Pictured above: 'Sandwich' author Catherine Newman (right) with The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn owner Shannon Burgess (left)

Congratulations to GECRC Scholarship Winners!

We were thrilled to announce the winners of this year's GECRC senior scholarships at the Glenbard West High School Local Scholarship Award Night.

The Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center Alumni Scholarship at West was awarded to Monserrath Figueroa (third from right), and the GECRC Tutor Scholarship was awarded to Ryan Olsen (third from left). This year's GECRC scholarships at both West and South were awarded in honor of GECRC Board Member Janis Pfister, a dedicated educator and steadfast advocate for the students of GECRC. Her husband Jerry Pfister (second from left) and daughter Caroline Shields (second from right) presented the West awards alongside GECRC Executive Director Leah Harding and Director of Program and Volunteers Lisa Hepner. Congratulations to both Monserrath and Ryan!

The first GECRC Tutor Scholarship awarded at Glenbard South High School was awarded to Abigail Edwards, presented by Leah Harding, Lisa Hepner, Lizzy Doty and GECRC Board Member and Glenbard South parent Rebecca DePorter. Congratulations to Abigail!

A heartfelt thank you once again to the generosity of the Pfister family and all of those who donated to GECRC in memory our beloved board member Janis Pfister. Your kind donations completely funded our three scholarships this year.

Park View students enjoyed a special treat, attending the first act of High School Musical Jr. at Glen Crest Middle School. Perhaps the field trip inspired some future thespians??

Churchill students enjoyed building their own "ball toss" projects as part of the DuPage Children's Museum Wonder Club. Students were able to demonstrate their creativity and employ teamwork through this innovative activity.

Churchill and Lincoln students enjoyed a field trip to Hadley Junior High to see a dress rehearsal performance of The Greatest Show. They were captivated by the amazing performances of the Hadley thespians! Thank you to Hadley Theatre Arts for inviting our students!

Churchill students enjoyed one more walk through Churchill Park at the end of the school year program. The spring weather cooperated! Students at all five of our sites participated in classroom celebrations to mark the end of the year, playing games, selecting donated books to take home, and enjoying snacks.

More Program Fun

iCode Glen Ellyn is now enrolling for summer camps! Take a look at their awesome technology based camps, use the code GECRC5 to get a discount, and help us earn a fun enrichment opportunity for our afterschool programs. Thank you to the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce for the member connection!

GECRC had fun celebration Pi Day (3.14!) once again this year! Congratulations to our Pi Day winners Kathy Osgood (Instagram social media drawing, pictured) and Margaret Schumaker (Facebook social media drawing)! Each of these wonderful GECRC supporters won a fresh homemade banana cream pie direct from GECRC supporter and pie maker extraordinaire Diane Ullman's kitchen. Congratulations to both Kathy and Margaret, and thank you to Diane for helping us celebrate Pi Day and grow our social media audience!

Volunteer Spotlight

Congrats to our April volunteer of the month, Portia Noensie! Portia is a junior at Wheaton Academy.

As a previous dual language program student at Churchill herself, Portia enjoys connecting with the Churchill students, letting them know she understands how they may feel, managing the stress of homework, friends and sports.

“I try to be a mentor to the students because I do believe it's very important to know someone, especially someone who can relate to your experiences, who can give advice and sometimes just listen,” Portia says.

Thank you for your dedication to GECRC, Portia!

We would like to introduce our March volunteer of the month, Harper Ullman! Harper is a sophomore at Glenbard West High School and volunteers at Hadley Junior High and Lincoln Elementary.

"I think the most gratifying part about the GECRC program is how excited the kids are when you walk in the door," Harper says. "Their faces light up with excitement!"

Harper says one of her favorite interactions was with a Lincoln 5th grader.

"I told her I could relate to her anxiety over a spelling test she had to take because I was taking a hard test and was very busy and stressed that week, too. The next week when I came back, she asked how my test went and how my week was.... Sometimes it’s nice to get a break and help someone else!"

Thank you so much for your time and dedication, Harper!

Congrats to our May volunteer of the month, Mary Ann Bachman!

Mary Ann, a retired teacher and school administrator, has been volunteering with GECRC for three years and spends three days a week volunteering at Lincoln.

“This year and last, I have mainly worked with one student,” she says. “I have seen this child grow in confidence and desire to learn. His literacy skills have improved immensely since last year. He is comfortable talking to me. We talk about his scholastic interests and what he likes to do outside of school.”

