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Wishlist
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non-perishable food, especially items with protein
ground coffee |
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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 March included:
Campus KitchensChurch of Jesus Christ Ladder Day Saints, Women's Group, Wilmette Complete Birkenstock
Convent of the Holy Spirit
Evanston Hospital Outpatient Pharmacy The Giving Girls Harper Elementary School Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Lakeview Pantry Lake Shore Unitarian Society Lake Street church
Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity The Mather
Pret A Manger
Schaefers, Skokie Spornette International - Stylist Salons St. Joseph Church, Wilmette
St. Catherine Laboure Church
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Starbucks, Dempster Ave.
Unitarian Church of Evanston Your Health First |
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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.
Important! Please ring the bell and have a staff member receive the donation. |
Special Thanks To
Our Sponsors!
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Gala Media Sponsor
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Greetings!
Happy Spring!
The common refrain during March was, "It's so beautiful outside but it just doesn't seem right." The unusually warm temps and blossoming flowers tricked us into imagining that it was May or June. We knew that it was only early spring because our Alternative Spring Break groups came to volunteer, our spring gala was held, and our "Partners for the Future" campaign had it's public launch.
On March 15, eight guests became "Partners for the Future" at the spring gala of Connections for the Homeless. These major donors all made gifts of $5,000 or more, each of which qualifies for a $5,000 match from the Evanston Community Foundation. Through its Partners for the Future challenge grant, awarded to Connections earlier this year, the Foundation will provide a $5,000 match for up to 20 donations of $5,000 or more. With these eight gifts, Connections is over half way to meeting the challenge.
Connections' goal is to end homelessness in Evanston and along the North Shore. Proceeds from the gala and the Partners for the Future grant will help Connections to move 100 currently homeless people into housing and help 100 people find jobs, in order to help them end their struggle with homelessness this year.
Peace to you,
Lisa Todd
Community Relations
847-424-0945 x.11
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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 Thank you to all our Spring Gala supporters!
The gala was a big success. There was tremendous participation from our pool of community volunteers, with one-quarter of the tables being hosted by churches or schools that regularly support Connections. Two of our volunteers additionally helped secure our two newest gold sponsors for the event!
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Alternative Spring Break volunteers from Univ. of Georgia worked the event and then joined in the fun. |
The gala, held at Architectural Artifacts in Chicago, raised over $213,000 for Connections. Of this, $40,000 will be matched through the Partners for the Future program. Highlights of the gala included exuberant entertainment by the Ken Arlen Orchestra; a "homestyle" dinner including a gourmet chicken pot pie, cookies, and milk; silent and live auctions; and energetic dancing both by guests and by the 20 volunteers from a University of Georgia Alternative Spring Break group who helped with the event.
Part of the event's success was due to
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Paul Selden - Exec. Dir., Catherine Leonard - Event Chair, Jolie Horen, Board President |
long-time gold sponsor, Brown, Kaplan & Liss, LLC of Evanston; Pierce & Associates, who was a gold sponsor for the second time this year; and the agency's new gold sponsors, Aon and Walgreens. Catherine Leonard, the Gala Chair, said, "This is about pulling all parts of the community together. Not only did we have great corporate and individual support, but we also had a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church buy a table for church representation, we had a Chiaravalle School table, we had a Harper School table, we had Rotary members-basically all sectors participated. Connections really does connect all the pieces of the community to help those most in need."
Connections' goal is to end homelessness in Evanston and along the North Shore. Proceeds from the gala and the Partners for the Future grant will help Connections to move 100 currently homeless people into housing and help 100 people find jobs, in order to help them end their struggle with homelessness this year.
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Spring Cleaning Clothing Sale
It is spring cleaning time in the Connections clothing closet! With the warm weather approaching, we are doing our best to make room for new springtime donations. Because we have more winter clothing items than we can store, Connections would like to extend an invitation to all volunteers, friends, and family to our first Spring Cleaning Clothing Sale! 
Please join us in the clothing room at Hilda's Place, April 3rd-5th from 1:30-4:00pm to find some great winter items for your wardrobe. Each clothing item has a suggested donation price and 100% of donations will go towards purchasing practical work shoes for newly employed clients! |
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A Day In the Life of a Volunteer
This month I would like to spotlight one of our many donors who have made a big impression on me as a volunteer and on Entry Point clients, although they may not know it.
EVERY WEEK, a small group of individuals arrive at the Entry Point door bearing bags and bags of lunch food. An employee from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a local Evanston company, came up with the idea of rallying her fellow employees to assemble and donate lunch foods for Drop In clients at Entry Point. I have observed the quantity of food donated steadily increase over the past several months. This is, no doubt, due to this donor's urging and enthusiasm with her co-workers. They arrive quietly, without any fanfare, drop off their bounty, and leave just as quietly.
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These lunches are not peanut butter on white bread! They consist of meat sandwiches, usually on whole wheat bread, individually wrapped, and many times with a napkin included. There is also fruit, chips, individual bags of cookies, and assorted drinks. There is routinely enough food to feed most of the 40 clients that we see during a typical morning at Drop-In. These lunches are prepared as if these dedicated individuals were making them for their own families.
As a volunteer, it breaks my heart to have to tell a client that we do not have any lunches and send them out the door without a lunch. Sadly, this does happen from time to time. Fortunately, thanks to this dedicated group of people, we know that on Wednesdays, there will be a great homemade lunch for everyone!
Special Note: Kristin Pavkovic is the cheerleader behind the HMH lunch program and has established very effective systems and communication with her coworkers, including participation in their corporate benefits program. If you are interested in pursuiing a similar venture in your workplace, please contact Lisa Todd, lt@cfthinc.org or 847-424-0945 x.11. |
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Volunteering with Mentally Ill Populations - Training Opportunity
Last month, Mike Hemkendreis, Connections' clinical supervisor, held a workshop for volunteers about building positive relationships with mentally ill clients. This workshop was a discussion-based session that focused on volunteers' own experiences with working with clients who demonstrated a wide variety of symptoms of mental illness- everything from aggression to extreme withdrawal. The workshop was designed to increase volunteers' knowledge of mental illness and to explore strategies for building positive relationships with clients who may have extra barriers.
We will continue this same topic when we meet again on Tuesday, April 24 from 5:30-6:30pm in the Hilda's Place Dining Room. We would love to hear about your own experiences and hope to see you there! Please RSVP to:
Kate Siberine
Volunteer Manager
ks@cfthinc.org |
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April Volunteer Orientation
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 this month will be on:
Monday, April 9, 2:30PM-4:00PM
Saturday, April 28, 10:00AM-11:30AM
Email Kate at ks@cfthinc.org if you are interested! |
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