Community of Caring 2014

Community of REVIEW

12 stories from the heart

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL REVIEW F O R E S T PA R K

2

Community of Caring

September 24, 2014

Inspire

Ignite

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Involve

We help our local nonprofits operate effectively and efficiently so they can serve better and do more.

We provide learning opportunities; serve as liaison and central information clearinghouse for nonprofits; and facilitate coordinated, effective use of local resources.

We provide endowment fund management benefitting more than 30 local nonprofits who have established their endowments with us.

We provide a congenial venue for nonprofits to foster new programs and interactive initiatives .

How can you help? Visit us on line or call us.

Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation 1049 Lake Street, Suite 204 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 708-848-1560 â– www.oprfcf.org www.facebook/oprfcf â– #community@oprfcf

Community of Caring

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

We all have gifts to offer The title of Wednesday Journal’s special fall section is intentional and descriptive.

We care about those who live in and near our community.

The care we have, both for those we know, and those we may never meet, begins with a thought and ends with a smile.

At the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation, we see so much that happens in between the thought and the smile. Community members who have the resources to provide for others through the organizations highlighted this year begin with a thought to help.

A word or an action inspires you. You decide to act on that inspiration. Perhaps you ask a friend about a particular organization, reach out to the Community Foundation to learn more about what is being done in our community about a certain topic, or you read these words and the details about the highlighted organizations. You connect and make a sandwich, give time to help a struggling student read, organize a food drive, make a financial gift.

Somehow, through continued actions, each of you learns a bit more about yourself and your community. Your passion for

an issue or organization is ignited. When you see the pride a struggling reader has after stumbling through his or her first paragraph, look at all the bagged sandwiches ready to be eaten, or help pass a resolution to make distributions to worthy organizations, the smile happens. Hooray! If you don’t say it out loud, your smile says it for you.

Being involved, you realize the difference your resources, time and money have on your community. Together, our caring significantly impacts the lives of those in our community. Read about each organization presented by Wednesday Journal in this issue. Be inspired. Ignite your passion. Get involved.

KRISTIN C. VOGEN

Kristin C. Vogen President & CEO Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation

September 24, 2014

If you want to help This year we feature the following agencies and groups:

PING!

Garfield Park Little League

L’Arche Chicago

Accolade Adult Daycare

West Suburban PADS

Empty Bowls Project

PILLARS

Staff

Seven Generations Ahead

Editor and Publisher Dan Haley VP/Director of Operations Andrew Johnston Staff Photographer David Pierini Contributing Writer Deb Quantock McCarey Editorial Design Manager Claire Innes Editorial Designers Jacquinete Baldwin, Sky Hatter Manager of Internet and Technology Graham Johnston Digital Editor Ashley Lisenby Web Developer Mike Risher

WSSRA Kidz Express The Food Pantry at the Howard Mohr Community Center Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry Wonder Works

Advertising Production Manager Philip Soell Advertising Design Manager Andrew Mead Advertising Designers Maggie Acker, Debbie Becker Advertising Director Dawn Ferencak Display Advertising Sales Marc Stopeck, Missy Laurell Communications & Marketing Project Manager Alicia Plomin Classified Advertising Sales Maureen O’Boyle, Laurie Myers Circulation Manager Kathy Hansen Distribution Coordinator Alan Majeski Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

ON THE COVER: Katie Arnold, right, used to work at L’Arche House but continued a friendship with one of the residents, Jean Wilson.

DAVID PIERINI/Staff Photographer

Think local.

OakPark.com Complete local news coverage.

Breaking news email updates.

Expanded video and photo coverage.

Event calendar.

Searchable archives.

Photo store.

Community links.

Check it out!

3

About our contributor Deb Quantock McCarey is a freelance writer who has worked with Wednesday Journal Inc. since 1995, writing features and special sections for all its publications. An avid urban gardener and growing naturalist, she is also a local “green” advocate and community volunteer. As a WJ gardening blogger, Deb is also the host of Deb’s Big Backyard, which runs on oakpark.com and airs on Oak Park public cable, Channel 6. In partnership with her spouse, Kevin J. McCarey, she is also a writer/producer for Lyman Street Productions and Print at www.lymanstreetproductions.com, a small business in Oak Park that produces and provides web content.

4

Community of Caring | Garfield Park Little League

September 24, 2014

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Bringing baseball’s calm back to a tough West Side

L

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

t. Frank Brim of the Chicago Fire Department knows how to put out fires in his West Side neighborhood.

But, since 2008, this communityminded, 57-year-old father of three has been sparking a few fires as the president of the non-profit Garfield Park Little League/ Hardball program in the communities of Austin, Garfield Park and West Lawndale.

These are the kind of fires that burn in the bellies of boys and girls, age 5 to 18 who discover a love for the game of baseball.

The aim here, says Brim, is to stand firm in his all-volunteer commitment to improving the level of play of every child who desires to play Little League baseball, while fostering healthy relationships with them, and within the communities which the nonprofit serves.

“As a first responder, I have seen my share of kids on the street with bullet holes in them. When I am standing over those bodies, and hearing the outcry of the community saying we have to do something, in that moment it’s too late,” says Brim. “I grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes and I saw a lot of my friends making bad decisions. Baseball was the one thing that captivated me, that caught my attention and was engaging enough for me to realize that there was so much more I could do with myself.”

Over the last 31 years, Brim has been a volunteer youth baseball coach on the West Side. He believes that his all-volunteer youth baseball program is pivotal in putting kids age 5 through 7 on the right path.

“We didn’t have any stencil outline of what an individual should grow up to become,” says Calvin Track, a boy who says he became a successful man because of Brim’s baseball program. “We saw it, and we just did what we saw. And, for myself, that was school and baseball.”

For Brim, it began with a conversation among friends.

“We jumped out there, and the first year we had 150 kids who came out of nowhere,”

Garfield Park Little League Phone: 773-443-2746

Email: garfieldparkbaseball@gmail.com Website: www.gpleague.org President: Frank Brim Mission: Garfield Park Little League works to establish baseball on Chicago’s West Side as a viable sport as well as a teaching tool towards accountability, leadership skills and character building. Our goal is to provide activities that will keep us connected with our youth during the off season.

How long? Since 2008.

Ways volunteers can help: Volunteers can help us by coaching a team, helping with social media networking, grant writing or mentoring.

To volunteer, call: Coach Frank Brim at 773443-2746 Useful donations other than money: Landscaping services, marketing assistance, slightly used equipment and periodic use of transportation would be very helpful.

JENNIFER WOLFE/Contributing Photographer

MOUND CONFERENCE: Pitcher Jaylen Harris and catcher Malik Seaton size up the situation. says Brim, “So, these kids were hungry to play the game.”

Over the years, hundreds of kids joined the league’s roster, thanks to the ongoing financial support from private donors, as well

as corporate funders, including the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs organizations.

“The goal of GPLL is to make a difference in the lives of the Garfield Park, Austin and North Lawndale youth. With the help of

Dr Bill’s Learning Center Tutoring for Grades 2 through 10

• Experienced, Trained Rehabilitation Facilitators • Individualized Intensive Specialized Tutoring • Culturally Relevant Resources: African-American and Latino/Latina American Diaspora

• Multifaceted Service for Diverse Learning Styles • Computer Assisted Instruction • Organization Skill Streaming • Test Taking Anxiety Rehabilitation

Limited Enrollment, Call Now! Call Mark at 708-434-0336

donations from supporters we will continue to see improvements in the lives of our children,” says Brim. “We are just trying to instill a love of baseball in kids and keep them off the corners.”

Meanwhile, every Tuesday and Thursday after school, practices for Fall Ball is at 3700 W. Jackson in Garfield Park.

