Winterfest, home to the U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competion, brings teams from across the country to compete in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Each team of three sculptors has three days to create works of art out of 9-foot-tall columns of snow. Held lakeside in Downtown Lake Geneva, this event is the only national competition of its […]
On Dec. 12, 2015, almost 2,000 young professionals gathered together for the Jewish United Fund‘s annual Big Event Fundraiser. Hosted at the Sheraton Chicago, the fundraiser included comedy acts by Pat McGann and Chicago native Hannibal Buress, as well as an after party at the new Loews Chicago. This year the event was able to raise […]
Common Threads wants us to get cooking this month. January has been named Cooking for Life month with a goal of raising awareness and support for not only nutrition and healthy eating but also the importance of cooking and preparing wholesome food at home. Common Threads is a nonprofit dedicated to emphasizing the importance of nutrition to children and […]
What better way to celebrate Poetry at Work Day (Jan. 12) than with reading poems about – you guessed it – work! We asked our poetically immersed friends at The Poetry Foundation to recommend some poetry of this ilk. What follows are 26 poems about the ups, downs and in-betweens we experience in pursuit of a living. Honoring […]
Is donating your car the best idea? Do good by donating your old car to charity. That’s what the charities tell you. But the reality is that you might do better selling your car to a used car dealer or to a junkyard and donating that money to charity. Here are the pros and cons […]
In our January/February 2016 issue, we introduced a new section to highlight local businesses’ anniversaries and awards. If your company is celebrating a milestone in 2016, we want to know! Email anna@makeitbetter.net and your business may appear in our print magazine. Jewell Events Catering 2016 marks Jewell Events Catering’s 49th year in business. Jewell Events […]
Dylan Lauren, daughter of legendary fashion designer Ralph Lauren, must have been paying careful attention to her dad’s clothing empire when she was growing up. The younger Lauren now runs a booming candy company, Dylan’s Candy Bar, which has 13 locations, including a colorful shop on Michigan Avenue that is guaranteed to bring smiles to […]
The 19th annual Aon Step Up for Kids climb benefiting the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital is fast approaching, but it’s not too late to get involved. The Aon Step Up for Kids is an 80-floor stair climb that you can participate in as an individual or as part of a team to raise […]
Updated Jan. 10, 2018 Sometimes it’s hard to get out of that winter blues funk. Without the excitement of the holidays, snow and sub-zero temperatures lose their appeal and winter quickly becomes monotonous. Luckily, Make It Better has a wealth of ideas to keep you occupied — some indoors, some outdoors, some a little out there, and some that take no […]
Charitable donations tend to spike around the holidays. As beautifully wrapped presents pile up and our bellies fill with holiday excesses, our desire to share the wealth increases. The urge to make a donation or volunteer at a soup kitchen for an afternoon is strong: according to Charity Navigator, 12 percent of all annual charitable […]
