Edward Foundation awards $49,000 in nursing scholarships
The Edward Foundation has awarded $49,000 in nursing scholarships to 14 Endeavor Health Edward Hospital employees pursuing a degree or advanced degree in nursing.
The foundation presented $10,000 Peter Veit Scholarships to Nicole Erazo, of Naperville, a cardiopulmonary rehab nurse, and Allison Smith, of Aurora, a labor and deliver nurse. The scholarship is in honor of Veit, who gave the foundation $120,000 after his 2014 death because of the care he received from Edward nursing staff.
Cara Bardak, of Naperville, an exercise specialist in the Cardiodiagnostics Department, was given a $1,000 Agnes A. Book Memorial Nursing Scholarship, an annual scholarship established by the Book family in memory of their mother, a nurse at Edward for more than 20 years.
Also awarded were $2,000 scholarships to 14 Edward employees, including Erazo, Smith and Bardak.
The other recipients are Naperville residents Sandi Darnell, North Naperville Immediate Care, and Jennifer Ugalde, Edward surgery, and Plainfield residents Shelly Carncross, clinical education; Shannon Jarot, Linden Oaks Medical Group; Saundra Sobczak, Plainfield Emergency Department; and Brooke Soukup, Edward intensive care unit.
Other scholarship recipients are Aurora residents Kristine Anne Doligosa, pulmonary medicine unit, and Brittany Lewis, employee health; Chicago resident Kemara McKenzie, medical oncology; Lisle resident Katie Tibbs, cardiac telemetry unit; and Alsip resident Alexis Trubitt, cardiac telemetry unit.
St. Paw-trick’s Day dog event being held at Whalon Lake
The Forest Preserve District of Will County will host St. Paw-trick’s Day, a St. Patrick’s Day-themed party for dogs and their owners, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 16, at Whalon Lake Dog Park, on Royce Road, west of Route 53, in Naperville.
Participants can dress in St. Patrick’s Day attire, play dog games, take pictures in a photo booth, and socialize with other pets and pet owners.
A 2024 dog park permit is required to participate and can be bought at www.reconnectwithnature.org or on site that day. A one-day pass is $5. Dogs must have a current rabies tag and tag number to receive a permit.
Register by March 16 at www.reconnectwithnature.org.
Naperville Heritage Society receives $30,000 national grant
The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded Naperville Heritage Society a $30,000 grant to support its digital exhibition experience at the Birck Family Innovation Gateway at Naper Settlement.
The gateway will be the new “front door” to Naper Settlement and an area where guests will be welcomed and engaged. It will expand the museum’s content to include Naperville in the 20th and 21st centuries, according to Naper Settlement.
The digital exhibition will be the first point of contact for visitors, officials said in a news release. It will offer a look at Naperville’s place in American history from indigenous land to a small farm town to today’s modern city. It also invites the public to submit stories and photos to be reviewed and displayed as part of the exhibition, the release said.