These are just a few of the photos Kaitlin took while working in Tanzania for Literacy Through Photography and The Foundation For Tomorrow.

By Adrienne Fawcett

Kaitlin Rogers, who many of you may know as “the girl who started Kool Kamp,” recently spoke at Lake Forest High School and Lake Bluff Middle School to encourage students to follow their passions. Kaitlin’s passion for children, education, and photography have lead her down a unique and fulfilling path, and they helped her land her first real job out of college at The Foundation For Tomorrow (TFFT).

The 2010 Duke University Graduate was just 13 years old when she started Kool Kamp, a summer camp that combined her love for children and her entrepreneurial spirit. Kool Kamp grew for eight years until Kaitlin’s sophomore year of college, which marked both the last summer of Kool Kamp and the first summer Kaitlin traveled to Tanzania. To hear her story in her own words, click on the following: kaitlin rogers presentation to lfhs and lbms. Her story will be especially inspiring to high school and college students and those who are just getting their degrees this spring. But if you don’t have time to read the full presentation, here’s a brief summary:

Kaitlin’s work in Tanzania was initially through Duke’s Literacy Through Photography program, an educational program that utilizes cameras in elementary school classrooms as an educational tool. Kaitlin spent three summers in Tanzania developing this program and she remains involved in this ongoing project.

Additionally, during her college years Kaitlin worked for a photography studio in North Carolina to pursue her passion for photography. In an amazing twist of fate, the photography studio connected Kaitlin with a nonprofit organization in Tanzania in need of a photographer last summer.

What began as a photography project quickly became much more as Kaitlin fell in love with TFFT’s mission to improve the lives of Tanzanian orphans by providing quality education, a home, and financial and emotional support. Kaitlin’s images speak volumes about TFFT’s impact, and she returned home eager to work with TFFT more extensively.

This summer Kaitlin will [...]

Lake Bluff’s Kaitlin Rogers has been busy planning The Foundation For Tomorrow’s first ever awareness and fundraising event on the North Shore. Founder Meghann Gunderman will speak at the event at Gorton Community Center Sunday, June 5 from 4-6pm. Please stop by, even just briefly, to show your support, grab a bite to eat, and learn about TFFT. You can RSVP at TFFT’s Facebook page.

Summer is a great time for students to fulfill service hours. To help teens figure out what groups would be a good fit for them, the Lake Forest High School Community Service Office and Lake County Cares have comprised a list of opportunities. This is a great resource for students who are looking for challenging and rewarding volunteer work that will help fulfill their required service hours.

The list includes about 20 organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club of Lake County; CareerResourceCenter.org; The Center for Enriched Living; Catholic Charities; COOL (Christian Outreach of Lutherans) Ministries; CROYA; Equestrian Connection …. and many more! Visit LFHS.org for the info.

Lake Bluff

Lake Forest

Submitted by the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce

Take part in the fun on Friday, June 10, at the Lake Bluff Golf Course as the LF/LB Chamber and the Chicago Bears present the 31st annual Celebrity Golf Outing and luncheon.

Guests can participate in the full day’s events or just attend the kick-off luncheon, sponsored by Lake Forest Bank & Trust, which will feature a presentation by Chicago Bears Senior Director of Sales & Marketing Chris Hibbs who will offer an insider’s look at the sales and marketing of an NFL club. There will also be a live auction of Bears items including a football signed by quarterback Jay Cutler, a team Jersey signed by Devin Hester, and a tour for a family of Halas Hall and the Payton Center.

A highlight of the day’s event is the participation of members of the Chicago Bears organization playing with every foursome. Games, hole-in-one prizes and quick chair massages provided by Therapeutic Kneads half way through the course will round out the afternoon’s fun.

Golf check-in starts at noon followed by a buffet lunch under the big tent at 12:30 pm. After lunch there will be a shot gun start to an afternoon of golf utilizing a scramble format that is enjoyable for both golfers and duffers alike. A post-golf reception follows in the tent with awards presented at the end of the event.

Non-golfers are welcome to attend the luncheon and participate in the festivities from 12:30-2 pm. The cost for lunch only is $30.

For businesses interested in promotion there are a host of sponsorship opportunities throughout the event. Each offers an excellent chance to get a business in front of Chamber members, sports celebrities and guests.

Proceeds from the event benefit Chamber programming and a Bears’ charity.

There is an age minimum of 21 to be eligible to participate in the day’s events. To register for lunch, golf, or sponsorship, contact the Chamber office at 847.234.4282 or info@LFLBchamber.com.

By Paige Wagenknecht

Lake Forest native Jacob Karlin was nominated to receive a U.S. Sailing Association rescue medal after he helped save the lives of three men in Lake Michigan on May 11.

Sixty-two-year-old Peter Kovats and two friends were sailing his 19-foot boat, the Peter Pan, back towards Montrose Harbor that night when a storm rushed in and caused the boat to capsize, tossing the men into the freezing water, according to media reports.

Karlin with Kovats’s wife, Mary, and David Stix, all members and sailors at the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club, set off in the club’s motorboat at 8:30 p.m. searching in darkness for the small sailboat.

When they discovered the capsized Peter Pan about one mile away from the harbor, the three rescuers quickly pulled the semi-conscious Kovats and the two other men out of the water. The men all went to Illinois Masonic Hospital for medical treatment and have since been released. (They were eager to sail again not long after the rescue, Fox News reported.

