Dear Friends,
(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) KREATIVE KRAFTS CLASS, EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASS, ROCK THE GARDEN – SUMMER CONCERT SERIES, FANTASY DANCE CLASS, GRIDIRON TOT FOOTBALL CLASS
As I reflect on the past fiscal year and where the Community House stands today, the first word that comes to mind is rooted. For 114 years, the Community House has been a steady presence in Winnetka and across the North Shore. Generations of families have found connection here, and our staff members — some with decades of service — carry that history with pride. These deep roots are our foundation as we continue to evolve.
From those roots, we are growing. Over the past few years, more people than ever have discovered and rediscovered the Community House. Families returning to Winnetka, newcomers settling here for the first time, and long-time neighbors alike are finding community and a sense of belonging within our walls. Participation in programs, fitness, and events has surged, filling our building with energy, activity, and joy that no report can fully capture.
And this is just part of the picture. Beyond our own offerings, the Community House is also home to other non-profit organizations such as the Winnetka Community Nursery School, North Shore Art League, Off-Campus Writers Workshop, the Junior League, and the Winnetka-Northfield Rotary Club, just to name a few. Their presence enriches our shared community.
With this growth comes responsibility. I am fortunate to work alongside our dedicated Board of Governors, who join me in cultivating the future of the Community House — ensuring our mission, vision, and values remain relevant, investing in our historic building that is the home for all we do, and making thoughtful plans to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities.
None of this would be possible without you. While fees for our programs and services help sustain us, they do not cover the full cost of operations, and as an independent non-profit, we receive no funds from your local taxes. Everything you see in this report — and so much more — happens thanks to you.
Thank you for believing in the Community House and for all the ways you support our mission. Your generosity sustains us and helps us to stay rooted, continue growing, and cultivate a thriving future.
With gratitude,
Amy Skalinder, President/CEO, Community House
Board of Governors, 2024-25 Fiscal Year
Peter Eatherton, Chair
Sally Anderson, Vice Chair
Marcia Sutter, Secretary
Rob Schriesheim, Treasurer
Rachel Allport
Raheela Anwar
Laura Barden
Jen Burka
Van Crocker
Courtney Finlayson
Bob Gauch
Neil Golden
Brad McLane
Ryan Reis
Emily Rose
Anne Crum Ross
Susan Snyder
Steven Soehn
Whitney Wolf
Emilee Wolfe
Carolyn Agnew, Children’s Theatre of Winnetka President
Laura Roche, Woman’s Board President
House Highlights
Over 2,000 children collectively spent more than 53,000 hours at the Community House last year — building teamwork and skills in our youth basketball house league and sports programs, shining on stage through Skyline Children’s Theater and our School of Dance, discovering the joy of learning in early childhood classes, and so much more.
Children’s Theatre of Winnetka lit up the stage with Newsies and Cinderella, featuring 80 young performers in each production who shared their passion for theatre with enthusiastic, sold-out audiences.
Our Fitness Center saw members log 79,910 workouts — taking advantage of cardio and strength equipment, personal training, group fitness classes, and our special recovery equipment to achieve their wellness goals.
The Woman’s Board and Junior Board brought together over 120 volunteers and raised more than $192,000 through inspiring events that brought the community together while supporting the House.
We hosted 64 celebrations of milestones and life events, including 39 weddings where couples exchanged vows and began a new life together in our beautiful, historic garden.
Families made lasting memories at our summer Rock the Garden live music shows and school day off events featuring mind-bending magic, showstopping juggling, gigantic balloon art, and lots and lots of audience participation!
Over 160 families hosted birthday parties at the House, with nearly 2,750 children joining in these special celebrations.
Over 300 units of life-saving blood were donated through onsite blood drives, offered through our partnership with the American Red Cross.
Over 100 groups — including nonprofits, community organizations, and schools— chose the Community House as their gathering place for meetings, retreats, and special events.
YOU, FRIENDS!
