Contact Eileen Wiviott at ewiviott@hotmail.com to sign up for any of these activities.
Community Volunteer/Giving Opportunities
Described below are some of the many worthy area organizations who appreciate volunteer efforts of various kinds. These are some of the organizations that UCE has a connection with, either because we have supported them through shared Sunday offerings or because individual UCE members or groups are involved with them.
Also included are some ideas for volunteering right here at UCE.
C.A.R.E Animal Shelter
http://www.care-evanston.org
C.A.R.E. is the Community Animal Rescue Effort, a 501c3 not-for-profit all volunteer organization dedicated to promoting the humane treatment of domestic pets through public education and active involvement with the unwanted and abandoned animals brought to the Evanston Animal Shelter.
During weekday evenings and on weekends, 100+ C.A.R.E. volunteers assume responsibility for total care of all Shelter animals. Each volunteer puts in anywhere from 3 to 30+ hours every week, both at the Shelter and in activities outside the Shelter.
Center for Independent Futures (CIF) CIF helps adults with disabilities and their families plan, support and sustain new ways of living in their community.
http://www.independentfutures.com - 743 Main Street, Evanston, IL 60202, 847-328-2044
CIF was founded in Evanston 2002 by Kay Branz and Jane Doyle, who came together out of a shared experience raising daughters with developmental disabilities. They met over 20 years ago and together navigated the school system, advocating for programs and experiences that would help prepare their daughters for the world beyond high school.
Together they searched to uncover best practices and services that support families and individuals with disabilities. Jane continues to serve as CIF’s Executive Director and has assembled a dedicated team made up of the board of directors, staff, professional support, family partners, corporate sponsors and foundations and private financial supporters that help CIF with its rapid expansion of services.
Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM) provides legal and educational services to maintain the bond between imprisoned mothers and their children.
http://www.claim-il.org - 70 East Lake Street, Suite 1120?Chicago, IL 60601
Telephone: 312-675-0912
CLAIM advocates for policies and programs that benefit families of imprisoned mothers and reduce incarceration of women and girls. If you are a lawyer, law student or paralegal and would like to volunteer with CLAIM, click on the volunteer button on their website. You can also support CLAIM with a donation.
Connections for the Homeless - 20 years serving homeless adults and families as well as those threatened with homelessness
http://www.cfthinc.org
Through our core programs, Connections provides housing, employment and supportive services to move individuals and families out of the shadow of homelessness. EntryPoint provides outreach and drop-in services to people living on the streets. Hilda's Place provides transitional shelter with supportive services for single adults. Family Housing Services provides transitional housing with supportive services for families. Prevention Services effectively prevents homelessness with rent and utility assistance for those at risk. Permanent Supportive Housing provides permanent housing and support services for people with special needs.
Complete our volunteer application online: http://app.formassembly.com/forms/view/28224
Faith In Action Evanston
http://www.fiaevanston.org
Faith in Action, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is a nationwide network of interfaith volunteers’ care-giving programs. By providing companionship and assistance with daily activities, the volunteers enhance the quality of life of people who have long-term health conditions or disabilities. Volunteers are of many faiths. http://www.fiavolunteers.org
Faith in Action Evanston offers much needed support to at-risk neighbors in the Greater Evanston area. Trained volunteers help elderly, disabled, frail, and chronically ill neighbors remain independent and in their own homes by providing help with activities such as shopping, medical appointments, companionship, and household chores.
Coordinators:
Harriet e-mail: pethar@webtv.net cell phone: 847-902-7073
Sue email: info@fiaevanston.org cell phone: 847-902-0320
Linda email: lindalaplante@ameritech.net: cell phone: 847-902-7499
Faith In Action Evanston
c/o St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
2120 Lincoln
Evanston, IL 60201
847-902-7073 or 847-869-4850 (St. Matthews)
Fax 847-869-4701
Email: info@fiaevanston.org
Click here for a volunteer application:
http://www.fiaevanston.org/pdfs/Volunteer_Application.pdf
Interfaith Action Evanston
Serving People Who Are Hungry or Homeless
P.O. Box 1414, Evanston, IL 60204 – 847-475-1150
http://www.interfaithactionofevanston.org
Interfaith Action, based in Evanston, IL, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring together communities of faith and spirit to serve people who are hungry and homeless and to express shared values through action and interfaith dialogue. The services of Interfaith Action include: Soup Kitchens, Warming Centers, Hospitality Center for the Homeless, and Interfaith Dialogue.
Solar Oven Project
www.ugandanamericanglobalinitiatives.org
One of the major challenges facing Africa is that of meeting energy needs without further jeopardizing its environmental security. A most basic energy need is that of cooking food. The Ugandan American Global Initiatives Solar Oven Project addresses that need by distributing and offering training in the use of an oven powered by the sun that meets the cooking needs of a typical family.