Thank you so much for your time and dedication to GECRC, Mary Ann! We truly appreciate your countless hours of volunteering!

We celebrated Volunteer Appreciation Week in late April, thanking our wonderful volunteers for all of their hours of service! Volunteers each received some flower seeds and a "Nothing Bundt Cakes" coupon with a little note that said, "You plant hope wherever you go - thanks for helping us blossom and grow!" Thank you to all of our volunteers at all five of our sites - you are the heart of GECRC!

We are so grateful to the Glenbard West Fashion Club for donating $1500 from their incredibly successful “Frosted in Fashion” show in March to GECRC! We appreciated the opportunity to attend the show at the Glen Ellyn Boathouse, and to speak a bit about the mission of GECRC and how high school students, their parents and friends can get involved as volunteer tutors.

Congratulations to all of the show models and organizers on such a wonderful event!

Thank you so much to the

Teen Philanthropy Network for their generous $3K grant!

Pictured here with GECRC Executive Director Leah Harding are Maeve Farrell (center) and Charlotte Franz (right), both members of the Teen Philanthropy Network, a two-year community program for high-school juniors and seniors.

TPN's mission is to cultivate civic engagement and philanthropic values in high school students.

Buy Your Tickets: Learn to Play Mahjong!

We are thrilled to announce a new and exciting fundraiser for GECRC - "Learn to Play Mahjong for a Cause!"

If you are not familiar, mahjong is a Chinese tile-based game, typically played by four people, where players draw and discard tiles to create winning combinations. This game is rapidly increasing in popularity, and we are thrilled to bring two 36-person beginner learning sessions taught by Missy Mahjong to the Glen Oak Country Club Paddle Hut on Wednesday, June 18.

The first session is from 1-4pm (doors open at 12:30) and the second session (already sold out!!) is from 6-9pm (doors open at 5:30). Round up some friends and purchase a ticket today for the afternoon session.

Tickets are $80 and include instruction, supplies, light bites and two drinks. Proceeds support the GECRC summer program. Spaces are limited in the afternoon session and already sold out in the evening session, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!

Save the Date: Rock the Block!

Save the Date! Saturday, Sept. 6 for Rock the Block 2025! Exact time TBD, but likely late afternoon to early evening. Various blocks around Glen Ellyn will be hosting local musicians for a late summer gathering designed not only to provide an evening of fun, but also an opportunity to learn more about and support GECRC. If you are interested in hosting a block party, donating your musical talents to perform at one, or simply learning more, please contact GECRC Development Manager Laura Ulepic at lulepic@gecrc.com.

Thank you to the following organizations who recently donated to support our five after school programs, either financially through grants or donations, or through in-kind donations. We are very appreciative of your support of GECRC!

Grants:

The Teen Philanthropy Network

Glen Ellyn Infant Welfare

Literary Event Sponsors and Donors:

All State Insurance - Mulcare Insurance

Amy Storm & Co.

Midge* and Dan Anderson

Balance Yoga + Pilates

Ball Foundation

The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn

Casey’s Gas Station

Compass Realty - the Carrie and Renee Group

Custom Direct

Ellyn & Main

Exploring Flooring

Foundation Wealth Strategies

Gayle Bartell

Glen Ellyn Bank & Trust

Glenwood Station

Identity Graphics

J. Umlauf Designs

Julia Smith Architecture

Kiwanis Club of Glen Ellyn

Laubinger & Associates, LLC

Marcel's/Marche

Nourish Well Counseling

Park & Oak

Theresa Hiser

In-Kind Raffle Donations for the Literary Event:

Arrowhead Golf Club Wheaton

Balance Yoga + Pilates

The Bookstore Glen Ellyn

Bourbon Belly Hospitality: Burger Social

Celebrate in Style

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association

D41 Kids Foundation

Dick Pond, Carol Stream

Ditkas

Enchanted Petals

Fantastic Straps

Four Brothers Handcrafted

Gather & Collect

Gia Mia

Glenbard South Boosters

Glenbard West Boosters

Good Roots

Goodman Theatre

Guiding Light Studio

Hale Street Cantina

IL Songo

Ko-ze

Lenox Road Collective

Lettuce Entertain You

Marcel's

Marche

Nothing Bundt Cakes

The McAninch Arts Center

M/M Frame Co.

