I have a friend named Wendy who seemingly spins gold out of straw.

Well, not literally. But she is amazingly talented at divining opportunities to make something special, unique, and rare out of nothing.

I’ve watched her for years, as she and a few dedicated friends have ideated, strategized, planned, engaged, started, raised significant money for, and run a number of huge projects (often at the same time), including creating a nonprofit designer resale shop to sell unwanted high-end, gently-used (if at all) brand name apparel called the North Shore Exchange, a charter school called Johnson College Prep, and the Chicago Humanitarian Awards, out of Unicef’s Midwest Chapter.

Last year, Wendy asked me if I’d be the co-chair of this year’s UNICEF Chicago Humanitarian Awards luncheon, the fifth annual, honoring Barbara Bowman, a co-founder of the world-famous Erikson Institute and Keith Decker, founder of La Casa Norte, an organization which works on Chicago’s west side to alleviate hunger and homelessness. The awards take place on Friday, October 23, 2015.

It’s so easy to say no when someone asks you to donate time. There’s always something else to do, someplace else to go, someone else to meet. (Heck, I could use an extra few hours to just sleep!) But if you have a friend like Wendy, she makes you want to say yes.

So, I did.

I’m proud to announce that we will have over 450 people attending this year’s award ceremony. My co-chair, Hilary Scott, and I look forward to thanking every person who attends for their support of Unicef.