New GECRC Park View Program Officially Opens!

Park View Elementary students, administration and staff join GECRC staff to "cut the ribbon," officially opening the program at Park View Elementary.

GECRC staff and board members were thrilled to join Park View Elementary administration and staff this October to cut the ribbon, officially opening the GECRC program at Park View. This ceremony further expanded GECRC's offerings into CCSD 89. Park View is the first CCSD 89 elementary school to host a GECRC afterschool program; the program at Glen Crest Middle School launched in 2020. Thank you to the Park View staff and volunteer tutors who support our students!

"GECRC's after school program has provided students with a safe space to learn, create relationships, and be creative," says Marissa Caputo, one of the teacher liaisons at Park View. "The students look forward to spending their time here and enjoy taking on leadership roles that will have a lasting impact on the various communities that they are a part of."

The Park View program is open to students in kindergarten through fifth grade who need additional academic support, qualify for free and reduced lunch, and often need language services.

The Park View program will also serve as "a great feeder program for our Glen Crest afterschool program," said GECRC Executive Director Leah Harding.

The Park View program is looking for additional volunteers to tutor and mentor students. GECRC welcomes tutors from local high schools, colleges, and community groups to work with students from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. To complete a volunteer application, go to: www.gecrc.com/volunteer

Program Highlights from the Fall

First Churchill students and then a combined group of Lincoln and Park View students each visited The Morton Arboretum for late afternoon field trips two Fridays in October. The students enjoyed exploring the Children’s Garden, learning about trees, plants and flowers.

Both visits were beautiful days to soak in all of the vibrant fall colors!

Lincoln, Churchill and Park View students all enjoyed visits from Miss Laura from The Morton Arboretum. Miss Laura led the students on a nature walk on the respective school grounds, talking about various plants and seeds, describing the different ways seeds are dispersed (via animals, wind, etc.) and then guided them in a nature-themed craft project.

Just look at the tremendous smiles your Halloween costume donations have created! Churchill, Lincoln and Park View students all had a blast picking out costumes. Thank you to all who donated!

Welcome, New GECRC Staff!

Stephanie Chávez is one of our new classroom coordinators at Churchill. She is a second year student studying Social Science Education at the College of DuPage. We are thrilled to have you on our team, Stephanie!

Mayra Kulik is one of our new teacher coordinators at Hadley. This is her 18th year at Hadley; she is a former special education teacher, and this is her second year teaching 7th Grade ESL. Welcome, Mayra! We are so happy to have you!

Kayla Locke is one of our new classroom coordinators at Churchill. Kayla graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana with a Bachelors in Biology and minor in Spanish. Welcome, Kayla! We are delighted you are part of our team!

Welcome, New Teacher Liaisons!

Marissa Caputo is one of our new teacher liaisons at Park View. This is her fourth year as a Resource Teacher at Park View. She graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Special Education in 2020. Welcome, Marissa!

Caitlin Fippinger is one of our new teacher liaisons at Park View. She graduated from Illinois State University in 2022, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Education and an Endorsement in ESL. Welcome, Caitlin!

Thank You,

Marci Myers!

Thank you, Marci Myers, GECRC Hadley Coordinator, for your dedication to and care of the Hadley GECRC students for the past eight years. You have made an impact on so many awesome students!

As you transition to your next adventure, we are fortunate to have you continue on with our Glenbard West GECRC tutoring group. We know we will see you popping into the Hadley program when you are able!

Farewell and Thank You to Outgoing Board Members!

Christian Ambler joined the GECRC board in 2018 and made an immediate impact behind the scenes; strengthening our board committee structures and providing valuable management guidance. He also was on the inaugural GECRC Golf Outing committee, hosting two successful annual golf outings. Thank you, Christian!

Lisa Ciosek joined the GECRC board in 2017 after the very successful fundraising campaign to open an afterschool program at Churchill Elementary School. She hosted the annual Backyard Benefit at her home, drawing more than 100 GECRC supporters each summer. The Backyard Benefit has now evolved into our fun Rock the Block events. Lisa leaves the board with a legacy of strong advocacy for students! Thank you, Lisa!

Denise Umubyeyi, a Glenbard West graduate and alumna of GECRC at Lincoln, joined the GECRC board in 2017. As a board member, she hosted the first ever Commuter Happy Hour for GECRC, lent her experience and expertise to the creation of our past two strategic plans, as well as provided innovative tech and marketing ideas. Thank you, Denise!

Volunteer Spotlight

Congratulations to GECRC volunteers Dylan Gasaway, Mary Halla, Polly Green and Emma Pekkarinen on being recognized by Giving DuPage at their annual Volapalooza, a celebration of volunteers! Our volunteer tutors are at the heart of what we do at GECRC, and we are so grateful for your time and service!

Community Partners and Awareness

GECRC staff and board members were thrilled to support the Friends of Glen Ellyn Parks' Kokomo "Darty" (Day Party!) Fundraiser in September. The proceeds from this fundraiser supported the Glen Ellyn Parks’ Scholarship Fund, created to enable under-resourced families the opportunity to participate in Park District programs. More than 200 Glen Ellyn children are supported each year by the Scholarship Fund, many of whom are GECRC students. Thank you to the Friends of Glen Ellyn Parks for supporting so many children in our community!

