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Dec 2009  |  By Mibs  |  Comments

Make A Difference - Give Time, Give Support, Give Things

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

Genesis at the Crossroads
847-853-0140
www.gatc.org

Give things: Gently used instruments help keep kids off the streets in Casablanca.

Now is the time to make use of your instrument by donating it to a child halfway around the world, who has neither access to an instrument nor money for lessons. Their schools have no mandatory musical instruction either.

Now you can help the Genesis at the Crossroads’ Instrument-Donation Program’s ARTSLINK humanitarian effort: Arm Them with Instruments. This pilot program will help take these indigent children off the streets of Casablanca and aid them in tapping into their innate talent and creative self-expression.
Go online to complete the donation form. Please note, GATC will help you with shipping arrangements. For questions and logistics contact Donna Bliss, Genesis at the Crossroads, 847-853-0140.

Lexi Kazian Foundation
“Helping From Heaven”
847-624-LEXI (5394)
www.helpingfromheaven.org

Give things: Therapy equipment for children with special needs.

Lexi’s Equipment Closet provides a variety of therapy equipment for children with special needs. When families seek equipment for their child with special needs, they are confused by options, brands, styles of apparatus and equipment available. Our closet gives families a chance to try out what is needed before an expensive, non-refundable purchase is made. In rare cases, where funding in not available for the special need, Lexi’s Equipment Closet will donate the needed equipment.

You Evanston
847-866-1200 x242
www.youevanston.org

Give things: Recreational activity items such as video games, DVDs and pool balls.

The program staff currently has a wish list of items to be used during recreational activity time. Video game systems (Preferably a Playstation 2, XBox or Gamecube), gently used videos and DVDs, coupons or gift cards for DVD rentals, pool balls and cue sticks, foosball table, CD player/boom box, educational computer games, tennis rackets and balls, camping equipment, new and gently used bike helmets.

Girls in the Game
312-633-GAME (4263)
www.girlsinthegame.org

Give time: Be a positive role model in a weekly, monthly or yearly commitment.

Change the world in 4 hours. It may sound too good to be true, but for those who volunteer with Girls in the Game, it is as simple as it sounds. This year volunteers contributed more than 8,000 hours of time, talent and compassion to the girls and young women in our programs.

There are so many ways individuals and groups can get involved. From weekly, monthly or yearly commitments, girls and young women are benefiting from spending time with caring, positive male and female adult role models. Volunteers must be 18 or older, agree to submit to a background check and attend a one hour volunteer orientation.

Contact Kate Shaughnessy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Busy Brains Children’s Museum
www.busybrains.org

Give time: Help children discover the joy of learning by joining committees at the museum or setting up exhibits.

The Busy Brains Children’s Museum is a developing children’s museum in Lake County, Ill.  There are a variety of volunteer opportunities from committees to setting up/taking down traveling exhibits throughout the area. Busy Brains Children’s Museum encourages the joy of learning and
discovery in all children, with interactive exhibits and enlightening programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. This volunteer opportunity is  appropriate for high-school aged children through senior citizens.

Contact Kathy Goers at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Keen
312-876-2535
www.KEENchicago.org

Give time: Coach children and young adults with disabilities.

Keen provides free recreational and sports programs for children and young adults with more profound and severe mental and physical disabilities. By pairing trained volunteers, “coaches,” with KEEN’S “athletes,” children and young adults with disabilities, KEEN provides one-to-one coaching and integration that promotes individual fulfillment. Volunteer opportunities are available form December through July, twice a month on Sundays. Volunteers must be 16 years or older.

Haven Youth & Family Services
847-251-6630
www.havenforyouth.org

Give Support: Contributions ensure that counseling services and crisis line can continue at no cost to the community.

Haven Youth and Family Services is asking for donations (it costs $68 per student per year) to provide services. Haven has three licensed social workers who work with teens and their families in New Trier Township as well as a 24-hour crisis line available to anyone in the community. You can help by sending a tax-deductible contribution so that the counseling services and crisis line can continue at no cost to the community.

Lambs Farm
847-990-3797
www.lambsfarm.org

Give Support: Purchasing chocolates helps support adults with developmental disabilties.

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, Ill., where opportunity flourishes for the more than 250 men and women served.

Lambs Farm now offers handmade chocolate favors for your wedding or other special events. These delicious treats are made right on Lambs Farm’s campus by the very people your purchases help to support. You can choose from white, milk or bittersweet chocolate. Some items allow for a combination of chocolates.

For orders placed through www.lambsfarm.org, a customer service representative will contact you to confirm your order, shipping charges and ascertain your choice of ribbon color.

Bark 4 Care
847-480-9716
www.Bark4Care.org

Give Support: Making a donation or buying Bark 4 Care jewelry provides support for families dealing with biological brain disorders.

Millions of families across the world are touched by biological brain disorders such as: anxiety, ADHD, depression and bipolar disorder. These disorders have stigma attached to them, often leaving families feeling alone and desperate for relief. There is no cure or clear treatment path for these disorders; as a result, families need ongoing support. Bark 4 Care strives to fill this need.

To help Bark 4 Care in their mission:

1) Subscribe to our Better Letter, and select them as the charity who receives our $5 donation.
2) Visit their website and purchase one of their handmade Bark 4 Care products.
3) Make a donation on their website.
4) Volunteer your time to help create products, sell products and/or just spread the word.
5) Makes a great project for schools, organizations, groups, churches, mitzvah projects, etc.

2nd Chance: The Chance Cole Walker Foundation
224-420-0937
www.2ndchancefoundation.com

Give Support: Donations support the development of an educational pamphlet.

Created in the memory of their son who died at age 12, Connie and Chuck Walker strive through this foundation to provide support and educational resources to people affected by ADD/ADHD. The Foundation is looking for donations to support the development of an educational pamphlet that can be distributed to coaches, Sunday school teachers and any other parents or professionals who work with kids who are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.