In Her Words: Accidental Philanthropist Yeulanda Degala, Leading Through Action & Example

Yeulanda's grassroots nonprofit, Good Neighbors Network, started as a small gesture of goodwill and now helps to fill in the gaps for hundreds of students and families in Chicago's northwest suburbs.

We live in a great area 25 miles northwest of Chicago. It’s an affluent suburb. The schools are amazing. People move here for the school system. Some people move here to make a better life for their kids and are living paycheck to paycheck and working numerous jobs to do it. They are living on the margins and trying to get by, and it can be hard. Althou…