Epstein Community Foundation 6th Annual Golf Outing

The Epstein Community Foundation (ECF), a charity founded by Epstein employees, hosted its 6th Annual Golf Outing last Friday, September 7. The event was held at the Orchard Valley Golf Course for the second year in a row. The course, located in Aurora, has been ranked as one of the Top 10 public golf courses in Illinois.

This year, the ECF raised money for some amazing nonprofit organizations, including Rebuilding Together, ACE Mentor, Refortify, Chicago Cares and Back 2 School Illinois. We are very pleased to say we raised $24,000!

All proceeds from this event go directly to fund projects supported by the ECF.

Thank you to all those who volunteered to participate, and congratulations to our winners, the "Civil Team!" Comprised of Dave Hilty, Charlie Luthanen, Kyle Howler and Dave's son, Connor Hilty, they shot an incredible 17-under 55! According to Dave, it was a day where everything went right. "Someone always hit a good shot, and we made a lot of putts!"

And a very special thank you to our sponsors!

ACE Mentor Program: ECF awarded scholarships to six ACE students this year, totaling $9,000. We hope to provide even more scholarships next year.

Rebuilding Together: ECF completed a house renovation in April for a family in need. ECF plans to do the same in 2019.

Refortify: ECF participated in Refortify Chicago to help kids at Breakthrough Familyplex learn about architecture and design. ECF also sponsored View Day, participating as a Mansion Sponsor and a guest judge. We helped to sponsor View Day, participating as a Mansion Sponsor and a guest judge.

Chicago Cares: A team of ECF volunteers came out in force at Foreman College and Career Academy to give the school a much needed facelift.

Back 2 School: ECF sponsored and assembled 175 school kits for children in foster care to help give them the tools needed for a successful school year.

Book Drive: ECF partnered with Pilsen Community Books to supply CPS teachers with $1,500 in books needed for their classroom curriculum. We also donated hundreds of books to BooksFirst Chicago, who helps to create libraries for CPS school across the city.

Grants: We plan to award three $5,000 grants to charitable organizations in need of funding this winter. Last year the grants were awarded to Horizon Science Academy McKinley Park. The school used the grant to pay for its Green Power for Green Spaces program. We also awarded $5,000 to GiGis Playhouse Chicago to overhaul their literacy program.

The Epstein Community Foundation, founded in 2008, is devoted to empowering people to improve their lives through a commitment to developing partnerships with communities. For more information on the Golf Outing, including how to help and participate, please click here.