Flying For Hope Charity Golf Scramble
Humane Society of Aurora -
Rescue Ride
Bob Leonard 5K River Run & Walk
to benefit River Corridor Founation
and St. Charles Noon Kiwanis
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Fox Valley United Way's
"What Floats Your Cardboard Boat" Race
Northern Illinois Food Bank -
Hunger Scramble Golf Outing
Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry -
Fill the Bowls! Taste of Fox Valley
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Fox Mill 5K & Color Run/Walk
in Honor of Cameron Pepera
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Coming Soon: Letters of Intent
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On Monday, August 1, the Community Foundation will begin accepting Letters of Intent from non-profit agencies for the Fall 2016 grant cycle. Letter of Intent forms will be available on our
grantmaking page
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Foundation grants are awarded for capital purposes in the areas of education, social services, health care and arts & humanities.
After Letters of Intent are submitted, each agency will be contacted to determine their eligibility, talk about their project, and schedule a site visit.
The deadline to submit a Letter of Intent is Friday, October 7, 2016.
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Thank You To Our Sponsors!
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The Foundation held its first Grantee Recognition Ceremony on Thursday, June 30th. We had the support of several local businesses that provided their goods and services for the event.
Blue Goose Market gave a generous discount on deli sandwiches, and Reuland Food Service provided fruit and vegetable trays and hot appetizers. Penrose Brewing Company and Fox Valley Winery supplied beer and wine. Graham's Fine Chocolates donated a platter of gourmet chocolates, Hahn's Bakery provided its famous crumb cake, and Harner's Bakery donated a tray of delicious cookies.
During the event, guests heard music from St. Charles Singers' album,
Bushes & Briars. The choir donated several copies of the CD to the Foundation. Schaefer Greenhouses donated 25 beautiful impatiens that were displayed on every table and given away to guests. Aurora FastPrint provided their services in designing display boards for the ceremony.
We are also very grateful for hospitality of the LivingWell staff and the graciousness of the organization in allowing the Community Foundation to have the event at the beautiful facility.
Thanks again to all of our sponsors! The event would not have been a success without their generosity.
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Grantee Spotlight
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Aurora Regional Fire Museum
Aurora Regional Fire Museum board members and executive director Brian Failing gave the Community
Foundation a tour of the Hayloft Theatre and museum.
The Aurora Regional Fire Museum was provided a grant from the Community Foundation to purchase new seating for their Hayloft theatre. With the purchase of the new tablet armchairs and stools, the theatre has been transformed into a truly desirable and workable location. It will be used for meetings and events by clubs, agencies, corporate groups and churches from the Fox River Valley.
Located in Aurora's old Central Fire Station, the mission of the Aurora Regional Fire Museum is to preserve and exhibit the artifacts and history of Aurora and surrounding area fire departments, as well as to teach and promote fire safety and prevention. For more information, please visit auroraregionalfiremuseum.org
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Our Donors
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We are deeply grateful to the individuals, businesses and organizations that commit to the charitable needs of the community. Follow the link below to view this year's donors.
The lists of our donors are updated quarterly. They are available to view on our
website.
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| Grantee Recognition Ceremony |
CFFRV Holds Event to Honor Grantees
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The Community Foundation held its first Grantee Recognition Ceremony on Thursday, June 30, 2016 at LivingWell Cancer Resource Center in Geneva. The event celebrated twenty local social service, health, education and arts agencies that were approved
a total of $285,624.00 in
grants for various capital projects.
Nearly sixty community members attended the ceremony. Board members, executive directors and key staff of local agencies were recognized for their ongoing service to our community. Also in attendance were past and present Community Foundation board members. Mayor Kevin Burns of Geneva and Mayor Ray Rogina of St. Charles were present to show their appreciation and support of these agencies and the Community Foundation.
Vicki Krystoff, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for Marklund gave a testimonial about the impact that their Community Foundation grant is having on its residents. The grant allowed them to purchase a MOTOMed, a therapeutic stationary body training machine that improves muscle strength and flexibility.
Foundation board member Austin Dempsey presented information about trends in the grantmaking program over the past five years. "This spring, we received three times as many applications as last year," said Dempsey. He congratulated the agencies that were awarded grants and acknowledged the projects that were funded. Each agency was then presented with a certificate of recognition.
"This evening is truly a celebration of you," said Jeff Hartman, Foundation President & CEO, referring to the agency representatives, volunteers, and board members. He spoke about the commitment that each of the individuals make on a daily basis. He also thanked the many donors that support the Foundation and its grantmaking program.
