Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/422226
photography by kenny kim photography "Having tHese kids run up and give you a HigH five is wHat it's all about." — kerry wood month, we bring in the guardians. One of the coolest things about the pro- gram is having that dinner and letting the kids get up and tell all the parents what they've been learning, then we eat dinner together. We have dinner at my house every night as a family; a lot of people don't, so that's a big thing— to sit down together and take an hour to listen to the kids. "We all see the news about Lawndale and Englewood, [but] it's not as bad as the news makes it: There's a good sense of community in these neighborhoods, and if we can get the trust of the families, the students, the principals, and the teachers, we want nothing out of it other than their help. At Lawndale Elementary Community Academy, we did a barbe- cue to kick off the school year—we blocked off the streets and had bouncy houses, carnival games, and a two-day baseball clinic. I was talking to Principal Willette—he had a big smile on his face and was like, 'Man, I'm seeing 30 moms and dads here that I've called 100 times, and I couldn't get them to call me back.' We had people coming out of their houses tak- ing pictures of us in the park, and we find out later they were taking pictures because they hadn't seen kids in that park in 25 years. They were coming out of their houses because they heard laughter. Being in the city, having a good time, and seeing hundreds of kids out—hopefully they see each other and say, 'We're going to stay engaged.' Going into the event, the principal was like, 'I'm not sure how many people are going to show. It's hard to get [to the] parents, and the kids can't come if the parents don't come.' We had hundreds of people; the principal was almost in tears. "Kids are kids, but when it comes down to it, they're really gentle. Unfortunately, a lot of them have grown up too soon in some of these neighborhoods, but deep down, I love the innocence of the children. Some of them just want to touch my wife's hair. They say, 'We've never touched hair like this.' Honestly, you feel bad when the day ends and you have to go home. Hopefully we start to build relationships through- out the neighborhood and really have an impact. Hopefully the stories will never stop." Woody's Winter Warm-Up, January 16, 8 pm. Harry Caray's 7th Inning Stretch, Water Tower Place, 835 N. Michigan Ave., 7th Fl., 312-924-9234; woodfamilyfoundation.org ma Wood unveils the resource room to students at Lawndale Elementary Community Academy. PEOPLE Spirit of Generosity mh-catering.com 312.361.3299 Bells on cocktails ring. Shaking spirits right.