Karlin graduated from Lake Forest High School in 2004;  he was an accomplished member of the Lake Forest Sailing Team and later worked as an instructor with coach Hunter Ratliffe.

For saving the three men, Karlin will be considered for the US Sailing Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal, which recognizes significant accomplishments in seamanship, and collects case studies of rescues to be analyzed by the US Sailing Association Safety-at-Sea Committee to use in extensive educational and training programs.

Paige Wagenknecht is a student at DePaul University. She wrote this story for GazeboNews as an assignment in Mike Conklin’s intro to reporting class. Mike is a former Trib editor/reporter/columnist and currently serves as president of the GazeboNews Advisory Board. He also writes a summer column on cycling on the North Shore.

By Adrienne Fawcett

When I was growing up, my family periodically rescued baby rabbits and birds and nursed them back to health until they were ready for the wild life they were born to live. We named all of the rabbits Englebert Humperdinck, and every bird Tweetie, and we dutifully created makeshift nests out of cardboard boxes and old towels and petals from the lilac bush. In a matter of weeks every summer we were able to successfully re-enter all but one of our charges to the natural world of our suburban backyard.

These are fond memories–among the best–so imagine my surprise when I learned recently that my family was not rescuing wildlife … we were kidnapping it!

This is true. When you find an infant or youthful bird or wild animal that seems unable to care for itself, there’s a strong likelihood that one of its parents is close by–not more than a block or two away. If you take it home–even with the best of intentions–what you’re really doing is baby snatching.

“In general we recommend that individuals leave wildlife alone instead of trying to intervene. Wildlife babies are often not orphaned when they are found by humans. In most cases mom will be along to move them to another location,” said Brenda Belmonte, practice manager of the Animal Hospital of West Lake Forest.

Rosemary Troxel, who is enjoying a nesting robin on her porch in Lake Forest, found a similar opinion on the Healthy Pets website–click on the following to see the video: “When Rescuing A Baby Bird Is Not The Compassionate Thing To Do”

Here’s another link for even more information: http://www.ornithology.com/rehab.html

Ms. Belmonte of the Animal Hospital of West Lake Forest said that in the case of injured wildlife, it’s best to consult with the local police department, wildlife removal service or rehabilitator instead of trying to move the animal, because many types of wildlife in this area can harbor diseases that are transmissible to humans or pets. Here are two sources of licensed wildlife rescuers:

–Best Friends Animal Hospital
Dr. Cheryl Roge
12094 N. Rt.. 83
Grayslake , IL 60030
847-548-2626
Injured Wildlife

–Dawn Keller
Flint Creek Rehabilitation
Barrington
847-842-8000
Injured/Orphaned Only
No Bats, Raccoons, Skunks

Jack Meierhoff with an original Currier & Ives print at Lake Forest Bank & Trust on Bank Lane

By Adrienne Fawcett

Lake Forest lost a connection to its past when Frank Farwell died last year, but the third-generation/lifelong resident left a lasting imprint on the City due to the instrumental role he played in developing CROYA, Forest Park Beach and Ragdale, and for the work he did for many local boards. He also left an original circa 1861 Currier & Ives print, called Husking, which is now hanging for in the lobby of Lake Forest Bank & Trust.

Paintings and other works of art were the first things firefighters were instructed to save after they responded to an aggressive fire at the Farwell house on Dec. 30, 2009. Sadly, the homestead was ruined, but many works of art were rescued, the Currier & Ives print among them. When he moved to Lake Forest Place after the fire, Mr. Farwell hung the print prominently in his living room.

That’s where Lake Forest Bank & Trust CEO Jack Meierhoff saw it last fall while he was paying a visit to Mr. Farwell, who was a founding board member of the bank. When he told his old friend that he liked the print, Mr. Farwell said simply: “Please take it! I’d like the bank to have it.”

Mr. Meierhoff felt a little funny walking out of Mr. Farwell’s cottage at Lake Forest Place with this significant piece of art. “Husking“ is now hanging above the fireplace at the Lake Forest Bank and Trust for all to see and hopefully for a long time to be shared with the community Mr. Farwell loved so much.

– For more information about Mr. Farwell and his family, read the obituary that was lovingly written by his son, Francis C. Farwell III.

–For a story about the fire, please visit: GazeboNews: “Fare Thee Well Farwell House”

–Here are some photos that Mr. Farwell’s daughter Edie sent to GazeboNews after his death: “Remembering Frank Farwell”

–Information on the Farwell family’s Lake Forest roots, from the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society: “Farwell Family Goes Way Back”

This comes from Lake Forest American Legion Post 265

Help is wanted on the Tuesday after Memorial Day to collect 3,000 Flags in front of Veterans graves. They are put there on the Saturday before Memorial Day. Retrieving them takes some time. The American Legion needs your help. Stand by at 9:00 am at the entrance to Fort Sheridan, Lake Forest, Saint Mary’s and Saint Patrick’s cemeteries to assist us. Remember to fly your own flag at home that weekend. If yours is frayed or faded, the Legion can sell you a new one. The flags of the service branches are also available. Can Dave Burgess 847-234-4872 or Bill Gretz 847-334-7388. We Deliver.

This info comes from Ron Salski, executive director of the Lake Bluff Park District:

The news media has informed the public that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled 1 million pool and spa drain covers. Fortunately, the Lake Bluff Aquatic Facility does not fall within these parameters of shutting down the main pool as staff worked with Metro Design Associates, Inc. in 2009 and 2010. The size and manufacturer of our main pool drain comply with the restrictions of the Virginia Graeme Baker Act.