Brushwood Center Receives $2.5M Gift, Largest in Organization History

RIVERWOODS, IL — Maxine Hunter, the first board chair of Brushwood Center, cemented her legacy in a number of ways, including her remaining connected to the local community and philanthropic endeavors throughout her life. Soon, that legacy will be celebrated as part of a center being named after the Lake Forest resident, part of a historic $2.5 million gift from the Hunter Family Foundation.

The gift, the largest in Brushwood history, will go toward the construction of a new performance plaza. According to Brushwood officials, the Maxine M. Hunter Performance Plaza at Brushwood Center "will have a profound impact on the accessibility, reach, and impact of the organization’s work, supporting the health and well-being of participants from all backgrounds and experiences in healing art and nature programming."

Officials said the gift, part of ongoing fundraising, will enable Brushwood to expand its wide range of programming for children, adults, families and veterans, and comes at a time of growing concern about public resources dedicated to the environment and sustainability.

"We are grateful to the Hunter Family Foundation for this transformative gift that will enable Brushwood Center to expand access to nature for our neighbors and communities through the arts, healing, and education," Catherine Game, Brushwood Center executive director, said in an email statement to Patch. "In honoring the legacy of Maxine Hunter, the Foundation underscores the critical importance of local commitment to community organizations, particularly vital when so many federal resources are being cut back."

The new Plaza will be a dynamic, three-season open-air event space four times larger than the current structure, "enhancing" Brushwood's ability to reach broader audiences, host more participants, and explore new, creative programs. It will feature solar panels to generate renewable energy for programming and technology, and a rainwater collection system that nourishes surrounding healing gardens and native plantings.

Hunter was born and raised in Lake Forest. As the first board chair of Brushwood Center, she believed people visited the Center to experience serenity, study, and tranquility and most people left with a sense of awe of nature.

"I work on things that are important to me: art, nature, conservation. We should be supportive of the community we live in, to make the world a better place," Hunter once said.

Officials said the gift is a key element in Brushwood Center's expansion of programming within sustainable spaces. The Plaza will offer a "seamless transition" between indoor comfort and outdoor connection, allowing Brushwood visitors to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of nature while immersed in music, movement, and creative expression.

The Hunter Family Foundation, founded in 1993 by Maxine Morrison Hunter and Thomas Benton Hunter III, strives to improve lives in sustainable ways by supporting families to access equitable opportunities to learn, play, and grown in their home communities.

"We are proud to honor our mother’s legacy with this gift to Brushwood Center — a place that brings inspiration, solace, and joy to our family and the broader community," said Bill Hunter, Chair and CEO of the Hunter Family Foundation. "We deeply value the connection between nature and art, and we look forward to celebrating and learning together in this beautiful new space."