Buffalo Grove Community Foundation offered 30-plus community tables and services at its first Community Services and Wellness Fair on Sunday, Aug. 23, at Mike Rylko Community Park in Buffalo Grove.
The weather was breezy and sunny, around 70 degrees, for the outdoor morning-to-early-afternoon event.
Many booth holders used small stone paperweights to hold down stacks of informational leaflets offered from their tables. A few posters were seen toppling down in the wind with booth representatives quickly putting them back up with crafty ingenuity to keep promotional items secure.
Many people discovered the fair after visiting the adjacent Buffalo Grove Farmers Market, with some patrons carrying bags of produce and other items into the fair. Some of these same patrons left with more items, but free, such as toy and snack giveaways plus informational literature.
Mike Skibbe, executive director of the Buffalo Grove Community Foundation, looked pleased as the event began.
“The Community Foundation is excited for our inaugural annual event here, and we are really proud of being able to serve the nonprofits of Buffalo Grove, and it’s a great community,” Skibbe said. “We’re glad to bring them all together here.
“There are two sides to this,” Skibbe added. “One, our residents can find connections to services they might need, and two, if they’re looking for volunteer opportunities, they can match up with a nonprofit that matches their energy.
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“It’s kind of fun,” Skibbe said with a smile.
A blood drive was offered for patients willing to donate. Municipal services were showcased, such as firefighter/paramedic expertise. The Village of Buffalo Grove Emergency Management Agency had its large van parked with a tall tower up, and representatives were available for people to ask questions.
Mike Terson, Buffalo Grove Park District’s superintendent of communications and marketing, was also on site. The park district staffed a community tent.
“Buffalo Grove is a unique and special place for a lot of reasons,” Terson said. “It’s one of the most diverse communities in the suburbs.
“I think that one of the reasons that Buffalo Grove is repeatedly selected as a top place to live is because we have beautiful parks,” Terson said. “But we have exceptional park district programs and events.
“In combination with great schools and a municipality that is also award-winning, I really feel like the park district adds to what all those other entities are doing, and it makes Buffalo Grove a destination for people to not only come to for enjoyment but to actually move here and to live here.”
Buffalo Grove is located in both Lake County and Cook County.
“It is a great gateway for both counties,” Terson added.
Carolyn Pinta of Prairie View, founder of Buffalo Grove Pride (BG Pride) and the Pinta Pride Project (since 2018), which presents its annual Pride parade each early June, was set up at opening time at 8 a.m. in full sun to engage with the public.
“People are always looking for ways to get involved and ways to help,” Pinta said. “They just don’t always know how.
“So this is a perfect opportunity for them to check out all different kinds of organizations that you could join to help others and you pick the one that’s right for you,” Pinta said.
Piyas Bhattacharjee of Long Grove, founder of HAnSa, Healing Arts & Science Association, had a tent with the volunteer help of Sai Tatavarty of Long Grove and daughter Ayu Tatavarty, 5, a first-grader.
HAnSA was founded by Bhattacharjee about two years ago.
“I was working here in the field of IT, and then I started my arts school,” said Bhattacharjee, who has been teaching art for approximately 12 years. “But I realized over time that art is more than just a hobby, so I got into positive psychology neuroscience, and I wanted to know how art can impact us.”
HAnSA strives to recycle thoughts to change your thoughts, change your life, basically to segue from negativity to positive thinking and self-awareness. The website is http://www.hansa-intl.org.
Also visiting the fair was patron Ilene Gooden, from Florida, formerly of Niles and of Park Ridge’s Maine East High School Class of 1979.
Gooden’s brother Alan Cutler resides in Buffalo Grove and is of the Maine East High School Class of 1984.
The siblings visited the Little City of Palatine table staffed by Sharyn Goldrich of Buffalo Grove, Little City employee development services coordinator and of the Adlai E. Stevenson High School Class of 2000.
“It’s been a great networking community for me and also has provided the opportunity for the Little City name to get out there and more people to find out about all of the services that we offer,” Goldrich said of Little City, which provides services to children and adults. See https://littlecity.org.
“Every single person matters,” Goldrich added. “We’re there for individuals at all stages of life, serving everyone, and if we are not the correct resource and the safest place for an individual based on their needs, we will connect them with another agency that would be able to do that so it’s the best thing for them.”
Ilene Gooden showed appreciation to organizers for the launch event.
“Having this is very cool,” Gooden said. “I think this is great because my brother has needed help and we don’t know where to go, so this is really great.”
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Alan Cutler summed up the launch event.
“It’s really great that there are people out here who can help another human being,” Cutler said.
Visit https://buffalogrove.foundation/.
Karie Angell-Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.