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| Off the CPO's Desk | |
 Most recently, United Way of DuPage/West Cook helped welcome The Southeast DuPage Health Initiative (SDHI) into Westmont, Ill., with the support of Access DuPage, the DuPage Community Clinic (DCC) and the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD). The Initiative was created in 2010 as a way of connecting low-income residents in southeast DuPage County to a full range of low-cost or free health services, ranging from primary care services to specialty care.
The Southeast DuPage region has been identified as an area in which many people have been unable to afford traditional health services or health insurance.
Chief Professional Officer at United Way of DuPage/West Cook, Christine Lewis, believes this initiative will help unveil the healthcare needs in our communities.
"We've all felt that terrifying moment when we or a loved one gets sick," Lewis said. "To think that some of us - people who may live right next to us or down the street - have the additional worry of whether they'll be able to afford a doctor or medicine is, in a word, unacceptable. With this initiative, we are taking away that additional pain and uncertainty."
The SDHI represents a unique collaboration of community partners. Under the umbrella of the SDHI, the DCC will operate a free health clinic in Westmont, providing a full range of primary care services. The clinic will be located within a facility owned by the DCHD, whose services will complement those of the DCC. Access DuPage will arrange admittance to more intensive services that may be required, such as specialty care, diagnostic services, hospital care, and low-cost prescription medications. Dental care and mental health services will also be available on site.
The grand opening of the new Initiative was held on Tuesday, October 5, and included a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., which included tours of the new facility. Representatives of participating agencies, elected officials and other dignitaries were part of the ribbon cutting program.
The Initiative is located at 422. N. Cass Ave in Westmont, Ill., within the Southeast Public Health Center of the DCHD, which generously donates the space for the Initiative.
This year, SDHI will provide critical health services to 1,000 people.
With your help, that number can climb to 4,000 in three years.
For more information about this initiative and how you can get involved, please contact Christine Lewis at 630-645-6352 or Christine.Lewis@uw-mc.org
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Agency Spotlight
PRC programs improve the lives of their clients by combating hunger, homelessness, and poverty, which provides individuals and families with free services including food, clothing, and emergency financial assistance. Partnered with the help of United Way of DuPage/West Cook, PRC has met the increased demand for free food in the low-income poverty levels.
Kim Perez, Executive Director of PRC, is proud to be a part of the PRC mission. "My job is interesting each and every day. I have the privilege of working with an amazing team of staff and more than 1,100 volunteers who provide critical services with dignity and respect. The clients who visit PRC are so grateful for the assistance and equally as grateful for the kindness and sincere compassion they experience at PRC."
Perez shared some of the challenges her and the employees at PRC are confronted with every day at their sites. "The most challenging aspect of my job and all of our jobs here at PRC is facing the reality that there is so much need in our community. There are so many individuals and families that are working so hard to make ends meet, yet still fall short."
How does People's Resource Center GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER?
GIVE. PRC receives 63% of their support from members of their community. In addition to cash donations, they always welcome donations of nutrient-dense foods, fresh produce, meat, and dairy products for their food pantry. In-season donations consist of quality clothing of all sizes and computers for their refurbishing program.
ADVOCATE. The PRC staff and volunteers are involved with advocacy efforts around hunger, homelessness, and poverty. PRC is always happy to include members of the community in these efforts to raise community awareness.
VOLUNTEER. With over 1,100 volunteers, PRC is able to accomplish what they do for their community thanks to these dedicated individuals. Volunteers stock and operate their two community food pantries, teach and tutor literacy/ESL/GED students, provide job mentoring services, teach financial literacy and computer training classes, refurbish hundreds of donated computers for PRC clients, teach art classes, work with clients during the intake process, provide assistance with data entry, and provide assistance with facility improvements including landscaping, painting and other projects.
People's Resource Center is more than simply an organization serving the low-income population of DuPage County. PRC is truly a community of concerned citizens that have UNITED to meet the needs in their community, neighbor-to-neighbor.
United Way of DuPage/West Cook is pleased to announce People's Resource Center (PRC) as the September Agency Spotlight. PRC's community exists "to respond to basic human needs, promote dignity and justice, and create a future of hope and opportunity for the residents of DuPage County, Illinois through discovering and sharing personal and community resources."
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SAVE THE DATE!
The LIVE UNITED
5K Run/Walk is
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Learn More
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Intern Spotlight
| The United Way of DuPage/West Cook was pleased to have Jessica Bollow as their 2010 summer intern. Jessica grew up in Downers Grove and recently started her sophomore year at the University of Illinois-Champagne where she is majoring in Business and plans to minor in Technology and Management.
During her internship at UWDWC, Jessica worked closely with staff members in a variety of areas including research for new business prospects, compiling demographic data, and collecting education data by district in the DuPage/West Cook communities.
"Going into the summer, my goals were simple. I wanted to learn more about business while giving back to the community. An internship at United Way of DuPage/West Cook presented the opportunity to achieve both of these objectives and more."
"Throughout the summer, I was so surprised by the needs that exist in our community and inspired by the people who devote their lives to meeting those needs. Interacting with the people at the UWDWC office helped me grow both personally and professionally. I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with such wonderful people; I am a better and more informed member of society because of it."
We asked Jessica...
What's the most interesting place you've ever visited and why?
"Alaska is the most surreal and awe-inspiring place I have ever seen. It feels more like a different planet than it does a U.S. state. The scale and beauty of Denali National Park left me feeling speechless, not to mention small!"
Who is someone you would like to meet (dead or alive)?
"Assuming I could speak Italian, I would love to sit down with Leonardo da Vinci-the original Renaissance Man. He was a painter, writer, inventor, architect, and mathematician among other occupations. I would ask him what his secret was and whether he ever slept."
What course are you looking forward to at U of I?
"I am hoping to expand my world view through an anthropology course called 'Memoirs of Africa.' The professor is a published author who spent years among a tribe on the Ivory Coast. I also plan to pick up a minor in Technology and Management, which will allow me to throw some engineering courses in with my business studies major."
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