Beacon Place Asks Community to Step Up to Help Local At-Risk Children and Families

Eating three meals a day may seem a daily task for many of us, but for many children in Waukegan and North Chicago, it is a daily challenge. In fact, one out of every five children living in Lake County is considered to be food insecure. Many rely on one or two meals per day provided at school. This uncertainty makes it hard for children to focus, causing them to fall behind.

Two years ago, Lake Forest resident and Beacon Place Founder Barb Karacic decided to step up and do something about it. She began a summer lunch program to feed children while the schools were closed. Then she stepped up again by bringing like-minded, caring people together to buy an abandoned house to serve as a community center for a neighborhood in need in Waukegan.

“Beacon Place has developed strong connections with the community because we listen carefully and try to provide support and programs that neighbors really need,” says Barb Karacic, Executive Director of Beacon Place.

Today, that very home, Beacon Place, is undergoing a bottom-up restoration so that it may serve as a fully functioning community center. Finishing this project has become Beacon Place’s most pressing goal. When completed, the home will house all Beacon Place programs, including nutritional classes with a teaching kitchen, technology classes, a Beacon Green organic garden, a tutoring center, and the home base for the summer lunch bunch camp program that attracts hundreds of children daily. All together, Beacon Place will serve as a safe haven for residents young and old.

“I see a change in this local community since Beacon Place arrived,” says Keith Wilson, a Waukegan resident. “Neighbors are looking out for each other. This is an area that wants to rebuild itself from within. I think Beacon Place is helping make that happen.”

Beacon Place is hoping community members will Step Up to make the Beacon Place restoration a reality.

The Step Up grassroots fundraising campaign challenges the entire community to Step Up for Beacon Place by making a donation or hosting a fundraising event.

The time to give is NOW. From now through November 30, 2014, every dollar raised for Beacon Place up to $45,000 will be matched by an anonymous donor. So $10 equals $20, $50 donation equals $100, and $45,000 equals $90,000!

The nonprofit hopes that by working together, each of us can contribute to helping children step forward into a brave new world ­– one in which they are healthier, happier and have more access to opportunities. “The community has shown us how much they care by volunteering their time, talents and treasures, and we are so thankful!” says Peggy Talbot, Development Director for Beacon Place.

So how can you help? Make a donation today by going to www.beacon-place.org/donate. Or bring your friends together to do something fun and raise funds for Beacon Place! Have a lemonade stand in the front yard. Collect loose change. Encourage a book club or social group to come together to support Beacon Place.

“All of Beacon Place’s volunteers are working to make 603 McAlister the sunny side of the street – a beacon on the corner that burns bright with the promise of hope and change,” concluded Karacic. “We hope you will join in and Step Up for Beacon Place. We cannot make our dream a reality without you.”

About Beacon Place

Beacon Place strives to feed, educate and empower children and families by providing food, educational support, and technology resources that will enable them to develop as stronger individuals and communities.

Today, Beacon Place has become a neighborhood community center for hundreds of families – a safe haven for children and adults alike – where they receive the support they need to step forward in life.