CommunityofCaring_110117

Community of Great worries.

Great resolve.

How communities help

F O R E S T PA R K

JOURNAL REVIEW W E D N E S D A Y

Life after a suicide

Little Food Pantries

Jobs for ex-felons

Finding support is key PAGE 6

Feeding the neighbors PAGE 10

Improving lives PAGE 12

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November 1, 2017

OAKPARK.COM | FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

OAK PARK-RIVER FOREST

Community Foundation Your GivinG Can Have BiG impaCt Since 2002, the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation has distributed over $26,000,000 to local, regional and national nonprofit organizations.

Here are ways for you to get involved and be part of this impact.

Create a fund: donor-advised - you recommend charitable beneficiaries locally or anywhere in the USA annually - you select charities that will receive annual contributions from your fund scholarship - you select a purpose and the Foundation connects with the recipients designated

add to an existinG fund: such as the Fund for Now, the Fund for Forever,

the Fund for.......visit www.oprfcf.org for the many funds that welcome your gift.

Donate to the Fund for Now

Connect with

Kristin Carlson Vogen or Rhea Yap

Donate to the Fund for Forever

708-848-1560 kcvogen@oprfcf.org | ryap@oprfcf.org 1049 Lake Street, Suite 204, Oak Park or visit us at: www oprfcf.org facebook.com/OPRFCF

The Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation has partially underwritten the Season of Giving in support of nonprofit organizations serving Oak Park and River Forest.

November 1, 2017

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Power of Collective Giving

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ne raindrop, autumn leaf, snowflake may be beautiful, solitary, or unique. When many of each assemble together in one spot, we can witness full rain barrels ready for use when it stops raining, a leaf pile ready for jumping and laughter, and a big, bold snowman created by a neighborhood of children. All are examples of the power of a collective.

When each of us contributes our time or treasure to the mission of a nonprofit organization that is good. When ALL of us contribute, that is power. Giving collectively makes significant change.

As you read each of the following stories, think about the mission of each organization. Hear the story of impact. Each story may focus on one individual or small group, but represents many who benefit in the same way.

The impact cannot be made by one donor or volunteer alone. It takes all of us – collectively – to bring power and action to the mission of the organizations.

Participate in the Season of Giving and be part of the power of collective giving.

Inside This year we focus on three compelling issues.

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SUICIDE/MENTAL HEALTH Coe family, page 4 Chief Anthony Ambrose, page 5 North Riverside survivor, page 6 Thrive & NAMI, page 7

KRISTIN C. VOGEN

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FOOD INSECURITY Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, page 8 The Surplus Project, page 9 Little Food Pantry, page 10 PCC Wellness, page 11 ■

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

RECIDIVISM Hiring Programs, page 12 West Side Health Authority, page 13 Prevail Employment Readiness program, page 14

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Staff

Editor Lacey Sikora Photographer Alexa Rogals Editorial Design Manager Claire Innes Editorial Designers Javier Govea, Jacquinete Baldwin IT and Digital Developer Mike Risher Advertising Production Manager Philip Soell Advertising Design Manager Andrew Mead Advertising Designers Mark Moroney, Debbie Becker Advertising Director Dawn Ferencak Display Advertising Sales Marc Stopeck, Joe Chomiczewski Media Coordinator Kristen Benford Media Assistant Megan Dickel Inside Sales Representative Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Distribution Coordinator Caleb Thusat Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs Editor and Publisher Dan Haley Associate Publisher Dawn Ferencak Business Manager Joyce Minich ON THE COVER: Lucy Flores, Community Outreach Health Education Manager, talks about the different vegetables available on Sept. 28, at the PCC Wellness Austin Farm in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. | Photo by Alexa Rogals

eorge’s

Restaurant & Pancake House Your Community Restaurant

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November 1, 2017

Community of Caring | Suicide/Mental Health

OAKPARK.COM | FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

‘Modeling forward movement’ for oneself and a family

LOSS begins holding support meetings in River Forest

River Forest’s Coe family two years out from son’s death

By Lacey Sikora

Kristen notes that it was incredibly beneficial to have friends and family alongside them who did not try to repair the unrepairable. Calling or Marc and Kristen Coe of River Forest, the outpouring of love and kindness humbling, the suicide of their son Hunter in 2015 she says “It takes a unique soul to be able to sit was an entry into a club they had never with someone else’s sadness and not be comanticipated joining. At 24, Hunter had pelled to try to fix it.” graduated from college, was engaged to be For Kristen, it also helped to attend Loving married and happily employed. Kristen recalls, Outreach to Survivors of Suicide “This was not on our radar screen (LOSS) meetings. Now holding for him. Not to be trite, but he had monthly support groups in River the world before him. It was quite Forest, the group offers meetings unexpected.” for adults and teens as well as Other family members had individual counseling for those struggled with depression, so Kristouched by suicide. Kristen says ten says they had a fluency with one of the keys to support is recthe language of mental illness, but ognizing that everyone’s journey compares their fluency to learning with suicide is different.

French in the classroom and then “Individuals who have lost a actually being in France and having loved one to suicide need to be Kristen Coe to order a meal. “Death by suicide patient with themselves and allow is so jarring on so many levels. Fluhealing methods to take whatever ency doesn’t mitigate how jarring form they need to take.” that experience is for survivors of the loss.”

For Marc and Kristen, one of the ways to Over the past two years, the Coes have sought work through their grief was to honor Hunter’s out a variety of methods of dealing with their memory, and they reached out to the Oak Park grief. Coe credits therapy for the family, which River Forest Community Foundation for guidincludes Hunter’s three siblings, and long walks ance. Remembering what she calls Hunter’s with her husband, as well as the presence of huge personality, and his ability to engage family and friends, with helping them on their others with his quick wit and kind heart, they journey. sought a productive way to stake a place for his legacy.

On what would have been Hunter’s 25th birthday, they founded Be the Boat (www. betheboat.org.) Inspired by a prayer of St. John of the Cross read at Hunter’s memorial service in their family room, Be the Boat not only ties in the idea of suffering and love, but the family’s love of boating.

With a handmade canoe hanging from the family room ceiling and a kayak crafted

by Hunter on display in the house, boating has a special significance to the Coe family. Hunter taught swim lessons and was a

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“It takes a unique soul to be able to sit with someone else’s sadness and not be compelled to try to fix it.”

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

Kristen and Marc Coe

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life guard, and the Coes decided that providing swim lessons to at-risk children would be a fitting legacy for Hunter’s memory.

Kristen says of the effort, “I don’t expect this will be seed money for an Olympic swimmer, but the idea that a light bulb could go off and this confidence could be parlayed into other experiences – we’re trying to seed positive life experiences for others, which is a lovely legacy for Hunter.”

Kristen says that their family will always be irrevocably changed by what happened, but recognizes how important it is for her and Marc to help her children continue to live. “It’s important to Hunter’s siblings and to Marc and me to model forward movement and find joy where possible. We are absorbing our love for Hunter and his death into a narrative that allows our children to find joy and move ahead. They have long lives ahead of them.”

Today, she hopes that sharing their story will help those facing grief as well as young adults facing challenges. She keeps in her heart the lovable young boy who set off a fire alarm at Logan Airport as a toddler and kept her on her toes the rest of his life. She says that shortly before his death, he ripped a page out of a magazine with the quote, “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” She says, “It’s a great takeaway. He loved passionately. We still have maraschino cherries and truffle oil in our kitchen because he loved them.”

