Feeding Change in Our Region
The Chicago Region Food System Fund is a group of funders and community partners working together to build a more resilient local food…
Stories
Spotlights on community issues, the people, and the organizations who contribute to effective philanthropy as well as a stronger Chicago region and world.
Recent Stories
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Cultivating a Bright Future in Little Village
Little Village, or La Villita, has a long history of welcoming immigrant communities, starting with the German, Czech and Polish residents who flocked…
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Boosting Impact: The Amplification Fund
The Amplification Fund is an opportunity for donors to participate directly in the Trust’s grantmaking and join a community of philanthropists with similar…
All Stories
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My High School: Diverse, Enriching, Unpredictable
I was definitely not planning on attending Roosevelt when I was an eighth grader at Palmer Elementary. As a kid on the north side of…
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My High School: Creative, Inclusive, Challenging
I grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia and went to Stone Mountain Middle School. Once I started sixth grade, I immediately joined the band and…
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Evidence-Based Parenting Classes Reach Families Who Can Benefit Most
“My mom is different, and now we do more things together.” Across Chicago, parents of high-risk youth are building their parenting skills—and words like these…
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A Former Gang Member Finds New Power in Politics
Berto Aguayo is days away from graduating Dominican University summa cum laude. Aguayo sounds confident, certain. Happiness and hope resound in his voice; possibility and…
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When Neighbors "Act Up," Communities Are Transformed
Each year following On the Table, the Trust hears from community members who are eager to share insights and ideas to better their community—all stemming…
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Finding Rhythm, Finding Peace
You would never know it now. But once upon a time, New York-born Puerto Rican musician and congo instructor Carlos Cornier was a rockero, hanging…
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Instability, Energy and Progress: The Future of Chicago Schools
“Chicago is at a tipping point—and the world spotlight is directed squarely us.” The tagline of the Future of Chicago conference on June 15, hosted…
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Giving Young Black Men a Roadmap to Engaged Fatherhood
“As a parent, there’s no map or manual that teaches you the things that you actually need to know and do.” [pullquote]At @DovetailProject, African-American teens…
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Illinois' Budget Impasse and Chicago's Violence Crisis
Co-authored by: Terry Mazany, president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust; Grace Hou, president of Woods Fund Chicago; and Leslie Ramyk, executive director of…
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Growing Up—and Grieving—as a Gay Muslim American
Upon learning that someone has died, Muslims recite “Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un”: “We surely belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return.”…
