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Aug 2010  |  By Mibs  |  Comments

September 2010 Give Time, Give Things, Give Support

This month's picks for people, places and things with which you can make a difference:

Give Time:

Cancer Wellness Center
Waukegan

Spanish-speaking and office volunteers needed to support the professional and clinical staffs, help communicate with clients, encourage and assist with fundraising efforts, participate and help manage special events, and support workshops and other Center activities. If you would like more information on volunteer opportunities in administrative support, special events or outreach, please call or email Carolyn Bennett at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Children’s Home + Aid
Evanston
Fitness Friends needed to lead youth in activities such as dance, sports or yoga at Children’s Home + Aid two hours a week. This agency protects, educates and counsels nearly 400 foster children in the Chicago area who are overcoming mental illness, homelessness, abuse and neglect. A caring adult investing a couple of hours a week could give great hope and opportunity. Call or email Sara Norwick, volunteer coordinator, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

SHORE Community Services, Inc.
Skokie
Volunteers are always welcome at SHORE and improve the quality of life for persons with developmental disabilities. Chaperon individuals on outings; assist classroom staff in adult groups at SHORE’s Lois Lloyd Center; stuff, seal and sort large mailings; repair, paint and maintain building; supervise and assist during lunch with serving, clean-up and socializing; write articles and take photographs for newsletters.  To learn more about volunteering, call 847-982-2030, ext. 21 or 25.

Give Things

Anixter Center
Chicago
Household items needed to enhance the quality of life for the 5000 kids and adults with disabilities who are served through Anixter Center. Needed items include: bedding for twin size beds including pillows, mattress pads, blankets, sheet sets, comforters; towels and wash cloths; holiday decorations; cookbooks; pots and pans; silverware; Tupperware; plastic reusable drinking cups; crock pots; Corell dishware; picture frames and gardening supplies. Contact Shanna Greenberg at 773-973-7900, ext. 243.

Rock the Block for Pediatric Epilepsy Research
Benefiting Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE)
Silent auction items are being accepted for this year’s ”Rock the Block,” Saturday, October 16th at 7 p.m. Auction items will be prominently displayed throughout the evening. The first “Rock the Block” for Pediatric Epilepsy was held in 2008 and raised over $150,000 for research. Founding organizers Kathy and Bob Dodd and Stacey and John Pigott, Wilmette residents and parents of children with epilepsy, are committed to raising money and awareness about pediatric epilepsy and the devastation that uncontrolled seizures have on a young child and family.

All proceeds will benefit CURE, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for epilepsy. Contact Kathy Dodd at 312-607-9838 or send an email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Nurture
Winnetka
Nurture’s educational programs emphasize three pieces of inexpensive cooking equipment that allow families to prepare easy, nutritious meals on a budget: 20-Cup Rice Cooker, 5-Quart Hamilton Beach Meal Maker and 2-Speed Hand Blender. Please mail or drop off these small appliances at Winnetka Presbyterian Church. Items will be used in classes and distributed to participants.

Nurture was founded in 2008 to address issues of hunger, childhood obesity, wellness and an increasingly unhealthy food chain.  They focus on low-income families with children at high risk for nutritional and health problems and are a 100% volunteer managed organization fueled by passion and energy to help others.

Give Support

Fenix Family Health Center
Highwood
Founded this past June by Winnetka resident, Dr. Louise Berner-Holmberg, the Fenix Family Health Center provides high-quality health care to poverty-level families living in the northern suburbs. Your contribution will enable this ambulatory health and primary care facility to prevent unnecessary and expensive emergency room .

Lydia Home
Chicago

Host a table at LYDIA’s 2010 Benefit Gala, Thursday, November 11, 2010, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont.  A ministry of compassion, LYDIA reaches more than 7,500 children and families including 600 families in crisis through a network of safe homes, residential treatment for abused and neglected children, and high school education for at-risk teens.  For tickets, call or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Lambs Farm
Libertyville
Join the Lambs Farm 2010 Community Chili Challenge on October 15.  Be creative! Have fun! Who wouldn’t want a taste of “Double Barreled Smokin’ Chili” by a team nicknamed “Chili the Kidd?” Inspired? Good! Participation fees go to support Lambs Farm, an organization that empowers an extraordinary group of more than 250 people with developmental disabilities to lead personally fulfilling lives. Please call or email Claudia Stevens at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for additional information.