In Honor of Make a Difference Day, the largest national day of helping others, Lakeside Bank hosted its 5th Annual “Women Who Make a Difference” Awards Reception on Thursday, October 25th and gathered employee volunteers for a day of service at the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana on Saturday, Oct. 27th. The awards reception was held at the Union League Club of Chicago and emceed by ABC7 Chicago news anchor Linda Yu. Over 150 guests attended and honored two Lakeside Bank customers, Esther Grimm and Brenda Swartz, who make a difference in their communities.

Esther Grimm, executive director of 3Arts, has had a lifelong career in the arts—specifically, in the fields of arts administration, arts education, and museum education. She is also a co-chair of the national Steering Committee for the Support of Individual Artists for Grantmakers in the Arts. Please visit www.3arts.org for more information about the great work of 3Arts.

Brenda Swartz, president and CEO of Concordia Place, felt called to make a difference in the lives of Chicago’s low-income and working families in 2003, when she left corporate America to join Concordia Place. Brenda has been active in the Executives’ Club of Chicago, where she helped pilot their Young Professionals Mentoring programs. To learn more about Concordia Place, visit www.concordiaplace.org. Visit www.makeadifferenceday.com or www.lakesidebank.com for more information.