News

2015

2014

Friends of the 46th Ward Schools was nominated as "Best Non-Profit" for Alderman Cappleman's Second Annual 46th Ward Awards.

We organized our first 100th Day of School "Re-supply" Drive to replenish supplies that were used up during the first half of the year. We received over $700 in supply donations for the students in our ward and about $1800 in monetary donations, which was used to buy additional supplies.

We had a mid-school-year fundraiser at Crew Bar & Grill in conjunction with our 100th Day of School "Re-supply" Drive. We had a great turnout and raised enough money to purchase boxes of copy paper for each of the schools in our ward. We also received many generous donations of raffle prizes from 46th Ward businesses, including 7-Eleven, Tiztal Cafe, Shake, Rattle & Read, Dollop Coffee & Tea, and professional photographic artist Douglas Birkenheuer.

We had a great time talking to our neighbors in Buena Park at Buena Park Open Day in July, where we had a table among the kids' activities!

2013

Friends of the 46th Ward Schools is now officially registered with the State of Illinois as a charity.

Friends of the 46th Ward Schools partnered with Heart Chicago and Courtenay Elementary (formerly Stockton) in the 46th Ward to create a plant and vegetable garden on the Courtenay Elementary grounds. Stockton students planted the garden before the end of the 2012-2013 school year and volunteers, including those of us from Friends of the 46th Ward Schools, spent the whole summer faithfully watering, weeding, and cultivating. It was a beautiful garden and it was great fun spending time there with our kids throughout the summer! You can see the design drawings and cost estimates for the next stages of the garden via the Heart Chicago project page. Check out photos of the garden here.

In August, we held our first fundraiser at Crew Bar & Grill in Uptown. We had a great turnout and had some really awesome raffle prizes. We were able to raise nearly $1000, which far exceeded our expectations (we're told we need to think bigger!). We have some very generous community members among us! We'd like to thank the following donors of raffle prizes: Shake Rattle & Read, Uptown Soda Bread Company, World Gym, Demera Ethiopian Restaurant, Soggy Paws, Baker & Nosh, Neighborhood Parents Network, Crew Bar & Grill, and Alderman Cappleman. We'd also like to thank Crew Bar & Grill for hosting the event and contributing their expertise and solid advice. We'd also like to give a special thank-you to Chris Jessup from Alderman Cappleman's office for his amazing attitude, enthusiastic support, and positive influence. We couldn't have done it without all of you! Here are a few photos from the event.

The 2013 Fall School Supply Drive was a huge success! With the help of Alderman Cappleman's office and the amazing generosity of many donors, we were able to donate hundreds of dollars worth of school supplies to each of the 46th Ward's public schools. We can't thank you enough! Click here to get a better idea of the impact! And click here for photos of the supplies we collected.

In November, Friends of the 46th Ward Schools attended the Neighborhood Schools Fair at Roberto Clement High School. The fair was organized by a group of parents with a mission similar to ours and it was a great opportunity to connect with parents, schools, and other community groups.

Friends of the 46th Ward Schools helped the Courtenay preschool collect gently used winter clothing and toys for distribution to some of its preschool families. We were thrilled to be able to help and the preschool teacher shared a very heartwarming thank you: "A number of people have stopped by to drop of toys and clothing for our families in need. The things being donated are so wonderful. Your contributors are buying new staples for our families that include things like socks, underwear, and gloves in addition to donating some toys. Last year, one of the beneficiaries of our toy drive cried and said, "My baby is finally going to have a Christmas." This quote resonates in my head and now, I want your network of families to know what they are helping support. We are so grateful for your participation in our holiday drive. I want to reach out and say a HUGE thank you to ALL who have been so generous with their donations. Please let your network of people know how appreciative we are." You can see a few photos of what was collected here.

Friends of the 46th Ward Schools is happy to announce the completion of the 2012 46th Ward School Supply Drive! With the help of our community we were able to provide many of the students attending 46th Ward Schools including Brennemann Elementary, Disney Magnet Elementary, Greeley Elementary, Stewart Elementary, Stockton Elementary, and Uplift High School with backpacks, paper, pencils, pencils, crayons, binders, and a host of other much needed school supplies. We anticipate that the 46th Ward School Supply Drive will be an annual project and thank those who contributed for their help and Alderman Cappleman's office for providing the drop-off location. Here are photos of the fruits of our efforts.

After a lot of hard work and weeks of waiting, Friends of the 46th Ward Schools is proud to announce that it has been granted a 501(c)(3) tax-exemption by the IRS, which allows us to operate on a tax-exempt basis. It also allows us to offer donors a tax exemption for donations. Any money donated will be used to directly support the public schools in the 46th Ward. Please contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in making a donation.