title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING FOSTER SENIOR CLUB ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 65TH ANNIVERSARY
WHEREAS, the Foster Senior Club was formed in 1957. It is the oldest senior organization in the City of Evanston and met consistently every Wednesday at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center until the shutdown imposed by the Covid-19 public health emergency. Not to be deterred, the Club moved their meetings to zoom. They celebrate their 65th anniversary this year in person on August 17, 2022; and
WHEREAS, the Foster Senior Club has over 100 active members. Meetings are devoted to socializing, addressing their program agenda, having occasional speakers, acknowledging the sick and shut ins, and providing announcements of current events in the community; and
WHEREAS, the Foster Senior Club is an iconic institution in Evanston. Their annual Fashion Show attracts over 200 supporters. The Fashion Shows features young, old, and in-between who showcase their talents and style. In 2018, Alice Turner, who at 98 ½ was perhaps the oldest participant, read the anonymous poem “I’m Fine” with the refrain “I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.” The 2018 fashion show also featured young men from the Officer and Gentlemen Academy who showed off their attire and then stayed to escort anyone who needed support. The Fashion Show raises funds to support the work of the Foster Senior Club; and
WHEREAS, the Fashion Show celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016. Organizers counted over 350 people in attendance to share in the fun. Participants say the Show is as much about family and community as it is about showing off their stylish selves; and
WHEREAS, before each annual Fashion Show, the newest members of the Golden Ladies are presented with gold scarves to acknowledge the celebration of their 90th birthdays during the preceding year. Members of the Golden Ladies, in addition to being recognized for their longevity, no longer pay club membership dues and event fees, and are no longer asked to sell fashion show tickets; and
WHEREAS, Foster Senior Club has enjoyed a warm and lengthy relationship with Commissioner Suffredin throughout the years who has assisted members with assessment appeals and with transit and tours of the Chicago Botanic Garden; and
WHEREAS, Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, where the Foster Senior Club meets, is in Evanston’s 5th Ward, the historic center of Evanston’s African American Community. Founded in 1956, it is the oldest standing community center in Evanston and has been the locus of many activities within the community, including a senior congregate lunch program run by the City of Evanston Parks with funding from the Older Americans Act; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Commissioners of Cook County, on behalf of the 5.2 million residents of Cook County, honors the Foster Senior Center, and herewith expresses its sincere gratitude for the community it has built and the invaluable contributions its members have made to the Citizens of Cook County, Illinois; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body and that an official copy of same be tendered to Mrs. Geri Sizemore and to the Foster Senior Center.
end