Toy & Warm Clothing Donation to Lawrence Hall Youth Services, December 19, 2012. Thanks to very generous donations of Chamber businesses and community members, we donated over $1,000 of new toys and warm clothing to the children at Lawrence Hall Youth Services (LHYS), a long-time local non-profit and Chamber member. The toys will given to LHYS's children ages 7-18 for Christmas. A special thank you to the H.O.S.T. Foundation (Helping Others Smile Too) for their donation of new coats, outer gear and warm clothing to LHYS! Thank you to everyone for your generosity this holiday season! 

End of Year Holiday Party at Marie's Pizza, Thursday, December 6, 2011. A wonderful time was had at Marie's Pizza! The party raised nearly $2500 for the the education program at the Chamber's affiliate, North River Commission. Marie's Pizza owner, Nadine Karavidas, was an amazing hostess! Her Christmas decorations rival those of downtown Chicago, the delicious pizza, pasta, salads and dessert buffet never ran dry, and thanks to wonderful tunes from the Jeannie Tanner Trio! Many thanks to our party sponsors Albany Bank & Trust Company, N.A., Bass Realty Chicago, LLC and Albany Park Auto Clinic, to our dozens of donors, to our active Chamber Board Committee members, and to all who attended! Special thank you to our interns, Melissa and Morghan for all their help!

North River Commission's 50th Anniversary Gala Event, October 24, 2012 - NRC celebrated it's 50th Anniversary at Bread and Wine, 3732 W.Irving Park Road. Chicago with nearly 100 supporters and friends. Chamber Co-Chair Andrew Levin, Bass Realty Chicago, LLC was among those honored for his outstanding service to the community as a landlord of affordable rental housing and commercial businesses. Thank you Senator Iris Y. Martinez (20th District) who honored NRC's 50th Anniversary with a State Proclamation. Other award winners included Ronald P. Duplack (Mayfair Civic Association), Geoffrey Cooper-Stanton (Albany Bank & Trust Company, N.A.), Inchul Choi (Korean American Community Services), and the Grow with Gompers Committee of the North Mayfair Improvement Association. The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce is an affiliate and supporter of NRC. Congrats, NRC!

Volunteer Clean-Up Day with MB Financial Bank, September 12, 2012 - Thank you to the 25 volunteers from Chamber member MB Financial Bank who joined North River Commission and Albany Park Chamber of Commerce for a "Clean & Green" in Albany Park at the Global Gardens at 2954 W. Lawrence Avenue! The volunteers weeded, swept, hauled and spread wood chips, and cleaned the site in partnership with Chamber member Peterson Garden Project and the Coalition for Limited English Speaking Elderly (CLESE). The garden looks great, guys!

Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation (LADCOR) Meeting 2012 - July 10, 2012 - Community leaders gathered on a sunny July morning to discuss new and future development in our community. With over $230 million in investment, there was certainly plenty to talk about! The second half of the morning was dedicated to envisioning the future of our community and creating a plan for the next five years. Visit our website for pictures of some of the most notable developments in our area as well as the list of our top-voted priorities moving forward.

Neighborhood Service Project with Roosevelt High School's "Summer of Service" program, June 27, 2012 - 16 incoming freshman spent their morning refreshing planters, cleaning, scraping, peeling and beautifying Lawrence Avenue. Thank you to Mike Ciuni, Stephanie Najera and the team of students for their time & energy!

BMO Harris Presents the 3rd Annual Bon Appetit Restaurant Crawl of Albany Park and North Park, May 22, 2012. 250 foodies and "crawlers" visited 23 local restaurants at the largest gathering and celebration of Albany Park and North Park food ever! The evening was memorable for delicious treats like chocolate baklavah, an outdoor taco bar, homemade fruit popsicles, Persian mojitos, wandering musicians, singing restaurateurs and beautiful weather. Support from BMO Harris Bank, Albank, LISC Chicago and Budweiser. Co-hosted by North River Commission, North Park University and Hollywood-North Park Community Association. More pics on our facebook page!

Neighborhood Beautification with WMS Games, April 18 & 19, 2012. Volunteers from WMS Games worked closely with Albany Park Chamber of Commerce and 33rd Ward Streets & Sanitation to clean & beautify dozens of planters in Albany Park & Irving Park for their Volunteer Outreach day! Thanks to the 15 volunteers who painted, weeded, dug, shoveled, swept, scraped and painted our community clean!

Luncheon on Social Media with speaker Kevin Hauswirth, the Social Media Director for the Chicago Mayor’s Office, with Northcenter Chamber of Commerce. At St. Pauls House, Thursday, February 23, 2012. Mr. Hauswirth, the first ever Social Media Director for the Chicago Mayor's Office, taught the crowd of business owners how to use social media to fully communicate a business's brand, how to listen and respond to customers online, and what a business can do for free today to instantly update it's social media strategy. Delicious lunch and tasty desserts from St. Pauls House in their gorgeous meeting space. Click here for Mr. Hauswirth's presentation in Business Resources. 