“When you come to the park on Saturday morning, it’s the most peaceful place on the West Side of Chicago,” says Brim. “I am so proud of that. It’s not the games, the wins.

It’s because we created an environment, and we expect that calmness to extend out beyond this park, and back into the communities where our kids live.”

ExtEndEd Hours:

Saturdays 9 am - 4 pm • Weekdays 2 - 8 pm At tWo LocAtionS

ChiCago:

4909 West Division St. chicago, iL 60651 773-626-5551

oak Park:

18 West Lake Street oak Park, iL 60302 708-434-0336

* Materials cost offset plus Program offering per Treatment Plan with consented Rehabilitation Evaluation if required. Rate comparison to similar professional program offerings in local area.

Help your child get Better Grades • Get organized & Stay organized Become Self confident

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Community of Caring | Accolade Adult Daycare

September 24, 2014

5

Off the couch, seniors gather at day care

T

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

hree days a week 87-year-old Bessie Young of Broadview sips coffee at a chatty breakfast table with five new friends. She is catching up on their lives, before they and all the other seniors in the dining room start their day at Accolade Adult Day Care Services, a program of Catholic Charities in Oak Park.

The elder Young lives with her daughter, and came here after she had taken several serious falls. The last one landed her in the hospital for two months with complications.

After Young was released from the hospital, and with her no longer being able to be left alone during the day, her daughter did some research and found Accolade, and soon after Young says her days began perking up.

“We do exercises, color all kinds of pic-

Accolade Adult Daycare 112 S. Humphrey, Oak Park

Email: Sedavis@Catholiccharities.net Phone: 708-445-1300 Website: www.catholiccharities.net Site director: Sharece E. Davis Mission: Catholic Charities fulfills the church’s role in the mission of charity to anyone in need by providing compassionate, competent and professional services that strengthen and support individuals, families and communities based on the value and dignity of human life.

How long? 2004 Ways volunteers can help: Volunteers can come assist clients with serving meals, spending one on one time with seniors doing activities, teaching our seniors new/old hobbies (sewing, music, etc.).

To volunteer, call: 708-445-1300 Useful donations other than money: Bingo prizes, movies (VHS or DVD), board games, puzzles, and supplies for arts and crafts.

DAVID PIERINI/Staff Photographer

KEEP MOVING: Geneva Anderson, left, and Mary Ratliff do chair exercises at Accolade Adult Daycare. tures, and play different games like bingo and Jenga,” say Young, who now uses a walker and sometimes a minor assist from a staff member, to get around. “It’s always first one thing, and then another. But that is what this is all about, keeping us seniors busy.”

Nearby, now two months into a three-daya-week program, Ozella Anderson, 88, who lives independently, but in the same home as her daughter in Summit says she is happy as a clam today because “I don’t do anything here but laugh and talk and eat,” she says. “I wouldn’t be doing that at home, because most of the time I would be sitting by myself.”

Now in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, Anderson says she “still thinks pretty good,” adding that she is all dolled up in a

Sunday-go-to-meetin’ hat and peacock blue outfit because “being a widow, single and all, I just want everyone to know that I am looking for a new husband,” she laughs, adding that “No, no, I haven’t found one here yet.

Accolade’s director, Sharece Davis, says that five days a week, she, her staff and a continuous flow of community volunteers care for the needs of these semi-independent seniors and others, who range in age from 26 to 101.

Their day begins with a meet-and-greet, and moves on to a Rolodex of recreational activities, including field trips to local zoos, and to see attractions in the City of Chicago.

“People who come here mostly have early Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, or they Your generous financial and may just want to have something to do dur-

”

volunteer contributions are

ing the day,” Davis says. “So, any caregiver who is looking for complete supervision of a loved one in a safe environment, to get them off the couch all day, they should consider reaching out to us.”

After Thomas Mitchell, 65, suffered a stroke in 2001, his wife signed him up as an alternative to him taking daytime catnaps, and then be too rested to sleep at night.

“This place puts some action in my day, yes it does, and I am really good at trivia, which is something I never knew,” says the military veteran, who depends on a cane to walk. “I participate in everything, and they even have a Catholic priest who comes by and reads the Bible, and we discuss it. It’s right on for me. I like the spiritual aspects of this place, yes I do.”

Forging Paths Forward

Your generous financial and volunteer for our neighbors in need. contributions are

Forging Paths Forward Prevail provides immediate and compassionate response to for your neighbors infacing need. individuals and families financial crisis and offers them supportive leading to Prevailservices can provide: future stability.

The

Walk-In Ministry is now

The Don’t miss the

Walk-In Ministry is now

Fo

an in fi s

Pr

• Em

Cup

•M

Learn more on oursince website After serving more than 4,000 neighbors 2005,Prevail The Walk-In Ministry is taking step forward to | 708.386.1946 | 848 Lake St., Oak Park,a ILbig60301 • Emergency Assistance and Referrals better serve our neighbors facing financial crisis. We have Thursday, Oct. as 2, Prevail, 6:30pm focused our mission and renamed which • Job Readiness Training effectively illustrates how our Emergency Assistance, at OPRF Stadium • Money Management CounselingFinancial Literacy Program and Job Readiness Training • Emergency Assistance and Referrals help individuals facing financial crisis to overcome adversity.

Prevail can provide:

more on our website PrevailOn.org • JobLearn Readiness Training Your generous financial and volunteer contributions are 848 •Lake St.,Managment Oak Park,Counseling IL 60301 | 708.386.1946 | info@PrevailOn.org Money

Learn more on oursince website After serving more than 4,000 neighbors 2005,PrevailOn.org

for our neighbors in need.

6

Community of Caring | Empty Bowls Project

September 24, 2014

Crafting a bowl or hundreds to beat back hunger

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

F

or more than 10 years now, every first Friday of March, from 6 to 8 p.m., the Empty Bowls Community Dinner at Oak Park and River Forest High School begins.

The annual event is aimed at ending hunger. Participants pay $15, $10 for students with IDs, in exchange for a hand crafted ceramic bowl. Once they have chosen their favorite bowl, attendees queue up in a long Depression-era-like soup line to be served two ladles of a local restaurant chef ’s specialty soup in their one-of-a-kind, take-away bowl.

The annual grassroots event was founded by OPRF art teacher Pennie Ebsen, and is sponsored by her

after school Wheel Throwing Club.

Their verve and dedication is complemented by the volunteerism of local potters, chefs who donate gallons of soup, and a corps of community volunteers who return year after year to help.

Long after Empty Bowls ends, in someone’s cupboard the ceramic urn will not only be a memento of a night well spent, but also a continuing reminder of the world wide issues of hunger.

Internationally, Empty Bowls has become the collective genius of every group which has chosen to stage one. To date, events, such as the one in Oak Park, have cropped up across the United States and in at least a dozen other countries, raising many millions of dollars

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

that the organizers donate to hunger-fighting organizations.

In Oak Park, this event usually raises between $10,000 and $12,000, which is donated to West Suburban PADS, Oak Park Food Pantry, and Global Alliance for Africa, Ebsen says.

“We kind of have a goal to make 1,000 bowls, so we probably involve a good 25 to 30 students, and probably 20 professional potters from the community,” says Ebsen.

Former OPRF student Bridget Doherty was a president of the Wheel Throwing Club and Empty Bowls project in 2010.

“As a freshman, I didn’t know about pottery, and I wasn’t even an art person, but there was a group of people who lived here in the art room, and they just welcome you in, and then you get hooked and you are in here all the time, or whenever you can be, making pots for Empty Bowls,” says Doherty, now Ebsen’s student teacher.