LOSS, Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide, has recently begun holding meetings in River Forest. There is a monthly support group for adults who have lost a loved one to suicide. There is also a new support group focused just on teens who have faced such a loss.

The adult meeting is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the third Monday of the month and is held at the River Forest Community Center, 8020 Madison St., River Forest. The teen group meets on the third Thursday of the month from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is also held at the River Forest Community Center.

Rev. Charles Rubey, a Catholic priest who founded LOSS 40 years ago, will offer a Mass of Remembrance for those who have lost a loved one to suicide. That will be on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 5 p.m. at Ascension Church in Oak Park.

LOSS is a program long sponsored by Catholic Charities.

These events are free and non-denominational. There is no religious component discussed and all are welcome.

Giving back matters. That’s why OakParkApartments.com is a proud supporter of many local organizations, events and agencies.

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November 1, 2017

Community of Caring | Suicide/Mental Health

Oak Park’s police chief talks about son’s suicide A leader in mental health training for police, Ambrose stunned by death

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By Lacey Sikora

ony Ambrose, Oak Park’s police chief, was no stranger to mental health crises when tragedy struck his own family. Thirteen years ago, when he was a commander on the force, he was one of the first two police officers in the state to attend a Crisis Intervention Training class. He brought what he learned in the week-long training course back to the force, where it became an important tool in helping officers deal with families in crisis due to mental illness or suicide.

When his teenage son died by suicide while in high school, Ambrose says he never saw it coming. “I’ve been involved with mental illness education years before my son, and people always say to look for signs. I’ve attended numerous classes, and I never saw it coming.”

Noting his son’s ready smile for everyone he met, and the hours they spent together every week driving to and from school and hockey practices, Ambrose says, “You always go through the stages of what did I miss? What were the signs? I couldn’t think of any.”

and has grown more comfortable sharing After the loss of his son, Ambrose his son’s story. He’s spoken at MacNeal turned to counseling and regular church Hospital and the Nineteenth Century attendance to try to find some comfort.

Club about his experience He also says that as tough and about the need to seek as it is to admit it, he came out professional help. He to the realization that anythinks that people can find body who commits suicide comfort in talking to somehas some form of mental one who understands what illness. they are going through, When Kimberly Knake, but many also need to be executive director of Metro reminded that it’s alright to Suburban NAMI (National reach out.

Alliance of Mental Illness), “People have to underasked Ambrose to speak stand, this is very trauabout his personal experimatic. You need people to ence, he wasn’t sure if the talk to. Somebody who is timing was right. “I always trained and can offer you a thought that I wouldn’t talk different outlet can make a about it until I retired. I Tony Ambrose difference.” decided that I would do it.

Ambrose remembers Your life changes forever his son Anthony lovingly, when this happens, but to calling him a polite young me, there’s no other option man who never caused any problems. “He but to help make sure that other people touched a lot of lives, and I truly believe don’t get put in the same position I’m in.” he did his job here. I feel his mission was Today, Ambrose serves on the board of to touch a lot of people. He accomplished Oak Park-based West Suburban NAMI that, and he’s gone.” and Oak Park’s Thrive Counseling Center

“People have to understand, this is very traumatic. You need people to talk to. Somebody who is trained and can offer you a different outlet can make a difference.”

Tony Ambrose

Serving our Community Senator

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329 Capitol Building, Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-8176

Representative Representative Representative Representative

Camille Lilly Camille Lilly Camille Lilly Camille Lilly 5755 W.Division Division St.St. 5755 W. St. 5755 W. Division Chicago, 60651 Chicago, ILIL60651 Chicago, IL 60651 (773) 473-7300 (773) 473-7300 (773) 473-7300 282-S Stratton 282-S Stratton 282-S Stratton Office Building Office Building Office Building Springfield, 62706 Springfield, ILIL62706 Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-6400 (217) 782-6400 (217) 782-6400

www.donharmon.org | harmon@senatedem.illlinois.gov dharmon@senatedem.ilga.gov dharmon@senatedem.ilga.gov dharmon@senatedem.ilga.gov

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November 1, 2017

Community of Caring | Suicide/Mental Health

OAKPARK.COM | FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

What’s ahead when a parent dies by suicide?

Finding targeted support is key says one daughter

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By Lacey Sikora

or Mary Stimming of North Riverside, her mother’s suicide at age 57 in 1990 came as a surprise in spite of her mother’s diagnosis as bi-polar with psychotic features. Her mother, who worked as a nurse, had been diagnosed just a few years earlier with mental illness.

Stimming recalls her mother “had a very graceful way of carrying herself. She was endlessly patient, nurturing, caring and unflappable. The irony was, that among friends and family, she gave such a sense that everything would be alright.”

Stimming was 26 at the time and had three younger siblings when her mother died by suicide. She and her sister Maureen later co-authored a book, Before Their Time, Adult Children’s Experience of Parental Suicide. Stimming has been active in the group Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide (LOSS) and also serves on the board of West Suburban NAMI. Stimming got involved with LOSS immediately after the death of her mother.

She recalls that she was a Sunday school

amid the agony.” teacher at her church Stimming found the in Hyde Park, and her group instrumental in mother died on a Sunday. her recovery. One of the When she went to the founders, Therese Gump church to unlock the door coined the motto, “joy for classes and try to find will return.” Stimming someone to fill in for her, says she found that to be her pastor put in her true, “but the sense of touch with Rev. Charles guilt and responsibility Rubey, one of the foundis really hard to shake. ers of LOSS. Talking to others really LOSS was founded in helps to normalize it, 1979 by Rubey and three and you get over your couples who lost children sense of impotence.” to suicide. These couples Today, Stimming is found that general a staunch advocate bereavement groups did for those dealing with not address what they Anne Shields Stimming mental illness and for were going through. removing the stigma Stimming found comfort associated with mental illness. She says in being in support groups with others who that mental illness runs in her family. “We had lost a family member to suicide. have a family vulnerability. It is like heart “Seeing people further in the process, disease. You need to take care of yourself made me ask, ‘Could I be there someday?’ if you have it in your family. Your odds of They had that lightness, that joy that was suicide go dramatically up if you have a gone for me. Not short-changing what you parent who committed suicide. You need went through, but realizing there’s grace

family and friends who can say to you that you need to seek professional help.”

Noting that today’s health care environment makes finding mental health care challenging, Stimming says that NAMI is instrumental at the national and state level with working with connecting people to help.

Statistics show that suicide rates are rising among the middle-aged, and Stimming cites easy access to guns as part of the problem. “Fifty percent of suicides in America are by gun. In Britain, the majority of suicides used to be by gas from an oven until they changed the toxicity of gas used in homes. The suicide rate plummeted. Suicide is an impulsive act. The best description I’ve heard is that it’s like a glass that is so full of water that it’s convex, and you add one more drop of water, and it just spills over.”

Today, she says that everyone knows someone living with mental illness, and she hopes that people will be able to realize that recovery is possible. “Hope is real. All kinds of people are living with mental illness. We need to get rid of the stigma.”

