On Saturday, April 30, 2011, the Rotary Club of Peoria-North participated in Rebuilding Together Peoria at St. Augustine Manor.  We painted 2 units, removed wallpaper from one unit and an entire hallway. Due to our excellent turnout we exceeded expectations and got done early.  Many thanks to those that were able to participate:  STACY BORHO, BOB HULTGREN, DICK ALBERS, MARK WHITLOCK, MATT MACHALA, TOM BOWER(+1), MIKE BUNCH(+1), SHAWN SNOOK(+1), KIM SANDERS, CORAL NESS, DAWN CASSULO, BEN ROBERTS, MARCELO ISAAC, DOUG HUFF(+1), BILL LERVAAG, JONATHAN HEIPLE and NANCY SEDREL.

Thank You to the following members that participated in this year’s Christmas Toy Drive: CARLA PAYNE, BECKY WOOD, ALAN WILLADSEN, JULIA GHANTOUS & LOU TENARVITZ.

Each member selected a local not for profit charity and purchased $550 worth or “needed items” to fill their holiday stocking. Items included winter clothing, toys, toiletries, gift cards and much, much more. The following organizations were the recipients of this year’s shopping spree: Center for Prevention of Abuse, CASA of Peoria, Westminster Infant Care Center, Dream Center & the Children's Home. Your Annual Appeal Dollars Hard At Work!

Special thanks to the Wal-Mart SuperCenter on Allen Rd. for their assistance and a donation of $250 toward our project!

Nearly 1,200 dictionaries were distributed to students as part of a collaborative effort between the Rotary Club of Peoria-North and District 150. The dictionary project is in its third year.

"The book can make a difference in a child's life. It's a great project for us and to partner with District 150 and being a Rotary Club in Peoria we want to entrench ourselves in the schools," states project chairman MARK WHITLOCK.

Principal Andrews states "This is possibly the only book that these kids will own."

Third grader Andy Sorrel said his new dictionary will come in handy. "I do a lot of writing assignments and if I keep this in my desk I can always look it up."

Funding for the dictionaries comes from a Rotary International Literacy Grant and from individual donations by Peoria-North Rotary Club members.