Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Club awarded $45,000 in grants Tuesday to mark its 25th anniversary celebration.
Rotary Club President Chip Uchtman presents a check to Karen Singer, executive director of the YWCA.
One grant, for $35,000, went to the YWCA Evanston/North Shore to renovate and modernize the kitchen at Mary Lou’s Place. Mary Lou’s Place is a domestic violence shelter for women and children. As part of the gift, club members’ will volunteer their expertise and hands-on assistance to keep the cost down.
The second grant, for $10,000, went to Evanston150. Evanston150 is a four year community engagement initiative that will invite residents to not only celebrate the city’s 150th anniversary in 2013 but also to envision its future by developing “vision projects” that will benefit the city well beyond 2013.
Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Club awarded $45,000 in grants Tuesday to mark its 25th anniversary celebration.
Rotary Club President Chip Uchtman presents a check to Karen Singer, executive director of the YWCA.
One grant, for $35,000, went to the YWCA Evanston/North Shore to renovate and modernize the kitchen at Mary Lou’s Place. Mary Lou’s Place is a domestic violence shelter for women and children. As part of the gift, club members’ will volunteer their expertise and hands-on assistance to keep the cost down.
The second grant, for $10,000, went to Evanston150. Evanston150 is a four year community engagement initiative that will invite residents to not only celebrate the city’s 150th anniversary in 2013 but also to envision its future by developing “vision projects” that will benefit the city well beyond 2013.
It is a partnership of the Evanston History Center, Evanston Community Foundation and the Evanston Public Library. Also, the club will help raise the additional $40,000 estimated to be needed to kick off the project.
These grants are part of the club’s celebration of its 25th anniversary in June of 2010. Club President Chip Uchtman said the grants “are much larger than the club’s normal $250 to $2,000 grants and are in addition to the club’s regular annual giving.”
The process for selecting a project began with an invitation to over 120 local community organizations to submit a proposal for a project that would improve our community, costing up to $50,000. The club received 23 proposals. That number was narrowed down to four finalists. Each finalist presented their proposal at a series of regular club meetings.
Over its 25 years history the 70-member Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Club has given over a half million dollars to local and international organizations that serve their communities in many ways.
In addition, the club annually rehabs a deserving family’s home, cleans Lighthouse Beach, delivers Campus Kitchen meals, and performs other hands-on community and international volunteer activities.