One of the fun facts about Make It Better is that our business launched more than a decade ago in tandem with Go Green Wilmette’s annual community fair — on May 1, 2007, at the Wilmette Recreation Center. It’s no coincidence that Make It Better’s commitment to the environment and the Go Green movement have both grown and flourished.
Go Green Wilmette was the brainchild of environmentalist extraordinaire Beth Drucker. She also helped start Make It Better — serving as our volunteer Environment Editor — and has been featured in our content since then.
Beth Drucker and son Will
GGW grew so quickly that Beth stepped back from Make It Better to focus on it full-time. GGW was such a good idea that surrounding communities soon started their own Go Green groups too, including:
- Go Green Winnetka/Northfield
- Go Green Park Ridge
- Go Green Oak Park
- Go Green Glencoe
- Go Green Northbrook
- Go Green Kenilworth
- Go Green Brookfield
Other Go Green Illinois members include:
- Riverwoods Preservation Council
- Stevenson Center for Democracy
- Lake County Green Congregations
- Green Minds
- Friends of the Greenbay Trail
- Citizens’ Greener Evanston
- Evanston Environmental Association
- Natural Habitat Evanston
- Citizens’ Climate Lobby
The GGW fair also took off. It has become an eagerly anticipated annual event: Going Green Matters. The 2017 fair, held at the Michigan Shores Club, attracted more than 1,000 participants and included an electric and hybrid car show, giant “Geosphere” presented by The Geographic Society of Chicago, art show, and scores of other presenters on smart environmental living practices.
Image courtesy of GGW.
Make It Better flourished too! And the rest is history. The website grew up the North Shore and into Chicago, launched multiple platforms — Better Letter email newsletters, print magazine, awards, events, videos and more. Through our recent acquisition of Marin Magazine and SPACES Magazine, we’re growing into the San Francisco Bay Area, too.
Strong partnerships with other environmental organizations also helped Make It Better grow, including the Chicago Botanic Garden. We’ve held or proudly sponsored many events there, including our Re:Work Conferences and World Environment Day. We’ve even collaborated on contests with CBG, including parking pass giveaways.
Photo courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden.
We are most proud of our content about and collaborations with some of the other leading environmental resources in Chicago too, including the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Nature Conservancy, and Metropolitan Planning Council’s River Edge Ideas Lab.
James Corner Field Operations’ idea presented during MPC’s River Edge Ideas Lab
We embed sustainable living in our content more than ever — like this article on great Chicago nonprofits that protect the earth all year.
Alliance for the Great Lakes (Photo by Lloyd DeGrane.)
It’s truer now than when we launched Make It Better 10 years ago — collaboration is the best way forward for humanity, the environment, businesses, the world. Everyone needs to live and do business thoughtfully to ensure that future generations get to enjoy our precious world too.
If you are an avid environmentalist or an organization committed to sustainable practices, please send us your ideas. Please connect with our powerful, positive content by subscribing to our Better Letter and encouraging your friends to do so too.
We are all #BetterTogether.
Susan B. Noyes MIB Founder's Blog 