IN THIS ISSUE:
*Events
*Volunteer Opportunities
*Internships, Jobs, and Beyond...
*In the Spotlight: Community Service Changes Volunteers into Leaders
EVENTS
Bronzeville Alliance Forum
Saturday, December 6
8:00am-2:00pm
244 E. Pershing Road, Wendell Phillips High School
Residents, elected officials, and key stakeholders meet to discuss the community’s status and plan its future in celebration of Timuel D. Black, a leader of the movement to elect Harold Washington as mayor, a mentor to a young Barack Obama, and a lifelong Bronzeville resident and activist. Reserve a place at the Forum by calling 773-373-5700
Tools of War: Violence Against Women In African Conflicts
Sunday, December 7
5:00pm
Goodman Theatre: 170 North Dearborn Street
A panel discussion focusing on the tens of thousands of women raped in what the United Nations officials have called the worst violence against women in the world. Panelists include, Lynette Jackson, Professor of Gender Studies and African Studies at The University of Illinois-Chicago; Ngozi Udoye, CEO and President of African Women in America; and Prexy Nesbitt, Speaker and Educator on Africa, foreign policy, and racism.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
The Center for Economic Progress is looking for volunteers to assist in helping families with taxes. No prior experience is needed as training sessions will be offered beginning in January with the closest location in Bronzeville (4804 S. Cottage Grove). Please check www.economicprogress.org for a comprehensive list of site locations available positions along with the volunteer application. Contact Erica Maslanka, Volunteer Services Manager, at 312.630.0244 or emaslanka@economicprogress.org with any questions
High School chemistry tutors needed for afternoon 1-on-1 sessions. If there is anyone who is willing to assist in this area, please contact Ms. Brazelton at 312-886-0396.
The Dearborn REALTIST Board is an advocate for education concerning public housing matters ensuring Democracy in Housing for all. They are looking for any direction in obtaining volunteer assistance in updating their current website, www.dearbornreb.com. Please contact Tracey Taylor at 312-980-5182.
Family Focus Englewood is looking for volunteers who can assist with the design and construction of the Children's Peace Statue. They can specifically use art, architecture, engineering, and interior design majors or just anyone who is willing to volunteer their time to make a difference in the community. For more information, contact Mary E. Usdrowski at 773-962-0366 extension: 213.
Common Threads, a non profit organization that runs an after school cooking program for children throughout the city of Chicago, is looking for volunteers who are willing to devote a few hours, once a week for their 12-week program. Cooking experience is not required but they are looking for individuals who enjoy working with children and are committed to making a difference in their community. For more information e-mail Elsa Soto at intern@commonthreads.org.
Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center is looking for Mandarin speakers to help with legal intakes for Chinese kids. It would mean going to the International Children’s Center (in Rogers Park) every two weeks for about two hours. Contact Alexandra Fung, afung@heartlandalliance.org or 312-660-1330.
INTERNSHIPS, JOBS, AND BEYOND...
2009 Humanity in Action Fellowship
The HIA Fellowship brings together university students from the United States and Europe for a rigorous, interdisciplinary inquiry into human rights, diversity, and minority issues. Students participate in the five-week fellowship in one of six different countries: Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, or the United States. Upon completing the fellowship, Fellows join an active international network of young professionals and are eligible for internship opportunities at the United States Congress, European Parliament, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and other civic and political institutions. Check out humanityinaction.org
Global Engagement Summer Institute 2009
Due: 1-15-2009
The Global Engagement Summer Institute (GESI) is a two-course summer study abroad program focused on community development in a global context and will send 60 students to La Plata, Argentina; Udaipur, India; or Jinja, Uganda. For more information, visit www.mycge.org or contact Ryan Pederson (ryan-pederson@northwestern.edu).
Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship
Due: 02-15-2009
Sponsors six-to-nine month fellowships for recent college graduates (including graduate students) in Washington, DC. Fellows serve as full-time junior staff members working on peace and security issues, at participating organizations. Includes a stipend of $2,100 per month and health insurance, plus travel expenses to Washington DC. For more information: http://scoville.org/.
