLA.
2002-2003 – Aya Kaneko of Kazoo City, Japan was our inbound Rotary Youth Exchange student. The
club pledged $20,000 for the polio eradication campaign, which resulted in 15 new Paul Harris
Fellowships and multiple pins. The club awarded $8,500 in scholarships to 10 students and gave 20 local
charity groups a total of $16,500 in gifts thanks to earning from a first eve Casino Night. We closed the
year with 45 members.
2003-2004 – Twenty-five club members earned new Paul Harris recognition, mostly because o the
continuing Polio Eradication campaign. On Jan. 15, the club named its first committee to look into a
major project—building a shelter at Libertyville’s soccer complex. A new Luau theme for the club
fundraiser and a new venue at the Independence Grove Forest Preserve were highly successful. A total
of $31,720 was raised for club giving in the community and for 8 scholarships. The club wrestled with a
possible change of venue for meetings as well, but after many visits to other potential locations, decided
to stay at Lams Farm. The club participated in its first Jewel-Osco Shop and Share days and also added
several collection dates to help stock the township food pantry.
Page 197 of 283