Lake County Community Foundation holds poverty awareness event
On Tuesday, Jan. 23, a standing-room-only crowd attended The Lake County Community Foundation's "Poverty: Right Now in Lake County" event held at the new Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital.
The event served as a launching point to increase awareness of the continued crisis of poverty in Lake County's suburbs and to foster further community engagement and philanthropy to address it.
More than 175 attendees, including donors, business and nonprofit executives, municipal leaders, agency partners and concerned residents, convened to hear remarks from Dr. Scott Allard, professor at Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington in Seattle, Brookings Institute fellow, researcher and author of "Places in Need: The Changing Geography of Poverty."
Following Allard's presentation, the audience heard from a panel of three nonprofit health and human service providers who shared examples of successful local efforts that addressed the growing poverty issue in Lake County.
Prior to the event, in recognition of National Poverty Awareness Month, LCCF reached out to mayors and city officials from more than 50 suburbs and communities that are within Lake County to ask them to compose their own proclamation specific to their community.
Lake County Chairman Aaron Lawler read aloud a declaration that Jan. 23 is now known as Lake County Poverty Awareness Day.
In a show of collaborative support, a number of Lake County municipalities agreed to declare Jan. 23, 2018, as their own, with many others planning on following suit later this year.
The following civic officials attended the event and were recognized for committing to write proclamations in their own communities: Zion Township Supervisor R. Cheri Neal, Lake Bluff Village President Kathy O'Hara, Waukegan City Clerk Janet Kilkelly, Mundelein Mayor Steve Lentz, Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor, Lake County Board member Sandy Hart and Highwood Mayor Charlie Pecaro.
The Lake County Community Foundation plans to host a webinar to continue the dialogue with Dr. Allard and the panelists, in addition to sharing resources and opportunities for communities and residents to support existing initiatives across Lake County.
To learn more or contribute to local efforts to address poverty in your community or countywide, visit www.lakecountycf.org or call (847) 377-0520.