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An aerial of Lake Renwick Preserve with both bodies of water in view.

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Foundation donates nearly $400,000 to Forest Preserve

Funding helps pay for a variety of Forest Preserve District of Will County initiatives

People hold a large check at a check presentation
From left to right are Elnalyn Costa, a Forest Preserve and Foundation board member; Forest Preserve Executive Director Ralph Schultz; Forest Preserve Deputy Director Tracy Chapman; Foundation Executive Director Tara Neff; Julie Berkowicz, a Forest Preserve and Foundation board member; Forest Preserve Board President Annette Parker; and Jacqueline Traynere, a Forest Preserve and Foundation board member. (Photo by Glenn P. Knoblock)

The Nature Foundation of Will County is celebrating 10 years of fundraising on behalf of the Forest Preserve District with a check presentation and a fundraiser. 


Foundation Executive Director Tara Neff presented a check for $393,450 to the Forest Preserve’s Board of Commissioners at its monthly meeting on Sept. 12. And she also announced a $10K in 10 Days: The Decade Challenge fundraiser, which runs through Sept. 22.


Foundation funding has provided program support, supplies and a wide variety of Forest Preserve enhancements through the years. This is all accomplished by a large circle of people who volunteer their time, energy and money to make the Foundation successful, said Forest Preserve Board Commissioner Julie Berkowicz, who also is a Foundation Board member. 


“There’s just an incredible circle of people who are donating in ways you can’t even measure to the Forest Preserve system,” she said during the meeting. “That isn’t recognized enough. It’s a mighty force in the background that has its own little energy.” 


The check included a $375,000 donation from the Dollinger family. The money was used for a two-phase, recently completed Lake Chaminwood Preserve improvement project.


“The generous Dollinger family donation to the Nature Foundation allowed Forest Preserve staff to create a plan that incorporated short- and long-range goals and made possible a large-scale project completed in two phases rather than having a vision and hoping to secure funding in the future,” Neff said. 


In addition to improving Lake Chaminwood, this donation check is being used for the:

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