HAPPY HOLIDAYS ... and HAPPY 2008!!!!!

May the love, peace, and joy of this season be upon you and your loved ones ... always!

Much love ... hugs ... and other unmentionables!!! ;O

Welcome to CareTeam December!

Those of you who participated in (g)love 8 on November 17th were part of CareTeam history. That day, volunteers created and distributed 280 CarePacks to people from Uptown to Downtown. You all are wonderful! Join us for another record-breaking (g)love on December 15th.

Traveling Food Circus
Mondays, Dec. 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th & 31st

Join us as we sort through our weekly Trader Joe's food donation to bag combinations of meat, bread, fruit & dessert. Then help us distribute them to folks on the Near North Side. Please dress warmly and get ready to smile when you pass someone a meal.

Seward Park
375 W Elm 1-3pm

Puppetry (Session 2 of 4)
Tuesday, December 4th

The youth created their stories and are focused on their characters. Glitter, paint and marker should do the trick. Help us stylize the puppets so that they're ready for the youth puppet show.


Logan Square Boys & Girls Club
3228 W Palmer 5-7 pm

Cold Party
Saturday, December 8th

Spend a few hours with some of Uptown's homeless to keep them warm. Offer socks, hats and gloves; make hot apple cider while playing board games, painting and just generally socializing. This is about warmth and relaxation.

Inspiration Cafe's Engagement Center
4715 N Sheridan 10am-12pm

Team Trivia & Dance Off
Wednesday, December 12th

In the midst of another grand holiday season, we bring you all things Holiday. Forget Christmas, though. We're exploring the lesser knowns. Take, for example, National Take It In Your Ear Day, which you shall celebrate December 8th. So come out, join a men's team, and figure out what National Pepper Pot Day is.

REST Men's Shelter
941 W Lawrence 8-9:30pm

(g)love 9
Saturday, December 15th

What success so far! We distributed 280 CarePacks in November with an unusual amount of energy for a Saturday morning. Are you up for it this December? We need your help to create CarePacks - bags filled with cold weather gear, toiletries and food. Then we pass them out to folks who need them.

Epworth United Methodist Church
5253 N Kenmore Ave 9am-1pm

Art at Dignity Diner
Tuesday, December 18th

Come sit next to some of Dignity Diner's talented artists to experience what can only be called interactive art. Sit down and paint with a patron. Ask folks where they get their ideas! We use lots of paint, pencils, charcoal and markers. Whether or not you're artistic, you're invited.

Holy Covenant United Methodist Church
925 W Diversey 6:30-8:30pm

If you need driving directions to any of these events, please try www.mapquest.com. For public transportation, try www.yourcta.com. If you need a ride, please select "Need Transportation" when you sign up.

Uncommon Ground JB Tribute at Metro-Nov. 18

Sunday, November 18:Uncommon Ground & Metro Present…

The 10th Annual JEFF BUCKLEY TRIBUTE featuring

DOROTHY SCOTT

OLD DOG MUSIC

RYAN GROFF

SPENCER MICHAUD

APRIL SMITH

ALPHA REV

ANNA D’ALOISIO

CATHERINE HARRISON

$10/ All Ages / Doors: 4PM / Show: 5PM

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT:All TicketMaster locationsCharge by phone: 312.559.1212
Internet sales http://www.ticketmaster.com/The Metro Box Office in the Official Metro Store (no service fee)

ARTISTS PAY TRIBUTE TO JEFF BUCKLEY AT METRO NOVEMBER 18

For the past ten years, artists from all over the globe have come to Chicago to pay tribute to Jeff Buckley at the annual Jeff Buckley Tribute Festival. This year, on the tenth anniversary of the festival, Metro is pleased to partner with Uncommon Ground to will host the grand finale tribute concert on November 18th, 2007. Artists that will play their versions of Buckley’s songs as well as originals include Dorothy Scott, Alpha Rev, Ryan Groff, Anna D’Aloisio, Spencer Michaud, Catherine Harrison and April Smith. All net proceeds for the night will benefit The Old Town School of Folk Music Scholarships, which provides financial support for musicians of all ages to attend classes.

