Grant Recipients

The 112 Education Foundation supports and enriches the educational opportunities for students in North Shore School District 112 through a variety of programming including a robotics program, Robot Revolutions, supported by HPCF funding. The robotics program runs annually and includes teams from all seven NSSD112 elementary schools and both middle schools. Unlike other robotics programs, Robot Revolution is offered free-of-charge and with no competitive selection process. This creates a unique opportunity and exposure to robotics for students in Highland Park and Highwood.

College Bound Opportunities (CBO), is a local nonprofit that mentors low-income, high-achieving students, so they can attend and graduate from college. College Bound Opportunities mentors economically disadvantaged students to unleash their potential, graduate college, pursue meaningful professions, and inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Most CBO Scholars are first-generation college students and, without support, would likely forego college. Through CBO programs, including one-to-one mentoring between volunteers and scholars, tutoring, training services, laptop computers, and financial assistance during college, nearly 95% of CBO Scholars are graduating from college. The Foundation’s grant provides financial support to low-income students from Highland Park and Highwood to help with academic costs, textbooks, supplies, housing, and travel for college.

Since 1983, Family Focus Highland Park has offered high quality community-based programs to children and families in Highland Park and Highwood. Family Focus provides bilingual (English and Spanish) prevention-based support, including child development activities for expectant parents and families with children ages birth through three, afterschool programs for children in kindergarten through 5th grade (serving seven local schools), and a wide range of services including adult education, parenting classes, and support groups. HPCF’s funding supports the Early Childhood Dual Language Program at Family Focus, which evolved from a need to address language delays teachers at Family Focus observed in children at the Center. By providing activities that include socialization, literacy, music, free play, movement and more, Family Focus helps create a strong base for lifelong learning. Parents are also provided with opportunities to come together to socialize and support each other.

Focus on the Arts (Focus) is a three-day and three-night biennial fine arts festival that exposes thousands of students and community members to the visual, performing, and communication arts. The next Focus will take place in Spring of 2025. The mission of Focus is to increase appreciation and understanding of the arts and of arts professionals. The Foundation’s funding supports and expands programming that immerses HPHS students and community members in a celebration of fine arts and allows them to experience the arts firsthand.

Heart of the City (HOC) is a sports-based youth development organization using the sport of soccer to create transformational change for the lives of children and families in Lake County. Youth Development & Support Programs offer student athletes opportunities to develop skills including social-emotional learning, communication, problem-solving decision making, and conflict resolution. The grant will support HOC’s North Shore School District 112 Soccer Academy Program.

Since 1951, Highland Park Community Early Learning Center (HP Community), a nonprofit, early childhood education and child care program has been providing affordable, quality, licensed care, and education to hundreds of children ages two to ten, in partial and full-day programs. Sliding scales fees, scholarships, State funding, and local support make it possible for all members of our diverse community to benefit from HP Community’s services. These services include art and music classes, an on-site food program, social work services, and early screenings with appropriate interventions. The Foundation’s grant provides scholarships for children in low to moderate-income families who could not afford a full-fee tuition and live or work in the community.

With approximately 17 years of service to the Highland Park and Highwood community, the Estudiante to Student mentoring program remains dedicated to the mission of partnering Latino elementary students with high-achieving Latino high school students who serve as positive academic and social role models. Estudiante to Student historically runs two programs: Future Giants and Rising Stars. The Future Giants program pairs HPHS high school mentors with 8th graders, while the Rising Stars program has HPHS high school mentors working with 6th graders and 7th graders as they explore STEM-related material and courses available for students at HPHS. HPCF funds are used to support programmatic costs that are not covered by Districts 112 and 113.

Homework Club provides a safe, positive, healthy, and structured environment in which all HPHS students, regardless of income, can spend time after school, connect with supportive adults, and access high-quality tutoring in Math, Science, and English. 50-60 students generally attend Homework Club each week. The HPCF’s grant supports tutor stipends that are not covered by other grant funding.

The National Hispanic Institute provides a week-long summer enrichment program for high-achieving 1st generation college-bound Highland Park High School students designed to inspire leadership and encourage college attendance.

The general goals of the Highland Park Historical Society are to identify, collect, preserve, arrange, describe, and share available records documenting the history and traditions of Highland Park and its people. The specific objectives are to provide a better understanding and appreciation of the community’s past and present, and to serve as a source for the dissemination of the history of the area, in general, and that of Highland Park for present and future generations.

The Highland Park Public Library enriches our community by circulating ideas, information, and technology. Arts enrichment is part of this. HPCF’s grant is supporting a series of six to eight family-friendly music programs, featuring music from different genres. The aim of the series is to provide arts enrichment for the community while increasing the audience’s exposure to, and appreciation of, different types of music in an informal setting. Concerts at the Library began in 2016 at the request of the community for more robust music programming that was free and during quieter times of the musical calendar. The concerts attract a diverse audience of young families to seniors.

The Highwood Library addresses the needs of underserved community members through educational support and engaging programs, services, and resources. HPCF’s funding supports the operations of the Library’s Learning Partners Program, which helps students in need of academic and social guidance. This program is designed to help students feel they have a partner in their learning process and establishes a relationship of mutual support. The program engages District 113 Learning Partners to help District 112 student Learners navigate the education process in a school setting, through career exploration, and skill building.

The Jewish Council for Youth Services – George W. Lutz Early Childhood Program (Lutz Center) offers traditional preschool, full-day preschool, kindergarten enrichment, before/after school club, enrichment classes and school-age programs. Their experienced and passionate teachers create a developmentally appropriate, nurturing early childhood experience that meets each child where they’re at, tailoring their play-based curriculum to meet your child’s needs and interests; fostering social emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Lutz Center’s bright, spacious classrooms, full-sized gymnasium, and multiple age-specific outdoor playgrounds, set the stage for new discoveries each day. The Lutz Center is equally committed to their parents’ experience and offer many opportunities for families to connect and develop a strong sense of community. The Foundation’s grant helps with youth scholarships for day/after-school and pre-school care at the Lutz Center for low-income families.

HPCF funding supports scholarships for low-income students in North Shore School District 112 so they can participate in a service-learning trip as a capstone to their Dual Language Program experience.

Tri-Con Child Care Center has been providing affordable, high-quality early care and education for children of local, low-income families for over 45 years. Tri-Con offers a year-round, full-day preschool, an after-kindergarten enrichment program, and a summer camp program. Through developmentally appropriate experiences that are based on the Illinois Early Learning Standards, students are prepared for a successful school journey. Fees are based on a sliding fee scale with 100% of all children being subsidized through either partial state funding or Tri-Con’s own Scholarship Program. Highland Park Community Foundation’s grant provides scholarships to local children whose families do not qualify for state funding but are in need of high-quality, subsidized early childcare and education.

Working Together implements projects that benefit and support the Hispanic communities in Highwood and Highland Park. Its programs offer enrichment opportunities for children between the ages of 3 and 14 in a variety of areas including ballet, hip hop, break dance, art, robotics, Tae Won Do, swimming, guitar, and folkloric dance. While children are participating in these programs, parents are offered classes to help them learn how to speak with their children about health, wellness, sexuality, and nutrition, and can also attend yoga, zumba, knitting, and crochet classes. HPCF funding supports several of Working Together’s programs for children, including Educators of Tomorrow, which offers students the opportunity to improve their school performance and provides a safe and welcoming environment to address the tendency of young Latinos and low-income children to join gangs absent other safe and engaging activities.