Click here to see a list of the agencies that were awarded grants and to view more photos from the ceremony.
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| Cameron Pepera Memorial Foundation |
| Fund Supports Students, Raises Awareness |
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The Pepera Family's vision is to keep the memory of Cameron alive in the community and to help students in the area who may need additional support to have a fulfilling future after high school. They are also committed to the need for the medical community to be forthcoming about all the risks associated with epilepsy.
Cameron Kevin Pepera was a 7th grader at Thompson Middle School in St. Charles. He was a first degree Black Belt at LaFox Martial Arts and
a member of the Thompson Cross Country team. He liked hanging out with his sister, Paige. T
hey were truly the best of friends.
Cameron suffered a stroke when he was born, and he spent his first eight days in the NICU. He was on medication to control seizures until he was about five years old. He was weaned off of medication and was seizure-free until he was almost nine years old. Unfortunately, he suffered two gran mal seizures on June 11, 2011. For the next four years, he dealt with EEG's, CT scans, MRI's, hospital stays, numerous doctor visits, and different medications.
On September 1, 2015, Cameron suffered a gran mal seizure after he completed a home Cross Country meet. On September 2nd, Cameron died from epilepsy. SUDEP, Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, is a phrase his family first heard from a cardiologist after Cameron was transported by helicopter to Lurie Children's Hospital the night of September 1st. The Cameron Pepera Memorial Foundation is committed to advocate for disclosure and guidelines for managing the risk of epilepsy mortality.
This September, the Fox Mill 5K race in St. Charles is being held in honor of Cameron. All of the proceeds will benefit the Cameron Pepera Memorial Foundation.
Click here for more information.
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Weasel's Boy Scout Campership Fund
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| New Fund Helps Send Scouts to Summer Camp |
Like the founder of Boy Scouting, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, Tom O'Malley felt that camping is essential for youth to get the most out of their Scouting experience. Fittingly, Tom was the Camping Chairperson for the local Foxfire District encompassing the Aurora area for many years, and always felt that a Scout should be able to go to summer camp no matter his financial circumstances.
Weasel's Boy Scout Campership Fund
helps Scouts with financial concerns to do just that.
Tom O'Malley, known by his friends as " Weasel", was a long-time Scouter in the Aurora area. He was passionate about Boy Scouting and Native American culture, was a member of the Mascoutin Society, and was an East Aurora Sports Booster for decades. Tom was the Scoutmaster of Troop 22, located in Aurora/Montgomery, for 24 years. Tragically, he was struck and killed by a car after a Troop 22 Scout meeting in November of 2015.
Tom was always busy and involved and found many ways to express his passions. He volunteered at the District and Council levels to promote camping. One of his most notable efforts involved using his cooking and organizational skills, along with his co-volunteers, to provide meals for young Webelos Scouts during Webelos Weekends at Three Fires Council's summer camp, Camp Freeland Leslie.
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Aurora, Illinois Industry in the 20th Century
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A new Community Foundation video has just been released. The video highlights the Factory & Office Equipment Industry in Aurora from the early 1900's through 2010. The companies profiled are Lyon Metal, Allsteel, Equipto and Richards-Wilcox.
Based upon David B. Hipp's 2014 book, Reflections on the Transformation of Industrial Aurora, the video is the second of a two-part history on the rise and decline of industry in Aurora, Illinois.
The video of Part I of Mr. Hipp's book was produced in 2015 and focused on the Construction Industry. The companies profiled in that video were Austin-Western, Stephens-Adamson and Barber Greene.
Visit the Video History Series page of our website to view these and all Community Foundation videos.
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| Now on DVD: A History of District 129 |
| Available at Aurora Historical Society's Gift Shop |
The Community Foundation's historic video, "A History of West Aurora School District 129," is now available on DVD! This comprehensive study of the school district covers the years 1836-2015.
The 55-minute DVD can be purchased at the Aurora Historical Society's Museum Store, located in the David L. Pierce Art and History Center at 20 East Downer Place, Aurora, 60505. The price is $19.95, plus tax. Historical society members receive a 10% discount. Store hours are Wednesday - Saturday from Noon - 4pm. For more information, please call the Aurora Historical Society at 630-907-0650.
The Community Foundation is pleased to have taken the lead role in preserving this history. Our sincere thanks goes to the
Aurora Historical Society for its research assistance and its willingness to serve the community and West alumni by placing the video in its store.
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