United Power
http://www.united-power.org
P.O. Box 11865
Chicago, IL 60611
Our purpose is to create a broad-based organization whose goal is to build relational power for collective actions in the name of justice and the common good. We are an organization of other organizations, weaving together the city and its suburbs. We are inclusive, embracing the full diversity of metropolitan Chicago. As part of civil society, we are non-partisan: moderates, conservatives, liberals and radicals committed to acting on our social values and working for a just society by standing for the whole. We are generational: originating, not just reacting, and sustaining as a legacy for the future our dedication to fostering public life.
Shared Offering Recipients
Center for Independent Futures
Helping adults with disabilities and their families plan, support and sustain new ways of living in their community
http://www.independentfutures.com
743 Main Street, Evanston, IL 60202 847-328-2044
Connections for the Homeless
20 years creating opportunities for change.
Serving homeless adults and families and those threatened with homelessness
http://www.cfthinc.org
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Cook County
An independent 501(c) (3) organization, CASA of Cook County advocates for children who have been abused and neglected by their parents or guardians. CASA receives no state or local support, raising all the funds for its Child Advocacy program privately. Individual may volunteeer to become child advocates.
http://www.casacookcounty.org
Daughters of Ayacucho Educational Fund
http://www.brightgirls.org
Daughters of Ayacucho Educational Fund provides impoverished girls the opportunity to receive an education, in order to give them hope for a brighter future.
For Kids’ Sake
Established in 1991, For Kids Sake (FKS) is an international program -- based in Carbondale, IL -- that raises money to support orphanages and schools in Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest countries. FKS volunteers raise money through a variety of creative efforts such as children's art shows, silent auctions, and Bangladeshi handicraft sales as well as personal donations and grants. For more information call 618-529-5044 or visit www.forkidssake.net.
Great Lakes Military Ministry
Greater New Orleans UUs
http://www.gnouu.org
Heifer International
http://www.heifer.org
Bringing an End to World Hunger Through Unimaginable Blessings.
Iraqi Student Project
http://www.iraqistudentproject.org
The Iraqi Student Project (ISP) is a grass-roots effort to help young people who have studied in Iraq acquire the education they need to participate in rebuilding their country. To this end, ISP seeks the help of American colleges to offer these students that which the United States does very well: excellent undergraduate education.
Mary Lou’s Place – Evanston YWCA
http://www.ywca.org
A domestic violence shelfter for women and their children, was created in 1980 as a five-bed volunteer-run shelter, and has since grown into a 32-bed residential facility.
Mitten Tree – UCE’s holiday gift giving to local families
Orange Helpers
http://www.orangehelpers.org
To improve the lives of kids suffering from the effects of Agent Orange by sustainably strengthening the families that provide them their primary care and improving their access to quality care in the home.
Ted Fund
http://www.tedfund.org
Nearly one out of every three children in Evanston comes from a family that cannot afford such extras. The Ted Fund addresses this glaring need by leveling the playing field. The Fund enables public school children from families with limited financial resources to take part in quality, fee-based summer camps which other Evanston children take for granted.
Teen Living
http://www.teenliving.org
Since 1975, the mission of Teen Living Programs (TLP) has been to create hope and opportunity for youth who are homeless by assisting them to permanently leave the streets, secure stable housing, and build self-sufficient, satisfying lives. It is the only agency in Chicago whose mission is to serve homeless and runaway youth exclusively, and whose programs assist youth from the streets all the way to independence. They offer a range of services designed to build on each youth's strengths and meet each one's needs to achieve independence.
Trilogy in Rogers Park
http://www.trilogyinc.org
Crisis Line: 1-800-322-8400
1400 W. Greenleaf?Chicago, IL 60626?773.508.6100 (main)?773.262.4841 (fax)?773.508.4276 (TT/TDD)
828 Davis Street?Ste 303?Evanston, IL 60201?(847) 733-0003?fax (847) 733-0124
Trilogy's mission is to assist people in their recovery from serious mental illness by helping them discover and reclaim their own capabilities and life direction.
Two Little Fishes
http://www.2lilfishes.org
Restoring hope, one plate at a time.
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
http://www.uusc.org - see our link from the home page
Volunteer Opportunities within UCE
Interfaith Action Evanston soup kitchens held at UCE in the fall and spring
Sunday Lunches after worship service
Religious Education
Buildings & Grounds
Caring Committee
Rummage Sale – end of April/beginning of May
Serendipity Auction – November
To become involved in any of these volunteer opportunities, stop by the Guest & Member Services Table in the lobby or contact Membership Director, Eileen Wiviott for more details.