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November 1, 2017

Community of Caring | Suicide/Mental Health

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Oak Park police lead way as mental health allies Innovative ID program underway at Brooks Middle School

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By Lacey Sikora

he statistics are sobering. According to Kimberly Knake, West Suburban NAMI’s executive director, one quarter of the population will have a mental health condition in their lifetime and one in 10 young people aged 13 to 24 will start to experience symptoms of mental illness, but they will only receive a diagnosis six to eight years after the onset of symptoms.

Of those diagnosed, only 50 percent receive treatment. As the first responders in the community, police officers are often the first touch points for people with mental illness.

Knake cites Crisis Intervention Team or CIT as one of the important training tools for police officers in Illinois. The collaboration between law enforcement and mental health professionals focuses on treatment versus arrest and incarceration. The 40-hour training class prepares police officers to become crisis intervention officers.

Knake stresses that NAMI’s programs are free for police departments and residents and says that mental health training not only keeps officers safe but is a public health issue.

NAMI works with the Oak Park, Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments on CIT training and also offers

two other tiers of year. A lot of the time, we mental health training. encounter someone and Mental Health First Aid have two choices: arrest is an eight-hour prothe person or let them go. gram for first respondNeither is a good choice ers and lay people, and for someone with mental NAMI can also come in illness. We can call Thrive, to police departments and they can help that to provide three-hour person.”

Tony Ambrose training programs on Ambrose says he mana variety of mental dates that all officers treat health topics, such as people with dignity and working with families in crisis or involunrespect. “I don’t tell them to treat people how tary commitment forms. you want to be treated. I tell them: treat them Knake says that Oak Park has one of the how you want your parents to be treated.” highest concentrations of CIT-trained offices As a result of the department’s emphasis in the western suburbs, if not the state. on mental health awareness, officers are “Oak Park has always been a champion of finding new ways to reach out to the commuthe training. Chief (Anthony) Ambrose, and nity. School Resource Officer Kevin Collins before him Chief (Rick) Tanskley, they take works in Oak Park’s Brooks Middle School mental health very seriously.” and has collaborated with the special educaAmbrose says that NAMI has been instrution teachers in the junior high school. mental in providing training to his officers, He says, “We thought it was a good idea and says that 40 officers on the 100-plus for the students to talk to an officer, and let roster are currently state certified and that them know a police officer can help them if his goal is to have every officer trained and they’re ever in trouble. They learned they certified. He says that Thrive Counseling can always go to an officer for help. We’ve brought in numerous officers and even Center in Oak Park is also an important showed them police cars, so they know it’s piece of the puzzle. Ambrose serves on the safe to approach us.” boards of both organizations.

Noting that students with diabetes or a nut “We partner with Thrive 24/7, 365 days a

“I don’t tell them to treat people how you want to be treated. I tell them: treat them how you want your parents to be treated.”

allergy might wear a medic alert bracelet, Collins came up with the idea of a green silicone bracelet for students with mental health issues. “We wanted a way to get kids in crisis reunited quickly with their families, but we didn’t want to stigmatize the kids.

Everyone from teachers to families to police officers can wear the green bracelets, but if you’re a participant in the program with a mental illness, there is a little metal plate in your bracelet with an ID number in it. Only the watch commander can access the name and contact information associated with each ID.” Collins says within each ID there is a place for emergency contact information as well as likes and dislikes that could help officers de-escalate a specific situation. Funded with grants from the Community Health Board of Oak Park Township, Collins says the bracelets are also helpful for older adults with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

The program began in March of this year and is already spreading to other communities and states. For Collins, the benefits are two-fold, “There is the safety component of helping people in the community get the help they need if there’s ever an issue, and they also help with mental health awareness, not only for the police department but for the community as well.”

Resources American Association of Suicidology Website: www.suicidology.org Phone: (202) 237-2280 American Foundation for the Prevention of Suicide Website: www.afsp.org Phone: (212) 363-3500 L.O.S.S. (Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide) Website: www.catholiccharities.net/loss Phone: (312) 655-7283 NAMI Metro Suburban Website: www.namimetsub.org Phone: (708) 524-2582 National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Website: www.nami.org Phone: (703) 524-7600 SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) Website: www.save.org Phone: (952) 946-7998 Suicide Prevention Resource Center Website: www.sprc.org Phone: (877) 438-7772 Bibliography/Reading: www.suicidology.org/resources/recommended-reading Riveredge Hospital Website: www.riveredgehospital.com Phone: (708) 771-7000 Thrive Counseling Center Website: www.thrivecc.org Phone: (708) 383-7500 The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Phone: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Provides access to trained telephone counselors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741

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November 1, 2017

OAKPARK.COM | FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

Community of Caring | Food Security

Close to home, food insecurity a true problem

Nearly 15 percent of Oak Parkers need food support

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By Lacey Sikora

t’s easy to think of hunger as an issue that doesn’t affect the relatively affluent communities in the near west suburbs, but Michele Zurakowski, executive director of the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, says hunger is an issue right here in our neighborhoods.

“It really does exist here in much larger proportions than people know. The most current reported data, which is for 2016, shows that in Oak Park, over 7,000 individuals are considered food insecure. That’s a 14 percent rate. Even in River Forest, that rate is 5 percent. Hunger is one of those

things that you just don’t recognize just by looking at someone.”

While there is state-sponsored support in the form of programs like SNAP, Zurakowski says it doesn’t reach everybody in need. “For instance, SNAP benefits are available to most people except able-bodied adults without dependents. If you are in that category, you can only get SNAP if you work 20 hours a week. It can be hard in this environment for everyone to get those hours.”

At the food pantry, the most visible program is the pantry itself. People can “shop” the pantry once a month and receive between 60 and 70 pounds of food, which averages 54 meals.

For Shirley McNutt, an Oak Park resident, the pantry helps fill a gap.

“I sometimes fall short with groceries, and I use the pantry to make ends meet. They have a variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, milk and eggs. I like that it also assists with classes. I went to a nutrition class at Pete’s Fresh Market with a dietician. She showed me the authenticity of food -- how you have to read the labels to know what’s in the food.”

Zurakowski says that education is another part of the mission of the pantry that

Alexa Rogals/Staff Photographer

Dietitian Bri Kellogg (above) hands out turkey pumpkin chili and talks with attendees on Oct. 11, during a nutrition education program at the Oak Park and River Forest Food Pantry at First United Church on Lake Street in Oak Park. (Left)Volunteer Claudia Stepkowski, of Franklin Park, makes turkey pumpkin chili. for children who qualify for people might not know about. free lunches during the school “We have a Nutrition Educayear. The pantry also partners tion program run by dietitians with Oak Park and River Forest and volunteers to teach clients Townships to provide groceries basic nutrition through discusto Meals on Wheels participants, sions and cooking demos. Our who only receive five meals per Cooking Matters class is about week from Meals on Wheels and in-depth budgeting and analysis often need more assistance. of food. We just got a grant from McNutt says she doesn’t Walmart to support these two Michele Zurakowski always need to go to the food programs.” pantry, but there are many The food pantry also helps to months when it is necessary. fill in gaps for at-risk popula“I feel grateful to have the food tions. During the summer, the pantry. Plenty of people in Oak Park use pantry collaborates with Oak Park and River Forest High School and the Oak Park the service. I might not see them, and they Education Foundation to provide lunches might not see me, but we all benefit.”

“Hunger is one of those things that you just don’t recognize just by looking at someone.”