Jeff Buckley was born in California's Orange County in 1966. He had emerged in New York City's avant-garde club scene in the 1990's as one of the most remarkable musical artists of his generation, acclaimed by audiences, critics, and fellow musicians alike. On two snowy nights in February of 1994, Jeff Buckley played legendary sets at Uncommon Ground. Buckley’s unforgettable performance at Metro in 1995 was recorded and released as a live DVD, Live in Chicago, in 2000. Sadly, he died in a tragic drowning accident in Memphis on May 29, 1997.

Inspired by Jeff’s talent, the folks at Uncommon Ground decided to honor his memory. Since his death in 1997, they have put on a tribute concert every year, benefiting local charities. This event, which is supported by Jeff’s family, sells out every year in minutes. Jeff Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, has flown in for this event on many occasions, and artists have come from countries such as France, Italy, Denmark, Holland, Mexico, UK, Australia and many others to perform at the tribute. Because this is the 10th anniversary of the concert, the grand finale of 3 nights of concerts will be held at Metro in order to accommodate all the fans we expect to turn out for the celebration.

The 10th Annual Jeff Buckley Tribute is scheduled to take place on November 16th & 17th at uncommon ground & November 18th, 2007 at Metro. All net proceeds for the night will benefit The Old Town School of Folk Music Scholarships, which provides financial support for musicians of all ages to attend classes.

November CARE Team Volunteer Opportunities

Want to be a Mentor ? Murals is the MGR Foundation’s art & drama program that works with primary and secondary Chicago Public School students to address issues of violence in our communities. We’re looking for people who have a genuine interest in working with youth and believe in non-violence as a tool for conflict resolution. There’s no need to be good at art or drama, though it's a plus. Because Murals runs at multiple sites and at different times, please feel free to contact Conal [KAH-null], Murals Program Director at conal@mgrf.org or (773) 313-0075 for commitment details and info.

CareTeam News: We’re creating more project-based events – that is, we’ll work with a particular organization on a particular project for a number of sessions. You can come to whichever sessions you like; if you don’t come to the first one, you can still come to any of the remaining. And of course, keep your ideas coming. We’re always looking for new partner organizations and thinking about projects to do – and you usually have the best ideas.

Traveling Food Circus (a.k.a. CareTeam Eats)
Mondays, November 5th 12th 19th 26th
We’re at a different site! For the month of November, we’ll be meeting at Seward Park , which is smack dab between some of Chicago ’s poorest and wealthiest neighborhoods. Join us in sorting, bagging and distributing food to people in the neighborhood who need it. Feel free to talk with people and ask them what else they need; this could be the beginning of something else . . . .
Seward Park
375 W Elm St
1-3pm
I'd like to lead this event on one of these dates.

Puppetry (Session 1 of 4)
Tuesday, November 6th
Please do not send us your used socks, as they will be rejected. Working with elementary school youth, we’re making puppets and then developing plays with intricate plots. During session 4, we’ll be performing our puppet plays for each other.
Logan Square Boys & Girls Club
3228 W Palmer
5-7pm
I'll volunteer for this event.
I'd like to lead this event.

Focus, People.
Saturday, November 10th
What kinds of volunteer events would you like to see in the future? What does it mean to lead an event? How do we select sites? What would you like to try? Come to CareTeam’s first monthly meeting to give input, ask questions, and design future events.
CareTeam Central
5097 N Elston
10-11:30am (w/ light breakfast)
I’d like to come.

And Now, the News (Session 1 of 3)
Sunday, November 11th
We provide you with a Sunday paper and you get to check it out with a senior at the Nathalie Salmon House. As Sundays are the ultimate newspaper-reading days, this is a perfect opportunity for you to update your new senior friend on whatever s/he’s interested in: travel, local news, the funnies, etc. And if you don’t feel like reading, come to the kitchen and make brunch (whatever that is).
Nathalie Salmon House
7320 N Sheridan , 5th floor
10:30-1pm (come for any period of time)
I'll volunteer for this event.
I'd like to lead this event.

Team Trivia! (Theme: Biology)
Wednesday, November 14th
Team players welcome. We’re continuing our usually-noisy team trivia with the new theme of biology. Why? Because we’ve run out of sports questions. Hey - if you have a theme suggestion, we’re all ears. Prizes are McDonald’s gift certificates, which are highly treasured.
REST Men’s Shelter
941 W Lawrence
8-9:30pm
I'll volunteer for this event.
I'd like to lead this event.

