2018 Building Community Award
Continuing the Legacy of Giving
In partnership with the Opus Foundation®, in 2015 we launched the Gerry Rauenhorst Building Community Award to honor our founder's legacy of giving and celebrate our history. Fueled by unwavering optimism, Gerry demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and a commitment to finding a better way to build a business, community and value-centered life. With an enduring belief that business has a responsibility to strengthen society, Gerry ensured giving back was a cornerstone of our organization.
Our fourth annual winner—Girls on the Run - Chicago—was awarded a $65,000 grant from the Opus Foundation, $1,000 for each year of our 65-year history. Recognizing the important contributions of all the organizations, each of the remaining seven finalists will receive a $5,000 grant.
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2018 Building Community Award Winner

Girls on the Run - Chicago
Representing Chicago/Milwaukee
https://www.gotrchicago.org
We're proud to name Girls on the Run – Chicago the fourth annual Gerry Rauenhorst Building Community Award winner!
Girls on the Run is a physical activity based positive youth development program for 3rd – 8th grade girls. The innovative program combines training for a 5k with a research-based curricula designed to encourage positive physical and social-emotional health. Started in Charlotte, NC, in 1996, there are now over 200 councils across the country.
Girls face social pressures and conflicting messages about how they should act and who they should be. Girls on the Run inspires girls to recognize their inner strength and celebrate what makes them one of a kind. The program culminates with girls positively impacting their communities through a service project and being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5k. The 5k provides girls with a tangible experience of healthy goal setting and success and lays the foundation for future achievement.
In 2018, Girls on the Run-Chicago will serve 11,000 girls across eight Illinois counties, empowering them to become strong, healthy women.
2018 Finalists
Recognizing the important contributions of all the finalists, the remaining seven each received a $5,000 grant from the Opus Foundation®.
Metro Caring
Metro Caring addresses hunger’s systemic issues with a grocery store, job-readiness program, financial literacy classes and cooking and nutrition education.
Variety - The Children’s Charity
Variety – The Children’s Charity provides funding to nonprofit children’s organizations for building expansions and renovations, life-saving equipment, programming and more.
Elevate Indianapolis
Elevate works to equip urban youth with the capabilities to thrive and contribute to the community.
reStart, Inc.
reStart is a pioneer of Housing First, a solution-driven, person-focused approach to serving persons who are homeless.
The Link
The Link has worked with thousands of youth and families to overcome the impacts of poverty and social injustice.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Phoenix
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul works to feed, clothe, house and heal Arizonans in need of assistance.
North Side Community School Early Education Center
North Side Community School Early Education Center ensures 100% of pre-K students enter kindergarten with skills necessary for school success.