Jimmy  Darts

SB Mowing

Pattie Gonia

Little Miss Flint

Kalina Silverman / @makebigtalk on Instagram

The Dogist

Samuel Weidenhofer

Patriotic Kenny Foundation

Peter Bond

That Good News Girl

Ben Saunders - Flawless Cleaning

Flavor Flav

Ask Uncle Jack

Amy Jandrisevits

FowlMouthFarmer

Tess Bohne

Latonja and Taylor Richardson

Officer Richard Craig

John Wolfe

Khloe

<div class="youtube-replace">The  City of Sheboygan  still  unethically connected to the Kohler Company, is back at it ignoring city ordinances and state statues to extend an expired, 2020 Conditional Use Permit  (CUP) for a proposed Kohler golf course in an ecosystem with  state and globally significant ecological characteristics. The  City's CUP has expired, the State Wetland Fill Permit was revoked, however, Kohler wants to use this old permit for a newly designed course whose site plan it will not show the City, the Army Corps of Engineers or the public. And the City Plan Commission gave this maneuver a yes vote. FBRF is addressing the City's  violations,  and incompetent ruling in the courts. 
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<div class="youtube-replace">Friends of the Black River Forest scored a major victory in preserving a Lake Michigan Coastal ecosystem in 2019 and 2024. The Kohler Company's permit to devastate an ecologically significant landscape using state park land was revoked in 2022 by an Administrative Law Judge with a Wisconsin Circuit Court affirming the revocation.
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<div class="youtube-replace">Now, the same threats are here with Sheboygan's Plan Commission granting an expired permit an extension. Contamination of the Lake and groundwater, deforestation of a 180+ acres of Black River Forest including an old growth stand, fragmenting an Important Bird Area and Migratory Bird stopover are just some of the destruction. The bulldozing of Native American burial sites and remnants of their habitation in this area is unconscionable.
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<div class="youtube-replace">We have been at this for 14 years and we will not give up trying to preserve this fragile, important Lake Michigan landscape and Kohler Andrae State Park which will be negatively impacted by this course.
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<div>To continue to hold the Kohler Company, the City of Sheboygan and the DNR to the law once again, we are asking for your support. In this time when people all over the planet are planting trees and conserving water, let's send a message to a billion dollar company that we won't put up with destroying our planet to indulge its vanity projects. Follow us on Facebook and sign up for our newsletter at 
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<div><a href="https://progresssheb.wixsite.com/fbrforg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://progresssheb.wixsite.com/fbrforg" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://progresssheb.wixsite.com/fbrforg</a></a>
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Lake and State Park Threatened by Golf Course AGAIN

<div>Hello, please consider contributing to help <strong>this immigrant family</strong>. They originally came to Chicago on a bus from Texas and stayed in the Austin police station. They have worked at various jobs and have been able to support themselves. 

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<div>They recently were hit by a drunk driver, and <strong>the daughter has suffered a leg fracture and the son has a broken nose</strong>. The mother cannot work, and they are unable to pay rent. <strong>Please consider contributing to this hardworking family.</strong>

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Support Immigrant Family After Tragic Accident

Support Gizzae – Help Us Recover From Equipment Theft

<div>The Pilsen Food Pantry has been serving our food insecure neighbors for nearly seven years (since 1/2/18). Monday through Friday, 600 households are given 30,000 pounds of fresh produce, frozen proteins, dairy, shelf stable foods, and household items. Clients visits twice monthly and we have no neighborhood restrictions (although 80% of our clients come from zip codes 60608, 60616, &amp; 60609). So far, we have distributed over 6,000,000 pounds of food! We want to keep feeding our neighbors :)
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<div>In 2019, we expanded services with our Little Library and, in 2020, a free store with clothing &amp; housewares (El Mercadito Gratis). We also provide free medical supplies and sponsor Clinica Nuevas Raices, a free clinic for the un-/underinsured. Please help us raise $100,000 to cover 20% of our operational costs.
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Help the Pilsen Food Pantry Feed Hungry Chicagoans

