Chicago Lights

Sometimes just showing up and trying is half the battle! Recently 26 participants in our Social Service Center art group gathered around watercolor palettes and paintbrushes to explore color, creativity, and connection.

Some participants had been painting their whole lives, while others were trying for the very first time. Yet every single person showed up, picked up a brush, and created something beautiful.

Our participants do that every day. They continue to show up for themselves, for one another, and for new experiences—even when they are tired, scared, unsure, or carrying heavy things no one else can see. May each one of us remember the importance of trying something new, sharing what we have, and choosing connection and creativity whenever we can.

🥳☀️🥂Summer Soiree is two weeks away! Do you have your tickets yet?

Please join the the Chicago Lights Board for a not-to-be-missed evening at the Salesforce Tower. We’ll spotlight Summer Day, which provides a safe, enriching space for children to learn and grow during the summer months, as well as honor Executive Director Stacy Jackson as she concludes her amazing 30-year tenure of leadership and service. We look forward to seeing you as we celebrate the impact of the past and invest in the future of Chicago Lights.

Click here for tickets: https://onecau.se/_hk9au1

This summer, creativity will be in bloom at the Social Service Center on Thursday afternoons as we launch our new Visual Arts Group. Led by Matthew Keller, our new Social Service Associate, participants will explore projects each week while learning about the elements of art including line, shape, form, color, value, texture, and space.��Our first session’s theme was “line,” and participants used magazine images and creative prompts to complete original artwork using a variety of line techniques. We’re grateful to have this opportunity for learning and fun, facilitated by our amazing staff and interns to create a welcoming space for connection and creativity.

And a special thank you to our MSW intern, Justin Hatcher, for gathering participant feedback and ideas for future groups and activities!

Executive Director Stacy Jackson will be leaving Chicago Lights on June 12 after 30 years of leadership and service. The Chicago Lights community means so much to her, and we know she holds a special place in your hearts as well. 🥰

To honor this occasion, we invite you to share farewell messages, notes of gratitude, photos, videos, and memories on her online message board, found at
www.kudoboard.com/boards/PBZcvshZ

Thank you for helping us create a meaningful tribute to Stacy’s many years of impact, connection, and light.

🎓🎉✨ It’s graduation season, and Chicago Lights Tutoring is proud to have so many successful students moving on to their next adventures. Last week we celebrated 8th graders moving on to high school, and our graduating high school seniors in an evening lit up by smiles all around. Each of our graduating seniors has been accepted to college, and we join their tutors in wishing them the very best as they move toward bright futures ahead. 🎓🎉✨

Every act of kindness matters, and seeing students give their time and energy so willingly gives us a great deal of hope for the future. We were fortunate to welcome students from Holy Trinity High School to the Chicago Lights Social Service Center last week for a day filled with compassion, teamwork, and generosity. From lending helping hands throughout the SSC to learning more about the work being done in our neighborhood, they shared their hearts with us and demonstrated what community looks like in action. Thank you, Holy Trinity volunteers!

💙⭐️🎉 Where are They Now: Oché Harris 💙⭐️🎉
THEN, Oché Harris was a dedicated Tutoring participant, intent on trying out all the possibilities the program offered her. “My mom put us in as many after-school things as possible, as we weren’t in the best neighborhood to go out and play,” Oché explains. “I have so many memories of things [at Chicago Lights] that impacted me for the better. I look back on that time as a tutee and mentee as very important.”

In May 2025, Oché graduated from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with a 3.9 GPA. “I’m most proud of my academic achievement,” she says. And she’s particularly proud to have earned a full-ride scholarship and finished college without debt. “It isn’t easy to go to college, and it’s costly. I’m in a privileged place that I was able to take that burden off my family and focus on my studies.”

NOW, Oché is maximizing her opportunities to do legal work as a fellow for the Illinois Justice Corps, a partnership between Americorps, the Illinois Bar Foundation, and the Chicago Bar Foundation. And she’s also studying for the LSAT as she considers what may be next for her.

Read Oché’s full story at chicagolights.org/stories-of-our-success/

We had so much fun at Tutoring last week with a visit from the Junior League of Chicago and its Mad Hatters performance group! 🥳🧢👒🎩 The JLC brought stories, smiles, and a love of reading to our Tutoring students, and they also hosted a book giveaway featuring resources from the Chicago Public Library. We’re so grateful for partners who enrich our Tutoring evenings and infuse extra fun and learning into the lives of our students. Thanks for helping us make these kids curiouser and curiouser! 😉🎉

✨ We recently had the privilege of witnessing a “home reveal” for one of our Social Service Center clients after it was beautifully furnished by Humble Design. Her reaction said it all, and she shared that it finally feels like home, something she’s been waiting a long time to experience. She kept calling everyone her “angels,” and it was truly an occasion we will not forget.

We’re so grateful for our partnership with Humble Design, which helps make these transformations possible. Seeing a space become a place of comfort, dignity, and belonging is powerful. Here’s to more moments like this one, where a house becomes a home ✨

🥳☀️🥂The Chicago Lights Board cordially Invites you to celebrate with us at the Summer Soiree! 🥳☀️🥂

Please join us for an unforgettable evening on Thursday, June 11, from 5:00-7:30 p.m. at the Salesforce Tower.

This year’s Summer Soirée will celebrate and spotlight our Summer Day program, which provides a safe, enriching space for children to learn and grow during the summer months.

We will also honor Executive Director Stacy Jackson as she concludes an extraordinary 30-year tenure of leadership and service. We look forward to seeing you as we celebrate the impact of the past and invest in the future of Chicago Lights.

Click here to get your tickets: https://onecau.se/_hk9au1