Tuesday, March 6, 2012

February Volunteer Journal

Topics this Month


Share-a-Meal
Special Events
Donations (inkind)

Welcome Back Geeks
Our Annual Gala on the Books
Special Request

Social Media Links

Pieces of our IFH Presentation Kit


Share-a-Meal (SAM) 


Interfaith House is dedicated to encouraging our residents to focus on good nutrition by providing them with three well-balanced meals per day. Our Share-a-Meal or SAM program offer an opportunity for a 5-12 member group of volunteers to provide, cook/bake, and serve a meal (lunch or dinner) for our 64 residents. This opportunity is most popular on weekends. The volunteer coordinator will provide any interested group leader a guide for a successful SAM event.   

Contributors of February were the following:

Special Events

Old St. Pat’s Catholic Church - Repair and Paint Project
Chicago Cares + AmeriCorps - Valentine Card Workshop
First United Church of Oak Park - Quarterly Resident Birthday Celebration


DIFFA Annual Award

About DIFFA/Chicago (The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) 
is a not-for-profit fundraising and grant making foundation that distributes funds to Chicago area HIV/AIDS service agencies that provide direct service, preventative education and outreach to people who are HIV positive, living with AIDS or at risk for infection. Founded in 1984, DIFFA has granted more than $38 million to hundreds of community-based organizations that includes Interfaith House. 
The Director of Development, Tim Drake, was on hand to thank and receive an award check on the 28th.


Donations (inkind)


We thank the following for this month’s donation of clothes, kitchen items, bath towels.
  • PatagoniaChicago This sportswear retail store on 1800 Clybourn in Chicago and their new store in Chicago neighborhood of Streeterville typically ship a 45lb box of clothes, gloves, and backpacks. This month was of no exception. Once again, our thanks!
  • Aeropostale This store cooperated with Do Something.org and the Teen for Jeans Project and donated 500 pairs of jeans for our residents. Their staff wanted to donate a 1k but did not have the space to store it. About the store:
Aéropostale, Inc. (simply known as Aéro) is a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, principally targeting 14-to-17-year-old young women and young men through its Aéropostale stores and 7-to-12-year-old kids through its P.S. from Aéropostale stores. Recently, it has been targeting young adults over 18 as well. Aéropostale maintains control over its proprietary brands by designing, sourcing, marketing and selling all of its own merchandise. The Company currently operates over 885 Aéropostale stores in 49 states. 
  • Union Church of Hinsdale  This congregation is a loyal supporter to IFH.  This month UCH donated over 3k worth new-er clothes for our 64 residents.
  • Robinson’s Ribs  This popular restaurant in the Lincoln Park donated needed jackets and hats. If you like ribs go no further than Robinson's.
  • Breakthrough Urban Ministries  This non-profit ‘down the street’ did their Spring cleaning early this year and donated unused and needed clinic supplies for our Monday-Friday morning in-house clinic. 

  • Do Something.org  This online nonprofit organization orchestrated a special project called Teen for Jeans that allowed a donation partnership with Aéropostale.  
  • Private Residential Assistance Inc. + Red Hen Bakery      Every Sunday PRA travels to Red Hen Bakery to delivery to IFH ‘day+1’ bakery goods for our 64 residents.  Awesome product!
  • We thank the following individuals for their delivered donations of clothes, household items, hygiene products to IFH.
Carol S.
Stan J.
Michael C.


Class Session Facilitators

Thursday Session - Building Social Skills Session
We welcome Trisha V. who works part-time for the Chicago Tribune for visiting us twice a month to help facilitate this session with our caseworker, Latasha.

Welcome Back to the Geeks!
From Paul Simon Chicago JobCorps


Interfaith House established a partnership with PS Chicago JobCorps so that we could have IT facilitators in our computer lab. The IT student-facilitators of PS Chicago JobCorps receive school credits for volunteering at IFH. 
The computer lab serves as a part of our Employment Project here at IFH.


Our Annual Gala on the Books

The Co-Chairs of Interfaith House's Annual Gala, Veronica Saverese Buckley and J. Robert Lynn, are proud to announce the date and location of this year's festivities:  Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at Germania Place, one of Chicago's grandest architectural and historical landmarks. 



Germania Place, once the home of the city's renowned Germania Club, was designed by W. August Fielder of the architectural firm of Addison & Fielder; construction was completed in 1889. 
Our Gala program is called Ain't We Got Fun!  It is a 'throw back' to the roaring 20's.


Special Request  
We have a special request this month. We need to order towels every 6 months for 64 residents.  



We looking for a permanent partnership with an organization that would like to donate overstock of new bath, face, hand towels.


