Day 247: Jane Addams Hull House Association

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates, I am on my way to Mexico right now. I am excited and nervous to begin my expedition in Chiapas, I am very grateful for the opportunity to do something this big outside of my community. I am hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday. Today’s give goes to the Hull House back home in Chicago, they provide a plethora of programs to Chicago’s neediest families and today is as good a day as any to send them my support. 

“Civilization is a method of living and an attitude of equal respect for all people.” –Jane Addams

Beginning in 1889, founder, Jane Addams, worked with Chicago’s neediest families to identify the resources they needed to become full participants in their communities.

They still work from that same premise 121 years later. Jane Addams Hull House Association continues to be immersed in communities to determine how to best serve all citizens’ needs.

They also work to better the public policies that impact families and individuals through our Center for Civil Society. They expand on our social service knowledge and experience to enhance policy initiatives.

Hull House’s 50 programs are broken down into these service areas:

  • Child Welfare & Foster Care
  • Domestic Violence
  • Education & Literacy
  • Homeless Services
  • Senior Services
  • Small Business Development
  • Workforce Development
  • Youth Services

Amount Donated: $5

To support the Jane Addams Hull House Association, please visit:http://www.hullhouse.org

A $25 donation will provide 28 jars of baby food for our Infant Centers.

A $50 donation will provide a week’s worth of groceries for a homeless teen.

A $100 donation will provide job readiness training to an unemployed adult.

Day 239: Sarah’s Circle

Today’s give goes out to a Chicago organization helping homeless women and their families rebuild their lives again. While I have never experienced being homeless, I know how hard my mother worked to provide for us, she made even the smallest one bedroom apartment feel like home. She was a strong woman, who took care of her family first. But, what I remember vividly and what had a profound impact on me, were those days when she would scrap a couple dollars to put in the little church envelope, so I had something to give when the collection basket came around on Sundays, or dig up change in the car to buy a Misericordia tag, or pull cans of food from our own cabinets so we would have something to put in the food drive box at school. In my mind, she is the true hero and my inspiration for taking on this journey. So, I give to Sarah’s Circle, in honor of mom for being a true empowered woman, and to all the great mothers out there working to provide for their families, and thanks to Katie C. for the recommendation.

Sarah’s Circle is a refuge for women who are homeless or in need of a safe space. By providing housing assistance, case management, referral services, and life necessities, we encourage women to empower themselves by rebuilding both emotionally and physically; realizing their unique potential.

Sarah’s Circle endeavors to provide indispensable services with excellence. We are constantly striving to improve and expand as an organization in our efforts to serve a growing number of women facing homelessness.

Individuals who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless face many barriers to empowerment.

  • A census done by The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless showed that during fiscal year 2006 there were 73,656 people who were homeless.
  • According to the census, on any typical night over 21,000 individuals were homeless.  Of this total, only 4,654 were served by shelters.
  • Individuals who are homeless have a greater risk of hypothermia, poor nutrition, chronic health problems, physical attack, and even death.  
  • Chicago spends $3 per homeless individual versus San Francisco, which commits $100 per individual, and New York, which commits $37 per individual.
  • In Chicago, single women comprise 35.5% of the homeless population.
  • Women who are homeless are particularly vulnerable to severe physical and/or sexual abuse.
  • Domestic violence is the immediate cause of homelessness for many women and often this violence is from an intimate partner.
  • A study by the U.S. Census shows that there is a growing percentage of individuals in Chicago who are “rent-burdened,” meaning they pay more than 30% of their income toward housing.   

Amount Donated: $5

To support Sarah’s Circle, please visit: http://www.sarahs-circle.org

Day 233: Arden Shore Child & Family Services

The interview I did on Adelante Chicago aired this morning, it was an honor to be on the show to meet Lourdes Duarte and to talk about my mission and upcoming expedition to Mexico. To highlight today, I thought I would support an organization that Lourdes is supportive of as a Thank You. When I found out about the interview, I followed WGN and Lourdes on Twitter and I noticed a couple weeks ago Lourdes did a 5K run to raise money for Arden Shore, which I think is awesome!

Each year, Arden Shore serves a diverse population of about 1500 clients, the majority of whom are low income. Clients are from the Lake County communities of Waukegan, North Chicago, Zion, Round Lake, Mundelein and other neighboring communities. In addition, all of our services are bilingual and bicultural to ensure that Latino families with language and cultural barriers have a place they can come to for help. Arden Shore carries the backing of the Council on Accreditation, attesting to meet the highest best-practice standards in servicing abused and or neglected children.

Arden Shore Child and Family Services rebuilds children’s lives in a caring community. They believe that:

  • Children and families have a right to grow in a structured, safe and nurturing environment tailored to meet their individual needs.
  • Children and families have a right and an obligation to participate actively in their planning and treatment.
  • Children and families have strengths and it is Arden Shore’s responsibility to create an environment which recognizes, encourages and enhances those strengths.
  • All children and families can grow and change to make better choices for themselves.
  • The diversity of children, families, staff and volunteers enriches and strengthens our services.

Amount Donated: $10

To support Arden Shore Child & Family Services, please visit: http://www.ardenshore.com or donate to Lourdes Duarte’s Turkey Day Run fundraiser, yes she already ran, but you can still help her hit the goal!

Day 217: Franciscan Outreach Association

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I will be posting what I am thankful for later today, but first my give. While most of us get together with our families or friends today to share a meal, I wanted to give to an organization helping those that might not have a place to go. I volunteered at Franciscan Outreach’s soup kitchen in high school and saw first hand the amount of homeless people the facility served. Chicago has a growing homeless population, I see it everyday I go to work or to Mary-Arrchie. You realize very quickly how important organizations like Franciscan Outreach are, when you stop to look and listen.

Franciscan Outreach Association helps the homeless of Chicago. They have four programs: an emergency overnight shelter for homeless adults, a free dining room for the poor and homeless, a case management program in which trained case managers help the homeless and poor find the social services they need to create a better life for themselves, and a lay volunteer program through which volunteers can work directly with the poor and homeless full time in exchange for room and board and a small stipend.

Their vision is to provide the poor and homeless with the basic necessities they need to survive from day to day and help them find the specialized services they need to change their lives for the better.

Amount Donated: $10

To support Franciscan Outreach Association, please visit: http://www.franoutreach.org

Day 215: Lambs Farm

When I was in high school I volunteered at a variety of organizations, the one that touched my heart the most was the work at Marklund Children’s home. During Halloween, we took the kids trick or treating. The severely autistic girl I was with and I had so much fun singing songs and tricking or treating, she really had an impact on me. When I told my mother about my time at Marklund, she told me I had a relative at Lambs Farm. I had no idea until that moment and I was emotionally floored. I have tried over the years to give a voice to this missing family member in my life and became the main reason why I wanted to direct Toronto, Mississippi. So, today’s give is an important one, thank you to Lambs Farm for caring for my family.

Founded in 1961, Lambs Farm is a premier non-profit organization serving adults with developmental disabilities. Lambs Farm has grown from a small pet shop in Chicago to a 72-acre campus located in Libertyville, Illinois where opportunity flourishes for the more than 250 men and women served.

Those with developmental disabilities served by Lambs Farm are provided the opportunity to advance in all areas of life through ever-increasing residential, vocational and recreational choices. Community partnerships allow them to experience a broader variety of activities. Activities focus on the enrichment of the people of Lambs Farm — building their determination to lead full, satisfying lives. They gain independence by having the freedom to be as self-governing as possible and they accomplish all this with dignity, taking pride in all that they do.

Amount Donated: $20

To support Lambs Farm, please visit: http://www.lambsfarm.org