After Hours at Swedish Covenant Hospital, with the Polish American Chamber of Commerce, Thursday, February 16, 2012. Over 70 businesses networked and munched on delicious apps and drinks at Swedish's newly extended Mayfair Occupational Offices at Lawrence & Elston Avenue. 39th Ward Alderman Marge Laurino joined the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce, Polish American Chamber of Commerce and the docs & staff from Swedish Covenant Hospital for fun and crowded event. Thanks to 45th Ward Alderman John Area for the paczkis - we celebrated National Paczki Day with the tasty Polish donuts! News coverage from TVPol and the QwickGuide. More pics at the QwickGuide here.

End of Year Holiday Party at Marie's Pizza, Thursday, December 1, 2011. Another full house and fun party at Marie's Pizza! The party raised over $2500 for the the education program at the Chamber's affiliate, North River Commission. Marie's Pizza owner, Nadine Karavidas, was an amazing hostess! Her Christmas decorations rival those of downtown Chicago, the delicious dinner and dessert buffet never ran dry, and Nadine even sang for us with the Jeannie Tanner Trio! Many thanks to our party sponsors Swedish Covenant Hospital and Lawrence Kedzie Self Storage, to our dozens of donors, to our active Chamber Board Committee members, and to all who attended! 

Business Briefing Luncheon at the Holiday Inn North Shore, Skokie, IL on Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Co-hosted with Sauganash Chamber of Commerce & other NW Side Chambers. More than 70 business leaders and public officials gathered to hear Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle discuss the Cook County government and answer questions about the county's 2012 budget.

Lawrence Avenue Clean Up, Saturday, November 19, 2011. Active neighbors and 33rd Ward Streets & Sanitation Supervisor Noel Valenzuela joined the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce & North River Commission to spruce up Lawrence Avenue! Cook County Commissioner Michael M. Cabonargi stopped by to pitch in. Thanks to all for your hard work - Lawrence Ave is cleaner and greener this fall because of YOU!

Bon Appetit 2011 Restaurant Crawl of Albany Park & North Park, September 27, 2011 from 5pm-9pm. Along Foster Ave (Kimball west to Kedzie) and Kedzie Ave (Foster south to Montrose). 150 participants, 20 restaurants! Co-hosted by North River Commission, Hollywood-North Park Community Association & North Park University. Crawl featured in the Chicago Reader & on ABC's "Windy City Live!" TV show with Billy Dec.

"2011 Annual Membership & Networking Event" August 9, 2011 at Ay Ay Picante! Peruvian Restaurant, 4569 N. Elston Avenue. Complimentary beer tasting by Finch's Beer. 

"Marketing on a Shoestring Budget" Workshops Series June 15 and June 28, 2011, at Cambodian Association of Illinois, 2831 W. Lawrence Avenue. Co-hosted by Albany Park Chamber of Commerce & Cambodian Assn. of Illinois. Sponsored in part by City of Chicago Dept. of Housing & Economic Development. Featured speaker Rick Yngve of Yngve & Associates.

"Get Up and Go!" Conversation Series & Tour of Albany Park, June 21, 2011. Co-hosted by the Chicago Office of Tourism, the Albany Park Chamber & North River Commission. Mark Bazer, Chicago Red Eye, interviews LADCOR President Scott Z. Berman at the Chicago Cultural Center downtown. 50 guests joined us on a walking tour of Albany Park that left downtown via the CTA Ravenswood Brown Line. 

Business Seminar with North Park University, "Marketing Your Business on a Shoestring" May 3, 2011 at North Park University's Hamming Hall. Co-hosted by Albany Park Chamber of Commerce & North Park University. Culmination of semester-long service learning project with Professor Lee Sundholm's "Development of Economic Thought" class in partnership with Rick Yngve, Yngve & Associates. 

Mayoral Forum and Luncheon Event held at Poretta's Elegant Banquets, 3718 N. Central Ave, Thursday, January 20, 2011. Co-hosted by Albany Park and Portage Park Chambers of Commerce along with 16 other non-profit business organizations on Chicago's North/Northwest side.

Cleaning planters in Albany Park and North Park with North Park University Football Team - Montrose, Lawrence, Foster Avenues, Saturday, April 11, 2010

Check Presentation to North River Commission from Albany Park Chamber of Commerce End of Year After Hours, at Chamber Board of Directors Meeting at Salam Restaurant, 4632 N. Kedzie Ave, January 15, 2010

End of Year Party at O'Donnell's, 4500 N. Elston Ave, Thursday, December 10, 2010

North Park University Homecoming Block Party, co-hosted by Albany Park Chamber of Commerce and North River Commission, at NPU Campus in Hamming Hall, Saturday, October 3, 2009

Luncheon with Congressman Mike Quigley (D-5), Thursday, August 20, 2009 at La Villa Restaurant, 3638 N. Pualski Rd, co-hosted along with North River Commission, LADCOR, the Belmont-Central Chamber, the Gladstone Park Chamber Kedzie Elston Business Indusrial Council, the Jefferson Park Chamber, the Lakeview Chamber, Northwest Connections, and the Portage Park Chamber of Commerce

Summer After Hours at Merle's Coffee Shoppe, 4642 N. Francisco Ave, Thurdsay, July 9, 2009

Tour of Greater Albany Park with Chicago Office of Tourism with co-host North River Commission and guide Scott Berman, May and August 2009