GECRC celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 -October 15) alongside their tremendous community partner, The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn. The Bookstore has curated a wonderful list of Spanish language titles per the request of GECRC program staff, who would like to stock the various program sites - Lincoln, Churchill, Park View, Glen Crest and Hadley - with more Spanish language books for our Spanish speaking students. They are also great reading for our English speaking students who are learning Spanish! If you would like to support this effort, as well as support the Bookstore, please stop by and purchase one of the titles in this list, or order right online!

Congratulations to GECRC board member Catherine Voigt who was awarded the President’s Award at the WSPN Philanthropy Awards.

Catherine is a talented advocate for so many in our community, and we are fortunate to have her as a member of our GECRC Board of Directors!

The District 41 Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) held its first Snack & Chat event in September at Churchill School. This session featured the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center and focused on how parents can support their child's academic and social success at home and encourage them to take risks.

There will be five more Snack and Chat session dates throughout the school year. Times and locations are posted on the group’s Spanish Facebook page.

Photo courtesy of District 41

Events

Rock the Block 2023

We are incredibly grateful to all of the members of our tremendous community who came out to support GECRC at the four Rock the Block parties on September 9! So much fun was had listening to talented local musicians, catching up with neighbors and learning more about GECRC.

Generous donations topped $4000; thank you to everyone who donated! Extra special thanks to our block party hosts: the Winters, the Lobdells, the Stortzs, the Buttimers, and the Elm Street block neighbors, as well as our musicians: Exmoor Avenue: Justin Ullman with his amazing band Sweeney (pictured at right); Cottage Avenue: Gabi Winter with friends and neighbors; Elm Street: Glenbard West teacher Rob Matz; and Sunset Avenue: Lincoln Elementary teacher Amy Bishop and Spectral Jazz (pictured above). Also thank you to Two Hound Red Brewing Co.. for their support that evening as a public location where folks could learn more about GECRC. Our community is truly incredible!

Picklepalooza! 2023

What an amazing time we all had at Pickled! Wheaton on Nov. 2 for our first annual Picklepalooza! fundraiser! It was an evening of quick pickleball games for non-serious pickleballers, newbies and experts alike. Attendees enjoyed light bites, wine and beer and a lot of laughs with new and old friends!

We raised more than $10,000!

Congratulations to first place tournament winners Jackie and Brian Abbott (pictured above), second place winners Autumn Codinha and Carey Sue Ellens, and third place winners Kelley Kalinich and Joan Moffitt. Thank you so much to all of our sponsors, attendees, volunteers and the Picklepalooza committee for all of your hard work on this incredibly fun event! Thank you also to Pickled! in Wheaton for being such wonderful hosts!

Thank you so much to all of the generous Picklepalooza! sponsors!

Foundation Wealth Strategies

Marvelous Minds

Quest Food Management

Dan Palumbo First American Mortgage

Wetmore Construction

LivCo

Exploring Flooring

Griffin Harvey Group - Compass Realty

Mulcare Insurance - Allstate

Holladay Properties

Our very own Executive Director Leah Harding joined forces with Daniel Rueter, son of our administrative assistant Gayle Rueter, to compete against Eileen and Brian Gasteier. Such a fun and festive night; we can't wait to repeat it again next year!

Mark Your Calendar Now... Literary Event Details to Come!

Thank You, GECRC Community!

Backpack and book donations graciously collected by Alicia Parker, Realtor- Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group. Thank you to Alicia as well as all who donated to this drive!

Thank you to the following organizations who recently donated to support our five afterschool programs, either financially through grants or donations, or through in-kind donations. We are very appreciative of your support of GECRC!

Grants:

Debra Hornell and family from The Bill Hornell Memorial Fund

Walmart at 3s100 Route 53

Union Pacific Railroad

DuPage Foundation Transformational Grant

Sam's Club

Alfred Bersted Foundation

In-Kind and Community Organization Donations:

Alicia Parker, Realtor- Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group/Book and Backpack Drive

Learning Express - Sidewalk Sale

Glen Ellyn Lions Club from Pasta Dinner

Angela Powell

Rick Comerford

Talia Micek

Rachna Chaudhari

Eileen Mullin-Gasteier

Karen Kenwood

Westminster Preschool

Karen Kenwood

Kathryn Hawkinson

Nicole Milnamow

Amanda Scanlon

Anne Soto

Sherri Lange

Get Involved!

Want to Give Back?

Our volunteer tutors are so invaluable to the mission of GECRC. Volunteering is a mutually beneficial experience where volunteers engage with students, staff and their fellow volunteers in meaningful and purpose-driven ways. Some wonderful and long-lasting mentoring relationships develop between tutors and students!

If you or your high school student or perhaps even retired parents or neighbors would be interested in becoming a volunteer tutor, please complete a volunteer application to join us! If you've tutored in the past, please send an email to volunteer@gecrc.com.