COMMUNITY HOUSE PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE
$20,000+
Anonymous
Aaron Wealth Advisors
Mary and David Birkenstein
Mrs. James Bovaird
Jim and Carol Hansen
$10,000 - $19,999
Juanita and Toby Nicholson
Rosalind Franklin University
$5,000 - $9,999
Anonymous
Ann and Brian Balusek
Susan J. Cellmer and Jeffrey C. Neal
Compass Real Estate
Framebridge
Cindy and Mark Fuller
Becky and Lester Knight
Marvin Design Gallery by Evanston Lumber
Nest Estate Sales
Nichols Family Foundation
North Shore Community Bank - Wintrust
Kris and Rob Schriesheim
$2,500 - $4,999
Sally and Stanton Anderson
Laura and Matthew Barden
Bethany and Van Crocker
Joan and Kevin Evanich
Lynne and Neil Golden Family
Nan Greenough
Ms. Kathryn A. Mikells and Mr. Edward J. Harney
Mr. and Mrs. J. Duncan Healy
J. Hilburn Custom Menswear - Cindy Monnig
Steve Lindblad
Adam and Megan Lively
Laurie and Michael Petersen
Hunter and Lindsay Sharp
James and Sylvia Vail and Family
Brian and Patti Van Cleave
Mollie and Jay VanderLaan
The Ver Eecke Family
Whitney and Ian Wolf
$1,000 - $2,499
Rick Adams
Agnew Family
Robert C. Albert Fund
Rachel and Peter Allport
Carrie and Ken Alt
Heidi Betz Thornton
Ashok Bhatia and Lauren Rosen
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Bilton
Bishop Studio
Erkan and Nurca Bozkurt
Este Brashears
Mary-Doug and Tom Brown
Jen and Michael Burka
C & P Remodeling
James C and Linda R Campbell Foundation
Drs. James and Stephanie Cavanaugh
Jaime Christopher
Nancy and Dewey Crawford
Elizabeth Crown and Bill Wallace
Ms. Adrian Culver
Jane and Bob Dearborn
Julia and Ted DeNapoli
William and Katherine Devers
Joe and Paige Dooley
Nancy and William Doyle
Fritz and Elise Duda
Josh and Natalie Earnest
Peter and Ceylan Eatherton
Mr. and Mrs. Peter S. Egan
Dr. and Mrs. Mark Eskandari
Leslie Farmer
Courtney and Craig Finlayson
Mr. and Mrs. James S. Frank
Mr. Robert Gauch
Brian and Coleen Gelber
Patricia and William Hagenah
Hollender House
Carter Howard and Sarah Krepp
Illinois Bone & Joint Institute
Kristin and Lee Kahn
Ryan and Elizabeth Kelley
Kipp & Keeler Interior Design
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kish
Laura and Scott Knudsen
Lee Family Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne P. Lockwood
Mr. John D. Mabie
Eileen and Joe Madigan
Dede and Brad McLane
MV Homes, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. James N. Nowacki
R. Scott Javore and Associates
Ryan and Kendal Reis
Gary and Karyn Richman
Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Rocap
Ms. Laura Roche
Emily and Peter Rose
Annie and Alex Ross
Addie and John Ruey
Jana Sample
The Scout Guide
Alden and Kristen Senior
Mr. and Mrs. David Shelton
Amy Skalinder and Erin Mays
Tom and Irene Smith
Steven and Elizabeth Soehn
Julie Stracks
Marcia and Bob Sutter
Ms. Peggy Swartchild
William and Dian Taylor Foundation
Tria and Carson Thomas
Ms. Suzanne M. Timble
Tom and Barb Tubekis
Melinda and Andrew Turitz
Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Van Beek
Shannon and Tim VanTassel
Vivid Art Gallery
Marcus and Anne Wedner
Becky and Jim White
White Couch Design
Lawson and Jane Whitesides
Peggy and Bill Wise
Emilee and Brian Wolfe
Connie Wright and Steve Sanders
Fred Xu
We celebrate your generous
$500 - $999
Anonymous (3)
Raheela and Naveed Anwar
Elizabeth and Gary Bannon
Sarah and Larry Barden
Virginia Ver Eecke
Brady Orthodontics
Bratschi Plumbing Co.