Figueroa Wu Family Foundation

<div>Claudia Bricks has always been a teacher, healer, and ardent advocate for the magnificent environment she has forever enjoyed in her Wisconsin home. She co-founded an organization that successfully fought a giant corporation for 10 years to save a rare Lake Michigan ecosystem from total destruction.
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<div>She spearheaded efforts to develop a Peace Park in her home city so all could experience a place to enjoy nature and feel the peace of a serene and beautiful Lake Michigan setting. The park’s Peace Pole says, “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in 16 languages.
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<div>For Claudia now, it’s hard to feel peaceful since a tragic illness prevents her from enjoying all the things she used to do regularly.
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<div>Tragically, Lyme disease and associated illnesses have left her crippled and wheelchair dependent. The challenging wooded terrain around her home makes mobility even more difficult. Although she lives only 4 houses from the Lake Michigan shore, she has not been able to visit or walk on her beloved beach. 
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<div>She was recently loaned an all-terrain wheelchair that has opened wonderful new possibilities for her life. Unfortunately, the chair must be returned. As a retired teacher, living on a modest income, she cannot afford to buy it for herself.
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<div>This woman who has given so much to others now needs your help. Please donate so that Claudia can regain some of the freedom and dignity that this horrible disease has taken from her.
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Help Claudia  Reclaim Her Freedom

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<div>My name is Meghan Young. Some of you may know me as a property manager but in the last 2 years, I've dedicated my life and time to building a nail salon that is inclusive with a focus on education and pushing techs forward to be their best. The West Loop is a thriving Chicago market that has a creative edge, which is what attracts people. Adding my colorful space to the neighborhood as a black-owned salon is nothing short of amazing. However, I have been humbled by the experience and challenges. As the grand opening is approaching these funds will help place me at the finish line of a lifetime achievement, for myself and the neighborhood. I appreciate any and all the support.

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Tips 312 - Road to being an entrepreneur

We’re a little worried. We’re worried that we have led you to believe that you don’t need to worry about us. We don’t *like* having people worry about us, but sometimes a stiff upper lip will only get you so far. When we told you in December that we needed help with crowd control, when you saw us with lines of customers waiting outside, when we told you we had more web orders than we could handle, a lot of you responded with the words, “That’s a good problem to have!” Here’s the thing though: in normal times, that might be true, but during COVID, none of these were good signs.<br /><br />Capacity limits set by the state meant that we had to turn customers away or make them wait. Too many web orders didn’t mean we were doing great business—it meant that the balance of web orders to in-person business was drastically skewed from normal times, preventing us from being able to sell as many books as quickly as we usually can during a busy holiday season. Most of last year, we were able to keep up with web orders either because our front doors were locked, or because foot traffic was slow. In December, foot traffic was busier, but so was curbside pickup, and web orders were coming in faster than we could fill them, leaving us doing a lot more work and expending a lot more energy for fewer customers.  <br /><br />We tried really hard not to have to do a full-on fundraiser. We eked by during the shutdown months with just a PPP loan, internet sales, small donations, and pleas to buy gift cards. We even thought things were starting to get back to normal this summer and fall, that while maybe we wouldn’t catch up per se, at least we wouldn’t go further into debt. Then the Christmas season came, and at first, it was hard work but it was doable. But around the middle of December, we realized that we were faced with an impossible choice: shut down the store to browsers or shut down the website. Web orders are extremely time consuming and labor intensive compared to in-store transactions, but during COVID, about 40% of our sales were coming from our website. Even so, the volume was more than we could handle and still accommodate the in-person and phone traffic. We had no choice, really. We had to turn away that 40% of business. At any time of the year, this would be a terrible decision to have to make, but during the Christmas season, when 20% of our annual sales are usually earned, it was disastrous to our bottom line. Christmas is how we pay our property taxes. It’s how we catch up with our vendors. In good years, it knocks out our credit card debt before heading into a new year. During bad years like this one, it was needed to catch us up on back rent. Unfortunately, none of that happened this year. Our Christmas earnings were just a drop in a very large pool of debt that has now gotten out of control.<br /><br />Now that we've seen where we are after Christmas, the problems that we've faced for the last nine months have become far too pressing. We pay $18,000 a month in rent plus another $55,000 a year in property taxes. That's $271,000 a year before we even pay to turn the lights on, pay a single salary, or buy a book to put on our shelves. It's an astonishing figure, but in normal times, it actually makes sense. But these are not normal times. In normal times, the Lake Theatre would have lines of moviegoers. This year, there was no movie traffic. In normal times, diners fill the restaurants with people. This year the restaurants have had to pivot to take-out only. In normal times, we have office workers filling the streets during their lunch hour, but this year most are still working remotely. In normal times, tourists visit Oak Park, but now few are traveling, and with good reason. $271,000 a year is a lot in normal times, but it becomes outright impossible if we aren't getting any of the Downtown Oak Park synergy we normally have. <br /><br />Vaccine rollouts and a new administration give us a lot of hope for the future, but we need to make it to that future first. We know that everywhere you turn right now, there are people, organizations and businesses that are worse off. We know that it’s unfair to be asking the same people who *have* been supporting us and buying from us through the whole pandemic to do even more. But we’ve exhausted most of our options at this point, so here we are. If you can afford to do so, if our continued presence in Oak Park matters to you, please consider donating. We couldn’t have made it to this point without the overwhelming love, loyalty, and support we’ve received from this amazing community. We would be beyond grateful to be able to continue to serve this community for many years to come.<br /><br />#SmallBusinessRelief

