Save the date!
Onward raises $52,000 at annual event
We are happy to announce that our 6th annual Night of Bright
Futures gala raised over $52,000. Thank you to everyone who attended in
support of Onward’s mission and programs.
Thank you to members of our auxiliary
board, especially Carolyn Connolly, Tom Campbell, Jess Craigie, Shalini
Hanoman, Lindsey Pierce, and Johnny Rivera, for their hard work planning
a great event. We are also grateful for the support of our sponsors.
We would also like to thank Adam Yencho for being our emcee
for the second year in a row, TVK Orchestra for providing musical entertainment,
T. Jones Creative for donating
the program and invitation designs and to the River
East Art Center for having us.
Photo by Percy Ollie of Ollie Photography, Inc.
To view and purchase photos of the event by Percy Ollie of Ollie Photography, Inc. click here.
Onward House Works to Spread Cheer this Holiday Season
The Holidays seemed to fly by this year, but not before Onward House got a chance to celebrate the season with parties, gifts and friends.
The Belmont Cragin and West Town sites held their annual holiday parties for students and their families. Party goers enjoyed pizza and cookies as well as creating festive arts and crafts. Onward also received a surprise visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus who distributed goodie bags to all the students. In addition to these small gifts, 421 children from our center, partnership, home based and food pantry programs received presents thanks to our generous donors. The 11 members of our senior program and 17 entire families received gifts as well.
Onward was very pleased to partner with Letters to Santa for the first time this year. Letters to Santa is a 24 hour benefit filled with nonstop music and improv performances. All proceeds from admission, donations and an auction are used to provide money and gifts for needy families in Chicago. Heather Whinna, the event's coordinator, collected holiday letters from Onward House's neediest families and used the $97,000 from the event to give over $6,000 in cash and gifts to each of the 14 families selected that she distributed in person on Christmas Day.
We are so glad that we were able to celebrate the holidays and bring cheer to those who Onward serves.
Thank you to all of our friends who donated gifts and time to make this year’s holiday special: First Congregational UCC of Glen Ellyn, Edgebrook Community Church in Chicago, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Glenview Community Church, Transparent Container, WDRV The Drive, Heather Whinna through the Letters to Santa program, Second City, Onward’s Auxiliary Board and many individual donors.
