The Legacy Guild is a nonprofit fellowship group that provides college scholarships and mentorship to local students who have lost a parent. We honor the legacy of those who have died by helping send their children to college. Since our founding in 2012, and with the support of hundreds of individuals and local businesses throughout Lyons Township High School District 204, we have made a tremendous impact.

In 2026, the Legacy Guild awarded more than $290,000 to 85 Scholars, the most we have ever given in a single year. The great majority of that, over $250,000, went to Scholars through our standard program, the base scholarship of $3,000 we have offered for years. Behind that number are 85 students making their way to campus with the Guild behind them: our mentoring nights, our alumni network, and this community in their corner.

We also introduced an optional Enhanced Scholarship, which added almost $40,000 for the 24 Scholars who qualified: those attending a four-year undergraduate program and whose Student Aid Index is zero or below, meaning their families can contribute nothing toward the cost of college. For these students, a standard award is not always enough to close the gap between admission and enrollment. The Enhanced Scholarship is built to help close it, and it lets us do more for the Scholars who start with the least. In keeping with our commitment to these Scholars and their families, we do not publicly identify who receives it.

We could not have added the Enhanced Scholarship a few years ago. We can now, and only because you have given steadily, year after year, long enough to build the foundation a program like this stands on. None of this happens without you. Every dollar and every hour you give turns into a Scholar who makes it to campus in the fall, and then to the next fall, and eventually across the stage. Thank you.