Litter Caterpillars

  • Nonprofit Sustainability: Real Strategies That Work

    Nonprofit Sustainability: Real Strategies That Work

    We were halfway through a Chicago hailstorm when three of us bent down to pick up cups, wrappers, and broken bottle glass from the curb. One Uber after another canceled, and we laughed because the trash was easier to move than our own plans. That day taught me something I still use every week. Nonprofit…

  • 8 Essential Blizzard Safety Tips for You and Your Crew

    8 Essential Blizzard Safety Tips for You and Your Crew

    The first time we picked up trash, there were just three of us, and Chicago surprised us with a burst of wild weather. We huddled under a tree, watched rides cancel one after another, and learned fast that cold is more than discomfort, it changes the whole mood of a day. I carry that memory…

  • Chicago Neighborhood Safety: A Complete Guide for 2026

    Chicago Neighborhood Safety: A Complete Guide for 2026

    I'm usually on a Chicago block before the coffee shops open, glove box full of trash bags, grabbers rattling in the back seat, and one eye on the street I'm about to walk. Some mornings I'm in a place my friends would never pick for brunch, never mind a lease, and I can tell you…

  • 8 Service Learning Benefits That Change You Forever

    8 Service Learning Benefits That Change You Forever

    It's easier to clean someone else's mess. I learned that the hard way, standing in a freezing Chicago hailstorm with a trash bag in one hand and my own life feeling like a landfill in the other. When you pick up what other people left behind, you start noticing how much of yourself you can…

  • Community Partnership Development: A Lasting Guide

    Community Partnership Development: A Lasting Guide

    Three of us stood under a tree in a Chicago hailstorm, watching Ubers cancel one after another while trash bags flapped at our feet. We were cold, laughing, and weirdly thrilled, because the cleanup had turned into something more than a cleanup. I still think about that afternoon every time a partnership gets messy. The…

  • Pilsen Wellness Center: What to Expect and How to Start

    Pilsen Wellness Center: What to Expect and How to Start

    Pilsen Wellness Center runs multiple Chicago-area sites, including a 24/7 mental health walk-in at 2259 South Damen Avenue. If you need help today, the right first step depends on whether you need crisis support, therapy, substance use treatment, or food assistance. I've walked that stretch of Damen, and I know how easy it is to…

  • Volunteer Event Planning That Actually Works

    Volunteer Event Planning That Actually Works

    Three of us showed up for that first Chicago pickup with gloves, trash bags, and too much optimism. The sky flipped from spring to hail to blizzard, Ubers kept canceling, and we ended up huddled under a tree like a bad weather cartoon. The First Pickup That Started Everything I remember looking at the street,…

  • 7 Top Attractions Near Starved Rock State Park for 2026

    7 Top Attractions Near Starved Rock State Park for 2026

    I parked near Starved Rock on a windy morning, hiked through the canyons, and still left feeling like the day had more to give. That's the part people miss, the trail ends, but your trip doesn't have to. If you're looking for attractions near Starved Rock State Park, I'd treat the park as the first…

  • Resource Management Land: A Practical Guide to Stewardship

    Resource Management Land: A Practical Guide to Stewardship

    On a cold Chicago Saturday, a new volunteer showed up with gloves too big for her hands and no clue what a vacant lot had to do with her life. By 9 a.m., she was picking bottle caps out of wet grass and asking who decides what happens to this ground after we leave. A…

  • Explore Rainbow Park and Beach: Your Guide for 2026

    Explore Rainbow Park and Beach: Your Guide for 2026

    I still remember the first time I walked up to Rainbow Park and Beach and heard the city fade behind me. One minute I was in street noise and traffic hum, the next I was looking at water, sand, and a skyline that made me slow down without trying. Introduction That first visit hooked me…

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