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Volunteers Needed
Special event volunteers - join our Events Committee to help plan fundraising events and educational forums. Clothing and Food Drive Organizers - Our clothing and food pantry needs your help! Coordinate people in your specific community to donate used clothing, warm socks or canned food. Contact Kate at ks@cfthinc.org if you want more details.
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Most Needed Items
CTA day or 7 day passes
Target gift cards for work and school uniform requirements
Men's Clothing
Cold Weather Clothing
Canned Food Drive
Laundry Soap
Socks and Underwear
*** If you have unused Dominicks or Jewel giftcards we can also use those to purchase CTA passes. |
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THANK YOU!
To all the individuals and groups who supported Connections for the Homeless with in-kind donations.
Concerned community groups and businesses who gave in-kind items in August included:
Campus Kitchens
Convent of the Holy Spirit
Ethical Humanist Society
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Moorings Health Center
Motive Quest
Muse of Fire Theatre Company
St. Catherine Laboure Church
Starbucks, Dempster Ave.
Temple Beth Israel
Tiny Dog Bakery
Unitarian Church of Evanston
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September
Volunteer Orientations
If you'd like to learn more about Connections for the Homeless or if you are interested in volunteering in one of our programs please plan to attend an orientation. We will tour our 1458 Chicago Ave. location, home to Hilda's Place Transitional Shelter and Entry Point drop-in program and talk about the agencies mission and current volunteer needs. Orientations in September wil be:
Saturday, Sept 10, 10am-11 am OR
Tuesday, Sept 20, noon-1pm.
Please RSVP to ks@cfthinc.org or 847-424-0945x17.
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In-kind donations can be delivered to 1458 Chicago Ave. in Evanston (the basement entrance at the northwest corner of the
Lake Street Church).
Drop off on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 pm and any evening between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. or call for an appointment, 847-424-0945 x17.
Please ring the bell and have a staff member receive the donation.
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Greetings! Did you notice the new name on this newsletter? The "Volunteer Vibe" is now, "Volunteer Connections". I like the change for many reasons. First and foremost, it states very simply what we want from our volunteer program. A vibe or feeling can be positive but what we want for our volunteers and what we need from you, is a real connection. You can read about homelessness in the Chicago Tribune (check out the 8/31/2011 cover story) and have a reaction that never evolves into anything. Volunteering helps you understand the issues in a different, more personal way. Whether you sit down and have dinner with one of the residents of Hilda's Place or assist someone with their resume or help a woman find dry clothes for the day ahead, the result is that you feel invested and connected to that other person. In our current economic climate we need to have as many people connected to our mission as possible. The other reason I like the newsletter name change is because it was one of the first official decisions for our new Volunteer Manager, Kate Siberine. Like with the name change, Kate is quick to understand the important elements of a situation and is smart, personable and a great communicator. She is coming to us through one of our new partnerships with Julian Year, a year-long, volunteer service program. Kate will manage the volunteers, scheduling of hours, training and in-kind donations. I will continue to support the volunteer program but will focus my efforts on reaching out to new groups and businesses. I am going to miss working so closely with all of you but as I've said here before, we need to build our base of support. Both Kate and I will work out of 1458 Chicago Ave. Please join me in welcoming Kate! Peace to you,
Lisa Todd
Community Relations Manager
847-424-0945 x.11
lt@cfthinc.org
Connections is ending homelessness by preventing people from losing their homes, housing the homeless and providing supoprt to help people at risk achieve long-term self-sufficiency. |
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 Hello to all!
September stands out in my mind as a time of transition. From summer vacation to schoolwork, blazing summer heat to breezy fall days, September is an in-between time of both reflection and new beginnings.
We are currently undergoing a period of transition here at Connections for the Homeless. I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Volunteer Manager.
What has really amazed me so far about Connections for the Homeless is the central role that volunteers play in the daily work of the agency. Each day, volunteers cook meals, bag lunches, work with clients on their computer skills, teach classes, sort donations, assist in the Development Department and hold food and clothing drives to ensure that our clients' needs are met. I so admire our volunteers for their dedication to improving the lives of our clients and the larger Evanston and North Shore communities.
