Unexpected Donation

A Lombard camp for children with cancer just got a big unexpected donation!

The TLC Camp is a week-long camp that helps children with cancer briefly forget about their doctors and treatments. The unique part of the camp, is that the kids each get to bring a sibling to share the experience with.

Last week, more than 80 kids participated in the camp and The Suburban Life's Lombard Spectator posted a story and pictures of the event online.

That's when something great happened. A man from another state called one of the camp directors in Lombard and said he saw the story online. He was closing down a fundraiser for a little girl who recently died from cancer and had extra funds that he wanted to donate to the camp. He ended up donating $5,8000 to the TLC camp!

Knowing that a little girl passed away is heartbreaking. However, her family and friends helped carry on her legacy with that amazing donation. Their kindness will help support other children going through a similar struggle, and give them a week to forget their troubles and have some fun. It's so great to see strangers helping strangers in such a big way!

You can see the full story that sparked the donation here: Sick children run, play at day camp

Barrel of Monkeys

Imagine being back in elementary school. Remember when you had to write poems and short stories? Well what if afterward, actors took your masterpiece and brought it to life! An organization called Barrel of Monkeys does just that! Check it out:

Beautiful Sunset

In the craziness of our everyday lives, it's easy to forget how beautiful our city is! Last night, I got a good reminder while on a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan. The sunset was so beautiful I had to share!

Jumping to Success

The Chicago Defender has a great article about a student from Whitney Young Magnet High School who's heading to Georgia Tech in the Fall to be part of its Division I track team.

Jonathan Gardner won the state title in the triple jump in 2009 and 2010. He's the first athlete at his high school to win an individual state title since 1987!

The best part is that Gardner isn't just a standout on the track field. He also excels in the classroom with a 3.9 GPA. He plans to major in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech.

I was most impressed by what his coach told the Chicago Defender about Gardner's desire to succeed in the triple jump:

“John studied the event, he researched it and read articles, and studied videos. Everything he could find he studied it. Very few people will do that.”

It's obvious that Gardner has raw talent, but you can tell he's also worked really hard to get where he is today. It's so great to see someone with that kind of work ethic succeed!

Check out the full article by Todd Thomas: Talent, faith equals success for Jonathan Gardner

Eat For A Good Cause

All you have to do today is go out to eat, and you'll be raising money for a good cause!

The People's Resource Center in DuPage County is holding its annual "Dine Away Hunger" event today. The event helps raise money for the organizations food pantry. There are 11 restaurants participating, who have agreed to donate 10% of all sales today to the People's Resource Center. Central Dupage Hospital will then match all the money raised.

Check out the list of all the restaurants participating...and get eating;)

Sweet Home Chicago

At the Blackhawks rally, I was reminded of all the cool street musicians we have in Chicago! I was walking down Washington to the parade route and saw a saxophonist playing Here Come The Hawks. I love seeing them get so into it! The street musicians know so many different songs and stand out there in the burning heat and chilling winters just to play for people.

It made me think of an awesome YouTube video I just saw that Chicago Street Musicians released earlier this month. It was recorded back in August of 2009. Back then, who would have known that one of the street musicians (Crystal Bowersox) would end up being the first runner up in American Idol!


If you haven't seen the video, here it is!

CPS Students Hit Dance Floor

Chicago Public School students are dancing their way to better grades, behavior and self confidence. Check it out!

Chicago Public Schools started the "Having a Ball" program for 5th graders in 2005. It's partially funded by a grant from the US Department of Education and the Chicago Board of Education. More than 950 CPS students participated in the 20-week course this school year.

In 2008, CPS started a scholarship program to give graduates of "Having a Ball" a way to continue dancing. 24 students from seven different schools were accepted into the program this year, including Daniel Beach.


Story shot and edited by Sarah Jindra

Hawks Pride

Thanks, Blackhawks, for bringing the city alive!! Don't you get that warm fuzzy feeling everytime you see so many people come together to celebrate something amazing!?!? I sure do!

The big parade kicks off tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at Wacker and Washington. It will travel east on Washington to Michigan, and then head north on Michigan to Wacker where the rally will take place!

**GO BLACKHAWKS**

Sportsmanship at its Best

We're heading out of the Chicago area for this story. But hey, it's Friday and this is an awesome story, so why not! To Indy we go...


A friend recently sent me this story that he read on ESPN.com and I had to share it! It's about a school in Indianapolis that decided to start a junior varsity girls' softball team without really knowing much about softball. They had the desire to play, but didn't have the proper equipment and didn't even know how to use what they did have.

Just their luck, they show up to their first game and have to play a team that hadn't lost a game in 2 1/2 years! After just one inning, the underdogs were getting pummeled. That's when something amazing happened.

Instead of continuing the beating and adding another check mark in the "win" category, the dominating team decided to forfeit. They asked if they could use the rest of the time to teach the girls on the other team how to play! The underdogs were shocked by the gesture and were thrilled to get the coaching they desperately needed.

Since then, the compassion has snowballed. Reebok is helping the team get the equipment it needs, a batting cage in the area has offered the team free cage time, and the Cincinnati Reds are donating dirt for their new field.

Now these girls will have a chance at loving a game they once didn't even understand. It's so neat to see the power of one small act of kindness!

You can check out the full story on ESPN.com here. Thanks to Jimmy Taylor for passing this gem along;)

Spa, Avon Walk & Hawks

**NORTH SHORE: Olga's Beautiful Beings**

Olga's Day Spa in Highland Park recently started a charity to help women who have been through life-altering experiences. Olga's Beautiful Beings held a spa day for women from the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center. A video on the North Shore website shows how thankful some of the women were for the boost in self-esteem and confidence.

**DAILY HERALD: Friends join forces**

The Avon Breast Cancer walk is this weekend! Participants walk up to 39.3 miles in two days to raise money and support for breast cancer research. In the Daily Herald, a Naperville woman shares why she walks in the event. Her best friend battled breast cancer and she walks beside her in support. You can find more information on the walk here.

**ABC 7: Hawks fan hasn't missed a home game in 44 years**

It's fun to hear all the stories about the hard-core Blackhawks fans who have been with the team through thick and thin. ABC 7 interviewed a 63-year-old man who has been to more than 2,000 consecutive home games! He became a season ticket holder in 1966 and has been going to the games ever since: