From the moment you spot Carolyn Crimi’s feet—she’s sporting hot pink Chuck Taylors with sparkly laces—you know you’re in for a dose of fun, whimsy and creativity. Crimi puts these qualities to use as an author of award-winning children’s picture and chapter books. “I started writing kids’ books in first grade and never stopped,” she […]
Google “blind organization,” and you will generate 13 million results in less than a second. Google “low vision organization,” and your hits will drop to 2.2. million. Two Deerfield mothers, Wendy Baum and Susan Ballis, are trying to change that. In 2006, they started Vision for Tomorrow Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping families […]
Loved ones with severe memory loss often retreat to inner worlds. A recent international documentary, “I Remember Better When I Paint,” co-directed by Berna Huebner of Highland Park, shows how art therapy can bring them back. The film is based, in part, on personal experience. Huebner’s mother, Hilda Gorenstein, also known as Hilgos, was an […]
One of the country’s last remaining community centers, Gorton, a nonprofit organization in Lake Forest, appears to be in danger of closing its doors. The Board of Directors is appealing to the community for $250,000 in cash donations by Thursday, August 5. Donations should be made payable to Gorton Community Center and either mailed or […]
Is a 3-day music fest too much for you? Then come to GALApalooza, the official kickoff party of the Lollapalooza weekend. Scheduled for Thursday, August 5, GALApalooza is an upscale party geared toward adults—a private concert and cocktail party under the stars at the Petrillo Band Shell in Chicago’s beautiful Grant Park. It’s a sneak peek […]
At Chicago Botanic Garden’s World Environment Day, a small but dynamic group of children determined to make the earth a healthier place manned one of the popular community displays. The Highland Park Green Kids were eager to discuss their mission and demonstrate energy-saving projects. They are part of a local grassroots organization founded by kids […]
Cassandra Friedman’s children have jokingly asked their mother to change her name. After all, they don’t want to be associated with a woman who hangs around coffee shops playing music in hopes of raising money for Alzheimer’s. “I’m not shy, I’ll do anything to spark an interest in donating,” Friedman, 56, says. “It wouldn’t be […]
It takes guts to apply for a job posing nude. But imagine the confidence it takes to apply for that job when you can’t see. Just ask Beth Finke, who lost her sight from diabetes in her 20s, and then her job. “At first I tried walking with the cane, but was afraid of falling […]
Sharon Morton of Deerfield fosters intergenerational giving back. At the tender age of 7, Michael already considered himself a philanthropist and social activist. Each year, through the auspices of the MIMAST Philanthropy Club—and in partnership with its founder, his grandmother, Sharon Morton—young Michael, his brother, Steven, and cousin Matthew carefully decide how to spend their “philanthropy […]
Evanston artist Jane Fulton Alt makes a powerful statement with her latest photo essay, “Crude Awakening.” The series of photos offers viewers the ability to imagine an oil spill impacting the shores of Lake Michigan. Shot locally, Jane used a nontoxic substance to recreate the oily effect, and found herself with a number of volunteers […]
