Outside a Chicago police station in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood on the City’s west side, 43-year-old Colombian migrant Kanes Barros stood in 33-degree weather, listening to Chicago’s Life Impacters Foundation creator, Yolanda Pena address the approximately 60 migrants sheltered outdoors at the 25th District police station in Chicago’s 36th ward. “She [Pena] is saying that we can only have our sleeping things, the clothes, and our bags outside now in our tent,” said Barros, one of the people staying in a tent outdoors at the police station. Having recently arrived by bus, Barros and some migrants outside the station wandered the parking lot to keep warm, talking only briefly to one another. “City of Chicago has the food here at the police station,” he said, not realizing volunteers are providing hot meals for migrants. “But for health, they took us to the doctor, but we have to solve [find] the [...]

When Ocean Medina, 11, and Joe DeLutrie, 52, first met through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of CT mentorship program, they bonded fairly quickly. The pair got to know each other by going to the library, playing basketball, and spending time at the playground.  Almost two years later, the pair has traveled to New York City for a photoshoot and a celebration as part of Macy’s upcoming holiday campaign, which Medina and DeLutrie were chosen to participate in. “It was pretty exciting, knowing how it was country-wide that we were selected,” DeLutrie shared about the experience. “Ocean’s definitely the star, I’m just a costar to compliment him. It was pretty incredible.” Between November 3 and December 24, the 2023 holiday campaign will be shown at over 500 Macy’s retail locations across the country—including six Macy’s retail stores in Connecticut: Danbury, Farmington, Manchester, Milford, Stamford, and Trumbull. Macy’s and Big [...]