Help The Book Table Survive the Pandemic

Kris is an artist, an educator, and a mother. 

Throughout the years she has created beautiful work, dedicated countless hours to working with students, and raised three strong-willed children. 

About two weeks ago she was with Bill trying to have a small weekend away in Michigan when she had a seizure. She quite literally tried to walk it off. She refused the ambulance, went home, and tried to get better. Before she had a chance to see a doctor, she had another seizure, much more intense than the last. 911 was called and she was brought in. The doctor then found a mass on her brain. 

Since then, she has had countless tests and scans, brain surgery to remove the mass, and has started recovery. 

She will not be able to work during this time and we are asking that you help her family, as they are already on a limited income. The funds will be used to help cover coinsurance, rehabilitation, and basic household needs. 

Kris and her family are eternally grateful for all of the support.

Help Kris with medical and other expenses.

In loving memory of Eddie Hennessey: a kind, funny and wonderful husband, father, son, brother and friend who passed away suddenly on May 9th, 2018. <br /><br />Please join us in supporting Eddie's family in their time of need.  All funds raised through this campaign will go directly to the Hennessey Family.<br /><br />On May 7th, 2018, Eddie became very sick very quickly. He began having seizures at home and was sent to the hospital but the medical team could not stop his seizures after multiple attempts with various medicines. Due to the trauma of his seizures, Eddie's brain was under massive swelling. After some testing, doctors discovered a very aggressive form of brain cancer in his right frontal lobe.<br /><br />One day later, May 8th, was Eddie's 34th birthday. He spent it in the hospital unresponsive with his loved ones at his side.<br /><br />May 9th, after much prayer and consult from physicians, Eddie was taken off of life support and passed away at 6:22pm surrounded by family. <br /><br />Please help us help this family at such a devastating time. <br /><br />The goal of this fundraiser is to help support Eddie's wife Karina and his two beautiful children, Edie (5 yrs) and Theo (7 mos) in the days, weeks, months and years to come, so they may be together and focus on the memories and blessing of Eddie's life without the burden of financial need. <br /><br />Thank you. God bless you, and please keep Karina, Edie, Theo and the rest of Eddie's family in your hearts and prayers.

Ellen Barton

Ellen Barton

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Figueroa Wu Family Foundation

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