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Community of Caring | Food Security

Salvaging food and, better yet, making connections Surplus Project, a Big Idea that keeps growing

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By Lacey Sikora

“It felt like a good fit. First, it’s a charitable project. It is good for our adolescents and young adults to have a community project to be a part of. Also, it teaches empathy and greater values.”

Frank says that in November 2016, Riveredge began working exclusively with providing meals to Oak Park’s Mills Park Tower, a senior apartment high rise, and recently added Austin-based New Moms to the mix. His group works with the cafeteria staff to package and transport the food, but

n 2016, the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry won the inaugural Big Idea contest, an innovation of the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation. The food pantry’s transformative idea was the Surplus Project, which aimed to connect local institutions with excess prepared food at the end of each day with local charities in need of meals. The $50,000 grant was used to expand the program which repackages food from local businesses and schools and redistributes it to non-profits.

Lauren Draftz, the nutrition program assistant, says the program is designed to tackle food insecurity and food waste simultaneously. Currently, the program has five donors: Riveredge Hospital, Rush Oak Park Hospital, Dominican University, Oak Park and River Forest High School and Loretto Hospital. Non-profit recipients include Mills Park Tower, New Moms, West Cook YMCA and Youth Outreach Services, an after-school program in Austin.

The Surplus Project began in 2015, and provided FILE 2015 about 2,000 meals its first year. Draftz says in the last John McKillop E.R manager helps in the efforts with The fiscal year, the program Surplus Project at Rush Oak Park Hospital. Nurses and rescued 12,700 meals and other employees at Rush Oak Park Hospital helped package diverted 14,000 pounds extra food that is left over from the cafeteria of the hospital of waste from landfills.

All meals are repackaged in 2015. They partnered up with Oak Park River Forest following the health and Food Pantry in order to give the food out to those in need. safety guidelines set by the Oak Park health department. the relationship has grown beyond just the For a small fee of $60 per month, per site, food. donor institutions can re-package food in “The community interaction has been new containers with labelled ingredients. great. Our guys are starting a game night Draftz says the only cost is packaging and with the residents of Mills Tower.” that the Food Pantry supplies each of their Frank says that his residential group donors with the containers for the first year. include young men ages 16 to 21 and that Donors report positively about the effects all come from backgrounds of trauma and of the program on their own bottom lines, abuse and have made mistakes themselves. she says. “They tell us they’ve become “We are a temporary home for these men aware of the sheer amount of waste, and for one to one-and-a-half years. Some of they can tailor what they order based on them are on parole or wards of the state. It’s what they’ve learned.” really empowering because these are kids For Riveredge partnering with the Surwho are often the recipients of charity, but plus Project has had positive results. Ben to get to be the givers and not the takers is Frank, residential services director, says, really good for them.”

November 1, 2017

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November 1, 2017

Community of Caring | Food Security

OAKPARK.COM | FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

From abundance, Little Food Pantries feed neighbors Brookfield and Riverside lead way in micro food initiative

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By Lacey Sikora

nspired by the Little Free Library movement which saw small libraries popping up on lawns throughout the suburbs, local charitable organizations are now creating Little Food Pantries that operate under a similar premise: if you have extra, leave it behind; if you are in need, take something for free.

On the 3400 block of Grand Boulevard, the Brookfield-Riverside Rotary Club opened a little food pantry in April. Rev. Karl Sokol of Compassionate UMC, who is also a Rotary member, tends the pantry. He says the project came out of a desire to look at needs in the community differently.

“Instead of talking about food insecurity, why don’t we focus on food abundance? We can make better use of our little plots of yard to grow fresh fruits and vegetables. We can target food scarcity by giving extras to our friends and neighbors.”

Sokol’s high school friend, Oak Brook resident Bill Steinhauer, donated his services to build a sturdy wooden cabinet on top of a four-by-four post. He then coated it with

Photos by Alexa Rogals/Staff Photographer

Canned foods and non perishable items are seen on Oct. 9, at the Little Free Food Pantry in Brookfield. marine varnish to protect it from the elelicable and very low maintenance. ments and added a sliding bolt closure.

Another little food pantry popped up in At first, Sokol wasn’t sure what the August at Riverside Presbyterian Church at response to the pantry would be. “We 116 Barrypoint Road. Located in a well-lit started with a little trepidation. Someone area outside of the office of the church, the might use it or abuse it, but it’s been a pantry offers free food and personal care nice, steady flow of users.” items 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The little pantry is used for canned Tara Gregus, a church member, brought goods and non-perishable items, and the idea to the Mission Committee, and the Sokol says fresh fruits and vegetables are group embraced it as part of their larger often left underneath the pantry itself. mission to address issues of hunger. The Karl Sokol Located next to the community garden, group regularly gathers supplies for area which has about 40 members, Sokol says shelters and food pantries throughout that the pantry has benefitted from robust the Chicago area and provides and serves community support. meals at the Boulevard in Chicago.

People donate and take canned pet food as well as human Those interested in donating can bring items to the food, he says. On the Brookfield Connections Facebook church office or simply put smaller items in the pantry page, he sees people post about buying something for the itself. Suggested items include travel size shampoo, body pantry, so he knows there is community interest in keeping wash, soap, individually wrapped toilet tissue, feminine the pantry supplied. hygiene products, baby food, granola bars, and canned What he likes best about the project is that it’s easily repfoods with pop lids.

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

“We can make better use of our little plots of yard to grow fresh fruits and vegetables. We can target food scarcity by giving extras to our friends and neighbors.”

Giving back matters. That’s why OakParkApartments.com is a proud supporter of many local organizations, events and agencies.

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

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Community of Caring | Food Security

November 1, 2017

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An urban vegetable garden flowers in Austin PCC teams with Botanic Garden, community to grow fresh produce

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By Lacey Sikora

n Austin, a garden and a farm stand are providing more than just fruits and vegetables to a community in need.

Across the street from the PCC Austin Family Health Center, the PCC Austin Farm Stand partners with the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest program, and maintains an urban garden which grows produce for the farm stand.

Lucy Flores is the community outreach manager at PCC Austin Family Health Center. She says the programs were much needed in the neighborhood. “According to the USDA, the Austin community is a food dessert with a scarcity of access to fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Several years ago, PCC Austin thought about the best way to utilize an adjacent empty city lot and joined forces with the Chicago Botanic Garden to found a growing space. For Flores, it was an appropriate tie in to PCC’s mission of wellness.

Photos by Alexa Rogals/Staff Photographer

Lucy Flores, Community Outreach Health Education Manager, walks between beds of vegetables on Sept. 28, at the PCC Wellness Austin Farm in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.

“It’s hard to get to the store to get fresh veg“We wanted to extend our message beyond etables. I love to go and buy corn, green beans, the four walls of our clinic. PCC Wellness is green tomatoes, okra and squash. I wash and a federally qualified health center and our freeze it too because in the winter I won’t have mission is to provide quality medical and those fresh vegetables.” behavioral health service to low-income, She says that one attraction is the quality of under-resourced and under-served communithe produce she finds. “To me, there’s a differties. We have on-site WIC services for new ence. You can really smell the vegetables and moms and infants, and in-house dental care fruit. A peach smells like a peach should smell. also. Nutrition is a part of all of this.”

It looks better than what is at the store and cost The farm stand is located at 330 N. Lotus better too.”

