On Oct. 11, volunteers with the Flossmoor Service League served as guides during a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in Flossmoor, an event raising money to support the Foundation for the Preservation of Flossmoor History. The foundation turned to FSL for help because its members have years of experience leading tours for the organization’s annual house walk fundraiser.
It was another opportunity for FSL to help another local nonprofit organization, something its members have been doing since 1955.
For 70 years, FSL volunteers have been so focused on raising and distributing funds that they haven’t taken time to create an account of their history. President Monica Zachary said that could change soon now that a volunteer has come forward to sort through the materials that have been saved over the years.
In the meantime, the work goes on.
FSL hosts several annual fundraisers. The house walk in May is a big one. The sale of luminaries during the holidays is another. The Candlelight Ball occurs in December. In 2025, the organization added a new fall event, a bag competition held during Flossmoor’s Oaktoberfest event.
Beth Larocca is vice president and chair of the house walk. She said the event will move to a Sunday in 2026 after being held on a weekday for years. She hopes the change will help increase attendance.
The money raised at events adds to dues from members to create a fund to help local nonprofits. Grants are usually about $2,000 and go through a rigorous review by a selection committee. Their recommendations then go to FSL membership, which makes the final decision about which organizations to fund.
Zachary said every dollar FSL raises gets distributed to grant recipients, making it an efficent means for people in the community to help others. The organization has provided $150,000 to local charities the past three years.
“We recently had a donor tell us that they gave money to us because they recognized that we do a good job of identifying where the needs are and choosing charities that we know the money is going straight to clients,” Zachary said.
FSL members are sensing increasing urgency and interest in the grant program as federal and other grant programs have been disrupted or ended. Jane Baffes, former house walk chair and current chair of the luminaries committee, said one regular recipient lost federal funding for a facility project, which essentially leaves the organization homeless.
Zachary said FSL is committed to doing all it can to help the organizations that help many other people in need.
“Here we are, doing what we can do in our little corner of the world,” she said.
Money is not the only contribution the FSL makes to organizations it serves. Members also roll up their sleeves and volunteer for grant recipients’ projects. Larocca said members helped at Open Access (now Suburban Access Outreach) during its MLK Day of Service project. That’s one example of how members give their time as well as their fundraising talents to serve the community.
