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Rotarians Donate 2,000 Books to Ukrainian Refugee Children in Chicago

When Rotarians attending the District 6420 conference in DeKalb, IL on November 5 learned of the influx of Ukrainian refugee children in two Chicago schools, they sprang into action. The result is that two schools in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago have received 1,000 new books each.

These Ukrainian Village neighborhood schools with pre-K to eighth grade age students have experienced nearly a 40% increase in enrollment from families fleeing the war in Ukraine. Rotary Club members who were gathered for the 2022-2023 District Conference donated $10,000 worth of new books in a one day fundraising event for the two schools. Usborne Books and More matched their generosity with a gift of an additional $5000 of new books bringing the total fundraising event to $15,000 in new books. Rotary District 6420 and Rotary International leadership delivered 1,000 books (20 boxes) to each of the two schools on November 28.

“I am grateful for the generosity of our Rotary Club members who made this possible in a single day”, said District 6420 Governor Laura Kann of Princeton, IL.

Rotary is an international organization of business and professional persons united to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary District 6420 is made up of 43 Rotary Clubs located in northwest Illinois, with a total membership of over 1,400.

World Series of Giving - 3rd Inning Recap

Good evening, Rotary baseball fans. Here’s hoping each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. And do you know what else had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year; it was the Rotary Foundation through our World Series of Giving competition! The scoring pace didn’t slack a bit during the month. A year ago, the hitting was just getting started; this year we already have multiple clubs at the Home Run or above category at the end of November. And we’re only 3 innings into this year’s series!

World Series of Giving Awards

The World Series was held during the month of June with all five division winners in hot pursuit of each other. The winning club, Pecatonica Rotary, was celebrated at Rotary Night At The Ballpark held on August 3 at the Rockford Rivets game in Rockford, IL. At the beginning of the game, we presented to the club members assembled the inaugural World Series of Giving traveling trophy. While small in size, the Pecatonica Rotary demonstrated a true winning Rotary spirit by their outstanding commitment to the Rotary Foundation.

District 6420 had a record-setting year in giving to the Foundation in 2021-22 with giving to the Annual Fund at 198% of our goal and PolioPlus giving at 171% of goal. In accomplishing this achievement, total giving to the Annual Fund and PolioPlus grew by over 40% on a total-giving basis, and by over 50% in terms of per capita giving on a year-over-year basis; also a record-setting accomplishment. We attribute this was due in major part by our implementation of this friendly competition among all district clubs and how it kept supporting the Rotary Foundation front and center in each member’s mind throughout the year.

Pictured above are several members of the District Foundation Committee and Pecatonica Rotary members during an award presentation on August 3 at the Rockford Rivets game.

100 Years of Service!!

Two local leaders were honored for 50 years of service each to Rotary on Thursday, June 16, in Rockford, IL. Honorees were Karl Jacobs, president emeritus of Rock Valley College and Richard T. Leighton, retired chief financial officer of Barber-Colman Co. Linda Johnson, Rotary president, presented the appreciation recognitions. The two Rotarians were recognized for their combined 100 years of service to Rotary and their local and global community. Rotary is an international organization of business and professional persons united to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world. The Rockford Downtown Rotary was chartered in 1916 and has 120 members.

(Pictured: L-R Karl Jacobs, Rockford Rotary President Linda Johnson and Dick Leighton.)

District 6420 Announces New Disaster Relief Fund

On January 22, 2022, the Corporate Board of District 6420 recommended a Disaster Relief Fund be established in the amount of $50,000. The recommendation was approved by District 6420 Rotary Clubs at the District Training Assembly on March 19, 2022. The purpose of the District 6420 Disaster Relief Fund is to provide grants to Rotary Clubs in District 6420 to support relief and recovery efforts in their local communities that have been impacted by natural disasters during the past six months. District 6420 Disaster Relief Fund Grants are awarded to Rotary Clubs in District 6420. Grants funds are used to provide basic relief and recovery items (such as water, food, medical supplies, household supplies, and clothing) or services (such as debris removal, temporary shelter, health care, mold remediation, and cleaning). Rotary Clubs may work with other organizations to complete grant activities. The maximum amount of a Disaster Relief Fund Grant is $10,000 per club per Rotary year.

In addition, District 6420 Disaster Relief Fund Grants must:

-Include the active participation of Rotarians.

-Address a local humanitarian or public safety need in the community.

-Be promoted via the local media and social media as appropriate.

District 6420 Disaster Relief Fund Grants may not:

-provide items or services already covered by an insurance policy or other established source of funding.

-involve purchase of land or buildings. -include fundraising activities for the Rotary Club or another organization.

-cover operating, administrative, or indirect program expenses of another organization.

-include unrestricted cash donations to another organization.

Unspent or surplus funds from the District 6420 annual budget will be used to maintain a balance of $50,000. In addition, donations specifically for the District 6420 Disaster Relief Fund will be accepted. Fundraising activities may also be considered as needed. The District Corporate Board may determine that insufficient funds are available during a Rotary year to make Disaster Relief Fund Grants available.

District Launches Polio Plus Society

What is the PolioPlus Society(PPS)?

In an effort to increase sustainable giving, the PolioPlus Society was formed to encourage Rotarians to commit to a minimum of $100/year to the PolioPlus Fund until polio is eradicated from the face of the earth. Society members receive a special society pin. The PolioPlus Society Pledge form serves as the application and can be found here.

District 6420

During 2020-2021, clubs were encouraged to contribute $50/member for polio eradication through its members and community awareness programs.
The district PolioPlus committee will continue offer speakers and progress updates and continue to encourage ongoing club fundraisers and community awareness events.
If you currently contribute over $100 / year to the foundation, consider designating $100 or more of that amount to PolioPlus, thus fulfilling a PolioPlus Society Pledge. This will also help fulfill the EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year) goal for your club.
Donations may be made through club treasurers, or directly to the Rotary International website. Be sure to use your “My Rotary” page to ensure proper crediting to your Paul Harris account.

To learn more about the PPS, click the read more link...