Barrington Youth and Family Services and The Community Meal each to receive $100,000 BACF Founders’ Innovation Grants

Barrington Youth & Family Services: Creating a Place Where Students Can Breathe

BYFS has partnered with Barrington High School and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northwest Suburbs to create a network of student wellness spaces across District 220. Their vision is ambitious and deeply practical: meet students where they already spend their days and give them the tools and the space to take care of their mental health.

In its grant proposal, BYFS set forth a student mental health program which will be rolled out in three phases.

1. Phase 1, already underway, focuses on the Student Services area at Barrington High School — creating dedicated zones for emotional regulation, mindfulness, quiet work, and social connection, to be completed by spring 2026.
2. Phase 2, supported by the BACF grant, will transform the Upper Atrium — a high-traffic, open space in the heart of the school — into a full student wellness center, with acoustic panels, comfortable seating, and inviting design. Work will begin in summer 2026, before students return in August.
3. Phase 3 will bring a BYFS therapy space staffed by bilingual counselors to the new Woodlands Impact Center, located in Carpentersville, extending mental health access to families in the Sunny Hill Elementary area (District 220 school) and the area’s growing Latino community.

Principal Steve McWilliams of Barrington High School is enthusiastic about the partnership. He has described the Upper Atrium as “centrally located and highly visible yet underutilized” and expressed his excitement to see it become a true wellness hub for all BHS students.

The data backs up the urgency. Research consistently shows that schools with wellness centers see improved attendance, better academic performance, and reduced absenteeism. BYFS will evaluate impact through student surveys, counseling staff feedback, utilization tracking, and data from the Illinois Youth Survey — administered annually to all BHS students — tracking changes in how students feel about school safety, belonging, and well-being.

This project carries a total cost of $325,000. With support from District 220, the BYFS Board of Directors and BACF, this initiative will become a reality. In a note to BACF following the grant announcement, Executive Director Betsy Wintringer wrote that the Founders’ Innovation Grant came “at the perfect moment”, inspiring conversations with community partners that led to a plan three months in the making. “We look forward to updating you on our progress and hosting you all at both sites upon completion.”

The Community Meal: Building a Courtyard That Gathers the Whole Neighborhood

For more than a decade, The Community Meal has been doing something quietly remarkable at St. Matthew Lutheran Church on Dundee Avenue: showing up, every week, for anyone who needs a meal, a moment of connection, or simply a place to belong. Now, with support from BACF’s Founders’ Innovation Grant, they’re building a permanent home for that work.

The Community Courtyard will be an outdoor gathering space on the grounds of St. Matthew. The gathering space will include a large, paved patio with a serving bar, warming units, a reservoir sink, and canopies to accommodate up to 100 people at a time. It will allow The Community Meal to expand to events year-round. Some planned events include Easter celebrations, summer cookouts, Oktoberfest dinners, Christkindl market gatherings, faith and film nights, and neighborhood-focused events that bring Barrington residents — from Greencastle Manor seniors to young families — together around a shared table.

Program Director Sandy Hasse and Pastor Michael Brown of St. Matthew have been the heartbeat of this ministry for 16 years. Their approach is straightforward and powerful. Meeting people where they are, feeding the whole person, body, mind, and spirit, and letting relationships do the rest is at the heart of The Community Meal’s mission. As they wrote in their thank-you to BACF: “The Community Courtyard opens possibilities far beyond serving food. Conversations around the table become God-given opportunities to encourage, comfort, and listen.”

The project has deep roots in the neighborhood. St. Matthew Lutheran Church already hosts The Community Meal’s storage, freezers, and distribution operations (for which BACF has proudly funded grants for some equipment in years past), making it a logical and efficient hub. With 170 parking spots, a large kitchen and hall, and the active involvement of church members who live in the surrounding neighborhood, the campus is built for this kind of community gathering.

The Courtyard will also advance four key goals: addressing food insufficiency (with regular meal giveaways of meat, bread, and produce), practicing good stewardship of donated food resources, creating a nexus point for local nonprofits and businesses to serve together, and expanding reach to Barrington residents who have not yet been served. Residents aged 80 and older who cannot attend in person will receive boxed lunches delivered to them.

The project’s total budget is approximately $236,000, with $136,000 pledged by St. Matthew congregation members and $10,000 committed by The Community Meal itself. The BACF grant of $100,000 makes the full vision possible. Infrastructure maintenance will be incorporated into St. Matthew’s ongoing budget, ensuring the Courtyard endures well beyond the grant period.

Success will be measured in meals served, partnerships formed, and, perhaps most importantly, in the relationships that take root when neighbors share a meal together.