Chicago

An exhibit running through March at the Graham Foundation in Chicago proposes action--practical, whimsical or outlandish--that city dwellers can take to make their hometowns a better place.

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The recession has hurt all summer camps this year, but special-needs camps-—those serving children with cancer, diabetes and other diseases-—are especially feeling the pinch.

Perhaps the biggest hit has come from corporations, whose donations typically anchor these camps’ budgets. But this year many companies have shrunk their contributions or eliminated them entirely as hard times have constrained corporate generosity.

Chicago-based Children’s Oncology Services Inc., which runs the One Step At A Time camp for cancer and leukemia patients on Lake Geneva, in Williams Bay, Wis., has seen a 20 percent to 25 percent reduction in all donations, according to Executive Director Jacob Drescher.

Children’s Oncology Services drew on its cash reserves to make up for this year’s losses and cut costs wherever possible, for example, by limiting off-site travel.

“You just have to be creative with what you have and make it stretch a little more,” Drescher said.

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In a down economy, consumers’ loss might be the world’s leading fast-food chain’s gain.

With a stock price that has been climbing since mid-May and an expensive product rollout underway, McDonald’s Corp. is defying the recession despite—or perhaps because of—tightened consumer spending. As cash-strapped customers opt for a cheaper meal, the only thing the Golden Arches may have to worry about is an economic upturn.Read more