UPDATES |
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Rita Kahn
Executive Director As I know many of you are feeling, I am deeply saddened by the continued deaths at the hands of police officers. Although the fight is long and frustrating, I do hope and believe we are moving toward positive change rooted in a growing appreciation of our shared humanity. Chicago HOPES for Kids continues to stand with the communities and families who have been impacted by police brutality. I am pleased to announce the addition of three new members to our HOPES Executive Board whose collective experience, leadership and passion for our mission will continue to help guide HOPES forward. Frieda Holley is a long-standing Chicago community activist and non-profit manager of Frieda’s Place, Sonya Teague is Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Illinois Commerce Commission, and Amy Anthony is a Strategy and Analytics Manager at Salesforce and was recent President of HOPES Associate Board. Please join me in welcoming Frieda, Sonya and Amy to their new roles within the HOPES family. |
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Erica Walker
Program Manager Chicago HOPES for Kids’ spring programming is currently underway at Good News Partners, Cornerstone Community Outreach, Apna Ghar, Primo Madison, Primo Sangamon, and Family Rescue. We are engaging more enrichment partners as well this semester, with Harmony, Hope and Healing, Noggin Builders and One Heart One Soul among them. After CPS Spring Break, our programs returned to four days onsite, the closest we have come to resuming our pre-pandemic format. Of course, nothing is or ever will quite be the same as it once was. |
ADVOCACY ARTICLE |
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Energy: The Forgotten Cost of Poverty
By: Alex Kirchner Development Administrator Poverty comes at a cost. Some of these costs may be familiar, like housing that’s unaffordable when earning minimum wage, or healthcare emergencies that can quickly overwhelm uninsured families. For families living below the poverty line, these costs make up a disproportionate amount of their income and can also lead to poor public health and weaken the overall economy. Nowhere is this more true than when considering one expense that is easy to overlook, but that no family can live without: electricity. |
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT |
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Meet our volunteer spotlight for the month of April, Nicole Achille! Nicole is a Chicago Native who has always loved working with kids. She says that from the day her brothers were born, they were attached at the hip. She grew up babysitting in her neighborhood and knew that she wanted to continue doing something with children. For the last 9 years, Nicole had been working at a fitness gym and for the last three of those years, she ran a children's program at the gym. Outside of this, she had also been doing volunteer work. After her friend notified her of the AmeriCorps Position with Chicago HOPES for Kids, she realized that she wanted to step into a role bigger than the one she previously held.
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updates
Join us for a workshop to learn more about childhood homelessness! The virtual event will be held on Zoom on April 27th from 5:30-6:30 CT. We will discuss what childhood homelessness looks like, what it means to live doubled up, and the McKinney-Vento Act. Follow this link to register. We hope to see you there!
Join the Chicago HOPES for Kids team! We are looking for full time AmeriCorps State & National Members to serve this summer from June 7 - August 13. For more information about the position or to apply, follow this link! If you have any additional questions, please reach out to Mel Whitehouse, our Program Administrator, at mel@chicagohopesforkids.org.
You can sign up for the April 29th session by following the Zoom link!
Join our HOPES Hustlers Team for the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon! The fundraising commitment is $1,750 and your entry fee will be reimbursed. Runners will have a ton of support from HOPES and the rest of the charity team with training and fundraising. Interested runners should email Alex, our Development Administrator, for more details on how to sign up. Her email address is alex@chicagohopesforkids.org. Deadline to sign up is April 22nd!
Chicago HOPES for Kids is excited to partner with Solstice to raise funds for our summer program! You can help everyone enjoy the summer sunshine a little more by signing up to receive your power via a Solstice community solar project. Every sign-up means big energy savings for you, and a $200 gift to Chicago HOPES for Kids! Your support will help us provide high quality outdoor enrichment to students experiencing homelessness all summer long, including exciting hands-on STEM projects like building robots, outdoor art activities, and of course our key component of literacy through read-alouds and 1:1 reading time with volunteers. Help us reach our goal of $2000 and complete your sign-up today! Follow this link to learn more and sign up.
