Club News
- In early December, The Cornelll Club sponsored a special event, featuring
journalist Conor O'Clery and his recently published book, The Billionaire
Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune, turned
out to be a great event. Despite the bad weather, 20+ Cornellians greeted
Dublin-native O'Clery at the Chicago Club. Conor is a wonderful story-teller
and captured our attention as he described the life and philanthropic
practices of Cornell's most generous donor to date, Chuck Feeney ('56,
Hotel). Guests were able to buy the book at a big discount and Conor signed
them all.
- Speaking of philanthropy, 22 Chicago-area Cornell alumni participated
in The Chicago Sun Times service program, the Season of Sharing. The program
matches participants with a low-income child in Chicagoland to brighten
their holidays with a present. As a result of Cornell alumni efforts,
43 children received presents who otherwise would have received nothing.
- Chicago-area Cornell alumni and students recently came together for Cornell Cares Day, Cornell University's nation-wide winter service event. This year, Chicago had the largest turn-out we've seen in years, with about 30 attendees. For the sixth year, we visited the William Penn elementary School, an inner-city school located in the Lawndale neighborhood whose population is 99% African American. Volunteers worked with the 4th and 5th graders to create a presentation about Martin Luther King, Jr. Kids and volunteers got creative showcasing their talents through poetry, drawing, and even a fashion show! Be sure to be a part of this super fun and engaging event next year.