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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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Volunteers Needed
Special Request: Stuff envelopes for our big holiday mailing.
We need volunteers to stuff, stamp and mail our biggest mailing of the year. November 14-18 from 10am-5pm at 2010 Dewey Ave. on the third floor. Lunch will be provided.
Drop-In Program -
We are expanding our weekday morning homeless drop-in services. Volunteers needed to staff the clothing pantry, front desk and offer general support. Weekdays, 8am-noon.
Drivers for Delivery and Donation Pick Ups -
Must be able to use your own vehicle. Weekdays or evening availability.
Contact Kate at
ks@cfthinc.org
if you want more details. |
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Most Needed Items
30 cup coffee urn
flash drives for job seekers
blankets
chapstick
CTA day or 7 day passes
Target gift cards for work and school uniform requirements
Men's Clothing
Cold Weather Clothing
and boots
Laundry Soap
Socks and Underwear |
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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 October included:
Accuity
Baird & Warner, Evanston
Bannockburn School
Bennison's Bakery
Boy Scout Pack #929
Campus Kitchens
Complete Birkenstock
Convent of the Holy Spirit
Evanston Firefighters Benevolent Fund and Whole Foods Market,
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Sherman United Methodist Church
St. Catherine Laboure Church
Starbucks, Dempster Ave.
Temple Beth Israel
Unitarian Church of Evanston
Westgate Elementary School |
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Greetings! November... I love this month that starts off honoring our ancestors (All Saints Day and Day of the Dead) and closes with a day for mass gratitude and reflection (Thanksgiving). Recently, participants at Hilda's Place Transitional Shelter were gathered during a weekly spirituality group. One of the residents mentioned that they strive to keep a daily practice of gratitude, listing what they are grateful for at the close of every day. The rest of the group decided to try it out and each person wrote their own list on the spot. Here are just a few: For today, the up and down, the high and low, the good and bad . For life. A roof over my head with heat - today. No longer needing a cane. Recovery from major surgery. The drive to do things. To have friends. Wake up every day. Having a place to stay. Mother still alive. Having food to eat. My car. My life. My grandchildren. My faith. Connections. It's easy and obvious for me to say how grateful I am for all of the volunteers and donors who advocate for and support Connections for the Homeless. I am also grateful to be a witness to suffering and strength, to humility and pride, to bravery and kindness. I am grateful for all the "saints". The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.
Felix Adler, 1851 - 1933  | | Men's current coat selection. |
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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Gift of Giving Program
Sign up to make the holidays special for local individuals and families in need. Your participation is as simple as providing a gift from a wishlist. So many of our clients who are moving out of homelessness and in to their own apartments have very limited supplies. Your gifts can go a long way to helping someone stabilize in their new home.
Winter Needs
Our winter needs don't end when the holidays are over. Encourage your family, workplace or school to give back and share with others during the coming winter months. Go to our website and download our
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Bring a Friend to Breakfast at Connections | |
Thursday, November 17, 2011 - 7:30 a.m. | |
Breakfast #2:
Family and Child Homelessness
There are 200 identified, homeless children in District 65 and 100 homeless students at Evanston Township High School. Speakers from the Evanston School District, Family Promise, and Housing Options for Women will address the reality of homeless families with children.
COST: FREE
If you cannot attend but would like to support our efforts, please DONATE HERE
Can't make it? Here is a list of all our upcoming breakfast dates!
Thursday, January 12, 2012 - 7:30 a.m.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 7:30 a.m. |
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MIC Organ Invitational to Benefit Connections! 
The Music Institute of Chicago presents acclaimed organists from Evanston's houses of worship in concert Sunday, November 13 at 3 p.m. on the gloriously restored, three manual E.M. Skinner pipe organ at Nichols Concert Hall. The Music Institute is presenting this special concert to raise awareness about the scourge of hunger and food insecurity in the community. Proceeds go to support Connections for the Homeless and the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
The program includes organists Eric Budzynski (Alice Millar Chapel at Northwestern University), Dr. Robert Horton (St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Evanston) and Dr. John W.W. Sherer (Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago). You can purchase tickets online.
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A Call for Cold Weather Emergency Shelter Volunteers
As the leaves begin to fall and the wind gets a little chillier, we are reminded that winter is just around the corner. And while many of us view cold weather as something of a nuisance, for our clients living on the streets single digit temperatures are truly life-threatening.
Connections is partnering with Interfaith Action of Evanston to help them operate a cold weather emergency shelter at St. Paul's Lutheran Church. The shelter will open its doors to house Evanston's homeless on days when weather conditions become dangerous and it is unsafe to sleep outside.
But we need your help! We need multiple volunteers to be on call in January and February to help set up the cots in the evening from 7:00pm to 8:00pm, to stay overnight to supervise the shelter, to help put away the cots from 6:30am to 7:30am, and to wash the linens from the cots at a local Laundromat. The commitment would most likely be two shifts over two months.
If you think this is something that you might be interested in, please contact Kate Siberine at ks@cfthinc.org with what tasks you might be interested in taking on as well as your availability in January and February. |
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November
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 November wil be:
Saturday, 11/12, 10-11am OR
Monday, 11/21, 1:30- 2:30pm
Saturday Service Day
Do you want to help out at Connections, but don't have time for a regular commitment? Come help out at our Saturday Service Day. On November 12 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm, Connections needs your help with sorting through the large volume of donations that we receive around the holidays. Email Kate at ks@cfthinc.org if you are interested!
Please RSVP to ks@cfthinc.org or 847-424-0945x17. |
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