Think Good, It’s Friday! 6.12.15

Protect and preserve green spaces to keep our communities healthy and strong… That every child and family have access to a high-quality neighborhood school… Stable, racially diverse neighborhoods…

This week, the Trust hosted its Centennial Reunion at Union Station—a giant thank you to those (past and present) who helped make the Trust the organization it is today. By far, my favorite part of the night was the wishing tree installation—it was truly the centerpiece of the celebration and allowed guests to share their hopes for the region.

Big or small, simple or complex, we all have hopes and wishes for ourselves, our loved ones, friends, neighbors and the communities where we live. It’s so inspiring to me to witness all the ways people give their time, talent and treasure to make our communities safer, stronger and more dynamic.

This week’s rundown of good news from across the Web:

• The Daily Herald profiles four McHenry County girls who set up lemonade stands to raise money for seriously ill children whose parents are contending with medical expenses.
• Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois are hosting a number of free events for GO Day tomorrow— encouraging young people to seek out healthy, active outdoor lives and embrace parks, forests, refuges, and other public lands and waters.
• The Literacenter opened this week in the West Loop—the country’s first shared nonprofit workspace focused exclusively on literacy organizations. Learn more in this story from WBBM Radio.
• White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu launched his community outreach program “Abreu’s Amigos” this week—a community program with the Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research.

In case you missed it, this week, the Trust also “officially” launched its Centennial storytelling campaign. Please consider signing up for time to share your story of philanthropy with our partner StoryCorps at their booth at the Chicago Cultural Center. Everyone who participates will receive a recording of his or her interview, and have an opportunity for it to be archived at the Library of Congress.

As always, please share your wishes for the region or personal story of philanthropy here at cct.org, by sending an email to trust100@cct.org or on social media using the hashtag #trust100. We can’t wait to hear from you.