HIGHLIGHTS
We had many exciting opportunities to celebrate the achievements of our clients and communities throughout the year!
Midway Children’s Center hosted a beach-themed “End of the Year Celebration” for our children and their families. The children sang and danced for their families and received certificates from their teachers.
MFS Managing Attorney Loren Gutierrez and Director of Domestic Violence (DV) Services, Amy Milligan, were both interviewed on ABC 7 News about rising domestic violence related deaths and their work to help pass legislation to protect DV survivors.
A group of teens from the Calumet Altgeld Gardens community enjoyed the chance to visit McDonald’s headquarters! During the visit, the teens participated in a site tour and engaged in conversations with McDonald’s interns who shared experiences and advice on college, internships and more.
On National Voter Registration Day, the nation’s biggest nonpartisan civic holiday, MFS joined forces with organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to local food banks for a one day, nationwide democracy blitz to create broad awareness of voter registration opportunities to ensure every eligible person was VoteReady.
Our Legal Aid Society’s Equal Access to Justice Award Luncheon raised more than $355,000 to support legal services for low income, Chicago-area families, and recognized outstanding pro bono work supporting those services. We were honored to recognize William H. Avery Award honoree, Heather J. Russell and TransUnion, for their commitment to pro bono law, and Steven R. Gilford Pro Bono Awardee, Proskauer Rose LLP, for its support of LAS.
Our Calumet Center’s monthly food distribution was fortunate to have several special volunteers lend a helping hand! Members of MFS’ Governance Board joined local volunteers and Calumet staff to pack and distribute hundreds of bags of groceries for community members.
Guests celebrated community at the 43rd Annual Mpower the Night! Two million dollars were raised to support MFS programs and services. The Chicago Community Trust and its President and CEO, Andrea Sáenz, were presented with our Legacy Award. Additionally, Nicor Gas and its President and CEO, Wendell Dallas, received our Corporate Champion Award.
Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI) was featured in an NFL ad as part of the NFL’s “Inspire Change”. Inspire Change is a social justice initiative aimed at reducing barriers to opportunity, particularly in communities of color, and showcasing how the NFL family is working together to create positive change. Community/police relations and criminal justice reform are among the initiative’s key pillars.
We greatly appreciate all the volunteers who shared their time, talents and labor with us throughout the year to Mpower families! Below are a few who joined us.
In honor of Women’s History Month, our Midway Center invited women entrepreneurs to share their experiences in launching their businesses and to showcase their innovative products. More than 50 staff members had the opportunity to learn from and support the women entrepreneurs who participated in our Women’s Expo.
Our Southeast Chicago Center greeted the season and community members at its 3rd annual Spring Open House! Kids, families, local and state government officials, businesses and the Easter Bunny all attended the fun-filled event!
Our DuPage Center celebrated a milestone — 95 years of strengthening families — at this year’s “A Night to Stand Up for Families”! More than 250 guests, board members, and community supporters helped raise $295,000 to support essential human service programs throughout DuPage County. We also honored the Gerald A. and Karen A. Kolschowsky Foundation, Inc. for its support of Family Shelter Service of Metropolitan DuPage.
We are thrilled to continue our tradition of developing Chicago Cubs Scholars! Three students from our Calumet Center Upward Bound program were selected as part of the 2025 Cubs Scholars Class. Each student received a $20,000 scholarship for college enrollment and participated in a mentoring program with help from Cubs College Prep.
Congratulations to Brielle Sterling (left), a Junior at Kenwood Academy who plans to study photography; Kanyla Stephens (2nd from left), a Junior at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep who plans to study nursing; and Wyneisha Boyd (right), a Junior at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep who plans to study psychology! They are joined by MFS Program Supervisor Katie Johnston (2nd from right).
Throughout May, families from our Addison Children’s Center (ACC) and Tioga Program in Bensenville planted fresh vegetables in their garden bed! ACC and Tioga partnered with The GardenWorks Project, which promotes organic suburban agriculture to improve the well-being of the community, environment and those facing food insecurity. Participants were able to learn more about creating healthy lifestyle choices.
We’re breaking ground! In June we held the groundbreaking for the Joyce Mpower House! We were fortunate to join many for this special event, including our We Grow Chicago partners Imagine Englewood if, Growing Home, Grow Greater Englewood, and Teamwork Englewood; Ald. Ray Lopez; community residents; benefactors Mike and Ashley Joyce and The Robert R. McCormick Foundation; Norsman Architects; Property Adventures; MFS Board Members; and leadership staff.
The Joyce Mpower House will be a state-of-the-art multimedia facility serving youth in Chicago’s West Englewood and Englewood communities. It will serve as a creative and safe learning hub to help youth discover their potential, explore STEM/STEAM-related fields, and hone talents for entrepreneurship and college/career readiness using technology.
Our Howard & Evanston Community Center (HECC) hosted the 2nd Annual “HECC Program Showcase” in June! We were thrilled to celebrate the impactful programs and services offered at the Center—from early childhood education and hands-on learning to food assistance, adult education and domestic violence services. More than 70 guests attended, and over $19,000 was raised to directly support HECC programing.