Federal Work Study (Off-Campus)
UCSC seeks out and posts part-time and summer work-study positions with Chicago area nonprofit and public sector organizations. Opportunities are geared toward identified interests and skills of our College, graduate and professional school students. View this list for the most current off-campus works study positions.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Community Service Changes Volunteers into Leaders
Rachel Cromidas and Mutisya Leonard, Staff Writers
Over the past nine weeks, we have introduced you to programs that define the University Community Service Center. We encourage you to meet them in person at the UCSC Holiday Party on Friday Dec. 5th from 3-5pm in the Bartlett Trophy Lounge. Enjoy donuts, coffee, and conversation with students engaged with service throughout Chicago.
Splash Chicago recruits college students at the University to volunteer teaching anything to local students attending local public high schools on a day long visit to our campus. In their second annual event in October, Splash Chicago hosted over 200 students, from at least twenty five different schools throughout Chicago. Up to 100 college students, including 80 who took up teaching assignments, worked to host 90 unique classes. Race Wright, a third year student in the College majoring in Anthropology and Luke Joyner, a fourth year in the College majoring in Mathematics co-founded Splash Chicago. The two met three years ago working with Winning Words, a program of the Civic Knowledge Project.
Winning Words provides college student volunteers an opportunity to coach debate and argumentation to middle school students in our neighborhood. Having being involved in debate in high school, Wright’s involvement with Winning Words in his first year at the College was a natural interest.
Joyner, a Boston native, attended MIT’s Splash event while at high school. From that experience he envisioned, a replication of the program at University of Chicago. As the two worked to bring Splash to Chicago their biggest challenge was making a more local, focused program that matches the needs of the South Side.
“One thing that’s great about community service RSOs,” Wright notes, “is that you can take on all these innovative, practical ideas and turn them to workable projects. Plus, I’ve learned a lot about the complications of working with a community – how for every community you need first have specific knowledge on setting up, and marketing ideas. With Splash Chicago we’ve had to be attentive to our community’s interests, needs and desires, and to some extent their limitations – how they shape our program. For instance, unlike MIT’s program off of which Splash Chicago is based, the Chicago program is free.”
David Klein, a third year student in the College and a Gender Studies and English Language and Literature double major says of his involvement with community service: “To create benefit for somebody that is in need of it makes working with people meaningful and rewarding. Personally I get a lot of satisfaction working with people. My upbringing – in a family that gave emphasis to social justice and solidarity – made me uncomfortable with my suburban high school experience, and so I really enjoyed my first year assignment with the Neighborhood Schools Program.”
As a Social Justice co-coordinator for UCSC today, Klein extends the cause for solidarity he has treasured growing up in creating networks for Social Justice organization. On December 2nd, the Social Justice Committee hosted Community Organizing 101 – a collaborative collection of Social Justice interests that exposed participant college students to actual, successful community organizers, allowing them to make connections, start relationships.
It is the significance of these connections that drew Udodi Okoh, now a third year in the College majoring in Public Policy Studies, to apply to the Community Service Leadership Training Corps (CSLTC) in her first year.
“Because of CSLTC and because of my own academic interests,” Okoh said, “heightened my sensitivity to the many beneficial connections one can make with a community. Frankly, these individual service days, led me to my association with Paul Robeson High School in my second year. I led a ten-week photography workshop there last summer, collections of which I shared at the Organization of Black Student’s last Cultural Show.”
Okoh recollects: “It was great to get to know the kids. Humbling to have them look up to me. They got comfortable enough to call my cell phone for leisurely chats … I have a great passion for kids. And it’s beautiful to be in a position to share the promise of success, to guide people to cultivate confidence.”
Wright admits to have stumbled into Anthropology, just as he stumbled into Splash Chicago. It is only after his academic and extra-curricular involvements got lives of their own, independently, that he noticed them to be mutually enriching – that reflections on community involvement are informed by his classes, and that often his classes are altered by his community involvement.
“As much as we learn theory,” Wright proposes, “if it is not tampered by different perspectives, it’s one dimensional. Appreciating the different way of life in the community that hosts our University, the manner of thinking that comes from being a member of that community, and being able to engage and understand disparate values is an essential piece to our education – it helps us better understand the world we study.”
The University Community Service Center (UCSC) fosters the development of civic-minded students by providing substantive community service opportunities through community partnerships based on mutual trust and respect. If you have questions - how to get involved as a student or how to connect to students as a community organization - please contact us.
University Community Service Center
5525 S. Ellis Ave., Suite 160
Chicago IL, 60637
Tel: 773.753.4483
Fax: 773.834.1160
ucsc.uchicago.edu
