Good News Sunday: Hersey High School mural project promotes inclusiveness

This is Good News Sunday, a compilation of some of the more upbeat and inspiring stories published recently by the Daily Herald:

A mural project in the works at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, created by the school's minority students, will reflect students' diverse cultural experiences and promote inclusiveness.

The school's Latin American Student Organization, Black Student Union, DAY Asian Culture, Advocacy and Entertainment Club and Indo-Pak clubs kicked off the five-week Ethnic Mural Leadership project late last month.

"It is a schoolwide project," said Michael Ayala of Wauconda, Spanish teacher and Latin American Student Organization sponsor.

Ayala said the idea for the mural started out with just the Latino students and kept getting bigger as more student groups joined in.

Hersey's student population is nearly 70% white, 15.7% Latino, 10% Asian and 1.3% Black.

"The goal of this mural is to bring all of the minority groups (together), to bring forward their voice in the school and give them an opportunity to learn leadership skills ... so they can feel like they are at home and they can have a sense of belonging," said Ayala, who has been teaching at Hersey for 28 years and recently was named Illinois Foreign Language Teacher of the Year.

For the full story, click here.

Lawmakers throw $2,800 in groceries into carts in race to benefit Fox Valley food pantries

State Sen. Don DeWitte and state Rep. Suzanne Ness hit the Batavia Jewel-Osco Monday morning for a friendly grocery store race benefiting two area food pantries and hundreds of families in Kane County.

Ness, a state representative for the 66th District, hit the canned fruit aisle first, tossing packages of apple sauce into her grocery cart for a food pantry that serves families and employees of Community Unit District 300.

In the next aisle, DeWitte, a state senator for the 33rd District, was grabbing bags of rice and hominy for the Salvation Army food pantry in St. Charles.

In seven minutes, the two lawmakers loaded cart after cart in the Kane County Farm Bureau's 21st annual Food Check-Out Challenge Shopping Spree. The farm bureau, which partners with the Northern Illinois Food Bank for the shopping spree, has used the event to donate more than $40,000 in food to area pantries in the last 21 years.

The annual event features local lawmakers running up and down aisles as they shop for local pantries.

"It was more exercise than I remembered, but it was worth every minute," said DeWitte, who is the first area lawmaker to participate in the challenge twice.

For the full story, click here.

Brushes with Cancer art program offers human connection, power to heal

When someone receives a cancer diagnosis, it can feel like the loneliest place to be. It's when loving support from friends and family is needed most - to offer words of encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold.

Even the kindness of strangers can make a big difference between a good or bad day.

Twist Out Cancer, founded in 2012 by cancer survivor Jenna Benn Shersher of Glencoe, brings those affected by cancer - previvors, survivors and caregivers - together with artists to share their journeys through the beauty of art.

The artist and Inspiration, as they are called, spend time together, connecting, feeling, sharing. The artist then spends five months creating a unique work of art based on how they see the Inspiration's cancer journey.

It all culminates with an exhibit in November. Anyone who would like to participate in this program can visit twistoutcancer.org/brushes/ by Monday, Feb. 28.

For the full story, click here.

Artis Senior Living of Elmhurst executive receive kidney donation from colleague

Donna Germann is a wife, mother of a son and daughter, and the senior executive director at Artis Senior Living of Elmhurst. She joined Artis Senior Living in 2018 with a passion for senior living that stems from her own experience with her parents.

In 1994, Donna was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease 1 Autosomal Dominant (PKD), a disease that causes cysts to form on the kidneys. When too many cysts grow - or if they get too large - severe kidney damage can occur and may lead to kidney failure.

Donna's kidney function slowly declined, but it wasn't until March of 2021 that it dropped to below 20%, which meant it was time for her and her family to pursue a donor.

Obtaining a kidney from a living donor eliminates the wait often associated with other options. Unfortunately, the number of people volunteering to donate a kidney doesn't meet the demand.

Donna finally felt it was time to open up about this on Facebook, sharing her journey with 585 friends on Sept. 17, 2021.

Robyn McCracken, vice president of Health & Wellness at Artis Senior Living, also Donna's Facebook friend, saw the post. "It sounds crazy, but after reading Donna's post, I knew I was meant to be her donor," Robyn said.

For the full story, click here.

• Good News Sunday will run each weekend. Please visit dailyherald.com/newsletters to sign up for our Good News Sunday newsletter.