From the World Cup stage to Olympic competition to neighborhood fields, courts, and boathouses, sports create belonging, build confidence, open doors, strengthen communities, and teach us what it means to show up for one another. I saw this with my own kids. Our Make It Better partners and Philanthropy Award winners have long proven this. […]
A fellow cancer survivor suggested Lynn Leiro apply to a creative arts program focused on providing support and community to those touched by cancer. She thought it might offer Leiro something different. It did. Leiro, 40, is a double cancer survivor whose diagnoses — triple negative breast cancer and acute lymphoblastic leukemia — left her […]
Ebony had a new apartment, five kids counting on her, and nothing to put inside it. No beds, no table, no place to land after a hard day. She had a roof, but what she didn’t have was a home. A caseworker referred her to the Chicago Furniture Bank (CFB). A few weeks later, Ebony […]
Whenever Soe Meh leaves her apartment in Chicago, she is struck by her freedom and confidence. From birth to marriage and motherhood, Soe Meh lived in a refugee camp along the border of Thailand and Myanmar (formerly Burma). While safer than the violence in Burma that her parents had fled, she says of her time […]
Not too long ago, London Booker was driving through Rochester when something made him stop. In an abandoned lot, a group of kids was running lacrosse drills, fully equipped, calling out plays, and moving with confidence. He hit the brakes, put the car in reverse, and asked what they were doing. Their answer surprised him. […]
Through competing fiscal responsibilities, budget constraints, and rising bias shaped by the sociopolitical climate, the public education sector is under immense pressure, and it almost certainly has a magnified impact on a specific group: students. As students navigate an environment facing multiple crises, it’s no surprise that access to a quality arts education falls low […]
The boat sits motionless, but the air is charged with anticipation. Every breath, every grip, every heartbeat and blade sharpen at the start. Then silence breaks, and everything explodes into motion. It may be hard to imagine the grueling and rigorous sport of rowing thriving in the heart of Chicago, yet the Chicago Rowing Foundation […]
By the time my daughter Emma was 7, I could see that her “picture-perfect life,” complete with strong grades, extracurricular activities, and an active social world, also made her a prime candidate for the mental health challenges facing an alarming number of “Perfect Girl” teens in affluent communities like ours. My six children grew up […]
Housing and mental health care are often treated as separate challenges. For veterans, they rarely are. As communities across the country look for better ways to support veterans, two Chicago organizations, both Make It Better Foundation 2026 Philanthropy Award winners, are demonstrating what a more integrated approach can look like. The Road Home Program: The […]
“She called me ‘string bean‘ because I was skinny and awkward growing up,” says Ashley, reflecting on her grandmother. “She was one of the few people who understood me. She told me to pursue writing, to become a journalist.” Today, that formidable woman who spoke multiple languages and shaped Ashley’s career path sometimes forgets that […]
In Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Valley, Seema learned to weave from her mother and grandmother before her. Today, her carpets are sold through Christopher Farr in London and Los Angeles, helping support her family while carrying forward artistic traditions rooted in the region’s history. This particular carpet, woven by Seema, features a Buddhist mandala motif that reflects […]
Years ago, when Sharanda Morehead was a teacher at LEARN Romano Butler in the Chicago neighborhood of North Lawndale, she remembers how Margaret Romano would pop into her classroom about once a week. Romano, a pioneering leader and lifelong champion of the LEARN network, would say things like, “How are things going?” or “What do […]
Many of the behaviors that show up in adult relationships — defensiveness, emotional shutdown, perfectionism, people-pleasing, fear of conflict — often begin as survival strategies long before adulthood. At a recent conversation hosted by The Family Institute at Northwestern University — a Make It Better 2026 Philanthropy Award winner — licensed marriage and family therapist […]
