On August 13th HEART received the Al Ward Spirit of Giving Award and participated in a panel discussion on improving school culture at this year’s Communities In Schools of Chicago’s Institute Day.
Every year, Communities in Schools of Chicago recognizes one individual or organization that consistently goes beyond expectations to positively impact Chicago students. The organization is chosen by a committee of directors and, according to CIS Director of Development KJ Hardy, this year they all agreed that HEART stood out among its peers.
“HEART consistently becomes part of the fabric of the school community that they are serving. HEART educators consistently go above and beyond to nurture students to become socially conscious and compassionately engaged with their world. As part of HEART’s multi-session curriculum, students wrestle with serious, real-life issues, discussing questions of child labor, bullying, violence, animal cruelty, environmental degradation, and more. Equally important, students develop leadership skills to become agents of positive change in their communities,” said Hardy.
At the event, Hardy went on to say, “HEART’s work is a living testimony to Margaret Mead’s assertion: a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, and, through HEART, they do change the world, every day. HEART is contributing so much to the lives of our students, inviting them to be compassionate and caring members of our community.”
Brad Goldberg, chairman of HEART, said, “HEART takes great pride in CIS recognizing Mickey’s work in Chicago with this award. CIS has been a critical community partner for HEART in Chicago and we so value the important role they play with their many community partner organizations.”
Thank you so much to Communities in Schools of Chicago for honoring us with this incredible award! We do our best each day to build a better world for all life through education.