Spotlight on a Cause:
C-U at Home
C-U at Home is part of a national initiative to house 100,000 homeless individuals across the United States. This goal is being accomplished by pooling together local community resources, particularly those of church congregations. This initiative also seeks to familiarize itself with the homeless population in our area and has conducted a 24-hour survey of the homeless population index, categorizing who in that population is most at risk. The organization is currently seeking donations from the community via a monetary form or via donations of building supplies, property, or offering special services and/or expertise to help the homeless. Volunteers looking to get involved can help with fundraising, grant writing, and by offering mental and physical support or advocacy. All those interested in getting involved should contact Melany Jackson; C-U at Home’s Project Coordinator at (217) 819-4569. More information is available at http://www.cuathome.us/.
Volunteers Needed:
Orpheum Museum Snow Globe Event
Volunteers are needed to assist with the set-up, activities stations and crafts, and clean-up of the Snow Globe at the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum. Volunteers are needed on December 8 from 5:30-8:30 PM, December 10 from 1:30-5:30 and 5:30-8:30 PM, and December 17 from 1:30-5:30 PM. This is a perfect opportunity for enthusiastic volunteers who enjoy working with children and families. For more information, please call (217) 352-5895 or email volunteer@orpheumkids.com.
Community Blood Services of Illinois
Help save a life today by volunteering at Community Blood Services. There are many pain-free ways to volunteer including working the blood drives, monitoring donors, driving donors to sites, and aiding in office administration. An upcoming blood drive will be held on Friday, December 2 from 9 AM-3PM at Lincoln Square Mall. For information on donating blood or volunteering, check out http://www.bloodservices.org/index.html.
Upcoming Events:
Greater Community AIDS Project Holiday Gala
Join the Greater Community AIDS Project for a gala fundraiser on Saturday, December 5 from 6:30-10:00 PM at the Levis Center in Urbana. All proceeds will go towards direct services benefitting individuals living with HIV/AIDS. For more information or to purchase tickets, see http://www.gcapnow.com/.
U of I Holiday Gift Drive
Now through December 15th, the University of Illinois Office of Volunteer programs is collecting new, unwrapped toys ($15 or less), for children aged 1-17. Toys will be donated to local non-profit organizations and distributed to families in need. Toys and other donations may be dropped off 288 Illini Union on the South (Quad ) side. More information is available at http://www.union.illinois.edu/ovp/.
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)