IN THIS ISSUE:
*Events
*Volunteer Opportunities
*Internships, Jobs, and Beyond...
*In the Spotlight: The Drive to Fight Hunger
EVENTS
Engaging Our Communities
Friday, April 24th
8:00am – 11:00am
School of Social Service Administration (969 East 60th Street)
You’re invited to join us for a presentation and conversation with Ann Marie Lipinski, Vice President for Civic Engagement, and Chicago community and University leaders on the University’s engagement efforts. RSVP at civic_engagement@uchicago.edu or 773.834.4122. Breakfast is provided.
Global Activism Expo 2009
Saturday, April 25
Noon – 6:00pm
Northeastern Illinois University (3600 W. Foster Avenue)
Hosted by Worldview’s Jerome McDonnell, Chicago Public Radio Presents…is thrilled to again present this remarkable celebration – complete with food, music and over 100 Chicago-area Global Activists, all featured guests of Worldview’s Global Activists series. Doors open at noon on Saturday and stay open until 6 pm; it’s FREE – so bring your classes, your children, your neighbors, your friends and family.
Dance Marathon in Technicolor
Saturday, April 25
2:00pm-2:00am
Ida Noyes (1212 E. 59th Street)
Come have fun and support the dancers who are raising money to benefit the Children's Place Association, the Midwest's first residential facility dedicated to the care of HIV/AIDS-affected children. For more information or if you still want to sign up (it's not too late!), visit http://dm.uchicago.edu.
From the Ends of the Earth: Christianity in the 21st Century
Friday, May 1: 10am – 6pm
Saturday, May 2: 9am – 3pm
University of Chicago Divinity School (1025 E. 58th St.)
The 5th Annual Ministry Conference seeks to help deepen understanding among ministers, students and lay-persons as well as professional academics of certain realities and potential futures of being Christian around the world. The Conference is open to the public. To register, e-mail ministryconference@gmail.com. For questions or further information, you can also call 630-877-6322.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
** This is a friendly reminder from Volunteer Referral that there are still great volunteer opportunities for you to get involved with! As the weather gets better keep in mind that there are a number of outdoor opportunities close by in Washington Park. Look out for spotlights on particularly great organizations and new ways to serve in the UCSC Newsletter. And even if you have come in already, feel free to stop by the UCSC to talk about possible volunteer opportunities. Contact Elspeth at emcgarvey@uchicago.edu to find a time to meet or with any questions you may have!
Soundscapes/Devon: Collaborative Audiowalk in an Immigrant Neighborhood of Chicago
The University of Chicago and the Indo-American Center are facilitating a community-driven effort to create an artistic, educational, widely-disseminable portrait of Devon Avenue. This project may be of interest to students and teachers who want to explore firsthand how an organization that would like to serve a new community takes root in that community, as well those interested in music, sound art, or service-learning. Interested individuals may contact Currun Singh at 773-702-8635 or currun@uchicago.edu for more information or to find out how to get involved.
Screening and Workshops around Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath
This spring, the University of Chicago will host a two-day series of screenings and workshops around the newly-released film Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath, which explores hate and healing in America post-9/11. Screenings and Q&A will be held for middle and high school students and the public, with reflective discussions, interfaith dialogues, and oral history trainings to follow for those interested in communities across Chicago. If you would like to bring the film and a workshop to your community, school, classroom, etc., please let us know and we will do our best to make it happen. Interested individuals may contact Currun Singh at 773-702-8635 or currun@uchicago.edu for more information or to find out how to get involved.
The Broadway Youth Center Drop-In Program, seeks activists, artists, healers, thinkers, LGBT folks of color, organizers, adult allies, and mentors available for 1-2 shifts per week—which last from 12 noon-5 PM, Monday through Saturday. This summer opportunity will also include important training and support on issues related to harm reduction, anti-oppression values, boundaries, and the roles of a youth worker in our space. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Lara at larab@howardbrown.org or 773-299-7613.
INTERNSHIPS, JOBS, AND BEYOND...
Reasoning Mind is a non-profit that is using the Internet to dramatically improve the math achievement of children from disadvantaged communities. Thousands of children have benefitted from the curricula, which not only teach basic math knowledge, but also develop students’ critical thinking skills. By working as a Program Coordinator for Reasoning Mind, you can make a difference for thousands of elementary school children from disadvantaged communities. If you’re interested in learning more about Reasoning Mind, visit their website at www.reasoningmind.org or email sgaudino@gmail.com to arrange a meeting.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The Drive to Fight Hunger
Rachel Cromidas, Staff Writer
Hunger and food insecurity is an under publicized, growing problem casting its shadow on the United States, one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported 36.2 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 12.4 million children (16.9% of all children) in 2007.
Third-year Fida Abuisneineh is among many who fight hunger through food-drives. Abuisneineh organized her first drive when she was president of her high school’s community service club, using a discarded red wagon in her campus’s student activities office as the collection bin. And since then, she has been looking to University of Chicago community members to support the anti-hunger cause year-round.
Abuisneineh found an ally in the University Community Service Center; she approached UCSC Director Wallace Goode Jr. last year to create a food drive that would collect donations all year, as opposed to drives centered on the holiday seasons, Goode paired her with student-staff member Race Wright, and they created FASS, UCSC’s pilot food-drive program.
FASS stands for “Faculty, Administrators, Students and Staff,” Wright, a College third-year, explained. “We try to emphasize that it is a collaboration between these four core constituents of the University.”
A different office on campus volunteers to host the FASS donation bins each week, Wright said, and each will rally their staff members to the cause.
For example, Wright said, “UCSC and [Neighborhood Schools Program] will host a food drive and all the staff members in those two offices donate food for that week. The next week it goes to the law school, and they host it for a week…then it goes to the Reg, and then the Bursars, etc.”
“People seem really into it,” Abuisneineh added. “The [Student Counseling and Resource Center] was one of our first sites, and one woman there was so excited about it she got her staff to put stuff out before I even came over with the bins. She was even telling us… we should collect more than just food.”
According to Wright, FASS initially aimed to collect eight to twelve “Treasure Island-sized” bags of food per office.
“In the first quarter I think across the board everybody met their goals. The Reg provided 30 bags of donations,” he said.
FASS donates all of the food it collects to local and community-based food depositories, Wright said. FASS’s three current partners are the Midwest Workers Association, First Presbyterian Church on 61st Street, and the Living Room Café.
Two student groups, the Muslim Students Association and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, have joined together to pick up and deliver the donations each week. This week, FASS is taking place at the University of Chicago Police Department.
According to Wright, the program is still looking for offices, organization, and campus buildings to host the food drive. Those interested in hosting the drive should contact FASS@uchicago.edu for more information.
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
