2023 JOHN D. NICHOLS IMPACT AWARD RECIPIENTS
STEANS FAMILY FOUNDATION
accepted by PAT FORD, Executive Director
The Steans Family Foundation (SFF) is a private grant-making foundation that dedicates time, resources, and skills within a place-based giving model, focusing on communities rather than a particular set of issues. SFF engages with communities—listening to their concerns and needs—and then pursues opportunities to further the interests of the communities, always in close partnership with on the ground stakeholders.
Steans Family patriarch Harrison I. Steans, joined by his wife, Lois and their daughters Jennifer, Heather, and Robin, founded the Steans Family Foundation in 1988 after sponsoring the postsecondary aspirations of sixth grade students from the Lathrop Homes in partnership with the I Have A Dream Foundation. In 1996, SFF began its longstanding partnership with the North Lawndale community to promote high quality education, increase employment opportunities, advocate for health equity, and improve safety for residents. The Foundation believes effective revitalization can occur within the existing social, education, and economic networks that create and sustain communities.
The Steans Family Foundation is committed to both systems-level change and on the ground impact to foster thriving communities—and works in partnership with communities through mutual respect and in recognition of their existing assets and resources. SFF invests approximately $7.6 million annually in North Lawndale.
2023 CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY AWARD
ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY
accepted by MARIO RIZZO, President, Property-Liability
Providing protection to help people achieve their hopes and dreams has always been Allstate's purpose. It's the why behind everything we do.
The world is unpredictable. When the unexpected happens, we'll be there to face it with you and provide protection to keep your life moving forward.
With our core values guiding us, we're making positive changes. When we say "You're in good hands with Allstate," we mean it, and we always have.
$13 million
Since 2021, The Allstate Foundation has invested $13 million in seven nonprofits that support workforce development strategies to close the racial gap for thriving wage careers.
72%
In 2022, 72% of the grants from Allstate and The Allstate Foundation went to organizations serving at least 50% people of color.
$386 million
In 2022, Allstate spent a total of $386 million on diverse suppliers, up from $235 million in 2020.
MARIO RIZZO
Mario Rizzo is president, Property-Liability, responsible for product, claims, operations, service and distribution related to Allstate's personal and commercial lines of insurance. In this role, he helps lead the company's Transformative Growth strategy to grow property-liability market share.
Rizzo has held numerous senior roles at Allstate during his 33 years with the company, most recently as executive vice president and chief financial officer of The Allstate Corporation and Allstate Insurance Company. Before that, he was chief financial officer of Property-Liability, Allstate treasurer, and vice president, Allstate Protection Finance.
Rizzo has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration in finance and accounting from the University of Chicago. He is also a certified public accountant. Rizzo serves as a member of the finance committee and the governing board of UCAN Chicago, an organization focused on empowering youth to develop into future leaders. He is on the board of directors of St. Laurence High School in Burbank, Illinois.
2023 JOHN E. ROONEY DYNAMIC AWARD SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
DANIEL ANIMASHAUN
Daniel currently attends Lindblom Math & Science Academy. In the fall, he plans to attend North Carolina A&T, majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Marketing. Daniel's ultimate goal is to utilize his computer science skills to run and facilitate his own businesses, as well as helping others with theirs. Daniel has a range of hobbies that he enjoys, including photography, roller skating, running track, and hanging out with friends.
ABOUT THE JOHN E. ROONEY DYNAMIC AWARD SCHOLARSHIP
The John E. Rooney Dynamic Scholarship provides a grant for post-secondary education to a youth from UCAN who embodies the role of a leader. This scholar is selected based upon the quality of his or her application and an interview with selected UCAN board members, staff and youth ambassadors. Each youth must have demonstrated the following to qualify:
Completed high school with a minimum 3.0 grade point average.
Showed intent to continue an education to an accredited two-year or four-year college, university or vocational training school.
Demonstrated leadership abilities in academics and extra-curricular activities in school and within the community.
