Search Trailblazers 2016 Honors a Legacy of Leading The Way Home
Don’t miss Search Trailblazers 2016, Leading the Way Home on Thursday, May 19th! With the help of Guest Emcee Rob Johnson of CBS 2 Chicago we’ll be taking over Galleria Marchetti from 6:00 to 9:00 pm with cocktails, fun foods, delicious desserts, awards, and a silent auction.
Whether you’re there for live music by the Andy Pratt Quartet, fantastic auction prizes, or mixing and mingling, the highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the 2016 Trailblazer Award. This year we are honoring Trinita Logue, Founder of IFF. IFF is a nonprofit lender that has made over $500 million in loans to help nonprofits across the Midwest. Like all of our trailblazers, Trinita’s unique vision has made a huge impact in opening doors for people with disabilities.
Trinita Logue founded IFF in 1988 on the simple premise that nonprofits serving people shouldn’t have substandard buildings. At the time, nonprofit facilities were often rundown, worn-out and falling apart. Thanks to Trinita’s leadership, this unfortunate reality would change dramatically.
Today, IFF supports nonprofits in securing funding for capital projects, as well as real estate consulting and development, research and public policy, and community development. In the past 28 years, IFF loans have helped build medical clinics, housing for people with disabilities, schools, job training centers and offices. Boil it down and you can describe the work of IFF with three words: money helping people.
Coincidentally, 1988 was also the year Search opened its first community-based home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. One of the first of its kind in Chicago, this home, known as a Community Residential Arrangement, became home to eight individuals who previously lived in an institutional facility. That humble CRA on the Northside of Chicago was the start of a journey to open communities to people who had previously been locked out. Today, Search provides quality housing and personal supports to 170 people in Cook and Lake Counties, 55 of whom previously resided in state-run institutions.
Search and IFF began working together nearly 20 years ago. Under Trinita’s leadership, IFF has been a crucial partner in the financing and planning of Search’s community homes. Because of their contributions, people with disabilities have greater opportunities to live in beautiful, safe and accessible housing and enjoy every aspect of community life.
Beth Valukas, Executive Director of Search, says: “Through her groundbreaking work at IFF, Trinita Logue has helped pave the way to community living for nearly two dozen individuals at Search, who are now able to participate in all of the meaningful activities of daily life alongside their neighbors and peers.”
For this reason, we are thrilled to honor our long-time partner Trinita Logue with the 2016 Trailblazer Award. Trinita and IFF have been and will continue to be torchbearers for the aspirations of people with disabilities and the nonprofits that serve them.
Join us in celebrating this tremendous legacy on Thursday, May 19th! It’s going to be a fun night to remember. All proceeds from SEARCH TRAILBLAZERS 2016 will benefit Search's important housing, adult learning, employment, and supportive services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
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Please contact Audrey Landale at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 773-305-5000 x55 with any questions about the Search Trailblazers event.