Social Media Links


We invite our readers to research this small and unique agency through the following links:


Pieces of our IFH Presentation Kit that we are promoting this month.
  1. Share-a-Meal Flyer
  2. Adopt Interfaith Flyer
  3. Clinic Supplies Flyer
  4. Donation form
* you can request the entire IFH Presentation Kit online (pdf) by contacting g.albrecht@interfaithhouse.org

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

January Volunteer Journal

Topics This Month


Share-a-Meal
Donations
Tours
Monthly Project
Social Media
IFH Presentation Kit




Share-a-Meal (SAM) contributors

   
            NorthbrookUnited Methodist/ North Shore Missions Group
This group of volunteers devoted a holiday (Martin Luther King Day) to cook/bake for our 64 residents.  Bingo after lunch was their other ingredient to a wonderfully planned meal.

This is one of are core SAM groups (senior couple from the temple) who provide a typical and simple Jewish meal.

This newcomer to IFH totaling 14 volunteers divided themselves in three subgroups. The first two of the three subgroups arrived at 9:30 to prep and cook lunch. The final subgroup arrived at 11am to prep for the aftermath of cleaning the pots, pans and cleaning the tables in the dinning area.
These volunteers shopped at Costco to save some bucks. The meal consisted of pork chops         (2 inch thick) with green beans laced with bacon chips (bacon strips grilled in our kitchen) and white rice. The TradeLink,LLC volunteers agreed to return and maybe semi-annually for years to come.

TradeLink's menu included pork chops, green beans laced with fresh grilled bacon slices along with white rice

An e-blast from CC provided four newcomers to IFH.  They assist Charles (kitchen crewmember) prepare and serve beef stew for dinner. Chicago Cares, one of our core SAMers, has been a devoted friend to IFH for years.


Donations (inkind)

We thank the following for this month’s donation of clothes, kitchen items, bath towels, and prepared Housewarming Kits.

This sportswear retail store on 1800 Clybourn in Chicago and their new store in Chicago neighborhood of Streeterville typically shipped a 45lb box of clothes, gloves, and backpacks. This month was of no exception. Last holiday we received four, yes 4 45lb shipped boxes of donations for these stores. We are always in need of all types of clothes for L to XXXL – just say’in.

45lb boxes of clothes from Patagonia-Chicago

Their CARERS committee donated Housewarming Kits for our departing residents who for the next two years become our clients (we provide our clients with housing and the kits). The kits included items that our clients cannot be purchased with a LINK card.

Jane S.
This individual friend to our agency shipped a 20lb box of new bath towels including face and hand that will be included in our Housewarming Kits. Thanks Jane!

Note: IFH is always in need of white bath towels. IFH is trying to find a national hotel chain with overstock.  Know of any?

Bridget S.
Bridget and her employer, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM), adopted us last month with a clothing/hygiene/household drive. The ‘drive’ produced ten shopping bags and four boxes of items for our residents.  Thanks Bridget!

These ‘drives’ are part of a new IFH program called Adopt Interfaith.

For the last couple of years this small shop in the neighborhood of East Lakeview-Chicago has donated artwork for our May Gala – Auction. This year Real Art donated 45 pieces of framed and unframed artwork for variety of individual tastes.  The IFH Director of Development and his devoted and humble assistant used the agency's white van to travel from our location in East Garfield Park to Real Art. Interesting enough the Director is not a bad driver for a public trans type of guy.

An example of the Real Art Donation for our Annual Gala in May


Tours at Interfaith House


We always provide a tour to any organization that seeks information about our mission.
This month our volunteer coordinator provided a tour to a representative of University of Chicago Medical Center. 
This visitor from the Medical Center, Jennifer G., will participate in our new program called Adopt Interfaith and will begin with a hygiene drive in March. She indicated that her group of 40+ would like the opportunity to join us on the annual Chicago Food Dispository's Hunger Walk.
Her last email message to the volunteer coordinator was "YEA!  We are “adopting” you!!!!"


A Monthly IHF Project

The Director of Development and his assistant were busy this month with a mass mailing campaign to congregations in the Chicagoland area that at one time or another participant in a program or two at IFH. They dived into the database creating labels, a letter, and flyer about SAM opportunities and our new IFH program called Adopt InterfaithAI contains a list of in-kind donation drives that help IFH reduce the cost of providing dry food goods, clothing, and hygiene products to our 64 residents.

Social Media Links

We invite all to research this small and unique agency through the following links:
Look for us on Twitter via Google


Pieces of our IFH Presentation Kit
Share-a-Meal Flyer

Adopt Interfaith Flyer

Housewarming Kit Flyer

* you can request an entire IFH Presentation Kit online by contacting