Ave. and in 2017 was open Tuesdays between Young also says that the sense of comJune 6 and Oct. 31 from 12 to 5 p.m. and one munity keeps her coming back. “At the farm Saturday a month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. stand, I strike up a conversation and meet On top of providing access to affordable, people. We talk about recipes and what we local and organically-grown produce, the Lucy Flores cook. Sometimes I try something that is new farm stand also serves as a model of urban to me, like kale or Swiss chard. I talk to just agriculture and engages the comabout everybody there. Every time I go, I munity in volunteer farming and educational workshops. learn something different. There are all kinds of different Flores notes that many customers of the farm people there.” stand are PCC patients and residents of the neighborhood. She also says that this year, they are seeing a lot more seniors shopping at the farm stand.

“For us, this is great. Sometimes we overlook OPRF Food Pantry that demographic. Seniors also really need access Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry is located in the lower level of to fresh food. Throughout your life cycle you First United Church of Oak Park benefit from good nutrition. Plus, seniors are getWebsite: www.oprffoodpantry.org ting out to the farm stand and socializing, which Address: 848 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60301 is good for them. From a community standpoint, Phone: (708) 386-1324 research shows that the presence of positive Urban Gardening- PCC Wellness Austin Farm Stand activity deters negative activity, so there are a lot Website: www.pccwellness.org/produce-marketof benefits to having the farm stand here.”

Address: 330 N. Lotus Avenue, Chicago, IL 60644 Dorothy Young is a patient and neighbor of the Phone: Lucy Flores at (773) 413-1240 clinic who started shopping there this summer Email: LFlores@pccwellness.org and says that once she saw what they offered, she made sure to go every Tuesday.

“From a community standpoint, research shows that the presence of positive activity deters negative activity, so there are a lot of benefits to having the farm stand here.”

Resources Food Insecurity

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November 1, 2017

Community of Caring | Recidivism

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Breaking the barrier to first jobs for ex-felons Matching willing employers with prepared employees

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By Lacey Sikora

hen Deno Andrews first opened Felony Franks in Chicago, he already knew that ex-offenders could make great employees.

Growing up, he saw how hard former prisoners worked in his family’s restaurant supply company. After Felony Frank’s moved to Oak Park in 2016, Andrews remained committed to his idea of employing ex-offenders at his restaurant, but the Oak Park native envisioned something bigger.

In February 2017, he won a $50,000 grant through the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation’s Big Idea contest. He has put that money to work through his website: www.therescuefoundation.org.

Calling the website the first phase of his business plan, Andrews is creating a site that matches job candidates with potential employers.

For Andrews the challenge for ex-offenders begins at the start of their job search.

“Even employers who say they don’t have a box on the application about prior felonies are wasting applicants’ time if they still do background checks.”

For someone recently out of prison, he says, money and time are in short supply, and both are needed to travel on public transportation to entry-level jobs. If businesses accept applications from anyone but later require background checks, most ex-offenders don’t make it to a second interview.

Andrews’ website removes that uncer-

Photos by Alexa Rogals/Staff Photographer

Tana Edmonson rings up a customer on Oct. 4, at Felony Franks on North Avenue in Oak Park. (Below) Crew member Marquis Burnett, cuts fresh potatoes at Felony Franks. tainty from the calculation. “Our candidates know that any interview we send them on, the business has agreed to hire ex-offenders.”

Tana Edmonson, a Felony Franks employee, connected with the restaurant at a job resource center at Triton College. She says, “I had gotten hired in different jobs,

Through a questionnaire for both emFelony Franks and is expanding to commuployer and potential employee, the Rescue nity centers on the West Side. He will also Foundation aims to surface any potential offer training to employers. “I’ll go in and issues prior to matching a candidate with a lecture about the challenges for a business potential job. Part of the process is vetting that they might not have considered.” the ex-offender’s crime to determine if the For example, most businesses pay embusiness is an appropriate fit. Another big ployees every two weeks. That new hire issue? Timing. might not have enough money “One of the biggest for a bus card to get to work barriers for getting before the first pay check a job is availability,” comes in. Just offering a bus says Andrews. “So card can make a new hire many of our candimore reliable. dates are single parAt the end of the day, ents and might have Andrews thinks his projrestrictions on days ect has far more long-term or shifts that they can implications than just helping work.” ex-offenders get their first The website also coventry level job. “We’re teachDeno Andrews ers an individual’s pering networking. One half of sonal situation with a our employees have pivoted list of questions that to better jobs because they Andrews says help learned how to network here. employers get a bigger picture of It’s about radical transformations. We’re the situation. From home security improving the lives of the ex-offenders with to financial security to child care and meaningful, good work. The secondary addictions, the questionnaire is aimed at benefit is their offspring. They have a role assessing whether an applicant is ready for model at home and learn a work ethic. We the job market and what type of job might could interrupt the cycle of incarceration. be the best fit.

That’s my motivation: the ripple effect.”

On the employer side, Andrews reaches Other area businesses that employ exout and spend two hours a day, four days a offenders include Robinson’s Ribs in Oak week talking with local businesses about Park, Uncle Remus Chicken, and Ben’s Ribs hiring ex-offenders. He offers classes at in Austin.

“It’s about radical transformations.

We’re improving the lives of the ex-offenders with meaningful, good work.”

but when they found out I was a felon, they wouldn’t hire me.”

Since she began at Felony Franks three years ago, she has a rented an apartment and is able to visit her family in Indiana on a regular basis. Andrews hopes that the website will more easily connect candidates like Edmonson with businesses looking to hire.

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November 1, 2017

Community of Caring | Recidivism

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‘The outer and the inner man and woman’ WHA re-entry program takes holistic approach

By Lacey Sikora

ing in many cases. We offer on-site anger management counseling, mental health care, he Westside Health Authority was domestic violence therapy and help with founded in 1988 and one of its substance abuse.” original divisions was the Workforce WHA also offers cognitive behavioral therRe-entry program. Through six locaapy. Ehmen says this is important because tions, WHA provides on-site services while programs eventually end, movements for ex-offenders looking for work. Roger do not. He cites the need for a short term Ehmen, WHA’s director for and long term approach, this program, says that the providing an example of a program is in-depth and participant who might curemphasizes, “We address rently be labelled as a gang the outer and inner man banger but wants to make and woman.” that long term transition to The external issues might a family man. start with the most basic of According to Ehmen, needs. Many ex-offenders WHA’s approach is working. need food, identification, “Our recidivism rate has clothing, or help with enrollbeen under 10 percent for ing in food stamp programs four years. For Cook County or the Affordable Care Act. Jail, that recidivism rate Roger Ehmen For most, finding a job is a is 62.7 percent. Because we goal that requires not only address the inner and the those basics, but job training outer, our rate is lower.” and placement. External As the federally-funded, official re-entry care might also include dental and eye care. center for the City of Chicago, WHA’s WorkJust as important Ehmen stresses is the force Re-entry program is able to provide internal work. “They also need counsela wide-range of services to participants.

Knowing that no agency can provide all needed services, it partners with 65 other agencies on the West Side.

Even prior to offenders being released, WHA works with correctional centers, going into the centers three times a month for pre-release orientations to help offenders begin to recognize what their needs will be once

T

“We offer on-site anger management counseling, mental health care, domestic violence therapy and help with substance abuse.”

