Brushwood Center officially launched the public phase of its campaign to raise $10 million to expand its programs and renovate its building.

The campaign will increase Brushwood Center’s ability to improve health equity and access to nature in Lake County and the Chicago region. Already, thanks to generous contributions, Brushwood Center has expanded its impact, partnerships, and site-specific programming for children, adults, families and veterans, and raised $8 million, 80% of its goal.

The campaign comes at a critical time to increase private resources dedicated to the environment and sustainability.

“Nature and the arts are instruments of healing. They help us deepen connection with each other and the world,” said Catherine Game, executive director, Brushwood Center. “The ACTIVATE campaign will empower Brushwood Center to expand access to nature and the arts to more of our community members, in a welcoming space.”

Brushwood Center supports the health and well-being of the community through nature and the arts. Working with communities in Lake County and the greater Chicago region, Brushwood Center transforms this belief into practice with programs focused on physical and emotional health, artistic and musical creativity, and community and personal well-being.

As Brushwood Center’s programs have blossomed and visitorship has grown, the need for building renovations to accommodate this surge in demand is increasingly vital. Improvements to the historic Brushwood building will create an inclusive and sustainable space for the future. Working with the renowned environmental architecture firm Serena Sturm, Brushwood will expand its buildings’ accessibility and environmental impact.

Chief among the new building improvements will be the Maxine M. Hunter Performance Plaza, funded with a $2.5 million gift from the Hunter Family Foundation. The Plaza, named in memory of Maxine M. Hunter, Brushwood’s first board chair, will be a new outdoor venue that will dramatically increase access to healing arts and nature-based programs for communities across Lake County and the Chicago region.

The campaign, the largest in Brushwood Center’s history, was formally launched at the 42nd annual Smith Nature Symposium Awards Dinner on Oct 11 at the Chicago Botanic Garden, at which Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer was honored with the 2025 Environmental Leadership Award.

For information about ACTIVATE: A Campaign for Investment in Community, visit brushwoodcenter.org/activate or contact Mirja Spooner Haffner, director of development, at mspoonerhaffner@brushwoodcenter.org.