Northbrook Days Gives Back To Community Organizations, GBN Seniors

NORTHBROOK, IL — A summer tradition in the North Shore, Northbrook Days returns in late July with another jam-packed schedule of fun. Following a celebration of 100 years in 2024, the festival announced the recipients of several community grants, as well as scholarships for graduating Glenbrook North seniors, last month.

Northbrook Days is a 100 percent volunteer organization, part of the Northbrook Civic Foundation. The festival is the foundation's sole fundraising event of the year. Since 1950, the festival has raised more than $3 million to be given back to the community.

Leslie Pinto, a member of the Northbrook Civic Foundation Board and a co-chair of Northbrook Days, shared with Patch the following community grant winners:

Organization: CATCH
Presented on April 25. Amount: $1,000
Purpose: Grant funding will be used for CATCHing Calm their Mental Health - Health Awareness Month Campaign. To provide educational resources, community events, and wellness activities that promote stress reduction

Organization: GBN — Grad Night Committee
Presented on April 23. Amount: $5,000
Purpose: Grant will be used for Entertainment for Grad Night that will be provided all night long during this event. This is a free event for all graduates.

Organization: Cancer Wellness Center
Presented on April 24. Grant Amount: $2,500
Purpose: Grant will be used towards the high expense of replacing their old HVAC equipment.

"We raise money each summer at Northbrook Days and then we give back to the Northbrook community each year in the form of local grants and scholarships to graduating Glenbrook North seniors," Pinto said.

The purpose of the Northbrook Civic Foundation is:

• To raise funds and to donate these funds for the purposes of assisting the following objects within or related to the Village of Northbrook, Illinois, or its residents:
• Public Libraries, education, scholarship, and schools; Public health, parks and recreation; Improvement and assistance to community youth; Other lawful objects having charitable, educational or public purposes, or furthering the well-being of the society, within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
• To participate, and to encourage interest and participation by the members and other Northbrook residents, in activities related to the objects described in paragraph 1 of this article.
• To investigate and to take such action as is required for the improvement or implementation of the objects described in paragraph 1 of this article.

"Civic Foundation members love our Northbrook community and want to actively help improve it," Pinto said. "Many members also volunteer their time with other organizations in Northbrook. Membership is open to the general public. The main requirement is to volunteer at Northbrook Days."

Last week, Northbrook Civic Foundation presented 12 Glenbrook North seniors with scholarships at their senior award ceremony — totaling $40,000 — a number Pinto said the organization is very proud of.

The 2025 scholarship winners are:

• $5,000 — Alexander Arutcheva — In memory of Mort and Lorraine Wax, who passed away in 2017. Mort Wax was the Chairperson and active member of the Civic Foundation Scholarship committee for many years.
• $4,000 – Tali Zukerman — In memory of Wally Kruse – lifelong Civic Foundation member.
• $4,000 — Grace Nielsen — In memory of Lawrence Dahl – Son of Oscar Dahl, a lifelong Civic Foundation member.
• $3,000 — Daniel Bilous, Jong Ho Lee, Max Manoshim, Noah Rhee, Andy Wan, Matthew Wincek, Jaron Greenberg, Lilian Shen and Allison Endres

This year's Northbrook Days is planned for July 30 through Aug. 3 at the west commuter lot of the Northbrook train station. A schedule can be found here.

"[Northbrook Days is] a time for family and friends to come together for five days over the summer and enjoy rides, live music, amazing local food and more," Pinto said.