Photos by Alexa Rogals/Staff Photographer

Charles Page, of Chicago, takes a test on Oct. 12, at the West Side Health Authority on Division Street in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Below) Case Manger Tonya Grisby, left, goes over paperwork with Sterlin Payne. they are released. After prison, ex-offenders face a variety of barriers from lack of a high school diploma to inability to pay for public transportation.

WHA partners with Malcolm X College to conduct on-site, no-cost GED classes.

Because transportation costs are a major barrier to ex-offenders seeking help, WHA offers a case-management on wheels, with an outreach coordinator travelling to transitional houses. On Dec. 1, the program will open a transitional residence of its own. For those convicted of low-level crimes, the home will offer 90 days of transition and access to all of WHA’s services. WHA works with over 200

employers on job placement, often offering on-site interviews.

Through other programming, such as WHA’s housing program, ex-offenders are considered part of the solution. WHA works with banks on foreclosed homes, hiring ex-offenders to rehab the homes, a program that has widespread benefits according to Ehmen.

“We’re taking blighted properties, making them over, giving felons construction skills and helping someone who couldn’t normally afford a home. It’s increasing homeownership in our community, and as a result, more employers are returning to our community.”

Your Door to the World!

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Vacation Packages Domestic & International Vacations Cruises Destination Weddings Honeymoons

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

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708.386.6363 email: lydia@tantrvl.com

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Community of Caring | Recidivism

Job search has special challenges for ex-felons, homeless Housing Forward taps expert volunteers to help

By Lacey Sikora

A big topic is resumes. Volunteers can help edit resumes if participants already have t Housing Forward, the Prevail proone in place, or they can help clients create a gram offers employment readiness resume. Tucker notes that for many clients, programs for ex-offendthis step involves giving them ers, those touched by the skills to create their own rehomelessness and others sumes, from computer knowledge who need help entering the to how to write up experiences. workforce. Romiesha Tucker, Volunteers help clients conduct Prevail’s program manager, says job searches and also prepare for one of the first steps is pairing them for interviews via mock participants with skills-based interviews and working on phone volunteers. interview skills. While Housing “We have former recruiters, Forward does not provide job teachers, human resource people, placement, Tucker says they take and former hiring managers. If steps to help clients make good ROMIESHA TUCKER a participant is on probation or contacts.

Prevail’s program manager has any convictions, we have a “We establish relationships lawyer they can work with. The with employers who are willing first meeting is just a getting to know you to work with our clientele, whether they are meeting, getting to know your story. At the older applicants, homeless or ex-offenders. second meeting we go over goals, and then We might work with Felony Franks or we go from there.”

Christy Webber of Webber Landscaping.

A

Photos submitted by Romiesha Tucker

Let us know we’ll hold your paper!

“We establish relationships with employers who are willing to work with our clientele, whether they are older applicants, homeless or ex-offenders.

Romiesha Tucker

Christy is great because she understands the background of drug abusers. She started her own business and hires year-round workers. This is great because our clients don’t need temporary jobs. They need sustainability going forward, a way to pay the rent.”

In addition to the skills-based volunteer hours which are held Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, Housing Forward offers a computer lab and the aid of an AmeriCorps volunteer who can help walk-ins with jobrelated computer work. Tucker emphasizes, “It’s a job to find a job. We encourage a person to submit at least 10 applications a day.”

For a more intense program, Housing Forward offers its Career Passport Program, which runs four days a week, five hours a day for five weeks. Aimed at clients who have been in one of Housing Forward’s shelters, it is an intensive way to address barriers that homeless people have in finding employment.

Through all of its employment readiness programs, Housing Forward integrates with other programming in the office because the clients who seek help finding a job often need assistance in other areas. The Emergency Assistance Program helps clients who need help with getting an ID, face eviction

or need bill payment plans. The Homeless Prevention Hotline also overlaps with job readiness because employment is a key to sustainability. Housing Forward also works to provide referrals to NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) or rehabilitation services for clients who have mental or physical health issues that need to be resolved.

Resources Workforce Re-Entry Westside Health Authority Website: www.healthauthority.org/initiatives/ employment-services/ Address: 5417 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60651 Phone: (773) 378-1878 The Rescue Foundation Website: www.therescuefoundation.org Housing Forward Employment Readiness Program Website: www.housingforward.org Phone: (708) 338-1724 (888) 338-1744 (toll free)

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Email: circulation@OakPark.com

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Does Your Business Support Local Giving?

Be a Sponsor of

d by the OakOAK Park-River Forest Community Foundation PARK-RIVER FOREST Community Foundation

Email megan@oakpark.com

connect giving to impact!

before anything else, we’re all human rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com

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OAK PARK-RIVER FOREST

Community Foundation

Community Giving Guide

d by the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation

S

The Most Wonderful Guide of The Year!

eason of Giving is a campaign organized by Wednesday Journal and the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation to encourage local charitable giving during the holiday season. It has long

been recognized that when we shop local, our money recirculates through the local economy reaping dividends for the entire community. The same is true for charitable giving. When you donate to local nonprofits, your money goes to work in your own

neighborhood. Your donations feed local families, offer safety and learning to local children, and enrich the beauty and art that surrounds us all. Over the coming weeks, we hope that you will take a moment to look over the listings in this Giving Guide. Find

e connect giving to impact!

Animal Care League

Animal Care League offers a safe haven for pets in need. Founded in 1973, Animal Care League takes a proactive approach to animal care and adoption as well as preventative measures to help reduce the number of homeless animals in our communities. With over 1000 pets coming to our doors each year, Animal Care League counts on supporters to ensure that we can provide what is needed from routine vaccinations to life saving surgery.

Make a difference in the life of a homeless animal by visiting www.animalcareleague. org where you can sign up to volunteer, make a donation, view our adoptable pets, and learn about upcoming events.

Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation We connect donors to impact. Your gift to the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation can benefit one or many organizations locally, regionally or nationally. We accept all sizes of gifts -- gifts of cash, appreciated stock, real estate and through bequests.

We work with you to match your philanthropic interests with needs.

We manage scholarships for students and provide enrichment grants for young people.

We provide grants to local nonprofit organizations, present Impact Excellence seminars for them and manage many of their funds. We connect our community for collective impact.

For more about what we do, please visit us at: www.oprfcf.org, on Facebook and Twitter: @oprfcf.

708-848-1560 1049 Lake Street, Suite 204 Oak Park, IL 60301 Donate online at: https://goo.gl/MeQaon

The Collaboration for Early Childhood

The Collaboration for Early Childhood is your resource for early childhood information in Oak Park and River Forest. We provide the connections vital to every child’s opportunity for success in learning and in life. We work with more than 60 organizations so that parents and their children receive critical information and support services, children are screened for developmental delays, teachers in child care centers, preschools and family child care homes provide high quality programs and our most vulnerable children and their families experience a strong web of support.

For more information, or to make a donation, please visit us at collab4kids.org or follow us on Facebook.

Concordia University Chicago Founded in 1864, Concordia University Chicago is a comprehensive liberal arts-based Christian university in the Lutheran tradition. Through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Education, and College of Graduate and Innovative Programs, Concordia-Chicago offers more than 100 areas of study in small classes taught by professors who are passionate about teaching and student success. Concordia-Chicago equips men and women to serve and lead with integrity, creativity, competence and compassion in a diverse, interconnected and increasingly urbanized church and world.