In addition, Ebsen adds, many of the bowls are often worth much more than the $15 entry fee.

“I actually get pretty emotional about this. I think it is pretty special to be able to do something that

Empty Bowls Project Oak Park and River Forest High School 201 N. Scoville, Oak Park

Phone: 708-383-0700 Email: pebsen@oprfhs.org Website: www.oprfhs.org Empty Bowls at OPRFHS does not have its own web site. www. emptybowls.net is the national Empty Bowls site.

Sponsor: Pennie Ebsen, OPRF Wheel Throwing Club sponsor Mission: To fight hunger by raising funds and community awareness through the annual Empty Bowls community dinner in Oak Park.

How long have you been in existence? Over 10 years, with thanks to local potters and generous local restaurants.

Ways volunteers can help: Potters who can help throw bowls are needed the last weekend in January for a “Bowla-thon” The OPRF food pantry usually provides the kitchen service. Please contact them in January to offer a two or three hour block of time to assist on the night of the dinner. West Suburban PADS usually does the cleanup. Please contact them in January to offer a two hour block of time to use your “clean up muscles” from 7:30 - 9:30 P.M. on the night of the Empty Bowls Community Dinner. Global Alliance for Africa usually assists with the silent auction or with calling for soup. Email pebsen@oprfhs.org to connect with them.

To volunteer, contact: pebsen@oprfhs.org Useful donations other than money: Soup from local restaurants, name tags (about 1,000), paper cups (1,000), paper napkins (1,500), plastic soup spoons (1,000)

The Language

and

Photo by Karin Sullivan

FIRST THE VESSEL: OPRF student Susanna Griest throwing a pot for an empty bowls event last school year. you love, and almost feel passionate about, and be able to use that to be of service in some way to others,” says Ebsen.

For Doherty being back in the art room helping students create bowls for this year’s fundraiser on March 6, 2015, means she has come full circle.

“Empty Bowls is the reason I am standing in front of you today as a

Music School

In Central Oak Park Since 1994 • Trial Classes Available!

Music Lessons

Spanish Parent-Tot

Spanish Preschool

Foreign Languages Private Lessons for children or adults.

10 languages available!

All instruments. Recitals & more!

Immersion 1-5 days/week

4 months - 4 years

150 N. Oak Park Ave. , Oak Park • LMSCHOOL.com • 708-524-LALA (5252)

student teacher, because by being a part of it, I had the ability to make something, and then share it with someone else who can use what I had made to have a meal, and then give a meal to someone else through their donation,” Doherty says. “Well, that is just incredible.

And, why wouldn’t you want to come back and do that every year?”

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Community of Caring

LET US BE YOUR BANK OF LET US BE YOUR BANK OF

CHOICE CHOICE not chance not chance There are some things in life you can control, and where you bank is one of them.

There are some things in life you can control, and where As the president of Forest Park National Bank, you bank is one of them.

I encourage you to consider banking with us. We’re strong, stable andofcommitted the community As the president Forest ParktoNational Bank, – all good reasons to make a switch from your bank.

I encourage you to consider banking with current us. We’re strong, stable and committed to the community – all Plus, feelto confi dent with usfrom as your for: goodyou’ll reasons make a switch yourresource current bank.

Friendly & reliable customer Plus, you’ll feel confi dent withservice us as your resource for: Personal & business lending products Online Friendlybanking & reliable customer service Mobile banking Personal & business lending products e-Statements Online banking Passbook savings Mobile banking And, much more! e-Statements Passbook savings We place high value on our customers and look And, much more! forward to serving you, too. So, get choosy and We placeWITH high value on our customers and look BANK US. forward to serving you, too. So, get choosy and

BANK WITH US. Dan Watts, President Dan Watts, President

7348 West Madison Street 7331 West Roosevelt Road 708 222-2800 | forestparkbank.com 7348 West Madison Street MEMBER FDIC 7331 West Roosevelt Road 708 222-2800 | forestparkbank.com MEMBER FDIC

September 24, 2014

7

8

Community of Caring | PING!

September 24, 2014

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Music’s for everyone, but first you need an instrument

I

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

n the first weeks of fourth grade, the year after his mom had died, Seth Feare, now an accomplished musician and a senior at Oak Park and River Forest High School, was in the music room, figuring out with his favorite teacher if he should take up an instrument that fall.

Understanding that Feare’s grandmother, Jan Salzman, couldn’t swing the added expense, the music teacher suggested Feare sign up for Putting Instruments in the Next Generation (PING!), the nonprofit group that provides instruments and music enrichment to low-income students in Districts 90, 97 and 200.

“Our core mission is to loan musical instruments to low income kids in grades 4-12 so that they can participate in the excellent band and orchestra programs in the Oak Park and River Forest public schools,” says PING! president Judy Weik. “In addition, we also provide enrichment through workshops for our 4th and 5th graders, mentoring for our middle schoolers, scholarships for summer music camp for middle schoolers, and private music lessons for our high schoolers.”

PING! was formed in 1998 by six forward thinking women with 14 loaner instruments. Now, the nonprofit has over 200 “lightly used” band or orchestra instruments they loan to students for an annual administrative fee of $20.

Initially, Feare veered towards the viola, but in the fifth grade, settled on the sax because he wanted to play an instrument he could put together.

“When I first got it, I took it out of the case, put it together, and

didn’t realize that I had the reed backwards,” he laughs, “just because it had gotten delivered to our house, and I opened it up before anyone had had a chance to tell me anything about it, because I was so excited.”

Likewise, at Irving School in Oak Park, Antwon Billups, now a junior at OPRF, had learning the jazz stylings of Charlie Parker and Sonny Rollins in his future sights.

Thanks to PING! now jazz is jelling for him.

“I couldn’t really pay for a full instrument, so I went to PING! and rented it,” says Billup. “Me and music, in the beginning, it was kind of hard, and I couldn’t really get the rhythms down, but I gradually got better at it and because of PING! in the sixth grade I got a high school mentor, and she really helped me with articulation and rhythms and everything that I needed to play the saxophone, and I had her all the way through middle school.”

During middle school both Feare and Billups received PING! scholarships to attend separate out-of-state summer music camps, and in high school received funding for private lessons.

Looking forward to finishing high school, Feare is fond of the memories and excited about a future where he will probably study music in college.

“With PING there pushing you to play music, it makes you want to be more part of music and do something, rather than just sit there,” Feare says. “Having music in your life can change the way you feel, drastically, and with this organization here to help you along, that could be what will set you on the right foot in life whatever you want to do.”

DAVID PIERINI/Staff Photographer

BLOWN AWAY: Oak Park and River Forest High School junior Antwon Billups, left, and senior Seth Feare received musical instruments through PING.

PING! P.O. Box 1963 Oak Park 60304

Email: pingoprf@gmail.com Phone: 708-524-5830 Ext. 7464 Website: www.pingoprf.org President: Judy Weik Mission: Believes participation in the arts is an essential and fundamental part of a child’s educational experience that should be available to all students, regardless of family income. PING!’s mission opens the doors to music education by providing musical instruments and music enrichment to low income students in Oak Park and River Forest working in collaboration with public school districts 90, 97 and 200.

STRENGTHEN WEST COOK YMCA

255 S. Marion St., Oak Park, IL 60302 708 383 5200 | westcookymca.org facebook.com/westcooky | @WestCookYMCA

OUR COMMUNITY

How long? 16 years Ways volunteers can help: Donate gently used band or orchestra instruments. Drive high school mentors to the middle schools twice a month for the PING! middle school mentor program. Provide free or discounted music lessons for our PING! high school students or for our enrichment events.

Assist with website, Facebook, publicity. Assist with fundraising events.

Serve on a committee.

