Homewood Suites Chicago Blog

The 21^st Annual Y-ME Race At Your Pace was held at Grant Park on Sunday, May 13, 2012. The Y-ME organization is the only program in the world where anyone touched by breast cancer can call – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year – and talk to a breast cancer survivor and be understood in 150 languages.

This past Sunday, Grant Park was filled love, laughter, warmth, remembrance and hope today, as more than 30,000 runners and walkers, friends, family and co-workers came together to help Y-ME provide breast cancer support 24/7 for anyone who needs it. It was a great time for all who attended or participated.

This was Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown first time as a team walking in the event. Our team “The Boobettes “would like to thank all supporters, survivors and participants for being a part of the cause.  We were awed by the love, warmth, and hope that surrounded this event.

“The Boobettes” started fundraising on the first day of March with hopes of getting staff, guest, friends and family involved and excited about the cause. With your help we surpassed our $1,000 goal by raising a whopping $1,454.00. In the process of our two months of fundraising we ended up with a total of 12 participants for the 3 mile walk. The Homewood Suites Teamraised money by donations from guests, pot luck lunches, and raffles for gift baskets. We were humbled by the generosity of all our supporters whether they be guests or employees.

Y-ME is on a mission to assure no one faces breast cancer alone. Your support makes that possible. Thank you for making the Homewood Suites donation to the Y-ME Race a Suite Success.

There is a long list of reasons why people visit downtown Chicago. Shockingly, shopping ranks within the Top Ten Reasons to visit Chicago. It’s no surprise that men, women, and children of all ages enjoy the Magnificent Mile and what many locals may consider one of their favorite malls, The Shops at Northbridge.

 Homewood Suites has the ultimate package for all shoppers. Suite Shopping ReLeaf is a win for everyone. When you purchase the package .70 cent from the $50 American Express Give Green gift card goes to American Forest. As your reward for doing your small part in saving the trees you also receive a complimentary lunch for two at Café Nordstrom.

 Return to your spacious suite at the Homewood Suites and relish in all your great buys of the day. Make sure you don’t take too long too long because you wouldn’t want to miss the complimentary dinner we offer until 7:00 pm. Take a glass of wine back to your suite and catch up on some of the latest trends of the season in the fashion magazine you received in your Homewood Suites reusable tote filled with suite surprises.

 By morning you will be ready to enjoy our wonderful complimentary breakfast and take on all the stores you missed. We hope you have a suite shopping day and enjoy your time at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown.

Includes:

1. 1.      $50.00 Give Green Gift Card to use at Shops at Northbridge
2. 2.      Lunch for 2 at Café Nordstrom (valued at $30.00) Menu will be in bag
3. 3.      One fashion magazine for ex: Vogue, Cosmo, Glamour etc.
4. 4.      Homewood Suites reusable tote filled with suite surprises such as coupons, 2 bottles of water and snack

Fall has arrived in Chicago! We shouldn’t mourn the end of beach days, summer festivals, rooftop bars, or boat rides. Instead we should relish the fact that Michigan Avenue isn’t clogged with shoppers, new restaurants are opening, the Chicago Marathon is being run, and Halloween is just around the corner.

Fall is a wonderful time to visit Chicago and all that we have to offer. If you are coming in the first weekend of October make sure to reserve your hotel room now. Over 45,000 people will be running in the Bank of American Chicago Marathon on Columbus Day weekend. It is a thrill to be surrounded by such amazing athletes from around the world.

Maybe running isn’t your thing? Maybe you tend to love a good movie and some great conversation afterward. If this sounds more up your alley check out the Chicago International Film Festival. This is quite the international showcase as well. With over 180 films from 50 different countries there should be something for everyone from comedies to documentaries. This is the 47^th year of this festival and should be the best yet.

With German immigrants making up the largest demographic of Chicago in Chicago we can’t forget Oktoberfest! There are numerous Oktoberfests that occur in the city during the months of September and October so grab your lederhosen and beer steins and get ready to have a great time.  Check out Oktoberfest Chicago in September to start the season off right.  Or head over to the Chicago Brauhaus for events running through October 30^th that celebrate the season.

Don’t worry we haven’t forgotten about Halloween. There is so much to do in Chicago over that weekend that it will be a separate post in the future! We hope you enjoyed some of the suite activities and hope to see you at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown this fall!

The Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown will participate in the Aids Run & Walk Annual event this year. The event is taking place on Saturday, October 1, 2011 in Grant Park in Downtown Chicago. This is our first year fundraising for AIDS awareness and prevention and the entire team is enthused to be a part of this event. We are excited to be a part of a growing cause and doing more to be involved with our community partners.

We have partnered with the Center on Halsted for the AIDS Run & Walk Chicago. The Center on Halsted is an outreach center located on the north side of Chicago in Boystown. The Center on Hasted has participated in the AIDS Run & Walk Chicago and we are thrilled to be able to partner with such and experienced organization for this event.

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago started the AIDS Run & Walk Chicago in 2001. It is an annual event held in Grant Park. Since its inception the event has raised over $3 million dollars. This year the Aids Foundation has set a goal to raise $500,000. If you would like to help the Aids foundation reach that goal you can either participate or donate.

We have numerous fundraisers going on inside of the hotel and are looking forward to the different experiences. Every Friday members of our team will be wearing the color red in a show of awareness for the cause. In addition, you can purchase select red candy in our Suite Shop with the proceeds going towards our overall donation. Finally, we are selling Friends of Lewis T-Shirts for $15 and we have red bracelets that are available for any domination of a donation.

In addition, to these fundraisers we will also be out at the AIDS Run & Walk Chicago on October 1^st to show our support. We will have several team members of the Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown participating in the event. We will also have a tent at the park and Lewis- everyone’s favorite mascot will be there. If you are not familiar with Lewis the Duck, then come and out become a friend of Lewis and support the Aids foundation. Lewis will be taking pictures with people and putting them on Facebook so don’t forget to check our Facebook Page and tag yourself after the event!

If you are interested in participating in the AIDS Run & Walk Chicago we encourage you to join the Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown’s Team. The registration fee is $25.00 per person. If you are willing to help the cause without the physical involvement donations are more than appreciated. Visit Homewood Suites team page to sponsor our team or one of our participants.

Thank you in advance for your time and support. Look forward to meeting you on Saturday, October 1 at 8:00 am in Grant Park.

 We want to thank the following individuals and families for generously donating to the Special Olympic of Illinois.  You have made a difference!

*The Left Family

*TC ORouizke

*The Kong Family

                                                                                *The Kosloski Family

With their donation they received their very own Lewis the duck to take home with them.  Good luck to your ducks on August 11th at 1pm as your ducks race down the Chicago River!

Come to the Front Desk today to donate and take home your Lewis!