Mary Compton

Bloom Trail High School student Rachael Kirn, of Sauk Village, gets help from volunteer Sharon Gonzalez, of Lansing, during Promapalooza on Sunday at the First Christian Church of Lansing. "I could never have afforded going to prom without this," Kirn said.

Community Closet’s Promapalooza a way to help teen girls experience a high school milestone, ‘something they thought they would never have’

March 17, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.

Prom gowns of every shape, size and color were displayed on several racks Sunday on the second floor of First Christian Church of Lansing as more than 70 teens waited...

Erez Martin gives a vaccine to Bridget Houston, of Oak Forest. The high school student said she felt it was important to get vaccinated.

Cook County reopens mass vaccination site in Matteson

January 20, 2022 at 11:36 p.m.

As the temperature hovered near zero Thursday morning, about a dozen people showed up to the former Target store in Matteson to get a vaccine. "Demand for shots increased again...

Lockport resident Michelle Kerfin stocks a micropantry at Christ Community Church in Lemont with donations from a recent event at her business in Homer Glen.

Homer Glen micropantry effort draws hundreds of donations: ‘In every town you will find people needing help’

January 1, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.

Carrying seven full bags of groceries, Dean Fox wanted to make sure area micropantries are kept stocked throughout the colder months. Modeled on little free libraries that have sprouted up...

Verna Furbeck and Oliver Guzman, both of Blue Island, ring their bells at Jewel Foods in Oak Forest recently, collect funds for Salvation Army in Blue Island. Furbeck said she has been a bell ringer for 50 years.

Singing bell-ringer at Oak Forest grocery store has been collecting for Salvation Army for 50 years: ‘Her effort to spread joy is a blessing’

December 23, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

As she walked in to pick up some groceries from the Jewel Foods in Oak Forest, Raye Ann Saunoris, of Country Club Hills, stopped in her tracks by what she...

Adam Woodworth, has been executive director of the Children's Museum in Oak Lawn for 16 years, and started portraying Santa Claus three years ago after he started growing a beard. "I didn't know it was going to come out all white, but it did," he said.

A night as Obi Wan Kenobi ended up providing Children’s Museum director his dream role as ‘Santa Adam’

December 21, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

Even before he put on the red suit, Adam Woodworth had the heart of Santa. "There is something about Christmas which is kindness and happiness. With COVID-19 last year and...

Officer Derek Kaczmarczyk shows a blanket to Dylan Pope as they shop.

Shop With a Cop in New Lenox helps 40 children find Christmas presents

December 12, 2021 at 2:23 p.m.

They couldn't contain their excitement any longer. With flashing lights, nine police vehicles escorted two buses filled with 40 children to the New Lenox Walmart for Shop with a Cop....

Myriam Melidona, from Oak Forest, a nursing student at Trinity Christian College, performs a solo during 'Go Tell it on the Mountain."

Visitors flock to Palos Heights holiday event after smaller observance in 2020

December 5, 2021 at 7:44 p.m.

Opening up the Kris Kringle Market in song, the Alan B. Shepard High School choir sang "Jingle Bells," "Let it Snow" and other favorites. As Mayor Robert Straz pushed the...

Grandma Iris Carrero, who just moved to Orland Park, holds the hands of her grandsons, Josiah and Elijah, as they watch the antics of Ernesto Marquez's horses before the parade.

Orland Park adds parade to holiday light festival

November 29, 2021 at 6:27 p.m.

The magic of the holiday traveled down Ravinia Avenue late Sunday afternoon for Orland Park's inaugural holiday parade, which saw children sitting along the street wide-eyed with anticipation. Many parents...

Trinity Lutheran Church members, from left, Donna Blatt of Tinley Park, Sally Przybyla of Oak Forest and Marilyn Pringle of Tinley Park present handmade quilts to Good Shepherd Church members Joel and Lori Powless of Frankfort. The quilts are destined to go to people involved in disasters as well as domestic violence shelters.

A shared mission to ‘bring happiness to somebody’ when they need it most unites members of Tinley Park, Frankfort churches in quilting effort

November 26, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

A few days before Thanksgiving, a group of women from Trinity Lutheran Church in Tinley Park traveled to Good Shepherd Church in Frankfort bearing gifts. "All of us are so...

Mike Sloan, a member of the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Color Guard and a Navy veteran, pins Jerry Mertes from Homer Glen, a Vietnam era veteran who served in the United States Marine Corp.

Abraham Lincoln Cemetery Color Guard honors veterans in Homer Glen

November 11, 2021 at 11:22 p.m.

At the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month, veterans have been honored for 20 years at Marian Village, a senior living community in Homer Glen. One...

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