Support Our Mission

More than ever, those who dare to be different – those who dare to put their creativity on display and show their distinctive perspective of the world – need strong and outspoken support.

The children, teens, and adults who express themselves through physicality and humor every day at the Gym are brave. The vulnerability they show when learning new skills and perfecting their timing creates an environment that breeds lifelong friendships. At the Gym people learn to trust and be trusted. Together, our students experiment with the teamwork, discipline, and imagination they need to go out and change their worlds.

There are many worthy causes to support, but given that you’ve already shown an understanding of what the Gym means to kids in Evanston and north Chicagoland, we hope you’ll think of us. We want to keep inspiring and teaching students to be themselves, to be strong, to be balanced, and to fly. To do that, we need your support.

Please consider making a tax deductible donation today!

Our Impact

Award-winning children’s classes create an outlet for children to express themselves through physicality and humor.
Through creative arts partnerships, we bring circus skills to hundreds of public school students every year.
Our breath-taking event entertainment raises the profile of Chicago’s circus community and introducing people to this vital art form.

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Young woman wearing sweatshirt that says "What is circus?" — We have swag for sale!

From shirts to notebooks, we’ve got a ton of ways to show off your support of the gym.

Buy Merch

Donors

Thank you to our supporters! Below are the individuals whose gifts since November 2024 support our programs and community outreach.

Aerialists

Jeff Boarini
Kerry Catlin

David Hellman & Paula Steiner

Sunith Kartha

Acrobats

Judy Ashworth
Brian Buckman

Paula Fernandez
David Greene

Gina Johnson

Jugglers

Larry DiStasi
Lisa Greene
Marj Halperin
Rachel Kraft

Michal Maimaran
Dena Malikowski
Bryan Mills
David Rubman

MJ Serene
Thomas Zurfluh

Wranglers

Maddy Aaronson
Adrienne Allen
Angela Allyn
Melanie Anderson
Judith Aronson
Kayla Arthur
Joan & Hank Bliss
Andrew Bogdan
Kevin Bolash
Jim Breen
Derek Bruno
Brian Cannon
Aaron Carter
Caleb Carter
Carlyle Coash
Miriam Derman
Olga Dimitrijevic
Petina Dixon
Justin Durham
Cameron Ellis
Jonathan Fairman
Randolph Farr
Sarah Franks
Marjorie Friedman
Mark & Dawn Friedman
Paul Frischer
Midori Fujii
Lindsey Gallegly

Lisa Gelfond
Meredith George
Philip Graff
Carolina Gwinn
Karen Hamity
Aaron Hellman
Leslie Helmcamp
Ezra Hilton
Grover Hollway
Kenneth Hriensaitong
Robyn Hurtig
Alex Iacobucci
Judith Joseph
Paul Kass
Clare Kelly
David Kersnar
Chris Kleine
Rebecca Kling
Leslie Levin-Shulruff
David Llano
Kara Loquist
Jessie Macdonald
Frank J. Maugeri
Susan Melczer
Connie Meyer
Leslie Morrison
Jasmine Munoz
Wilma Nachsin

Deborah Newmark
Nicholas Ng
Richard O'Brien
Thomas Oser
Melissa Pinney
Stevie Gale Rezac
Kelly Roberts
Michel Rodriguez Cintra
Heather Rohner
Ann Sanders
Karyn Scher
Edward Schwartz
Steven Serikaku
Elizabeth Shevick
Scott Silberstein
Pamela Sloan
James Smith
Julie Strauss
Katherine Tabor
Mike Tancredi
Marsha Warren
Linda Wedenoja
Diane J Weidner
Elsa Wenzel
Thomas Wolf
Steven Zick
Anonymous

Sponsors & Partners

We are tremendously grateful to the foundations, government, and business partners who make our educational and theatrical programs possible.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and by a grant from the Evanston Arts Council, a city agency supported by the City of Evanston.

Our sincere thanks for the support of the Elizabeth Beidler Tisdahl Foundation, the Nadler Trout Family Charitable Fund, Bill Smith Group, and: