Mitten Tree

Grace House: The residential program at Grace House provides interim and supportive housing, emotional and spiritual support, and professional counseling to women who are exiting the Illinois prison system. Services are provided in a warm setting located on the Near West Side of Chicago. Residents are encouraged to set realistic goals for the future and are taught how to make informed choices that will empower them to lead lives with dignity in their communities and their families. Program participants come to Grace House voluntarily, seeking to take steps that will lead them to a new beginning. UCE will provide gifts for 21 children whose mothers are living at Grace House. Some of the women have not seen their children in over 10 years. They have been cared for by family members.

Evanston YWCA has many programs to support and empower women and has made a commitment to end domestic violence. The YW ensure that all survivors of domestic violence who come to their facility finds the safety and support they need to take the next step to break free from abuse. The YWCA provides an environment that is safe, welcoming, and meets survivors wherever they are in their journey. They help survivors increase their access to economic resources and legal protections, help them strengthen their emotional capacity to address the many complex issues they will face in recovering from the traumatic effects of violence and financial abuse. Last year the YW was able to purchase a multi-unit apartment building, providing longer term housing as the women move through their journey in surviving domestic violence. We are providing Christmas dinner boxes for each family living in the transitional apartments and gifts for children, both in the shelter and the apartment building.

Center on Halsted is the largest LBGTQ community center in the Midwest serving more than a 1000 people every day. The Center is located in the neighborhood of Lakeview, Chicago on the corner of Halsted and Waveland. It is open every day from 8am to 9pm. Patrons participate in the diverse public programs and social services offered at Center on Halsted ranging from volleyball and cooking classes to rapid HIV testing and group therapy. We are offering 20 grab bag gift baskets for their annual Christmas party. They will play various games and pick prizes from among the gift baskets.

Curt’s Café is a non-profit Cafe and training program for young adults living in at-risk situations by providing work and life skills training. We have been partnering with Curt’s South for several years. That Café is now closed, and the female interns are working at Curt’s North. The past three years, the auction dinner was catered from Curt’s. Some UCE congregants meets at Curt’s on a weekly basis for coffee. We have been sharing Mitten Tree gifts with the student interns and their children for the past three years. On the website, it says that the recidivism rate of interns who have graduated from Curt’s is only 3%. The state and national rates are both above 80%. We are pleased to help these young people build a strong foundation.

Refugee One creates opportunity for refugees fleeing war, terror, and persecution to build new lives of safety, dignity, and self-reliance. ​Every year, Refugee One serves more than 2,500 refugees and immigrants of all ages, ethnic groups, faiths, and backgrounds. As the largest resettlement agency in Illinois, the organization has welcomed more than 18,000 refugees since 1982. Refugee One walks alongside refugees from the moment they land at O’Hare International Airport, welcoming them to Chicago and providing furnished apartments, English classes, job search support, mental health care, youth programming, and mentors to help them adjust to life in the U.S. The primary focus is to assist these new arrivals to becoming independent, self-supporting members of their new community. UCE partnered with Refugee One in 2016 to welcome a family from Syria. We worked closely with the family for 18 months. Working with the family was a profound experience and we are pleased to be able to continue to support other families who are arriving with Mitten Tree Gifts of housewares and linens.

​The Rice Center of the Children’s Home and Aid Society of Evanston: When a child abruptly leaves a family or foster home due to abuse, violence, or mental illness, he/she may arrive at the Rice Center in Evanston without clothing, personal items, or toys. The Mitten Tree has been serving the Rice Center since 2011. Recently the director, Keith Polan (who is a UU at Unity Temple) told me that our gifts are spot on!  We give the right balance of clothes, toys and therapy or educational items. This year we are serving 12 children of the 36 who live at the Rice Center. The holidays are very difficult for the children at Rice because they are not with their families. Children live, play and are educated at the Rice Educational Center on Ridge Avenue. District 65 provides schooling. A team of social workers, psychologists, pediatricians, nurses, art therapists and others provide a structured environment to help children build healthy relationships. The goal for the children is to eventually return to their own families, foster families, or adoptive families.