To volunteer, call: Judy Weik, 708-524-5830 x7464 Useful donations other than money: Gently used band and orchestra instruments, music stands, gently used Blue Lake summer camp clothes. Healthy after school snacks for the middle school mentor program; or Jewel or Costco gift cards.

At the West Cook YMCA, we believe every family, child, and senior should have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive, whether it be through volunteering, playing, learning, or exercising.

From urban gardens to preschool programming, from tutoring to senior field trips, the Y is working hard to make a positive impact in our community.

Find your home at the West Cook YMCA.

JOIN • GIVE • VOLUNTEER • ADVOCATE

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Community of Caring

September 24, 2014

Kinder Karate Sign-Up Now for Fall Classes!

6701 W. North Ave., Oak Park

708-383-3456

www.master-sh-yu.com

Reducing concentrated poverty on the West Side will require that people work together to create opportunities for at least 63,000 West Side residents to enter skilled employment. It will also require that West Side residents take advantage of those opportunities and do what it takes to invest in themselves, their families and our community.

At Bethel New Life, we are making investments in West Side Forward. What are you investing in?

4950 W Thomas Chicago, IL 60651 773.473.7870 www.bethelnewlife.org

9

10

Community of Caring | Seven Generations Ahead

September 24, 2014

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

School-by-school, raising a generation of environmentalists

Seven Generations Ahead 1049 Lake St., Suite 200, Oak Park

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY In the fifth grade at Hatch School on Ridgeland Avenue in Oak Park, Monika Knickrehm, now 13, and in turn, her younger sister, Claudia Knickrehm, now10, say they were lunchtime Seven Generations Ahead (SGA) “zero waste ambassadors.” So at lunchtime they would educate classmates about the ins and outs of in-school recycling, composting, or landfill trashing food scraps, plastics and paper products.

What the Knickrehm girls did, and now kids at nine District 97 schools are doing, is a customized version of a program that is called Zero Waste Schools, a program that was created by a West Coast group called BioCycle.

In 2007, SGA, a nonprofit specializing in sustainable community development, launched Zero Waste Schools as a two-year pilot program at Holmes School on Chicago Avenue. Simultaneously, SGA had secured grant funding to seed a few District 97 school garden projects, including the organic fruit orchard and veggie garden now known as the Hatch Patch Since then, Hatch Patch has become a model for school gardens across the area, says Gary Cuneen, executive director SGA, which he founded in 2001.

“We had written a successful grant proposal which enabled our initial work at Hatch, Longfellow and a couple of other schools in Chicago, and that was the school garden projects,” says Cuneen.

“Then, in 2009, after the successful pilot at Holmes, we supported Hatch, and a handful of other

Photo by Lisa Green

FROM THE GROUND UP: Sydney Germany, left, Lillian Kong and Harper Morrison weigh Swiss Chard harvested from the Hatch Patch. schools [in their process] to write grants to get funding from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunities, through its Zero Waste grant program, and actually raised over $100,000 for the district.”

Two years later, when Hatch’s zero waste composting and recycling initiative was on deck, SGA inspired volunteers to customize it.

Soon, they built a traditional three-bin, composter, complemented by commercial composting, thanks in part to the volunteerism

of Cathi Knickrehm, the mother of Monika and Claudia. At a PTO meeting, Cathi Knickrehm raised her hand, and as a volunteer has taken a lead role in the grant writing process as the project developed, and continues to flourish now.

“You know, that is one of the things we like to do, is build teams within administrations, whether it is a school or another institution that is actually going to get the hands on work done,” Cuneen says. “For Zero Waste, we did

convening, training, the waste audits, and really provided the guidance, and then expanded it to the other District 97 schools that were interested,” he says. “So, it really requires volunteers like Cathi Knickrehm, who are motivated, skilled, intelligent and willing to get their hands dirty and do the work on the ground, as Cathi did.”

Back at Hatch, though, it’s fall harvest time outside in the school’s organic garden, and in as the zero waste cafeteria where the zero waste effort lives on.

Email: admin@sevengenerationsahead.org Phone: 708-660-9909 Website: www.sevengenerationsahead.org Executive director: Gary Cuneen Mission: Our mission is to promote the development of ecologically sustainable and healthy communities.

How long? Founded in 2001 Ways volunteers can help: Depending on skills, interest and availability, volunteers have conducted research, analyzed data, arranged event details, and assisted at conferences, school events, trainings.

To volunteer, call: Lisa Daleiden-Brugman, 708-6609909 x1 Useful donations other than money: Copy paper – 100 percent recycled 8.5X11. New laptops, professional print services, Staples gift cards for office supplies. Time and talents – we have a small staff.

“When we were going through the Zero Waste grant process, I used to laugh about how much of the day I spent thinking about garbage,” says Knickrehm. “SGA made it possible to do this by bringing us knowledge and wraparound support, and because of them, we have gotten to know parents in other schools and nonprofit boards. They have helped us grow in so many ways.”

Oak-Leyden Developmental Services Serving Children and Adults with Developmental Disabilities Oak-Leyden serves over 500 children and adults with developmental disabilities from the townships of Oak Park, River Forest, Berwyn, Cicero, and other surrounding communities.

Programs include: Children’s Services Early intervention for children ages birth through three

Therapy services for children three to five years of age Music Together© for children 8 months-5 years

Adult Service:s Day and Residential Programs Vocational Services Supported Employment Services

Group Homes and Independent Living Assistance

More information about our programs and services can be found at www.oak-leyden.org or call 708-524-1050

Community of Caring | L’Arche Chicago

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

September 24, 2014

11

Abled, disabled, everyone has their gifts

J

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

ean Wilson, 56, is a caring, creative and lively spirited woman who is living with an intellectual disability. She is also the second core, and a founding member, of L’Arche Chicago, a housing program with two houses near Oak Park for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

And, since 2000 Wilson says that she has called the L’Arche Interfaith House home.

Inside the traditional three-flat, a nontraditional family life lives on, especially at dinnertime on Tuesdays when Wilson, a “core member,” is on weekly KP duty. But, when cajoled she convivially shifts gears saying, “That’s all right, I can take a break,” and laughs.

Pulling up a chair for her longtime friend is Katie Arnold, who recently agreed to become Wilson’s L’Arche off site volunteer companion. While they chat, Philip Cordes, the “house assistant,” marches on making enough fresh salad, baked chicken (Wilson’s all-time favorite food), and ratatouille to feed this family of six (three other adult men living with intellectual disabilities), an intern plus a few dropin dinner guests, which is common.

“Jean and I first met in 2000, I think, when we were both living together at L’Arche Chicago (An-

DAVID PIERINI/Staff Photographer

STRONG CONNECTION: Katie Arnold, right, used to work at L’Arche House but continued a friendship with one of the residents, Jean Wilson.

“It’s just that everyone has gifts.

Everyone has challenges” Katie Arnold

gel House),” says Arnold, a former L’Arche House Assistant who is now the executive director of Sibling Leadership Network. “[Jean and her housemates] are called core members because they are the core, the heart of the community, and that is the language of L’Arche.”

Now celebrating its 50th year, the humanitarian housing movement began when Jean Vanier, a French Canadian, bought a small house in northern France and invited two intellectually disabled men to come and live with him in L’Arche (or in English, the ark). A half century later it has become a growing international movement.

“One big thing that sets this apart from other places… is that it’s not the people without disabilities, ‘taking care of the people with disabilities,’ it’s just that everyone has

gifts. Everyone has challenges, and here we are all creating our lives together in a family environment that is a mutual, and faith based, but ecumenical tradition,” says Arnold. She notes that on the second Thursday of the month introductory Community Nights are offered at L’Arche’s Angel House and Interfaith House in Chicago, at which Wilson will give guests house tours.

