News Briefs: Grants to NTHS for welding gear, Civil Rights trip; nonprofit’s new campus; ChiBoGa’s next leader; Sweetgreen’s opening date

The New Trier Educational Foundation recently approved $35,000 in grants supporting New Trier High School students and programs.

Since 2004, the foundation has raised funds and annually distributes them through its Marran Grants.

This year, the awarded projects were:

• Welding helmets: Applied Arts will obtain six auto-dimming welding helmets that significantly improve the clarity of what students see while working, allowing them to take on more complex welding project. The new helmet’s auto-dimming lens remains clear until a student starts welding. Additionally, the current helmets are in conventional men’s sizing and do not fit the female students.
• Safety Town continued: A partial grant from the foundation last year helped New Trier students in the geometry design and construction class build the initial Safety Town for the Wilmette Park District. The new grant supports the completion of the project for the summer of 2026 to improve the experience for children and to make these structures easily movable and storable for the Park District when not in use.
• Gourmet and culinary arts indoor grill: Beginning in January, students will have the opportunity to use new indoor smokeless grills. This project supports the latter half of the unit and covers modern, innovative ways of cooking, including indoor grilling.
• Human-centered design engineering: A modernized engineering program immerses students in authentic, meaningful projects that address real human needs. This grant enables faculty and staff to create a classroom infrastructure that is dynamic, using modular furniture and design components that align with the course’s educational mission.
• Student council ladder: The student council will acquire two rolling safety ladders to help fulfill their goals every week, primarily for decorating the school for homecoming, Halloween, back-to-school activities and more.
• IGSS Civil Rights trip: Thanks to support from the Fowkes Family Grant, this civil rights study trip to Alabama will provide students with rigorous and immersive learning experiences that cultivate intellectual curiosity and critical thinking.

Construction begins on Keshet’s new HP campus

Demolition at 799 Central Ave., Highland Park, began in early December to make way for new facilities for Keshet, a north-suburban nonprofit serving individuals with disabilities.

Keshet’s The Kersten Campus and The Justin Coe Center will be “a joyful center where people with disabilities can learn, work, play, and belong alongside the broader Highland Park community,” according to a release from Keshet.

Keshet is renovating the building to enable educational programs, recreational opportunities, social services and community gatherings under one roof.

The project is scheduled to be ready by the fall of 2026.

Chicago Botanic Garden names next CEO

Gretchen Baker — the director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh who began her career with 18 years of service at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago — will be the Chicago Botanic Garden’s next president and chief executive officer, the Botanic Garden’s board announced Dec. 8.

She will succeed current President and CEO Jean Franczyk, who is retiring in March.

“Gretchen brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to the Garden’s mission,” said Michael R. Zimmerman, the garden’s board chairperson, in a statement. “We were equally impressed by her innovative ideas, passion for the natural world, and approachability.”

Baker, who broke the glass ceiling at the Carnegie Museum as its first female director, has served as managing director of museum experience at the expansive 300,000-square-foot Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is scheduled to open next fall.

She also served as vice president of exhibitions at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where she oversaw nature gardens and the La Brea Tar Pits, a release from the botanic garden says.

“I’m excited to now devote my energies to advocating for plants and deepening our relationship to them. I’m thrilled to return to Chicago and honored to lead the Chicago Botanic Garden,” Baker said in the release.

Sweetgreen opens this week at Old Orchard

Sweetgreen, a restaurant specializing in salads and grain bowls, opens this week at 4999 Old Orchard Road Unit B45, in Skokie’s Old Orchard shopping center.

The 2,036-square-foot location will be open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily starting Thursday, Dec. 18.

To celebrate opening day, the first 150 guests from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thursday can enjoy special treats while supplies last and the celebration will include holiday candles from Bloom Hearth, pet holiday ornaments from Mila’s Painted Paws and cookies from Envy Design.

Also, for every meal purchased on opening day, Sweetgreen reportedly will donate a meal to the Friendship Center out of Chicago’s northwest side.

Sweetgreen is one of a handful of new brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch and Lego, new to Old Orchard, as The Record previously reported.

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