This year I hope to work with Connections' staff, volunteers, and clients to find new ways that volunteers can help the work of Connections. Please feel free to contact me if you have any ideas for new service areas.
Thank you for welcoming me into your community and I look forward to getting to know many of you this year!
Kate Siberine
Volunteer Manager
847-424-0945 x.17
ks@cfthinc.org
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Bring a Friend to Breakfast at Hilda's Place Transitional Shelter
Save these (New) Dates:
10/13/11
Chronic Homelessness and Project 20
11/17/11
Family & Child Homelessness
1/12/12
Prevention
2/16/12
Plans to End Homelessness
All breakfasts will take place at 7:30am at 1458 Chicago Ave, in the dining room used by Hilda's Place Transitional Shelter.
Breakfast is free but seating is limited. RSVP through our website at www.cfthinc.org or by calling Lisa at 847-424-0945 x.11
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Employment Program/Job Readiness
- Eric Dougal, Employment Coordinator
Want to make a real difference in the lives of Connections
clients? Want to change lives? Help us give our clients the tools to get and keep a job! Our next Job Readiness Training Workshop is Sept 19th!
Connections and McGaw Y are holding the Job Readiness Training Workshop every 8-10 weeks. We believe strongly that collaboration within the Evanston community is a win-win for all. We have many people that are served dually by each organization, many people active on both Board of Directors and a shared humanitarian mission for all to have healthy, worthwhile lives complete with employment and housing. For that reason, Connections and McGaw Y are pooling donations that are directed to the Job Readiness Training Workshop and dispensing it to our shared pool of JRT participants (12-15 people are slated to participate at the September workshop).
There are 3 easy ways for you to help with both the Connections/McGaw Y Job Readiness Training Workshop as well as Connections Employment Program which serves another 100 -125 clients over the year that don't go through the JRT.
OR
Purchase job search supplies for clients you can order gift cards and transit cards directly from CTA or Target - ship them to us or drop them off (see below) - whatever is more convenient to you. All donations will be mailed back a tax-deductible receipt. Donations should be mailed to: Connections Employment, 2010 Dewey Ave, Evanston IL 60201 or dropped off: ATTN Employment at 1458 Chicago Ave, Evanston between 9am-noon, M-F or 6-9pm any day of the week.
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The North Shore Paradox 
- In an area known for its prosperity, nearly a third of the resident households do not make enough money to afford the housing that is available.
- In Evanston, and along the North Shore, an employee working full time must earn $18 an hour, or $37,440 annualized, in order to afford the housing that is available. In Evanston nearly 28% of Evanston's households have total incomes under $37,440. As a result, of the 9000 renter households in Evanston, 3000 are spending over 50% of their income on rent and utilities.
- While there are fewer renter households throughout the rest of the North Shore, there are still over 21,000 people living below the poverty line. These 10,000 or more households are all at risk of homelessness. 80% are spending more than 50% of their income to keep a roof over their head leaving them a paycheck away from homelessness.
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Thank You to Our Summer Interns
We can not end the summer without expressing our tremendous gratitude to our two summer interns, Melanie Nord and Katie Rosman! Melanie created a pilot tutoring program for us that is now an added resource for our case managers. When clients need more one-on-one attention in their job search or in preparation for a school entrance exam, we now have a system to offer volunteer help. Melanie's energy was contagious and we are thrilled that she will still find time to continue her tutoring while finishing her studies at Garrett Seminary.
Katie Rosman has spent the summer offering general support. She is one of our "go-to" utlity players because she has been willing to help wherever. One of her special projects was to create a resource guide for our volunteer program. She also worked with tutoring and with our development department, recording some of the stories of our clients.
Melanie and Katie are dedicated, creative, passionate individuals who offered so much to our work.
We are excited to be able to continue using school interns in the coming year. This month we welcome Mary Rawlinson from Garrett Seminary and Rania Jando from Northeastern, for their year-long internships. |
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