About the Rooney Family
The late John E. Rooney, also known as Jack, was the President & Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Cellular Corporation. He became a prominent leader in the Chicago business community by creating value-based cultures within the companies he ran. He believed a company's culture should motivate employees to demonstrate customer focus, respect, empowerment, pride and ethics. The business model he used while at U.S. Cellular was based on effective leadership, and in 2004 U.S. Cellular established this scholarship to honor him for his own leadership. Since then, this scholarship has given young people the chance to pursue their dreams of a college education and the opportunity to become successful leaders.
2023 STEANS FAMILY FOUNDATION YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
DENISHE MBERI
Denishe graduated from Lithonia High in Lithonia, Georgia, before she relocated to Chicago. She hopes to attend Howard University to further her education and pursue her dreams of becoming a NY Times best-selling author and motivational speaker. In her free time, she enjoys expressing her creativity through painting and writing, as well as enjoying the outdoors with kayaking. Denishe also has a love for makeup and creating videos, which she uses to share her inspiring messages with her followers. Denishe says, “I believe that we’re all just walking books, each with our own hero, villain, and teacher, in which God is the reader watching as we all realize that we are just well-thought-out characters in one big book called Life.”
ABOUT THE STEANS FAMILY FOUNDATION YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD SCHOLARSHIP
The Steans family-Harrison, Lois, and their three daughters, Heather, Jennifer, and Robin-created the Foundation in 1986 to sponsor a class of sixth graders through the "I Have a Dream" program. The Steans Family Foundation concentrates on helping youth in the North Lawndale, a community on Chicago’s west side, and North Chicago, a city 40 miles north of Chicago. This year, UCAN is honored to announce our new The Steans Family Foundation Youth Leadership award winner Denishe Mberi.
The Steans Family Foundation Youth Leadership Awards are given to UCAN youth who demonstrated exceptional leadership and advocacy for themselves, the community, other youth, and UCAN programs in the following areas: Personal development, educational achievement, civic participation, and emotional and spiritual well-being. It is intended for he or she to continue their education after high school. The remarkable scholar is selected based upon the quality of his application and an interview with selected UCAN board members, staff, and youth ambassadors.
2023 YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS
JOEL CASEY
Joel Casey will graduate from Lindblom Math and Science Academy this year and has plans to attend Howard University to major in Finance. His future career aspirations include becoming a Wealth Manager or Financial Consultant. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, socializing with friends, exploring new travel destinations, and trying new foods. Additionally, he places great importance on humanities and social justice work, which is a fundamental part of his identity.
TRINITY WINFIELD
Trinity Winfield will graduate from Latino Youth High School this spring and hopes to attend Tricoci University in the future. She aspires to be a hairstylist and to own her own business, where she can offer hairstyling, tattooing, and other hair care services. Trinity has a love for learning, even beyond the limitations of school. Her hobbies include cleaning, cooking, and drawing, which also serve as her coping skills. She is passionate about hair care and styling, and hopes to utilize her skills and knowledge to create a successful and thriving business.
ERICA BROWN
Erica Brown graduated from Perspectives High School of Technology as salutatorian. She was a part of student government, national honors society, and was on the dean or principal's list every semester. She plans to enroll in the Chicago Association of Realtors Real Estate School. Erica's future career goals include becoming a real estate broker and investor, and eventually continuing her secondary education. In her free time, Erica enjoys practicing yoga and meditation, as well as connecting with nature. To quote Erica, “Be grateful for all that you have now. To remain grateful when you get to where you want to be, Asé!”
MAYA HUNTER
Maya Hunter is a currently studying graphic design at Illinois State University, with aspirations of becoming a graphic designer. She graduated from ITW Speer Academy. She has always been interested in the arts, and her hobbies reflect this passion, as she enjoys drawing, building houses online, writing, listening to international music, and cooking. Maya has a particular interest in animation and is working hard to develop her skills in this area, with the ultimate goal of becoming a successful animator and artist.
ANTONI SCOTT
Antoni currently attends Little Black Pearl Art And Design Academy. He plans to attend North Carolina A&T University to pursue his dreams of having his own culinary business. Aside from his passion for food, Antoni is also committed to promoting mental health awareness, which he hopes to achieve through the creation of his own youth program. In addition to these goals, Antoni is also an avid boxer and enjoys playing video games in his free time. Furthermore, his Christian faith is an important aspect of his life.
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