Still, monthly the two BFFs spend weekends at Arnold’s urban condo together, often shopping at Target, seeing movies and going on dog walks, even though Arnold doesn’t own a dog.

“Yeah, we go and pet dogs in the neighborhood,” says Wilson, who prior to being part of the L’Arche Chicago family, lived in foster care, institutional and group home settings.

“It was bad. They used to push me in the shower, and push me off the swing set,” Wilson says, as Arnold interjects that “Jean is a good advocate, and years ago she spoke on a bullhorn, to get Lincoln Developmental Center closed down, and it was shut down,” Arnold says.

Decades later, Jean Wilson says she likes living here because she wants to be on her own.

“I really like animals, especially dogs, because at Lincoln we used to have a dog that would run after cars a lot, and I would say, ‘come back, come back, Duke,’” says

Wilson, who also likes baseball, especially the Cubs, riding her bike, and drawing, or painting. “I go to the Animal Care League on Sundays and I volunteer with rabbits and guinea pigs, cats and doggies. The black cat likes to climb all over me.”

L’Arche Chicago 1011 Lake St., Suite 403, Oak Park

Email: info@larchechicago.org Phone: 708-660-1600 Website: www.larchechicago.org Executive director: Mic Altena Mission: We are people, with and without developmental disabilities, sharing life in communities belonging to an International Federation. Mutual relationships and trust in God are at the heart of our journey together. We celebrate the unique value of every person and recognize our need of one another.

How long? 50 years as a federation of communities; 14 years in Chicago

Ways volunteers can help: Come visit! Every second Thursday we offer a Community Night open house at 7 p.m. alternating between homes. Community Night is a great way to get to know our community and find out additional ways to help out. Our core members, those with intellectual disabilities, love all kinds of activities like playing pool, movies, classical music, and simply getting a bite at a local cafe. People can also help with housework, cooking, cleaning, office assistance, and most of all, spreading the word about L’Arche.

To volunteer, call: John Smith, Development and Outreach Coordinator, 708-660-1600 Useful donations other than money: Nice furniture, office equipment and supplies

12

Community of Caring | West Suburban PADS

September 24, 2014

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Humbled and homeless, one man’s road back

B

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

ill Lash is a car man, a 52-year-old who enjoys helping customers resolve their automotive issues as a service adviser at a car dealership.

Earlier this year, in a job market that was difficult at best, his job was taken away, and without enough funds to pay his monthly rent he was evicted from his apartment.

“I had nowhere to go,” says Lash, who immediately called West Suburban PADS, which gave him the ability to spend nine weeks sleeping in an emergency shelter in Oak Park, Forest Park or on Grand Avenue in Chicago. Then, in relatively short order, Lash landed a new job and become a participant in the nonprofit’s Rapid Restart Housing Program. This is a PADS supported housing initiative that in 2013 enabled 26 individuals in 12 households to receive 5,093 nights of supported housing, while they got back on their feet, says Lynda Schuler, executive director of West Suburban PADS. “The way we market this to people like Bill who only need basic assistance to rebound is that we guarantee rent for the landlord, and for some clients we will subsidize the full rent. If the client has income, we will have them pay a portion of their rent directly to the landlord, and then we pay the balance of that,” says Schuler.

In addition, Lash has received case management services, and training to enable him

to take more responsibility for the rent, and then eventually cover his rent in full.

While in the midst of looking for a new job at a different car dealership, Lash located an apartment, and landlord, willing to work with him and PADS. That landlord was Joe Ruggirello, a property owner in Oak Park since 1982 who manages five buildings. Lash has been living in one of those buildings since mid-June, and so far, he says, “everything has been real good,” with him still paying only a portion of the rent.

“Bill explained to me what the benefits were [of the PADS Program] and then I was put in contact with the right people. They explained further, and then it was just a bunch of paper work which is no different than any other semi-governmental agency,” Ruggirello says. “It was basically a smooth process but it does require a little more patience on my part than it would a normal person…and some faith, because at that point he didn’t have a full time job which he has now.”

Schuler adds that when Lash’s next big paycheck arrives, and he appears to be on solid footing, Lash will be responsible for paying his rent in total.

Homeless like me

In August, as Lash looked out his apartment’s window onto the Oak Park Arts District along Harrison Street, what happened while

Classic distinct MODERN lifestyle vintage Historical The Corporation markets markets over over The Oak Oak Park Park Residence Residence Corporation 500 apartments in 23 distinctive buildings through500 apartments in 23 distinctive buildings throughout Our updated updated vintage vintage out beautiful beautiful Oak Oak Park, Park, Illinois.

Illinois. Our style living offer modern amenities while retaining style living offer modern amenities while retaining classic features. classic Oak Oak Park Park architectural architectural features.

www.oakparkrc.com

21 Park, Illinois Illinois 60302 60302 21 South South Boulevard, Boulevard, Oak Oak Park,

he lived in the shelters still resonates now.

“It’s communal sleeping. You sleep on about a three-inch thick foam rubber pad. They would supply clean bedding you know, clean linens and bedding each and every time,” he says. “They provide dinner. Lights out was normally 10 p.m.

Wakeup was at 5 a.m. and they would provide breakfast, basic stuff, cereal, fruit like bananas and oranges, and you would have to be out at a quarter to seven.”

That meant riding the el, as many homeless individuals do, to the end of the line Continued on page 13

West Suburban PADS P.O.Box 797, Oak Park

Email: contactus@westsuburbanpads.org Phone: 708-338-1724 Website: www.westsuburbanpads.org Executive director: Lynda Schueler Mission: West Suburban PADS’ mission is to transition people from housing crisis to housing stability.

How long? Since 1992 Ways volunteers can help: · Provide breakfast, lunch or dinner for 70 shelter clients one day every month between September and May. · Help set up and clean up the emergency shelter one shift (evening, overnight, morning) once a month. · Practice job interviewing skills and help with resume development, with participants in the employment readiness program.

· Teach a financial literacy course or provide clerical support in the daytime Support Center. · Registered nurses can volunteer once a month in the Monday night medical clinic. Lawyers can volunteer once a month in the Thursday night Legal Clinic. Both are in the emergency shelter. · Join the Board of Directors, Associate Board (for young professionals) or Auxiliary Board (supporting the February gala). · Organize a group to collect household items and furnishings (see “House-to-Home Kit” list on the web site) for clients moving from the shelter into apartments.

To volunteer: Call Volunteer Coordinator at 708.338.1724 ext. 220, or email Volunteer@ westsuburbanpads.org.

Useful donations other than money: Items from the “General Wish List” and “House-to-Home Kit” list on West Suburban PADS’ web site under “GIVE.”

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Community of Caring | PILLARS

September 24, 2014

13

IT’S HOME: William Lash was homeless for nine weeks but West Suburban PADS found him an apartment in Oak Park through its Rapid Rehousing Program.

DAVID PIERINI/Staff Photographer

Continued from page 12 and back again, until the Oak Park Public Library opened at 9 a.m., and his get-backto-work-day would begin.

And, he says, as a homeless man, every night was a “crapshoot,” related to the numbers of people in competition for the open spots at the shelter.

“Let’s say there would be 45 spaces, but there would be 50 or 60 people out there in line. So, they hand out numbers, and draw them out of a hat kind of thing,” says Lash,

who now works as a service adviser again, this time at a car dealership in Des Plaines.

“Once you get to that last number, if the people are still outside it’s like, what do I do?

Wondering whether or not you’re gonna have somewhere to sleep, that was the worst part.

It would be better if there was a shoo-in…oh yeah, OK, I have somewhere to stay tonight.”

