Get Your Hopes Up

THE PARTY The GEANCO Foundation pursued its mission to save and improve the lives of Africa’s most vulnerable and impoverished citizens with its first-ever corporate-sponsored fundraiser, the Health and Hope for Africa Concert Gala. THE SCENE Governor Pat Quinn, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and GEANCO co-founders Godwin Onyema and Afam Onyema greeted guests such as civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Over cocktails at the Museum of Science and Industry, guests mingled with local dignitaries and notables, including event co-chair and host Amobi Okoye, the Chicago Bears defensive tackle, who posed for pictures with fans. After a seated dinner, American Idol’s Syesha Mercado—fresh off her role in the national Broadway tour of Dreamgirls—moved guests with her powerful vocals. THE BOTTOM LINE The Concert Gala raised $60,000 to fund future medical missions to Nigeria and to build the Augustine Memorial Hospital in Anambra State. Photography by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images