(g)love 8
Saturday, November 17th
The cold season is arriving, and for some of us it’s already too cold. Join us as we begin another (g)love season by gathering to pack bags of cold weather gear and food. Then take to the streets and pass them out to people who need them (and who’ll likely thank you for them).
Epworth United Methodist Church
5253 N Kenmore
9-12pm
I'll volunteer for this.
I'd like to lead this event.

Dignity Diner Artwork
Tuesday, November 20th
At 6 O’Clock We Eat was an incredible exhibit, and we’d like to thank all of you who came out, as well as Chicago Public Radio, TimeOut Chicago and Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism for spreading the word. For those of you didn’t get a chance to participate, it’s not too late: We’re continuing our artwork and now using different mediums.
Holy Covenant United Methodist Church
925 W Diversey
6:30-8:30pm
I'll volunteer for this.
I'd like to lead this event.



*If you need driving directions to any of these events, please try http://www.mapquest.com/. For public transportation, try http://www.yourcta.com/. If you need a ride, please let us know by selecting “Need Transportation” when you sign up.

National Make A Difference Day ...

... is almost here!

What is Make A Difference Day?

Make A Difference Day is the most encompassing national day of helping others, a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Everyone can participate. Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. The next event is Saturday, October 27, 2007.

This year, I won't be with 'the crew' (boo-hoo!) but there's always a cause, community one can volunteer our time with. A look around your community might inspire with ideas of what needs to be done. Here's your opportunity to start being part of the solution.

Am I Beautiful?

Unfortunately I believe this question is culturally defined and practiced. Growing up, I was not exposed to a standard of beauty that many of my friends were. My mami and other such figures didn't wear makeup, dress provacatively and other such demeaning acts. These women were of high distinction and respect. These were the women to emulate. What could makeup add to that? I am ever so thankful for having them in my life and shaping my world for the better. Now ...

Finding myself teetering between two distinctive cultures, I find myself looking into my bathroom mirror, surveying all of my flaws. (Thankfully it is not a full-length mirror. Honestly though, I would probably have too much time on my hands if I took those flaws seriously.) Of course, I have had friends who have told me that I would look so much more prettier if only I would wear makeup and arrange for a girls' night out. After much taunting, I would acquiesce and await the results of their work minutes later. Sometimes the results have been downright horrifying but they all made me feel 'different'. That person staring back at me was not 'me'. What was so wrong with 'me' that had to change? Better still, why was I so unacceptable to you? Thankfully girls' night out turned into seemingly endless nights of talking and sharing with a new group of friends.

Please do not get me wrong, I do enjoy dressing up and whatnot but I do not view it as something that should be demanded of me. It is just so sad to watch other women obsess about this and/or that and how it all can be solved if only we do this and/or that. Why?

What prompted the topic of this blog entry is a Dove movie "Onslaught" (which is down below). I do not want to ruin for you, so I will not go into details. My hope is that you watch it. If you see pieces of yourself in it, ask yourself why.

Jeff Buckley

In with the New ...

... Out the Old! Some changes are good, some bad. (OH, BOY!!!)

I thought I would change the format of this blog to have some semblance of 'newness' in my life. Besides, the old blog was hard to view for some -- sorry! I do hope to keep the newbie updated more often than I have in the past ... well, I wouldn't hold my breath on it!

ENJOY! (or not!)

Interesting Read ...

Below is a reply -- the actual question is long and tedious to read -- to a "Dear Cary" article featured on salon.com. While we all may not struggle with our sexual identity, maybe comfort can be found within Cary's reply.

Dear Apparently Definitely Bisexual,

I fear that I do not have a very good answer for you, but I will do my best. Deeply idealistic people might, with the best of intentions, suggest you create an arrangement to fulfill these desires and fantasies. And maybe you can, within your current situation. Whatever you decide to do, it is certainly not a question of one pat answer.

