Ladies and gentlemen, break out your tiaras and tuxedos. April is a festive month all over CAF. The highlights:
- On April 6th annual CAF gala welcomed over 650 people to No Small Plans. Honorees were Karen Case, Executive Managing Director and President-Commercial Real Estate at The PrivateBank, and Golub & Company. There will be a report later in the month on fundraising at the Gala.
- April 27th is Volunteer Appreciation Night (VAN) to be held again this year at the Metropolitan Club. VEV Chair Ellen Oberhart Smith, who is also the liaison to the docents, reported at the last Council meeting that the VEVs now have almost 100 members in their ranks. Congratulations and bon appetit.
- DAN 2017 is April 21st. As I write, about two weeks in advance, over 300 people plan to attend. RSVP deadline is April 14th, so there is still time to announce your intention to attend. Puttin’ on the Glitz is the theme. and there will be plenty to be glitzed about.
Back on the business-as-usual side: the River Cruise got underway without the benefit of an opening day snowstorm, always a good omen for the season. The Big Bus will roll out early in May. Tour Committee is ramping up to consider new tours, the Education Committee remains involved in ongoing training and certification for the 2017 class, Marketing has the new spring tours brochure to be proud about, and Enrichment and Communications continue their fine work. The first certification by a member of the Class of 2017 was for the Historic Tour, and that happened late in March. Renee Purner, Class of 2017 representative to Docent Council, will be keeping us current on their certifications and other activities.
The March meeting of Docent Council welcomed Dan O’Connell, who was recently mentioned on The Bridge when he joined CAF last month, and Gabe Lyon, VP of Education & Experience. Gabe had a great treat for us: a preview of the graphic novel No Small Plans, a contemporary reworking of Wacker’s Manual, once part of the Chicago Public Schools curriculum.
The 2017 goal of the No Small Plans initiative is to deliver the book into the hands of 5000 Chicago Public School students, free of charge. To get the ball rolling, CAF used Kickstarter, a website that maintains a global crowdfunding platform for projects focused on creativity. Kickstarter expected to raise $20,000 in 30 days, but on Day #5, over $27,000 was pledged. The campaign is now formally extended to $30,000. Follow its progress: http://bit.ly/NoSmallPlans.
For those of you who are active on social media, follow the various outlets in which CAF has a presence, especially Facebook, where there is a great explanatory post about what this project means to CAF and the City’s children. Here is the link to CAF’s YouTube: https://youtu.be/nm1euwJTJ80.
Finally, the Membership Department has begun sending out 2017 membership renewals. If you have not received yours yet, it will be on the way. There is a bonus this year: a card to take to the box office that you can redeem for a snazzy red and black member tote bag. Check it out.
See you at DAN!
Constance