Spotlight on a Cause:
Food for Seniors
Every other Tuesday morning at the Grace Lutheran Church, you will find a group of dedicated volunteers who get up at the crack of dawn to provide disadvantaged seniors in the community with food. The Food for Seniors program has been a huge success over 27 years and has grown to be able to feed 220+ clients twice a month. Clients are referred to the program through the Family Service Senior Resource Center and must be at least sixty years of age and have a certain level of monthly income to participate. The program works closely with the Eastern Illinois Foodbank to collect grocery items for the seniors. Volunteers, (mainly a group of seniors from the community with the help of some Lincoln’s Challenge cadets,) gather twice a month to help with the sacking of the groceries and form an assembly line to load into cars. Other volunteers have set routes where they hand-deliver the grocery sacks to clients’ homes.
For more information on the program or to learn about volunteering, please contact Robbie Edwards, Program Coordinator, at 359-6500 or rsvpcomp@gmail.com.
Volunteers Needed
Join the Volunteer Team for Urbana’s Blues, Brews, and BBQ Fest!
The Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival is seeking individuals to volunteer during this exciting event June 29-30. Volunteers are crucial in order to keep this festival a free event, and the BBBQ Festival volunteers are praised for their hard work and good attitudes. In turn, the Festival tries to make it an enjoyable experience for them, too—giving volunteers the opportunity to promote their business by hanging a banner, wearing company shirts, etc. Volunteers may also work in teams, and can recruit a group from their office, church, school, or social organization.
There are many volunteer positions to be filled this year. Volunteers will assist with making the Festival accessible to folks with disabilities, help work the beer tents, with coordinating booths and vendors, help setup and take-down, work the box office by giving information and selling tickets, with children’s activities, aid with human resources for all volunteers and staff, work the electrical crew, first aid station, do event marketing, security, help with the green team, work as a stage hand for musical acts, and lots more!
All volunteers need to fill out an application and indicate their preferred volunteer job. Volunteers must also attend an orientation to meet the other volunteers and learn more about the Festival logistics. Also needed is one form of ID and a social security card in order to participate. If you’re interested in helping out, please email tara@fluidevents.org or call 359-6960.
Upcoming Events
Take Back the Night March & Rally
Take Back the Night is an event aimed at raising awareness of sexual violence by bringing together the community during a time of day that is often associated with violence. This year’s rally will be on April 19, starting at 6pm at Lincoln Square Mall’s west lot. A march to the U of I Quad will begin at 7pm. For more information call 344.6298 or visit http://www.cu-races.org/saam. This event is sponsored by Rape Advocacy, Counseling and Education Services & University of Illinois’ Women’s Resource Center.
David Howie Fundraiser
David Howie will be playing a rare originals show on April 19 from 7-8pm at the IndiGo Artist Gallery in downtown Champaign. Admission is $5 or two canned goods with all proceeds going to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. Please call 419-4185 or email mr.davidhowie@yahoo.com for more information.
Book Sale for Books to Prisoners
A charity book sale will raise funds for the UC Books to Prisoners April 20-22 at the IMC building in Urbana. Prices are 75 cents for soft covers, $1 for hard covers. Sunday there will be a sale to fill a bag for $5. For more information call 714-4425 or email lolita@books2prisoners.org.
Wild life Baby Shower
On April 21, help shower baby wildlife with gifts of food and supplies at Prairieland Feeds in Savoy. Spring means the arrival of many wildlife baby orphans to the University of Illinois Wildlife Medical Clinic, and the Clinic needs your help to care for the babies. Guests may stop in between 1-4pm to meet the Clinic’s resident birds of prey, see wildlife orphans, and play baby shower games. More information is at http://vetmed.illinois.edu/wmc/.
Smile Healthy-A Skate for Smiles
Join Smile Healthy, a nonprofit organization that provides dental care and oral health education to underserved families, for their first annual Skate for Smiles fundraising event at Skateland in Savoy on Sunday, April 22nd. The event will run from 5-7om with a $10 admission fee, (skate rental included).
Disclaimer: I gather this information based on local community calendars and from colleagues at local service organizations. Some of the wording is based directly on what I receive and research. Please feel free to email me if you have any comments, questions, or have anything you would like to see posted. Thank you. (MER)