As dispensation, Lash says that people at the shelter would sometimes offer the unlucky ones a bus pass to ride the train all night to stay out of the elements.

“At 7 a.m. I had nowhere else to go. It’s dry, though the CTA discourages that, but it’s a reality, and in the early mornings, I would ride the train to the end of the line, and by the time I came back the library was open, and I would stay there for at least half a day on the computer. A lot of homeless people spend their days there, because they have nowhere else to go. A lot of people don’t realize you’re normally not that far from homelessness. All it takes is a couple of bad turns and within a couple of weeks you can be home-

less. A couple bad breaks. Lose a job. Lose a few paychecks. A landlord doesn’t care, because for them its pay the rent or get out.

I’ll find someone else that can pay the rent.”

For him, being blindsided, was a wake up call he wants to push forward.

“There is help out there to deal with this,” he says. “It’s whether or not you want it… because you have to put your tail between your legs, and take your humiliation and put it in your back pocket, because help is out there. All you have to do is ask for it.”

We feel very strongly that giving back matters.

That’s why OakParkApartments.com is a proud supporter of a number of community organizations, events and social service agencies.

Providing our tenants with the highest value in housing and facilities.

OakParkApartments.com

Greenplan Management, Inc. • 41 W. Chicago Ave. • (708) 386-RENT

14

Community of Caring | WSSRA

September 24, 2014

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

For a young boy, learning to jump in through recreation

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

A

bout nine years ago, and shortly after the birth of their second child, Oak Park working moms Josephine Porter and Renee Davis learned that their first born, Emerson, then two-and-one-half, had been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.

At first, they dealt with the diagnosis but were crushed by the news.

“At age two-and-one-half, he wasn’t acting how I thought he should be acting, because we were very into, ‘OK, he is supposed to be able to do his ABCs now,’ and things like that. So, when he would finish a task, or hit a developmental milestone, I would check a box in my head,’” says Porter, an attorney with Northern Trust.

More red flags rose.

“Luckily Josephine had the mommy gut because at first I was more of the thought that he was a boy, he is delayed,” says Davis,

an IT operations manager at BP. “And, he likes the rough and tumble, and was looking for the stimulation when he would crash into you, that tight pressure.”

Then, as parents they began proactively embracing the situation, and one of their avenues was to contact West Suburban Special Recreation Association (WSSRA), the nonprofit that provides recreation services for persons with disabilities in their park district setting or at WSSRA in its specialized programming geared for children with disabilities, says Marianne Birko, executive director.

Emerson’s, and his moms, first dip of the toe into the water, Porter recalls, came via a WSSRA swimming class for children with special needs at Oak Park and River Forest High School.

“The first three to four weeks he was just screaming and I couldn’t even get him into the water,” Porter says. “Then these great high school

students, who were with WSSRA, would take him into the water and he would scream the entire time.

There was never an eye roll, never an exhausted look. I could just weep about it because that was the point I needed someone to connect with him other than Renee and me.

He needed someone, too.”

By the end of that first session of swimming, Porter says, in spite of his circumstances, Emerson was totally engaged with the teacher. However, getting to that point, Porter says, required some extra pre- and post-class preparation as they eased Emerson into the idea, which included taking photos of related events involving in going to swimming class.

“We had his speech therapist create a social story about swimming, because anything new would send him over the edge,” Porter said.

Now at age 11, with the support, or assistance of anWSSRA aide, Porter says he has performed in the annual

WSSRA 2915 Maple St., Franklin Park

Email: wssra@wssra.net Phone: 847-455-2100 Website: www.wssra.net Executive director: Marianne Birko Mission: To provide year-round recreation services for people -- children through adults -- who have disabilities and live in our 11 partner communities.

WSSRA programs are adapted to meet the needs of the persons interested in those programs. In addition WSSRA pro-

vides a full spectrum of support for our partners’ recreation programs for persons interested in inclusion services.

How long? Formed as a cooperative in 1976 by the joining of the Park District of Oak Park and the River Forest Park District. The partnership has grown to the current 11 partners.

Ways volunteers can help: WSSRA hires part-time and volunteer staff to assist as support staff for the year round recreation programs offered. Staff is needed for both programs and one-time special events.

To volunteer: Contact www.wssra.net.

Complete the online application and we will be in touch with you. Have questions?

Contact Matt Barber at 847-455-2100.

Useful donations other than money: West Suburban Special Recreation Foundation; a 501c3 is the fundraising arm of the association. There are many sponsorship opportunities where funders can underwrite the expenses for uniforms, arts and crafts supplies, sports equipment and supplies and/or the expenses of a specific program.

DAVID PIERINI/Staff Photographer

SMOOTH SAILING: Emerson Porter, 11, enjoys skating lessons at the ice rink at Ridgeland Common. Emerson, who has autism, gets services from the West Suburban Special Recreation Association. ice show at Ridgeland Common, and joined in on park district T-ball, soccer and gymnastics programming.

Aide-assisted, this summer, he clowned around in a local circus camp, learning how to spin plates and more.

The next adventure for Emerson, says Davis, will be WSSRA’s social programming, where in a special-

ized, fun environment, he’ll go on group outings and sleep away trips.

“For Emerson,” Davis says “because of WSSRA, the sky is the limit.”

“WSSRA creates an environment where it is possible,” Porter says.

“They know how quirky he is, and know his little buttons, and they protect him.”

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Community of Caring | Kids Express

September 24, 2014

A safe haven for Austin’s kids

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

A

t age 10, as he shot hoops with friends at a local park on the West Side of Chicago, Marco Dodd heard the pied piping of an older friend who led him and his group to a community youth center, Kidz Express, the organization he, now at age 22, is championing.

As its senior manager of mentors, Dodd says he oversees the nonprofit’s job skills programming -- a successful peer-to-peer mentoring approach. In the program, teens from the neighborhood who have grown up in the program, either volunteer, or as a Kidz Express staffer, interact with current participants between the ages of six and 13.

Ten year old Armani McClay is one of them. Three years ago she landed here when her after school programming disappeared.

“Kidz Express was real fun, and better than my other after school program,” says the fifth grader who in the future hopes to be a first responder. “We did more stuff here, stayed longer, and did educational stuff, too, because during

tutoring time we do reading, we do math, and other stuff to get us ready for the next grade in school.”

Likewise, Julissa Frazier, an 8th grader who is on track to be a Kidz Express mentor when she turns 14, is another young girl who found this program.

“It wasn’t that good in the streets, so I came here to keep myself busy,” she says. “I play with the kids, have fun and do that kind of thing.”

When he was seven, Devon Cook, now a part-time mentor, says he discovered that being bookish didn’t sit well with the kids hanging out on his corner, so he headed to Kidz Express to find a place to read. Now 20, he’s back helping the local kids understand that college can be in their futures, too.

“The Austin area has its ups and its downs, and sometimes when you walk on the sidewalk and see all the drug dealers on the corner, because of Kidz Express, I just learned to walk past it, because I knew I was heading to a place where I would be safe,” says Cook, now a junior at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

And, all that is the point of

Kidz Express 342 S. Laramie Ave., Chicago

DAVID PIERINI/Staff Photographer

PAY ATTENTION: Mentor Amber Vaughn, left, helps Jabri with writing sentences and Amyah with math during a tutoring session at Kidz Express in Austin. this “crazy program for kids on the West Side of Chicago,” says Doug Low, executive director of the nonprofit that formed in Oak Park and Austin over a decade ago, as a dream to create a bridge between Austin and Oak Park.

In 2005, it officially became a brick and mortar space that offers free, open enrollment to about 55 local youth, 45 weeks a year.

