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It was almost one year ago today that Beacon Place opened its doors to the Waukegan community.
 And what an amazing year it has been! We started with a dream to create a neighborhood-based community center serving children and families in southeast Waukegan, and created a thriving space where neighbors are helping neighbors, and individuals are giving back in exchange for the support and assistance we provide. In the words of one of our neighbors, we have "changed the community forever" to become a place where families come together, kids laugh and learn, and neighbors look out for one another.
In this, our first monthly newsletter, we hope to share stories of neighbors and volunteers who have become an important part of Beacon Place over the past year. We encourage you to visit us and to volunteer with us this summer. As you have lunch with a child, play a board game, make a bead necklace, fly a kite, or take your soccer skills to the field, you are lighting the way to a brighter future by showing that you care. There is no better way to do a small thing with great love.
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Watch Beacon Place in Action! Click Below to View Video
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What Happened in June at Beacon Place?
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- 1,254 lunches served to more than 350 kids
- 737 backpacks distributed with food for 4,400 meals including fresh apples, nectarines, peaches, corn on the cob, cucumbers and asparagus
- 10 students actively engaged in the Beacon Green Garden Program
- 18 students met weekly in the Tweens and Teens Program
- Special events in June included visits from Bernie's Book Bank, Our House of Hope, K-9 Rescue pets, Discovery Day Camp Carnival Day, a visit from Rachel Quon of the Chicago Red Stars professional soccer and more!
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Renovations Begin with Help from Abbvie!
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 Work began on critical structural renovations at the Beacon Place Neighborhood Community Center with the help of a $100,000 grant from the Abbvie Foundation!
Housed in a 102-year old Victorian home that had been abandoned for nearly three years, the Beacon Place Neighborhood Community Center needed some serious structural and mechanical updates. With Abbvie's focuson overall health, nutrition and education around the world, they saw a natural fit with Beacon Place and appreciated the difference we're making in the southeast Waukegan and North Chicago communities. Abbvie employ
 ees have volunteered on-site and helped to host the first ever Beacon Place Holiday Party for kids. Our sincere thanks to all of our corporate partners, including Abbvie, Trustmark and Takeda, foundations, religious, civic groups, and individuals for your support. Because of you, Beacon Place Neighborhood Community Center will be ready to open its doors again next fall (programs are being run outdoors under tents throughout the summer). With a new roof, plumbing, electrical work, HVAC, ADA accessible bathroom, a teaching kitchen, technology room, offices and a library, Beacon Place will be ready for year-long programming for many years to come! Many goods and services are being donated to support the Beacon Place renovation. We are so thankful to the ICON Building Group who are leading the work. If you have access to plumbing, lighting and flooring resources, please contact Linda Malouf, Beacon Place Renovation Coordinator, at [email protected]. Thanks so much!
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Volunteer Profile: Anne Durot
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"You just get sucked into Beacon Place and don't want to leave...."
That's what Anne Durot said about volunteering at Beacon Place! Anne started volunteering last summer, and as a professional in elementary education in Lake Forest, Anne immediately connected with several children who attended every day. She created a reading table and quickly made some new friends, notably a brother and sister named Rociely and Jose.
Rociely and Jose are both hardworking students, but Jose struggles with significant learning challenges. Anne had confidence in them and promised to continue working with them in the After School Club homework program throughout the year. As a result, both students have improved in school, and Jose was the first person in the reading tent on the first day of the Summer Lunch Bunch Program this year!
For some of the children and families who come to Beacon Place, what they need most is someone who believes in them.The Beacon Place philosophy of offering a hand up, not a hand out, ensures that we provide support and guidance, but that the real work and change is up to them. Satisfaction comes when students like Rociely and Jose show their report cards to a volunteer like Anne and are able to say, "Look what I accomplished!" not "Look what you did for me."
Anne is back this summer with a special new role. She is spearheading our brand new Wednesday program for Tweens and Teens. In this new program, she will be leading a group of 20 to 25 6th, 7th and 8th graders. The program's special activities and field trips are meant to inspire and build self-confidence.
Thank you, Anne!
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Summer Lunch Bunch Volunteers Needed!
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 On a typical summer day, more than 150 children come to Beacon Place to have lunch, learn and play. What they love most is making new friends with our volunteers!
More than 130 teen volunteers this summer are joining us from 16 area high schools, including Carmel, Cristo Rey, Deerfield, Grayslake North, Lake Forest, Lake Forest Academy, Libertyville, Loyola, Lyons Township, New Trier, North Chicago, Stevenson, Waukegan-Brookside, Waukegan-Washington, Warren, and Woodlands.
To become a Beacon Place volunteer, register here!
Spots are available on Mondays and Thursdays from 10:30 -1:30 from June 9 through August 7, 2014.
 
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Meet Hector, a Special Volunteer!
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Hector is 18 years old and has special challenges that can make life hard. However, one can never take that smile away from his face!
Hector lives nine blocks away from Beacon Place and joined the Lunch Bunch Program on the first day it was offered. He never missed a day!
Hector made sure to arrive early each day to help with setup. Soon it was his responsibility to make sure our banners were neatly hung on the fence. He then became our official 'Greeter and Hand Sanitizer'! Every child who comes to the Summer Lunch Bunch enters the gate and gets a squirt of hand sanitizer from Hector. When Hector received his volunteer t-shirt last summer, he proudly proclaimed, "Now I know what I am going to wear on the first day of school!" We did not see Hector throughout the winter and weren't sure whether he would be joining us again this summer. But as soon as school was over, Hector was here, ready to help again.
At Beacon Place we all have gifts to share. For Hector, it is his helpfulness and his ready smile. Thank you Hector!
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A Message from Barb, Beacon Place Executive Director
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Dear Friends,
 We are not often blessed to see God's work in our midst, but in this first year at Beacon Place, I have encountered it more times than I ever imagined possible. We encourage you to visit and volunteer with us this summer - to see firsthand how Beacon Place is making a difference in the lives of so many families in Waukegan and North Chicago. Many blessings to you all and thank you for helping us establish Beacon Place in the past year. We could not have done it without you! I hope you will continue to join us on this amazing journey at Beacon Place. Please share our story with others by forwarding this newsletter and joining us on Facebook. Together, we are helping neighbors find themselves, strengthen their families, and work together toward a brighter future. Together, we can feed a child, inspire a learner, motivate a mom, and make a difference to a community in need. With kindest regards, Barb Karacic Executive Director
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Beacon Place
603 S. McAlister
Waukegan, IL 60085
224-399-9267
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