Nourish Well Counseling

Proof No. 5

PRP Wine International

Rise Fitness + Wellness

Satori Hair Studio

Tasting deVine

Two Brothers Artisan Brewing

Chocolates

Village Links Glen Ellyn

In-Kind Raffle Donations from the Following Book Clubs for the Literary Event:

2nd Tuesday Book Club - Mary DiCarlo, Teresa Coldiron, Pam Kowalczyk, Diana Durkin, Cleo Burtis, Ellen Mitchell, Barb OHara, Zahra Bahremandi, Dorothy Hess, Kris Thompson, Ginny Reynolds, Lynn Day, Gayle Bartell, Cheryl Pixler

Arrowhead Book Club

Beach Reads & Bubbly - Alison Hunt, Gina Berglund, Kristin Hayward, Kristin Livermore, Jen Dietzler, Melissa Walti

Bound By Books - Lisa Tylke, Carrie Morris, Kathleen Doyle, Eileen Glyyn, Melisa Scott, Mary DiCarlo, Libby Dixon, Maureen Winans

Gather & Grow - The GardenWorks Project - GardenWorks Project extends an invitation to join; meetings are held at the Wheaton Public Library

Glen Ellyn Senior Center Book Club -Members of the GE Senior Center

Go! Go! Sporty Girls Book Club - Jen Dietzler

Greenfield Book Club - Paul Winans, Jordan Leen, Kay Fillingham, Mike Nitz, Dennis Jarrard, Emma Winans, Maureen Winans

Lincoln Hill Book Club - Jen Bair, Belinda Reiser, Beth Bengtson,

Lisa Dagley, Kim Donham, Karyn Hartman, Joan Klaus

Novels & Neighbors - Nicole Baedke, Sonia Bhagwakar, Rita Filiaggi, Diane Hissam-Luper, Sarah Hubbuch, Priya Jacobs, Lisa Klank, Janet Lara, Jennifer Preston, Stephanie Sherva, Jen Solak, Lisa Tylke, Laura Ulepic, Noemi Villanueva, Kristina Wirth, Jen Zecher

Smile Sweat Shine Coaching Book Club - Katie LaDow, Jessica Bernardi, Abby Markham, Amy Thorpe, Beth Showalter, Katie Patel, Kristin Kendrick, Laura Gartner, Maggie Kelsey, Shannon Conner, Tillie Radebaugh

TBC (The Book Club) - Celia Rodee, Cleo Burtis, Teresa Coldiron, Lynn Day,

Diana Durkin, Ginny Reynolds, Sylvia Rodee, Kris Thompson, Missey Wilhelm

Women on Fire Book Club - Robin Carroll, Jen Ikens, Jodi Herbold, Christina Lavin, Lisa Hardesty, Laura Ulepic, Andrea Pfeiffer, Karen Winter

World’s Greatest Book Club - Kathy Lawson, Carol McElvain,

Anne Roberts, Colleen Statz

Thank you so much to The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn for compiling a list of books for all ages of students in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. If you would like to purchase some of these wonderful titles for young students in your life, or to purchase them to donate to our GECRC program sites, please order from this curated list. If you would like to make a donation to GECRC, you can purchase books online or in the store and ask the store to set it aside for GECRC, and one of our program staff will pick them up. Thank you, and Happy AAPI Heritage Month!

Short on time but looking for a way to give back at GECRC?

We are seeking volunteers to support our summer program by donating fresh fruit for our students. Healthy snacks like apples, oranges, and bananas not only help keep students energized throughout the day but also support focus, memory, and overall learning. 

With approximately 150 students attending our program each day, we are requesting donations of bagged apples, oranges, and bunches of bananas as they are easier to purchase in larger quantities, they're shelf stable and easy to distribute.

Where: Fruit donations can be dropped off daily at Park View Elementary School, located at 250 South Park Blvd. in Glen Ellyn, IL. Donations can be dropped off at the main entrance.

When: Drop-offs are accepted Monday through Thursday, June 23th through July 24th, 2025, between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

To sign up: 

If you have previously volunteered with us, please login to your account with the username and password you used when you created your account. You can then click the "opportunities" tab and sign up for a date/time to donate. If you need assistance with your username and password, please email volunteer@gecrc.com.

If you are a new volunteer, please fill out an application. After submitting your volunteer application, you will receive an email with instructions and additional details about the process.

Your generosity will make a meaningful impact on our students’ daily experience—thank you for supporting their success this summer!

Hooray for the GECRC Summer Program! This year we will provide a cost-free, fun and academically rich six-week summer program for 200 eligible D41 and D89 students. Opportunities include engaging PBL academic projects, field trips, sports, and time to gather with friends to enjoy summer fun! To do this, we rely on the kind support from our generous donors! Thank you so much!