“What do we do here, well,

15

what I say is that we help kids make better decisions when faced with the difficulties of South Austin,” says Low. Right now he is working to expand the program to serve 200 kids a day in a new location with additional social services.

“When kids come here, they know that we want to help them,” says Dodd. “We want to be there when they need help

Email: Douglow09@gmail.com Phone: 312-730-2670 Website: www.kidzexpress.org Executive director: Doug Low, 312-730-2670 Mission: To help our participants make better decisions and realize their potential when confronted with the challenges of growing up in impoverished urban environments.

How long? 1997. Our current program moved to 342 S. Laramie Ave in 2005.

Ways volunteers can help: Volunteers could assist with tutoring. We have several special programs highlighting volunteers expertise, experience, and interests (for example we have a bee keeper come and visit our program!), such as athletics, art, music and dance.

To volunteer call: Doug Low, 312-730-2670 Useful donations other than money: School supplies, backpacks, athletic equipment (e.g. basketballs, footballs, baseball gloves, jump ropes), food and snacks (especially fresh fruit and vegetables), and cleaning supplies. from somebody, and we want to be more than just a mentor, because we learn as much from the kids as they learn from us.”

Job is powerful for this woman with depression

I

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

n a job market that is tough at best for the long-term unemployed, Kathy Titzer, a 50 year old woman living with a Major Depressive Disorder, says she is gainfully employed again, thanks to Pillars’ Employment Services, a program that helps adults with serious mental illness get and keep competitive jobs.

“Kathy was unemployed for three years, and interested in going back to work,” says Jessica Fraider, an employment specialist at Pillars, an agency that has multiple locations, including two offices in Berwyn.

Previously, Fraider says Titzer, a resident of LaGrange Park who resides with her mom, had worked in libraries, as well as at a Jewel for 12 years prior to her three years of unemployment.

Working in a grocery store setting, seemed to be a better fit, so with the assist of her job coach, they filled out an application form for Mariano’s Fresh Market in Western Springs and she got the interview, and subsequently, the job.

“My friend introduced me to the

program and I reached out to someone at Pillars and I got on the waiting list and they said, “oh yeah, we can get you a counselor,” Titzer says.

“I’ve been working since April 30 at Mariano’s part time. They trained me on how the groceries are supposed to be put in the bags, so I’m a bagger, yeah, and I do overstock.”

Leading up to, and during the job interview Titzer needed only minor assists from her job coach, meaning an advocate and a person who could provide emotional support through the process, says Michael A. Price, coordinator of Employment Services at Pillars.

He adds that often his group does take client referrals from Thrive Counseling Center and NAMI Metro Illinois in Oak Park. All of the candidates are 18 and older, and have been diagnosed with a mental illness.

“We have people that are extremely high functioning and college educated, and some who are lower functioning and have no work experience, or a high school degree,” Price says. “So, it’s the full spectrum of mental illness.

We’re not an employment agency, and we don’t just find somebody any job. What we are trying to

look at is what are their strengths, what are their interests and what are the transportation options, then we try and find a job that’s going to fall within that range.”

Pillars goal, Price says, is for people living with a mental illness to become autonomous and independent, although the door back into services is always open if, and

when needed.

“If somebody asked me what’s a success story for any of the clients, I say every single client we have is a success story, even though not all of them get jobs,” says Price. He is enthusiastic that “Kathy is doing really, really well. She’s a go getter, and doesn’t sit around and let the grass grow underneath her feet.”

As she looks across the table at her two “cheerleaders,” Titzer smiles.

“I like to be independent for money, and have co-workers who will help me out if I need help,” she says. “Just to keep on bagging until I get maybe something, maybe in the deli or bakery, wherever you know. Having a job makes me feel really good.”

PILLARS 333 N. LaGrange Rd., Suite 1, LaGrange Park

Email: info@pillarscommunity.org Phone: 708-PILLARS (745-5277) Website: www.pillarscommunity.org President: Ann Schreiner Mission: To build healthier communities by making connections and changing lives. We build healthier communities by providing quality mental health services, social services and education for people of all ages.

How long? Pillars was formed by the 2006 merger of Community Care Options (founded 1928) and Pillars Community Services (founded 1968).

Ways volunteers can help: Providing Saturday night meals

to women and children living at Constance Morris House, our domestic violence shelter. Providing clerical support. Serving as a Sexual Assault Advocate. Serving as a LATH mentor, providing life skills coaching to families in transitional housing. Helping grieving children, teens and their families through Buddy’s Place. Assisting with special events. Working at the Hope Chest, an upscale resale shop in LaGrange that benefits Constance Morris House.

To volunteer, call: Kathryn Smith, volunteer and community relations coordinator, 708-995-3514 Useful donations other than money: In-kind services (marketing, technical). Clothing, toiletries, furniture, books, toys, school supplies. Donations for Pillars accepted at the Hope Chest, 717 W. Hillgrove, LaGrange or by calling Kathryn Smith, 708-995-3514.

16

Community of Caring | Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry

September 24, 2014

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

FRESH FOOD: Matthew Udelson, right, rolls a box down to the waiting hands of Matthew Grady as they and other volunteers received a shipment of food to the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry.

Forest Park Food Pantry Inside the Howard Mohr Community Center at 7640 Jackson Blvd. Forest Park, IL 60130

Phone 708-771-7737 Email: kdylewski@forestpark.net Website: www.forestpark.net Leadership contact name & title: Karen Dylewski, director Statement of purpose: To serve the people in our community who are struggling. To provide a confidential environment that respects an individual’s privacy and acknowledges how difficult it is to ask for assistance. To provide a basis for understanding that the people who use the pantry could be our neighbors and friends who are struggling without our knowledge.

How long have you been in existence? The Forest Park Food Pantry has been in existence for about 30 years.

Ways volunteers can help: Food drives, volunteers during the holidays to deliver holiday dinners and gifts to the less fortunate.

To volunteer, call: 708-771-7737 Useful donations other than money: Any non-perishable items. We now have a walk-in cooler and take donations of eggs, vegetables, bread, etc.

SURROUNDED BY FOOD

JEAN LOTUS/Staff

Volunteers Diana Dylewski and Bridget Dowdle help sort food at the Howard Mohr Community Center for the Food Pantry Thanksgiving delivery.

DAVID PIERINI/Staff Photographer

A place for those with ‘food insecurity’

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

T

wice a week, the long line of people experiencing food insecurity queues along the east side of Kenilworth Avenue adjacent to First United Church of Oak Park, where in the basement the Oak Park Food Pantry operates.

Young and old, infirmed and able-bodied, in mid-August about 150 people are waiting patiently, clutching the handles of grocery carts, and such.

In turn, and with dignity and respect, the group soon will be let in to register, then shop for a monthly ration of groceries, which clients hand pick from the shelves, refrigerators and freezers. Much of the food has been purchased from the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s warehouse with the dollars donated by individuals, churches, businesses and other supporters of this local place that serves Oak Park, and the communities that border it.

“Right now [mid-August] we are serving about 1,400 families a month,” says Paula Berg, pantry manager. “We are seeing a lot of new families now. I am wondering if it is families who normally have children in school, and their kids during the school year receive breakfast and lunch at school. If they don’t have that option it adds

“Right now we are serving about 1,400 families a month. We are seeing a lot of new families now.”

Paula Berg Pantry manager about $300 a month onto a family food bill so that is a big impact.”

Prepping for this Wednesday’s Distribution Day are about 40 volunteers. In an hour or so, they will distribute some 45 pounds of food, or about five large grocery bags per family, Berg says.

“It is so much nicer that people get to shop for themselves now.

