At six months pregnant, Courtney Williams of Palm Beach County, Florida, was in a dark place. Pregnancy complications forced her to stop working at the job she loved. At home, her partner abused her. “I felt like I was dying inside,” Williams recalls. She suffered from depression and PTSD, which also threatened the well-being of […]
When he was hired as a digital archivist for the PBS show American Masters in 2025, James P. found something he wasn’t sure was possible. “It’s been one of the greatest, if not the greatest, work experiences I’ve had in my life,” James says. “I feel like my life has purpose to it, which I […]
What does it take to save a species? A veterinarian with a state-of-the-art CT scanner. A keeper who notices an aardvark skipped dinner. A nutritionist who knows exactly what belongs on a gorilla’s menu. Scientists tracking animals thousands of miles away. Women checking camera traps in the Himalayas. A photographer who can make a mouse […]
“American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” When James Baldwin wrote those words in 1963, he captured the exact tightrope that educators walk today. As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2026, teachers are not just reflecting on a historical […]
The welcome at Ballet Chicago‘s sensory-friendly performance of The Nutcracker begins before the curtain rises. A visual schedule helps families know what to expect. House lights remain partially illuminated, Tchaikovsky’s score is played at a lower volume, a quiet room is available for those who need it, and audience members are free to move around […]
When the lights came up after a collection of short documentaries about immigration enforcement in Chicago, the audience did more than applaud. Viewers contributed $4,000 to a legal-support fund and stayed to speak with filmmakers, attorneys, and community advocates working directly with affected families. The event was part of Speak Truth, a new initiative within […]
When 73-year-old Wisconsin resident Leslie slipped in her bathroom one morning, she never imagined she would spend the next six hours on the floor, unable to stand. Her daughter had just left when Leslie lost her footing. Her reading glasses shattered, cutting her forehead and leaving her bleeding and disoriented. Her phone was on the […]
When Patti and Steve Winegar sat down with their planner in 2017 to sketch out their financial legacy, they had two priorities: long term tax strategy and “giving more intentional, larger gifts to our core charities.” Patti was about to sell a company, so it was an important year to consider taxes carefully. And the […]
A child should worry about making the soccer team, learning to drive, or what to wear to prom. Not whether they’ll lose a leg or whether the chemotherapy that’s about to begin is largely the same treatment doctors have relied on for decades. Yet for hundreds of children and teenagers diagnosed with osteosarcoma each year […]
September in Chicago brings major music and arts festivals, world-class theater, food events, museum exhibitions, author talks, comedy, and great opportunities to take advantage of warm weather while we still can. From biking a car-free Lake Shore Drive and hearing jazz in Millennium Park to seeing performances by Kyle MacLachlan, Patti Smith, Ilana Glazer, Eric […]
