South Side Sanctuary: A Place for Outdoor Recreation, Exploring Creativity, and Improving Wellbeing
Our environment has a huge impact on our well-being. Research has shown that access to outdoor amenities can reduce stress and improve physical…
Stories
Spotlights on community issues, the people, and the organizations who contribute to effective philanthropy as well as a stronger Chicago region and world.
Recent Stories
-
-
From the Archives: 2015 – ADA 25 Chicago
December 3rd is International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a day that advances awareness of issues faced by the disability community. In 2022,…
-
Trusted Voices: Unity Fund Creates a Pathway to Well-Being
Addressing residents’ most urgent needs is at the heart of our work as the Chicago region’s community foundation. The Chicago Community Trust’s Unity…
All Stories
-
The Map Collector Who Shaped Chicago's Charitable Landscape
Hermon Dunlap Smith led both Marsh & McLennan, Inc., and The Chicago Community Trust. A brilliant philanthropic leader and businessman, Hermon “Dutch” Dunlap Smith served…
-
Philanthropy as Small as a Box of Pens—And as Big as Asia
Homework help and tutoring in Chinatown. Health services for Laotian refugees in Elgin. Research-based public policy initiatives to benefit South Asian Americans. These valuable services…
-
Young Storytellers Capture Unsung Heroes with Vocalo Radio
Maple tree tapping at Northwestern University; scholarships for undocumented college hopefuls; a theatre company that promotes healing through performance; and an LGBT safe haven at…
-
5,000 Strong, Chicagoans Love Giving Back
On Saturday, June 27, 2015, Chicago Cares held its 22nd annual Serve-a-thon, the city’s largest, single-day community service project. Nearly 5,000 volunteers in approximately 300 teams, representing more…
-
Surviving Against the Odds, She Finds Her Destiny in Service
The baby girl born July 4, 1998 was 3 1/2 months premature and weighed only 1 pound, 5 ounces. The doctor who attended the birth…
-
Studio and Safe Space: CHIRP Radio at the Urban Art Retreat
Nestled between the Metra and the CTA’s Pink Line, a few blocks from Douglas Park, is a typical Chicago three-flat, which is home to the…
-
No Human Interaction Is Just One-Way': Brian Brady
Happy 4th of July! Today, we remember what it means to be Americans and celebrate all that entails—including the right to represent ourselves in the…
-
Think Good, It's Friday! 7.3.15
As John F. Kennedy famously stated, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” Outside of the…
-
The U.S. Vice President with a Nobel Prize—and a #1 Hit Single
Charles Gates Dawes was a Chicago banker and politician who rose to the highest levels of society. General Dawes, as he was commonly known, had served…
-
How a Chicago Student’s Commitment Got Magic on His Team
Justin Carmickle’s mother thinks he should write a book about the amazing journey service has taken him on—but he says, “It’s not the end of…
