HAMILL FAMILY DONATES $1.5 MILLION FOR LOCAL CONSERVATION EFFORTS
The Conservation Foundation will be able to continue saving land and saving rivers through an extraordinary donation from the Hamill Family Foundation of $1.5 million, one of the largest philanthropic investments received in its history.
This generous gift from the children of Joan and Corwith Hamill - Nancy Hamill Winter, of Stockton, Illinois; Elizabeth Bramsen, and Jonathan Hamill, both of Barrington - affirms their parents' legacy of protecting wilderness areas and promoting stewardship of the environment.
"The Hamill Family Foundation's gift will have a tremendous impact on our ability to plan, develop, and execute programs in our communities," Conservation Foundation President/CEO Brook McDonald said. "In addition to expanding programs in our communities, we will continue our focus on preserving land along the Fox River."
The donation is spread over three years through 2016 and is helping to support The Conservation Foundation's overall goals and mission, with specific emphasis on community education and outreach in the Fox River watershed.
In addition, the Joan and Corwith Hamill Fox River Land Fund will be created to support land acquisition in the Fox River Valley, where the Hamill children spent much of their childhood.
The final donation in 2016 comes with a challenge that McDonald said he welcomes.
"We will need to raise an additional $250,000 in support to receive the final $500,000," he said. "I'm really excited about that. I'm confident we will be able to show others how important the Hamill Family's commitment is to stewardship of our land and water resources."
"We are completely confident the Hamill Family Foundation money will be used wisely and are glad to support The Conservation Foundation's mission and work on the Fox River," Nancy Hamill Winter said.
Corwith "Corky" Hamill died in 2013 at the age of 99. He grew up in Lake Forest and lived in Wayne on property he originally bought in 1941 for $500 an acre. He was known for his strong passion for nature and conservation and served as president of the Chicago Zoological Society.
Hamill donated a 9-acre conservation easement to The Conservation Foundation in 1998. The easement includes a portion of Sleep Creek, a small tributary to Norris Creek which flows into the Fox River. The three children grew up on this wooded property and learned to love nature like their parents.
Joan Smith Hamill died in 2001 at the age of 84. She is known as having been a driving force in the creation of the Illinois Prairie Path, an old railroad line that is now a 61-mile trail from Maywood out to Aurora and Elgin. She grew up in Chicago and was an accomplished horsewoman who continued riding into her 80s. She was an instructor and coordinator with the Wayne DuPage Hunt Pony Club.
In addition to preserving land, some of the projects that will benefit from the donation include promoting and educating landowners on how they can turn their properties into mini-nature sanctuaries through the Conservation@Home program, engaging communities in protecting and cleaning up local rivers and streams, and reaching more children through environmental education programs, such as Mighty Acorns.
The Conservation Foundation will continue to acquire land around the Fox River watershed to keep it open and away from development, and provide leadership with partnered organizations for Fox River improvement projects.
"The Hamill family's investment in us is something that would have made Corky and Joan very proud," McDonald said. "I look forward to our future, one that just got a little brighter because of the support of generous friends like Nancy, Betsy and Jonathan."
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The Conservation Foundation is one of the region's largest and oldest private conservation organizations, with more than 4,000 members and donors, and more than 500 volunteers who contribute 20,000 hours per year.
Work is focused in DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will Counties to preserve and restore nature in your neighborhood. Find out more at theconservationfoundation.org.