March 26, 2024
Valentines Day Auction
Fantastic news! The Valentine's Day Auction earned $5,300. 100% of the proceeds will go directly back to further the mission of the program. We could not do it without the generous artists who donated art and experiences, and it's not a fundraiser without bidders. We appreciate each of you!
Winter Showcase
Please join us on Friday, April 5 from 5 to 7pm at Chicago Photography Classes (4001 N. Ravenswood) for our Winter 2024 Class Showcase featuring artwork from the latest 12 graduates from the program. You can support our students by visiting and speaking with our young artists and/or you can purchase their artwork. View the showcase here.
Winter Classes
We just successfully completed 4 winter classes with a strong group of Chicago’s finest: Basic, Event A, Advanced as well as a Middle School program with our community partner A Knock at Midnight (AKAM) in Englewood. We look forward to a successful spring. Spring classes will begin in April.
Again this summer, we will join AKAM teaching a photography course for One Summer Chicago where students are paid to be part of a 6 week (20 hours per week) photography training course. FreshLens Alums, Vanessa Luna and Peter Tovar, are teaching the One Summer Chicago class this summer.
Speaker Series
We were fortunate to welcome Leah Piekarz, retired department chairperson of counseling at Evanston Township High School for our speaker series. Leah did a great job of outlining students timelines for juniors and seniors. Leah shared some great resources and the students were appreciative. Here are a few of our students’ comments:
“I found it helpful when Leah discussed the ways to practice for the SAT because I wasn’t sure where to look and tutoring is very expensive.”
“The most important pieces of info I learned from Leah is that it's important to use the resources available to improve my college application and academics overall, and I now have a better understanding of how to find a university that best suits my long term academic and career goals.”
“I learned how to find the right college for me. There are so many out there and she gave a lot of information on how to narrow down the search.”
Save the Date: FreshLens Pickleball Social Fundraiser
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting a fundraiser at Social Pickleball Fun (SPF) located at 2121 N. Clybourn Ave on Friday, July 19. We are so incredibly grateful to the team at SPF for graciously donating their incredible facility. Not a pickleball fan? No worries! There will be many other social activities to partake in such as cornhole, shooting hoops, air hockey, shuffleboard, and much more. Please stay tuned for more details coming soon.