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"Doing Our Part"
Selects
OnLight Aurora to Address Community Needs
In conjunction with the Dunham Fund, Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley recently announced that it has partnered with OnLight Aurora to help address local community needs through its "Doing Our Part" initiative. The Dunham Fund has agreed to provide a $1 for $1 match, up to $250,000 for all funds raised by the Community Foundation. All monies raised will be placed in a fund at the Community Foundation and used to assist local organizations in accessing the fiber optic capabilities at a significantly reduced rate. In 2013, OnLight Aurora provided connectivity to educational institutions, non-profit organizations and an array of businesses, including West Aurora School District 129, IMSA, Aurora University, Alarm Detection Systems and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
To learn more about this collaborative, community initiative, visit the
Community Foundation Website and click on the "Doing Our Part" link on the Home page.
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Dunham Fund Online
Application available for second grant cycle in 2014!
Beginning with the second grant cycle in 2014, all Dunham Fund Grant Applications must be completed ONLINE.
The online application will be available soon for the grant submission deadline of June 1st.
All applicants will be able to access the online application on our website. Applicants will complete, edit, save and re-save an application until they are satisfied with their final entry.
We hope that online entry will facilitate your grant application and we are certain that it will simplify the Dunham Fund Board of Advisors review and selection of grant recipients.
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Dunham Fund
Board of Advisors
Mark E. Truemper
Chair
Stewart A. Beach
Wendy Hirsch
Ryan J. Maley
Michael Morcos
Christine Tunney
Robert Vaughan
Robert Vaughan
Executive Director
Vicki Morcos
Partnership Officer
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Dunham Fund holds "Coffee Chats"
to discuss Partnership Opportunities
On February 26, 2014 at the Union League Club in Chicago, the Dunham Fund convened the first of many "Coffee Chats" to be held to discuss educational topics of importance, not only to the Aurora area, but to organizations in Chicagoland and Illinois. The first chat featured a conversation about critical needs for parents, educators and the community to build and support early childhood education. The SPARK Aurora Early Childhood Collaboration was highlighted as a partnership initiative of the City of Aurora, Fox Valley United Way, Aurora School Districts 129, 131, and 204, Oswego School District 308, Aurora Public Library, Illinois Action for Children, and local Aurora agencies serving children and their families. A panel, which included representatives from the Aurora SPARK Program, Illinois Action for Children, and the Grand Victoria Foundation and the Dunham Fund discussed the value of partnerships to maximize program outcomes and increase funding for early childhood education programming.
 
The Dunham Fund's coffee chat stimulated lively discussion among the program participants, Mike Meyer, Executive Director, Fox Valley United Way; Eric Gershenson, Oak Park Collaboration; Kathy Stohr, Illinois Action for Children; Edith Njuguna, Grant Victoria Foundation; and Christy Joyce, A Better Chicago.
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 Dunham Fund sponsors Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson
for Aurora University
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Dr. Tyson and members of the Dunham Fund Board of Advisors and Staff: (left to right) Ryan Maley; Robert Vaughan, Dunham Fund Executive Director; Wendy Hirsch; Dr. Tyson; Vicki Morcos, Dunham Fund Partnership Officer; Mark Truemper, Dunham Fund Board President; Michael Morcos.
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On March 12, 2014, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, came to Aurora University's campus to visit with students and faculty and to speak as part of the university's "Arts and Ideas" community lecture series. Dr. Tyson has recently launched "Cosmos . . . A Spacetime Odyssey", a Fox and National Geographic network television series and is the author of the New York Times bestseller, "Space Chronicles, Facing the Ultimate Frontier", and several other bestselling books. The Dunham Fund was the sponsor for Dr. Tyson's lecture as a means of highlighting its support of elementary education in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields and to introduce the community to the new John C. Dunham STEM Partnership School which is scheduled to open on AU's campus in August 2014 for 3rd through 8th graders from partnering Aurora school districts 129, 131, and 204.  | |
Dr. Tyson with members of AU faculty and staff and Institute for Collaboration partners.
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At a dinner held with Dr. Tyson for the Aurora University Institute for Collaboration's STEM initiative partners, AU's President, Dr. Rebecca Sherrick, introduced Allison Sherman, MA, as the new Director of the STEM school. "In this role, Ms. Sherman will collaboratively lead students, teachers, faculty and partners to create a sustainable learning environment that fosters the mathematics, science, technology, and engineering achievement of the new academy's young students." After a national search, Dr. Sherrick said that "Aurora University found its outstanding new director close to home in Indian Prairie School District 204." Ms. Sherman joins the STEM Partnership School after five years with the Indian Prairie School District where she served as director of core  curriculum. There, she directed the development and implementation of curriculum for all grade levels and core subjects as well as orchestrated professional development for teaching staff and school administrators. She has also served as curriculum coordinator for Centralia School District in Buena Park, California, in addition to teaching mathematics and science at Northwestern University in the Center for Talent Development and in Glencoe, Illinois School District 135. Allison earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Michigan and a Master of Arts in Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies from Stanford University.
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Dunham Fund awards a $250,000 Challenge Grant to
Aurora Civic Center Authority
The Dunham Fund has pledged a $250,000 challenge grant to the Aurora Civic Center Authority to benefit the Paramount Theatre 2014 Broadway Series and RiverEdge Park productions. "This dollar-for-dollar challenge grant is meant to encourage philanthropic support from other corporations and foundations for both venues," said Vicki Morcos, Dunham Fund Partnership Officer. "We are also offering the Fund's assistance to help meet this challenge by actively engaging outside support for the arts in Aurora."
The Paramount is already part of the way to its matching goal. Nicholette Rossi, a market president with BMO Harris Bank, announced at the Paramount's preview of the 2014 Broadway Series on February 28th, that the bank will contribute a $50,000 sponsorship to the series. Barry Finn, president and CEO of Rush-Copley Medical Center, also confirmed that the hospital will commit $35,000 to sponsor RiverEdge Park's Blues on the Fox Festival in June.
Tim Rater, ACCA Executive Director, said that "Next season, we will present over 200 performances to an estimated audience of more than 200,000. Today, the Dunham Fund, BMO Harris and Rush-Copley Medical Center all challenged other potential sponsors to step up and get behind the obvious economic and social impact the performing arts are having on downtown Aurora."
Rater also announced that the Broadway Series will open with CATS (September 2014), followed by Mary Poppins (November 2014-January 2015), The Who's Tommy (January-February 2015, and Les Miserables (March-April 2015). The RiverEdge Park season will be announced early in May.
To learn more about the Dunham Fund Challenge Grant, visit the Dunham Fund website and click on the "Dunham Fund Today" video button.
Also, visit the Paramount Theatre website for 2014-2014 Broadway Series ticket information.
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