Rex Burgdorfer and Lindy Stanley
Byline Bank
Ryan and Carolyn Clark
Maureen and Dan Connolly
Dan and Mary Beth Cox
Jeffrey and Paula Danoff
Heather and Hunter Davis
Dr. and Mrs. Charles H. Dowding
Lisa and Isaac Fogt
The Frezados, Masius, Rieger Foundation
Grith and Dan Funk
John and Dana Hagenah
Jerry and M.J. Harris
Mr. and Mrs. David Hauldren
Kimberlee Herold
Hot Shots Sports
Mr. and Mrs. Peter W. Hoyt
Meredith and Andrew Hwang
Eric and Amanda Keilman
Anne and Vincent Kelly
David and Darlene Landsittel
Mr. Richard J. Loewenthal
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Lyman
Dan and Leslie Maguire
Kathryn and Tim Martin
Margie and Kirk McInerney
Bill McIntosh
John and Ladd Mengel
Richard Messersmith
John and Sandy Miller
Craig Morris
Lisa and Duff Peterson
Ms. Kay Pick
Ms. Mary Downie and Mr. Jeff Pickus
Christopher Redlich
Nat Roberts and Laura Zung
The Saccaro Family
Laura Schriesheim and Robert Kriss
Barbara and Richard Silverman
Nancy and Bruce Stevens
Ian Thomas’ Eagle Scout Project
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Tinberg
John Weber
Bill Weinsheimer
Julia and Conrad Winkler
Megan Winters
Michelle and Andy Worth
Christopher and Emily Wyner
Mr. and Mrs. William D. Yurek
$100 - $499
Anonymous (4)
Matt and Kathryn Ahearn
Barbara and Vince Aquilino
Cameron Avery and Lynn Donaldson
Chris and Emily Baggett
Susan and Stephen Baird
Sam and Katie Barden
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Barkhausen
Dee and Wes Baumann
Jeffrey and Melissa Bleiweis
Bob and Sue Boone
Judy Brady
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Braham
Tom and Kitty Brandtner
Catie Britva
Blakely and Harvey Bundy
Mrs. Elvira Butz
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore H. Butz, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. David Canmann
Susan and Michael Canmann
Solon Chhabra
Dante Cirilli
Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Cody
Margaret Coladarci
Tim and Kathy Coleman
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Coley
Ranell and Scott Conine
Frances Cox
Colin and Teri Cross
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cullen
Martha Davis
Kim and Cris Downey
Terence and Mary Duffy
Michael and Patricia Egan
Mr. Gregg Elstien
Engel and Volkers - Anne Malone
Jean Farnsworth
Mady Fern
First Church of Christ, Scientist
Ms. Allison Fitzgerald
Andrew Fitzpatrick
Mr. and Mrs. Brian Flanigan
Kathy and Richard Fox
Melissa and Josh Frick
Katy and Matt Furton
Allison and John Gaetano
Elizabeth Ganz
Mr. and Mrs. Matthew G. Garrison
Georgia Garvey
Gifted For You
Beth and Chris Glass
Dick and Sandy Glenn
David and Carol Golder
Debbie Goldwein and David Rudd
Lauren and Michael Gordon
Barbara Gorham
Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Gould
Harry Grace and Ingrid Anderson Grace
Gram’s Betty and Jayne
Mr. and Mrs. David Grant
Ms. Paula Grasso
Robyn and David Grossberg
Elyse and Jon Hahner
Holly Dalman Hales and Bryan Hales
Sahar Haque
Judy and George Harmon
Hannah and Brett Harrison
Kristen Hayes
Jeff Heh and Christine Sears
Mr. and Mrs. John J. Held
The Henner Family