More than 5,000 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled at Concordia-Chicago, located in River Forest.

Oak Park Festival Theatre Since 1975 Oak Park Festival Theatre, the Midwest’s oldest professional outdoor classical theatre, has brought the magic of dramatic masterpieces to generations of our neigh-

bors. Whether performing under the stars in beautiful Austin Gardens as we do each summer or at any of the many local venues where we partner with local philanthropic agencies (such as Housing Forward, Oak Park Housing Authority or Nineteenth Century Charitable Association), Festival Theatre breaths fresh air into timeless texts for Oak Park and beyond.

With ticket prices kept friendly for every budget and free admission for all under 13, we rely on the generosity of our audiences to continue our dynamic community dialogue.

Donations can be made on-line at oakparkfestival.com or mailed to us: Oak Park Festival Theatre, P.O. Box 4114, Oak Park, IL 60303.

Hephzibah

Hephzibah Children’s Association was founded in 1897. We serve more than 1,000 children and families each year through innovative, community-based programs.

Hephzibah provides a Group Home for children who have been taken from their families due to profound abuse or neglect.

Our skilled staff recruits and trains foster parents, and offers ongoing support to help all family members navigate challenges.

Our after-school Day Care operates on a sliding scale to serve working parents in Oak Park, with programs based at each elementary school.

To make a real difference in the lives of children and families, please donate today at hephzibahhome.org.

Housing Forward The mission of Housing Forward is to transition people from housing crisis to housing stability. By emphasizing prevention, supportive services, employment readiness and supportive housing, we are able to offer a comprehensive, long-term solution that moves clients into housing quickly and keeps them there.

an organization that resonates with you.

Check out their website. Consider making a donation or volunteering. Spread the word.

Don’t just shop local—give Local.

This housing-first approach to homelessness is more efficient, more fiscally responsible and less traumatic to clients who are typically facing extraordinary hardship. It is also beneficial to the communities being served who do not have to bear the costs of homelessness in the form of expanded social services, health care and public safety costs.

We offer an attractive return on your investment — measured in terms of human lives and futures.

To donate, please visit housingforward. org/give, or contact Janet Gow, Director of Development & Communications, at 708.338.1724 ext. 262.

L’Arche Chicago L’Arche Chicago is a community where people with intellectual disabilities live together with direct support professionals, in homes, as family. We strive to merge quality care and mutual relationships, building a community where everyone has a genuine place of belonging.

L’Arche seeks to be a sign of hope, revealing the truth that all people, including those with intellectual disabilities, have gifts to share.

Your contributions enable each core member (person with intellectual disability) to live an independent, full life in our vibrant homes of love and compassion in the OPRF area.

To donate or get involved, visit LArcheChicago.org/OPRF

Nineteenth Century Charitable Association The Nineteenth Century Club was established in 1891 and the spirit of the founders continues today in the work of the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association through community outreach grants, scholarships, and public programming in five areas: music, art, literature, science, and social sciences. The NCCA is the owner of 178 Forest Avenue, commonly referred to as the Nineteenth Century Club. Our charitable and cultural activities

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This Community Giving Guide of local nonprofits will run weekly through December.

If you would like information on how to list your organization, email Marc Stopeck at marc@oakpark.com. are supported by our members, volunteers, donors, and by the events held at the Club.

Programs are open to all and we welcome men and women of all ages to join.

If you would like information about volunteering, joining or donating, please call us at 708-386-2729 email to info@nineteenthcentury.org.

The Oak Park Education Foundation (OPEF) Strong schools are at the heart of a strong community.

Established in 1989, OPEF is a privately funded, nonprofit organization that brings artists, architects, scientists, and technology experts into K-8th grade classrooms at every District 97 school. Our professional partners share their passion for learning while conducting free, hands-on residencies with more than 4,200 students annually. OPEF also runs BASE Camp, exceptional summer enrichment.

Learn more, volunteer or donate at opef.org.

260 Madison St., Oak Park, IL 60302 Contact: Tracy Dell’Angela Barber, Executive Director tdellangelabarber@opef.org. 708-524-3023

Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society/ IWS Children’s Clinic Heartfelt Healthcare is a home for the holidays.

Everyone wants to be home for the holidays. Family, friends, food and laughter. Comforting, familiar and happy.

The warm, welcoming embrace of the Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society’s Children’s Clinic is a home of a different kind.

We care for children from families that could not find help anywhere else. Children who are living in poverty and have faced difficult circumstances.

We provide medical, dental and behavioral services right here from our cozy building on Lake Street. We even help with nutrition, pet therapy, health education and literacy support. We call it Heartfelt Healthcare.

Please give generously this Holiday – from your home to theirs. Please call (708)4068661 or visit www.oprfiws.org.

Oak Park Public Library Support literacy, learning, and community connection When you give locally, you can choose to share a gift that nurtures ideas and spreads knowledge in and around Oak Park. You can support the freedom to read, to learn, and to grow. Loyalty to your local public library helps a 113-year-old institution, dedicated to literacy and community connection,

continue to be free and accessible to all.

To learn more about how you can make a difference and keep Oak Park’s center of information, local history, and civic engagement strong, contact Executive Director David J. Seleb (d.seleb@ oppl.org, 708.697.6911) or Deputy Director Jim Madigan (jmadigan@oppl. org,708.697.6909).

Oak Park Regional Housing Center The Housing Center promotes and sustains the racial integration of Oak Park.

We help over 3,500 households and 250 landlords annually. The Housing Center provides the foundation for equity and inclusion in Oak Park. Your gift helps keep Oak Park’s promise of diversity that we all cherish.

To donate visit: oprhc.org/donate or make checks payable to OPRHC, 1041 South Boulevard, Oak Park, IL 60302

Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry $1 = 3 meals, is an equation only you can make possible.

With your help, Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry has been reducing local hunger for nearly 40 years. Your support means we are able to meet the needs of nearly 16,000 families struggling with hunger each year. It means we can provide over 50 pounds of nutritious food plus access to vital programs and services to help people stretch limited food budgets in healthy ways.

It means that even a little goes a long way: every $1 donated can feed a neighbor for an entire day.

To make a donation, visit oprffoodpantry. org or send checks payable to OPRF Food Pantry to Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, 848 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60301.

PACTT Learning Center At PACTT Learning Center, we believe that the road to a higher quality of life is paved with a quality of opportunity. Providing our participants with access to employment and recreation in the community is critical to ensuring the success of the people we serve. Through person-centered programs that emphasize access, choice and the dignity of risk, PACTT provides a safe environment for participants to experience a personal freedom grounded in human rights. PACTT programs include a therapeutic day school, residential services for children & adults, a transition program for older teens and vocational training/job placement for adults.

To learn more about PACTT or make a donation, go to www.pactt.org or call 773338-9102 ext. 2424

Pillars

Bono Network the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundatio Coordinated byPro

Pillars is the largest nonprofit provider of mental health and social services in the western and southwestern suburbs. The agency serves 10,000 people each year through direct client services, including Mental Health, Addictions, Domestic & Sexual Violence, Child & Family Services, and Community Housing. Untreated mental illness and addiction can lead to hospitalization, encounters with law enforcement, violence, and even early death. Pillars’ programs empower people to break out of those cycles and lead healthy, productive, independent lives—which ultimately saves the community money. Stand together as Pillars, with us.

