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Commons Connections
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January 2010
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Greetings!
From the desk of Dan Valliere, Executive Director
Chicago Commons' neighborhood level work is built upon a
foundation of both public and private funding. We rely upon private funding to
sustain our commitment to quality and effective service. We use public support
to increase our scale, serving more families than we could with private dollars alone. Through improved neighborhoods,
expanded tax base, lower medical costs and lower crime in future decades, our work returns dividends to the State.
Due
to a combination of past leadership failure and present economic distress, the
State of Illinois is in fiscal crisis. Hard solutions are necessary, and we are advocating for fair budget solutions to ensure that human services for vulnerable families
are sustained as much as possible. We are a member of the Illinois Partners for Human Service, a statewide
campaign advocating for high quality, responsible, and sustainable human services in Illinois.
At
Commons, we believe the solution to the State's crisis involves BOTH reduced
expenses and increased revenue. We support many of the recommendations of the
Civic Committee of The Commercial Club which calls for major reductions in state
expenses. We also support many recommendations of the Responsible Budget Coalition which advocates for new state revenue.
We
all must prepare to make changes and sacrifices. We will continue to advocate that these
sacrifices are shared equally across all aspects of state government, and understand that Commons, too, will share in these sacrifices. If you have questions
about Commons' position, please feel free to contact me at 773-826-4645
or by email.
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 Count Me In for Census 2010!
Chicago Commons, along with La Casa Norte and Humboldt Park Social Services, has received a "Count Me In" grant through the Illinois Census Funders Initiative to increase response rates for the 2010 census in communities at risk for being undercounted, particularly Humboldt Park, New City, Hermosa and Avondale communities. It is critical that these communities get counted so that the needs of these communities are correctly represented. Over the next couple of months we will be involved in door-to-door outreach, community meetings, and canvassing to get the word out! Click here for more details.
For more info or to volunteer to help, contact Enrique Salgado, Jr. at 773.638.5600 x1022 or by email.
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 What does peace look like
to you?
Our Common Ground for Youth program encourages creativity and collaboration in dealing with tough issues. In response to the loss of one of our own youth to gun violence, students shared their perspectives on what peace would look like for themselves and their community. Their images were sewn into a beautiful quilt, signifying the power of one active voice working within a community.
Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration
Two of our R.I.S.E. students wrote and recited their poems at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday celebration, "Resurrecting Dreams" in Humboldt Park. The celebration was filled with song, dance, poetry and a variety of speakers, focusing on peace and community fellowship.
R.I.S.E (Raising
Individual Success through Empowerment) is a program for
high
school juniors and seniors, providing leadership development
activities, mentoring, paid internships and a college bus tour where students gain first-hand knowledge of the road to
college!
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How many emails are too many emails?
Click here to be a part of our survey!
(Just one question, guaranteed to take only 5 seconds!)
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A great way to give!
 Making a donation in honor or in memory of a friend or loved one is a wonderful way to express your appreciation and to support a good cause. We gratefully acknowledge these very special gifts received in the last quarter (10/1 - 12/31/09):
IN MEMORY OF:
Ms. Rita J. Picken
Catherine J. Duenas
IN HONOR OF:
Mr. George W. Blossom III on his 91st Birthday
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Mucha
Catherine J. Duenas' Birthday
Lynne F. Schatz
Nina and Matthew Bershadker
Ms. Bettie B. Dwinell
Quin Frazer
Rowland Chang and Deborah Sobol
Paul and Lisa Blumberg
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Many thanks to Sid Liebenson and Marc Ziner of Marketing Highway for donating their time to develop the promotional materials for Project Wingspan! We have big dreams for this Project and need your help to reach our goal of $65,000 for our Adult Education program. Donate now!More about Project Wingspan |
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Fitness Focus! 
Thanks to a grant from EQUIP, our early childhood centers are all working to ensure that our children get adequate physical exercise at home and at our sites. Workshops for staff and parents include martial arts, yoga, creative movement and exercising with what you have.
Our goal is to strengthen family and staff awareness of health, fitness and nutrition and to stimulate more indoor and outdoor physical activity. Let's get those bodies moving!
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Golf Invitational
Last year's golf invitational was a sold out success!
Mark your calendars now for this annual event on Monday, June 28!
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Thank you! |
We thank you for your
continued support of Chicago Commons and our efforts to partner in building the
well-being of the individuals, families and neighborhoods we
serve. In these challenging times, it is needed more than ever! Click here to support Chicago Commons with a donation via our secure server or contact Sue G'Sell at 773.826.4256 or by email to discuss how you can help.
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