That model of food distribution is called ‘Client Choice’ and it means that people get to choose their own food, just as you and I do at a grocery store,” says Michele Zurakowski, the executive director. “I think what we are seeing is that the number of visits to the food pantry has stabilized, but actually, individual people are needing to visit a food pantry more often because chronically unemployed people are using the food pantry now, people who are struggling a little bit more.”

Some volunteers pitch in with flair.

“Most of what I pass out is in a can, peas and carrots, green beans, spinach and three bean salad,” says two-times–a-week volunteer Charles Lake, 67. “Before

the clients arrive, I surf on the computer, looking for different recipes, so when they come through the line, I can share ideas and tips with them,” In addition, thanks to a partnership with Concordia University, some Wednesdays, students in the school’s nutrition program drop in to do onsite food demos and nutrition talks for clients.

“When I first started volunteering here we prepared bags ahead of time with standard stuff. The client never came back here [into the pantry] and now they do. There is a lot more food insecurity than anyone really appreciates,” says Barb Weakly, a former surgical ICU nurse, and now a retired tax accountant that her fellow volunteers call “the organizer.” “It is really enlightening when you really understand how many people need food. The other thing, too, is when you see the clients, and they are so appreciative and thankful for us, and what they get here. That’s what feeds you as a volunteer.”

Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry 848 Lake St., Oak Park

Phone: 708-386-1324 Website: www.oprffoodpantry.org Mission: To work together as a community to reduce hunger locally through direct hunger relief services, hunger awareness education, and advocacy to influence anti-hunger policy.

How long? 36 years Ways volunteers can help: Volunteers are the backbone of Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, participating in every aspect of operations. In order to serve 1,400 hungry families each month, the Food Pantry schedules 1,700 volunteer hours for tasks ranging from stocking shelves, to rescuing food at local grocery stores, to serving clients at weekly food distributions.

To volunteer, call: 708-3861324 ext. 1102, or email Kristi@ oprffoodpantry.org, or visit: http:// oprffoodpantry.org/volunteer Useful donations other than money: Diapers, toiletries, non-perishable foods, and garden produce

Community of Caring

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

September 24, 2014

Findthe the Find rightdoctor doctor right foryou you for

Make choosing the perfect physician easy.

Call 866-938-7256 to get more information on a doctor near you that: Make choosing the perfect physician easy.

• accepts your medical insurance flexible officeto hours work with your busy Call• has 866-938-7256 get that more information on a schedule doctor near you that: • is conveniently located near your home or office • accepts your medical insurance • isflexible board certified • has office hours that work with your busy schedule has access to advanced diagnostic technologies and comprehensive resources • is•conveniently located near your home or office • is board certified • has access to advanced diagnostic technologies and comprehensive resources 3 Erie Court, Oak Park, IL 60302 708-383-6200 • www.westsuburbanmc.com

3 Erie Court, Oak Park, IL 60302

1225 W. Lake Street, Melrose Park, IL 60160 708-681-3000 • www.wlhospital.com

1225 W. Lake Street, Melrose Park, IL 60160

17

18

Community of Caring | Wonder Works

September 24, 2014

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Young parents learn, too, at this children’s museum

By DEB QUANTOCK McCAREY

Wonder Works 6445 W. North Ave., Oak Park

Email: info@wonder-works.org Phone: 708-383-4815 Website: www.wonder-works.org Executive director: Mary G. Bodlak. mbodlak@wonder-works.org Mission: Wonder Works is a bridge between the family room and classroom.

Our mission is to provide a fun, safe, hands-on environment to strengthen the social, emotional, and intellectual development of young children. We specialize in learning opportunities for families that build their minds, encourage creative exploration, stimulate their imaginations, and provide age appropriate developmental growth.

How long? 11 years at current location, 22 years since organization formed Ways volunteers can help: Share your experience and skills with museum visitors; provide support for museum staff helping with the exhibits, the art room, the office, doing cleaning or maintenance work; work on a fundraiser or other board committee; join the board of directors To volunteer, call: Jessica Taylor, volunteer coordinator, at museum 708-383-4815 or email jtaylor@wonderworks.org.

Useful donations other than money: Art supplies (including recycled materials that can be used for art), children’s books, early childhood toys, children’s costumes, riding toys, stuffed animals. Also see our wish list on Amazon.com under Wonder Works Children’s Museum.

O

livia Garner of Northlake and Roman Jaime of Melrose Park, the 17-year-old parents of two-and-onehalf-year-old Leo, say their son was developmentally on target, and then one day he wasn’t.

“Leo will be three in December, and at first he was doing everything he should be doing developmentally. He was an early walker, 9 months, and he was really active, but not really talking,” said Garner, who gave birth in the winter of her freshman year in high school. “When Roman and I asked the doctor about that, she recommended that we register for early childhood intervention services through the state of Illinois.”

Now, weekly at Wonder Works Children’s Museum in Oak Park, Leah Shapiro, a local developmental therapist and early childhood specialist, is teaching the teens parenting skills, while therapeutically playing with Leo to address his developmental speech delay and short attention span.

There, in that 6,400 square foot museum space, Shapiro says that by exploring Wonder Works’ five educational stations with scores of other children, ages 8 and under who are also unleashing their imaginations in this safe space, Leo is learning how to take turns and share materials, being socialized.

“We don’t have any screens, which make this a very hands on environment for kids and families, and we very consciously do that,” says Mary Bodlak, its executive director. “Leah is one of many therapists who regularly bring their clients here, and we also have lots of nonprofits who

DAVID PIERINI/Staff Photographer

HANDS ON: Tristan Monagan Hudson, 2, plays with a front-loader and truck at Wonder Work’s Children’s Museum in Oak Park. use us. Since the beginning we have been partnering with many social service agencies because we have strategically built an environment that is geared to kids of all abilities.”

During sessions, through play, Shapiro says she is working on Leo’s current verbal and attention deficits, while simultaneously modeling positive approaches to parenting for his young mom and dad.

“I think he is extremely cute when he starts getting mad, but I still have to say no,” says Jaime, who like Garner is working and finishing up their senior year of high school while being parents.

Luckily, he says, he and Garner are receiving a strong assist from both of their moms.

And, Leo tends to surprise them.

“At times, I thought he couldn’t actually play with some of the things at the learning station, but he is smarter than I thought, and knows exactly what he is doing,” says Jaime.

Recently, as new members of Wonder Works, family time is spent at the children’s museum.

And, together with their toddler, the teens are making art and piecing together puzzles, tracking him into a tunnel to find and bang

a drum, and helping him climb the steps of the slide, a teaching moment that builds Leo’s gross motor skills, Shapiro says.

“When I found out that I was pregnant, at the time, I thought it was a huge mistake,” says Garner, who hopes to attend college next fall. “But now that I have this beautiful little boy, I know that it was not a mistake. We had no idea what to expect when we had him, but then he was there, and when we saw him, everything clicked and now it’s all about Leo, and whatever he needs. Because for us now, being parents comes before being a teenager.”

Find out what all of the buzz is about.

Sign up today for our Breaking News Emails.

Join the community at

RBLandmark.com • ForestParkReview.com • OakPark.com • RiverForest.com

Community of Caring

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

September 24, 2014

CEA-7501-A-A2

Proud to show our

for the local charities working to better our community

Matt Grote

Financial Advisor .

214 S Marion Street Oak Park, IL 60302 708-524-5424 www.edwardjones.com

Member SIPC

Your Door to the World!

• • • • •

Vacation Packages Domestic & International Vacations Cruises Destination Weddings Honeymoons

Find us on OakPark.com or at TanTrvl.com Follow us on: Facebook

Twitter

19

708.386.6363 email: lydia@tantrvl.com

20

September 24, 2014

Community of Caring

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM