Dan Cotter and Mike Abramson

Lifting for Lend-A-Hand
For the last several years Dan Cotter (left) has participated in a powerlifting competition to raise money for the Lend-A- Hand Program. Dan also enlisted newcomer Mike Abramson (right) to compete and raise funds.  According to Dan, “Mike is a Junior National champion in his weight class and has been instrumental in helping me get stronger and better technique-wise in the gym.”

As former Lend-A-Hand executive director, Karina Ayala-Bermejo so aptly said, "Dan and Mike’s gigantic biceps and enormous hearts raise funds so that inner city kids can participate in one-on-one mentoring programs.”

For information on Lifting for Lend-A-Hand 2009, please click here.

Michael Hayes

2005 My Hero Award Recipient
“Being a mentor gives a child an invaluable resource in their educational and life journey. We all have an investment in the success of our children's future and serving as a mentor is an excellent way to help them achieve success. I have been blessed with an incredible mentee, Kevin. Through our years together, I have learned just as much from him, as he has learned from me. I strongly encourage all to get involved with the Lend-A-Hand Progam and with tutoring/mentoring programs as it is a rewarding experience and will make our community a better place."

--Michael A. Hayes, Esq.Vice President Marsh USA Inc.

Gary S. Caplan

Chicago Lawyer Gary S. Caplan Makes a Difference
Chicago lawyer Gary S. Caplan was in his early thirties when he and five childhood friends met and talked about ways of giving back to their community. Soon after, he and his friends founded College Bound, a not-for-profit organization to help kids fund their college educations. Nearly ten years after its 1996 founding, College Bound merged with Scholarship Chicago, a larger tutoring, mentoring, scholarship and assistance organization dedicated to helping children. Caplan remains on the board and also sits on the Executive Board of the Lend-A-Hand Program.