UPDATES |
|
|
Rita Kahn
Executive Director The season of gratitude is here and there is nothing I am more grateful for than the wonderful people who give of their time and talents at Chicago HOPES for Kids. We have two new AmeriCorps members joining us this November to support our program team. Yaritza Flores is our new Program Coordinator VISTA and shared that she chose to work with HOPES because when she was younger, she lived in and out of homeless shelters. Yaritza had some educational support but not to the extent HOPES provides for students. She credits her own success to people who advocated and helped her through a tough time in life. Spirit Healy joins HOPES as a State & National AmeriCorps Member who will be providing direct support to our students. Spirit chose to work with HOPES to provide inspiration, education, music, color, and happiness. Spirit hopes to make children’s souls grow warmer despite the challenges of homelessness. |
|
Erica Walker
Program Director Greeting friends, Thanksgiving approaches and we at Chicago HOPES for Kids are counting our blessings and recognizing all that we have to be grateful for as the world keeps on turning. This time last year we were helping students with remote learning and carefully monitoring everyone’s safety pre-vaccination; today many more adults are vaccinated and children are finally eligible. We have eleven active programs in seven sites, engaging dozens of learners: |
ADVOCACY ARTICLE |
|
|
Minimizing the Achievement Gap Using Language
By: Erica Ramos Social Work Intern In researching the American achievement gap, studies have pointed to various factors and interventions hoping to minimize the disparity in academic achievement between minority and disadvantaged students and their white counterparts. One such study, the Thirty Million Words project, aims to begin interventions from infancy. |
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT |
|
|
We are happy to spotlight our longtime volunteer, Conner Rettig, this month! Conner began volunteering with HOPES in 2018 looking for a way to give back to the community in a direct way. Originally from California, Conner came to Chicago three years ago to pursue his Master’s degree in Sustainable Urban Development at DePaul University. Conner is passionate about community based work and believes his experiences are shaping him to become a well-rounded citizen that is making a difference. He is currently volunteering at our West Side location. |
updates
Giving Tuesday is approaching fast! Your participation this #givingtuesday will help raise funds for a Scholastic book fund, science materials, and an end of the year field trip for our students living in Chicago's homeless shelters. Here's how you can help! Start your campaign today by creating a Facebook or Flipcause fundraiser. Visit the link in our bio to donate!
Thank you so much to the Reva and David Logan Foundation for donating much needed winter clothes to HOPES! Thanks to their kind donation, each child at our sites is receiving brand new boots, a coat, snow pants, gloves, a scarf, and a hoodie. Thank you for helping keep everyone warm this winter!
This year for veterans Day, our HOPES team volunteered at Hopes Manor II. Hope Manor II is one of the first large scale, supportive housing developments in the country specifically designed for head of household Veterans and their families. At HOPES, we have a few volunteers that are former veterans so we want to show our appreciation and support! We spent the day getting the community garden ready for winter by covering the plant beds and picking out the weeds and old plants.
Get involved
We hope you will join us this month to bring awareness to the millions of people experiencing homelessness nationwide! Through our partnership with @Breaktime, Chicago HOPES is offering a few ways you can join the movement. Click here to sign up!
Registration for the 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on now open! The minimum fundraising requirement is $1,250 during early registration period. Your entrance fee will be reimbursed once you hit your fundraising goal! Reach out to alex@chicagohopesforkids.org for more information and to get signed up!
November is homelessness awareness month! HOPES is hosting an info session on Nov 3rd if you want to learn about different way you can get involved in the work we do! We will be having multiple information sessions in the month of November and also one in December! Click here to sign up!
