The latest OTR news for you

OTR news & updates

July 2021

Behind the Scenes:

OTR's Newest Resident Services Program

Kindness Tag

The point is not to pay back kindness, but to pass it on.” — Julia Alvarez

At OTR we believe in leading with kindness, and have always made a practice of sprinkling our residents with kindness and gifts to make their lives a little easier and brighter. Examples include gifting residents with crock-pots, rolling laundry baskets, shower chairs, clothing, dental work, automatic door openers, blankets, etc. as needed. We do this because we care deeply that our residents have all the tools they need to thrive independently.

After such a difficult year we decided to infuse more kindness into our apartment communities than ever before with an OTR wide game of Kindness Tag. The game is simple and everyone at OTR including the residents, staff, and supporters like you can play.

First we surprise a resident with a kindness gift and then they are “it”.

From there, they would talk to their Resident Service Coordinator to decide on a random act of kindness that they will perform. This can be anything from them making a nice card or a poem for their neighbor to requesting that OTR fund a specific gift for their neighbor on their behalf. They have the opportunity to get really thoughtful and creative with their act of kindness.

After they perform that act of kindness for their neighbor, that neighbor is now “it” and the game continues…

It feels just as good (if not even better) to give kindness as it does to receive it. That's why we want to empower our residents to be kind and help them with organizing and funding all of their kindness goals. We hope to make our apartment communities an even more loving, kind, and connected community than ever before.

If you would like to participate in Kindness Tag, donate today to fund a Kindness Gift for a resident.

Click Here to Donate to Kindness Tag

Event Spotlights

Save the Date for No Limits Music Fest!

No Limits Music Fest is back in 2021!

Save the date for October 22, 2021 at the historical Hideout Chicago!

Stay tuned for more details to come...

OTR Challenge Tour

Click Here to Donate, Sponsor, or Register

Gallery OTR

Please join us virtually for Gallery OTR's Annual Anniversary Show featuring gorgeous works by Jane Carney, Janet Trierweiler, Jim Parks, Bonnie Katz, Lucile Herman, Mary Jo O'Gara, Stephen Murphy, Harold Bauer, Judith Bobbe, Nancy Behles, and Peggy Macnamara. This beautiful show will run through the month of August.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the art or exhibiting at Gallery OTR, please contact Gallery Curator, Jody O'Connor, at jody@otrhousing.org. Every purchase directly benefits OTR's Resident Service Program.

Click Here to Enter the Gallery

In Loving Memory

Lawrence J. Biondi

We are deeply saddened that on June 28, 2021 Larry Biondi passed away. Larry was one of the original 33 residents at Hill Arboretum and was always a fantastic advocate for OTR. He was a proud activist for social justice especially for those persons with disabilities. His leadership and great legacy will be remembered by his colleagues at the Progress Center for Independent Living and ADAPT. He spent 28 years tirelessly fighting for those rights and his spirit will live on. OTR’s President, Eric Huffman, described Larry as “one of the nicest guys I’ve ever known. Always upbeat. Always involved. Always a die-hard Blackhawks fan. We will miss him very much.”