Donate online or pledge a monthly gift today at www.pillarscommunity.org/donate.

Access to justice should not depend upon one’s income. During this time of need, there are not enough lawyers to help people with human rights needs. These include safety from an abuser, adequate housing, and the ability to get a job.

Pro Bono Network, a locally-grown and new kind of organization, has brought over 200 attorneys to pro bono work by making legal representation practical. As a result over 1000 clients have received legal aid services which often encompass human rights.

Learn more at pro-bono-network.org.

Donating will make a difference!

We connect giving to impact!

Ping!

PING! provides the opportunity to experience the many benefits of a music education to students in need in our community. Each year PING! loans musical instruments to students in need in Oak Park River Forest school districts 90, 97, and 200 so that they can participate in the band and orchestra programs at school. PING! also provides music enrichment through workshops for 4th and 5th graders; mentoring, scholarships for summer music camp, and field trips for middle schoolers; and private music lessons for high school students. PING! is a volunteer-run organization that depends on the community for donated instruments, volunteer help, and financial contributions to maintain our instrument inventory and programs.

For more information or to make a donation, go to pingoprf.org. If you have an instrument to donate, send us an email at pingoprf@ gmail.com.

Pleasant Home Pleasant Home Foundation, a non-profit organization, restores and preserves our National Historic Landmark house museum while offering a wide variety of educational opportunities, cultural programming and free community events.

Financial support is crucial to sustain Pleasant Home as an important resource for tourism and as a center for the community.

217 Home Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60302 pleasanthome.org, hruehlemay@pleasanthome.org, 708-383-2654

The River Forest Library Foundation “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people,” said Andrew Carnegie. That’s why he funded thousands of public libraries a century ago to help people help themselves through self-directed learning. Today, the River Forest Public Library (RFPL) carries on that core mission by providing not just books and periodicals but also a wide array of digital resources (onsite and remotely), interactive programs, and other transformative learning opportunities.

Honor a family member, a cherished teacher or mentor, a dear friend, or your own love of lifelong learning by giving to the RFPL Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, at 735 Lathrop Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305 or rfplfoundation.org/donate. Your gift will inspire others and transform the lives of so many in our community.

Sarah’s Inn

Since 1981, Sarah’s Inn has worked to improve the lives of those impacted by domestic violence and to break the cycle of violence for future generations. Our Intervention Program provides bi-lingual services for families affected by domestic violence in order to safely navigate crisis, effectively process trauma and ensure self-sufficiency. Our Training and Education Program creates a network of skilled bystanders to appropriately intervene as first responders and community advocates.

Our Together Strong Project was created to prevent relationship violence by teaching youth about the impact of their choices, giving them the tools to lead healthy lives, and empowering them to make a difference in their community.

To donate, visit donatenow.networkforgood. org/sarahsinn, or make a tax-deductible donation through postal mail by sending a check to: Sarah’s Inn, PO Box 1159, Oak Park, IL 60304

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Community Foundation

ated by the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation The Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest

Hope, resilience and recovery form the heart of our programs and services. Last year we provided critical services to approximately 2,000 friends, neighbors and family members including…

We connect giving to impact!

Each year The Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest receives support from loyal patrons and generous friends. Ticket sales provide less than half the funds needed for the Symphony’s performances. Your gift keeps this award-winning orchestra going strong, allowing us to keep our ticket prices low and provide free tickets to students through college to our concerts held at Dominican University.

This year we celebrate our 85th Anniversary and your help is needed to ensure our future.

We will reward donations of $100 (or more!) with a complementary ticket to our February 12 BEETHOVEN’s 9th concert or a free CD of our April Symphony Center concert.

Make your end-of-year tax-deductible donation at symphonyoprf.com, or: P.O. Box 3564, Oak Park, IL 60303-3564.

Thrive Counseling Center Thrive Counseling Center (formerly Family Services of Oak Park) has provided community mental health services for 118 years. Located in the heart of Oak Park, our mission is to build healthy minds, families and communities by empowering people to attain mental and emotional well-being.

• counseling for youth and adults • psychiatric care and medication management • 24/7 crisis intervention • in-home counseling for older adults • case management and supportive housing • psycho-social recovery day program • stress reduction courses

To learn more or donate, please visit thrivecc.org. or call 708-383-7500, ext. 316.

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UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago UCP Seguin believes that all people, regardless of ability, deserve to achieve their potential, advance their independence and act as full members of the community. So we stop at nothing to provide life skills training, assistive technology, meaningful employment and a place to call home for people with disabilities, as well as specialized foster care for children. Our goal: life without limits for people with disabilities.

Make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities. Donate online at ucpseguin. org send gifts to UCP Seguin, 332 Harrison Street, Oak Park IL 60304

West Cook YMCA It’s our passion at the West Cook YMCA that financial need should never stand in the way of anyone who wants to achieve vitality and improve their well-being. YMCA scholarships cover everything from memberships and class fees to after-school programs and summer day camps for children. Community support makes it possible for us to provide more than $120,000 in scholarships to local residents for Y programs and memberships each year. Your holiday donation will help even more neighbors receive the gift of healthy living.

To donate, visit WestCookYMCA.org/donate or send your check to West Cook YMCA, 255 S. Marion St., Oak Park, IL 60302,

708-383-5200

Wonder Works Children’s Museum Creative and imaginative play are vital to a healthy child and Wonder Works Children’s Museum provides countless opportunities for both, giving children a safe space to explore. Wonder Works is committed to providing an environment where early learning flourishes through thoughtfully designed “experience zones” and educational programming.

SHE SNORES MORE EVERY MORNING MY THAN I DO, BUT I STILL HUMAN SHAVES OFFMY EVERY MORNING LOVE MYHE’S HUMAN. HISHUMAN FACE FUR, SHAVES OFF

FUNNY LIKE FUR, THAT.HE’S HIS— BANDIT FACE adopted 11-26-09 —TUCKFUNNY LIKE THAT. adopted 05-04-11 —TUCK adopted 05-04-11

Rachel Rettberg CEO Wonder Works Children’s Museum 6445 W North Ave, Oak Park IL 60302 773.636.7971 rrettberg@wonder-works.org wonder-works.org www.facebook.com/wonderworkschildrensmusem

Youth Outreach Services (YOS) Aa non-profit organization that helps atrisk youth in the Chicago area reach their potential. For almost 60 years, we’ve focused on caring for teens that face challenges at home, in school and in the community. YOS believes all youth are capable of excellence. Our job is to provide the support they need to meet challenges head on, discover their strengths and make healthy choices. We provide comprehensive services from our four service areas depending on each client’s needs: Counseling, Prevention, Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice with programs in schools, client’s homes and our offices.

To make a donation, volunteer, or get more information, go to yos.org or call 773-7777112x7270

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For 21 years Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest has supported the nonprofit community and the causes they serve, whether it’s social services, the arts or education. Community Bank has a strong connection to each organization, which is a mutual passion for serving the community.

1001 LAKE STREET • OAK PARK • 708-660-1000 | 7751 LAKE STREET • RIVER FOREST • 708-366-4700 810 SOUTH OAK PARK AVENUE • OAK PARK • 708-919-6200