Jim and Margaret Herrmann
Suzy and Andy Hick
Mr. and Mrs. Brian F. Hickey
Mr. and Mrs. Frederic W. Hickman
Arthur and Susan Hill
The Hole Family
Claudine Hollack
Louise A. Holland
Walter and Elizabeth Holt
Robert and Kelly Horne
John and Lisa Iberle
Douglas Jack
Harris and Susan Jackson
Mr. and Mrs. Edward R. James
Cam and Linnea Johnson
Richard T. Jones
Laura and Gordie Kaplan
Loretta and Allan Kaplan
Betsy Karp
Mr. and Mrs. William Kelley
Megan and Eric Kieras
Steve Kindra
Jim and Sue King
Nancy Koltun
Ray Kramer
Mike and Emily LaMonica
Mr. and Mrs. Ian Larkin
Brian Le
Kevin and Barbara Leehey
Tom and Janet Leopold
Madeline and Steve Lesnik
Ceilanne Libber
Geralyn and Philip Lu
Ron Mace
John and Emily MacEntee
Sarah and Brewster Macfarland
Kristin and Christopher Mahr
Nancy and James Marcus
Lydia Marti
Joanne and Edward Marut
Kent and Kathleen Mathewson
John and Courtney Mathy
Patrick and Michele McCarthy
Kathy McCorkle
Ms. Nancy Davis and Mr. Stuart McCrary
Mr. and Mrs. Michael B. McGill
Andrew and Meghan Miller
James and Diane Miller
Thomas Mints
Pam Mjoseth
Jeanne Mueller
Rick Mullin and Mary Henry
Sherri Mullins
Paul and Robin Mulvaney
Brian and Natalie Murphy
Dr. John Nanninga
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Nelson
Marianne and Philip Nielsen
Julie and Chris Nilan
Chuck Norton and Carole Barthel
Dr. and Mrs. Charles O'Brien
Pat and Chris O'Donnell
Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Oelerich
John and Katie Palmer
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Papoutsis
Marilyn Paulisse
Margo and Michael Pearson
Beverly and Mitchell Peterson
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen E. Pinaire
Mrs. Elizabeth Pyott
Erin and Andrew Quinn
Beth Quintana
Alyssa Rapp and Hal Morris
Mary and Mack Reynolds
Meshelle Rich
Megan and Connor Riley
Susan Robertson
Peter and Tish Robinson
RoboThink
Debbie and Jeff Ross
Mr. and Mrs. Edmond Russ
Mr. and Mrs. James Russell
Ms. Danielle Schoenwetter
Jim Schoenwetter
Jean Schreiber
Susan and Gary Segal
Joe and Joan Senko
Nicole Serafine
Mr. Charles H. Seymour
Charlotte Stepan Shea
Joseph and Elaine Shea
Stephanie Sick
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Skinner
Zane and Joan Smith
Susan and David Snyder
Mr. and Mrs. Julian Solotorovsky
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Soudan
Elizabeth and James Stucker
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Sulecki
Amy Swartchild
Mr. Peter J. Sweeney
Casmir and Dorothy Szczepaniak
Quay and Jeana Tao
Jennifer and Will Tippet
Sharon Ubben
Zalman and Karen Usiskin
Mr. and Mrs. John Wallgren
Melanie Walsh
Mr. and Mrs. Gary T. Walther
Meaghan and Alan Weed
Lynne and David Weinberg
Ellen and Andy Weller
Marilyn Wenner
Ms. Liz Winemiller
Catherine Wolf
Randi and Ed Woodbury
Matthew and Kali Zafirovski
Jay and Idyth Zimbler
Ann C. Zimmerman
Todd and Diane Zygmontowicz
WE ALSO SEND HEARTFELT THANKS TO THOSE WHO SUPPORTED THE HOUSE WITH GIFTS UNDER $100.
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list. Please contact us at (847) 881-9362 to report any errors or omissions.
