Education was the topic of discussion at last night’s On The Table community meeting.  Our company president, Marc Schulman, emceed the event and helped start a great conversation on Chicago public education.  Everyone agreed that public schools throughout Chicago were in need of reform, but the solutions to the problems were much more complex.  Local parent, Cindy McMahon, talked about her son’s limited options in public schooling before discovering the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS).  CHSAS was able to provide Cindy’s son with a unique form of education centered around the study of agriculture.  Educators from CHSAS were also on hand to elaborate on the school’s curriculum and unique teaching methods, which help students to understand the role of agriculture in an urban environment.  Grace Rappe followed up with her views on public school’s utilization of property, noting that a school with resources and programs like CHSAS was rare in a city in which playgrounds were often placed on rooftops to save space.  State representative Robert Martwick continued the discussion by addressing the spending gap found between public high schools on the northwest side of Chicago versus those found on the south side of the city.  Overall, a wide range of ideas were shared and talks continued long after the formal On The Table dinner had concluded.  We would like to thank everyone who participated in the event.  Check out photos from the event below and please visit www.OnTheTable2014.com for more details on the event.

This past Tuesday, Eli’s Cheesecake attended the 29th Annual Future Farmers of America banquet and presented three scholarships to students of the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS).  This is the third year Eli’s Cheesecake has provided scholarships to students.  Two students, Tabitha Lundy and Koriana Kluss-Klekamp, received the Aaron Easter Scholarships to attend the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.  The scholarship was named in honor of University of Illinois President Robert Easter’s son, who passed away in 2012 after a snowboarding accident.  Both scholarship recipients received $2,500 toward their education at the university.  Eli’s own Jeff Anderson and Marc Schulman also presented the Eli M. Schulman & Bobby Hatoff Scholarship.  The scholarship is named on behalf of Eli’s Cheesecake founder, Eli M. Schulman, and his close friend, Robert Hatoff, the owner of Allen Brothers Meats.  The scholarship was awarded to Brittany Clay, who is the 2013-2014 President of the FFA’s CHSAS Chapter and who received $5,000 toward her education at Iowa State University.  Eli’s Cheesecake prides itself on making a difference in the community and is proud to partner with CHSAS to help grant opportunities to outstanding young leaders as they begin their college careers.  We look forward to awarding next year’s scholars.

This past Saturday, our own Elias Kasongo was the keynote speaker at RefugeeOne’s Annual Many Voices, One Vision Gala to help raise money for refugee support.  RefugeeOne is a resettlement agency that provides assistance to incoming refugees as they begin a new life in the U.S.  Elias told the audience of his journey, fleeing from his home country of Zaire to Zambia in 1990 before coming to the United States four years later.  He quickly found work at Eli’s Cheesecake as a member of the cleaning crew and moved through the ranks over 19 years to become a Senior Buyer.  The crowd was moved by his story and praised him with a standing ovation at the end of his speech.  The event included a spectacular dinner for guests and, of course, Eli’s Cheesecake provided dessert.  Check out some photos from the event below.  To learn more about Elias’ incredible journey, click here.

On April 26th, RefugeeOne will hold its annual Many Voices One Vision Gala to help raise money for refugee support.  This is a special event for Eli’s Cheesecake because our own Elias Kasongo will be the keynote speaker.  RefugeeOne is a resettlement agency that helps refugees acclimate into life in the U.S. after being forced to leave their homes.  The organization offers job placement services, English language education, and a host of other services to refugees finding solace in the United States.  In 1990, Elias fled from a deadly regime in his home country of Zaire (now the Congo) and spent four years in Zambia before receiving a visa to come to the United States.  RefugeeOne met Elias at the airport and set him up with an interview at Eli’s Cheesecake to join as a member of the cleaning crew.  Over the next 19 years, Elias attended college and moved through the ranks at Eli’s Cheesecake to become a Senior Buyer.  We are honored to have Elias as part of the Eli’s Cheesecake family and we look forward to seeing him at RefugeeOne’s annual gala this Saturday.  To read more of Elia’s story, click here and to purchase tickets for the event, click here.

On April 26th, Eli’s Cheesecake will be holding its annual clean-up of Chicago’s Seneca Park and the Eli M. Schulman Playground in honor of Earth Day.  Eli’s Cheesecake President, Marc Schulman, will be on hand along with a group of volunteers to help spruce up the park just in time for Spring.  Eli’s Cheesecake has held a close relationship to the park since the summer of 1990, when a new playground was opened in our founder’s name.  The Eli M. Schulman Playground in Seneca Park has since provided countless hours of enjoyment to the children of the community.  We are currently recruiting volunteers to help in this year’s clean-up effort on Saturday, April 26th.  Breakfast will be served at the Chicago Fire Department Engine Company 98, located directly across from the park, at 9:00am.  If you’re interested in joining, or you’d like more information on the event, please contact us by calling (773) 308-7019 or emailing mgale@elicheesecake.com.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Thanks to our Cafe, Culinary & Marketing Staff for creating a most fun 1st Annual Easter Egg Hunt. Over 200 children and adults joined us on the Cafe Lawn and under our Big Top for an Egg Hunt, Face Painting by the Wright College Student Association, free Eli’s Cheesecake Slices and Samples and Activities. It was a great turnout and we thank all of our neighbors and friends for joining us. Special thanks to our Cafe Manager, Rose, her Staff, the Marketing team,the Culinary Team and Chef Laurel for planning and produce a fun Family Day.

This Saturday, the Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery Cafe will be holding its first annual children’s Easter Egg Hunt.  The hunt will begin at 11am on the lawn outside of the Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery and will continue until all of the eggs are found.  After the egg hunt is over, volunteers from Wright College will be offering free face painting and other fun activities.  The Easter Bunny and our mascot, Eli Slice, will also be making an appearance to greet the children.  There’s more fun in store for parents, too!  The retail store will be holding a special “One-Day Only” Easter Sale with great deals and free samples across the store.  The outside grill will also be offering lunch specials from 11am-2pm.  We hope the Eli’s Easter Egg Hunt becomes a tradition with your family!  For more information on the event, click here.  Parents of children participating in the event must sign-in and sign a liability release before their children can participate.

This has been a big week for Eli’s Cheesecake!  Monday night, Eli’s set sail with the Columbia Yacht Club for their annual Chowdah Fest.  The event featured 15 chefs competing to be crowned Chicago’s best chowder, with all proceeds benefiting the Sea Scouts of Chicago.  Eli’s provided some bite-sized desserts that were as rich and creamy and the chowder itself.  On Tuesday night, we celebrated the grand opening of the Chicago Sports Museum and Harry Caray’s 7th Inning Stretch.  Chicago Bears wide-receiver Brandon Marshall and former NBA star Ron Harper came hungry and Eli’s knocked it out the ballpark with a giant cheesecake big enough to satisfy any athlete’s appetite.  The big events didn’t end there.  On Wednesday, Eli’s made a special delivery at an exclusive fundraising event for the president himself, Barack Obama.  We supplied dessert for the event and sent the president off with a little treat for the flight back to Washington D.C.  Check out some of the photos from the events below and keep coming back weekly for all the latest and greatest happenings at Eli’s Cheesecake.