Ed Wehmer founded Wintrust on a strong belief that he could spend more time with his large and growing family, while serving a community he loved, if he built a better bank for Lake Forest, where he and his wife, Dorothy, were raising six young children. He was so successful that the bank grew to eventually become Chicagoland’s […]
Liz Thompson knows the power of a good educator. “I have always admired teachers because of the amazing people that taught and motivated me throughout my education,” said Thompson. So, this year, when children across Chicago were unexpectedly distanced from those impactful figures, Thompson wanted to make sure tomorrow’s young leaders could hold their heads […]
The need for food across Chicagoland has stunned Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) Executive Director and CEO Kate Maehr, but it has never disheartened her. “Every time I go out to a distribution, I’m just struck that every single person standing in line is a person with a life, with a family, with a story—and […]
Play is essential for children. Unstructured, imaginative play is key to so many aspects of a child’s cognitive growth, including language development, the nuances of socialization and creative problem solving. The research on the neurological effects of play is clear: “Play is not frivolous: it enhances brain structure and function and promotes executive function, which […]
The multi-pronged aid offered by Metropolitan Family Services (MFS) is near and dear to Ric Estrada. Since March 2011, CEO has preceded Estrada’s name, but his roots are not unlike those of the 93,000 Chicagoans served by MFS, most of whom are working poor or lower-middle class. Estrada, a Mexican-American immigrant, grew up in a […]
Sometimes it takes someone from outside the bubble to see the big picture. When Monique Jones first interviewed for the leadership position at the Evanston Community Foundation (ECF) back in 2015, she thought it was a place-based philanthropy all about Evanston. “I’ve since found out that the foundation is part of the fabric of Evanston, […]
There are many ways to define “genius,” but each October, Chicago’s MacArthur Foundation chooses around two dozen to honor. Among the diverse array of this year’s MacArthur fellows are a quantum physicist demystifying the habits of subatomic particles and a sociologist illuminating the way certain kinds of policing turn out to undermine public safety. In […]
Chicago Children’s Choir is a nonprofit organization that inspires and unites youth from diverse backgrounds to become global citizens through music. Founded in Hyde Park in direct response to the Civil Rights Movement in 1956, CCC has grown from one choir into a vast network of in-school and after-school programs. Today, CCC serves nearly 5,000 […]
In search of your next family-friendly show to stream? A new National Geographic series takes viewers backstage at Walt Disney World to showcase the animals and their caretakers in action at the beloved theme parks that are home to more than 300 species and 5,000 animals. “Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” an eight-part docu-series narrated […]
On March 15, 2020 schools nationwide began shutting down. It was an unprecedented time of uncertainty, with many thinking it would only last 15 days. Parents were rightfully panicked, not only about the virus, but about managing a household with everyone home and often with two working parents. March 18, 2020 Wolcott College Prep initiated […]