That, of course, would be an oversimplification, but ... so ... oh, damn, I smell burning rubber! No, seriously, I had this little electric heater on and it was cooking my tennis shoes!
Am I serious enough to help you come to grips with your bisexuality, if I can barely keep my tennis shoes from catching fire? This troubles me -- though it is thematically appropriate: We face the things that are before us whatever they are! Even if they are burning tennis shoes!
Anyway, I would certainly bore both of us silly if I simply said, "Go see a therapist." What is a therapist going to do? Help you see more clearly what you already know -- that you are attracted to women but you're married already?

At the same time, a therapist who is good at problem solving and who has some personal experience in this area may be able to help you. And visualizing a possible future may also be useful. Looking toward the future, perhaps you will keep your marriage together but, over time, with the right woman, settle into a discreet, middle-class, longtime attachment -- with benefits. Perhaps a person will come along who gets where you're coming from and won't be too demanding and will let you experience the things you so fervently desire to experience, and maybe you will be able to manage this day-to-day, and maybe your husband will sort of know and sort of accept it, and maybe he will even openly and concretely and fully accept it, and maybe in the haze of our humanity, where it merges into the mystery of identity and biology and fate, maybe in that hazy gray area where so much of our identity seems to fall, you can find some provisional peace and joy. Perhaps without too much lying and hiding but also without too much open conflict, without too much cliché but also without too much dishonesty with self and others, without too much gnashing of teeth and sleepless nights, without too much interfering in the lives of others and making unfulfillable promises to people who want you to change your life completely, without too much guilt and too much shame and too much recrimination for past mistakes, without too many urgent late-night inquiries directed at gods and goddesses unknown, you can accommodate this aspect of yourself, which is, like the rest of you, sacred, if we take ourselves to be sacred at all, without taking ourselves too seriously. And perhaps along the way, it will become clear that your marriage to this man cannot last. But let's take it one step at a time.

I say this because, you know, this is the complex territory of compromise to which your desires are leading you.

Here is the ethical and moral problem in a nutshell, as I, an amateur, see it. We are not completely responsible for the longings that arise in us, nor are most of us able to know them completely. For those of us who have the time to do a great deal of reading, talking and introspection, such as the upper classes who are not required to work for a living, and for those of us who can pay for the expensive attentions of highly trained and compassionate professionals, the intricate patterns of desire that shape our sexuality might over time become sufficiently clear that we could take responsibility for them. And we might then also have the resources to deal with the consequences of accepting them and trying to live by them. But how can most of us, who barely have time to complete the chores that keep our family fed before we fall exhausted into bed, how can we take responsibility and act ethically and morally and meet our own desires when we cannot even see clearly where those desires come from or where they might lead? Is it right, then, for those of us who are not rich enough to afford ample time for deep introspection and expensive analysis, to simply shut down any feelings that seem to threaten our status quo? That doesn't seem right. And yet is it right to disrupt other people's lives by disclosing previously unknown or repressed or unacknowledged drives that now threaten to cause fundamental changes in our living arrangements? That doesn't sound right either.

So this is a tough question and it seems to call for difficult compromise. Surely when we set out in life we do not know everything about who we are; we meet stark surprises along the way: Guess what, I'm bisexual! Or: Guess what! It turns out I'm actually a woman in a man's body!

There is some support available if you look for it, and I do suggest that you reach out to others who have been through what you are going through.

I do not know too much, frankly, about the support available for married bisexual women, except that it is out there if you look for it. I do know this, though: True self-knowledge comes slowly. The facts are often buried. It can take months or years to undo our habit of pretending that we are not really what we increasingly appear to be, that we do not really want what it is increasingly clear that we do want, however surprising or disruptive our desire might be. ("Guess what, Dear! It is now clear as day to me: All my life I have really wanted to be ... an entomologist!") Time passes slowly, as we undo layer after layer of habitual "saying something other than what it is," as we begin to learn new habits of facing the way things are. We are complex creatures!

I will say, with a note of optimism, that you can show great courage and dignity in squarely facing yourself as you are, in accepting the fact that while you might not get everything you want, you do not have to kid yourself about what it is that you want.

That, it would seem, is a step you have taken: This is who I am. This is what I want.
Whether, and how, you attempt to get it, well, that is the question that now lies before you. I hope you can find ongoing help, support and comfort as you wrestle with that one.

Dignity Diner

October 12th-14th

View the artwork and watch video clips of Dignity Diner patrons, and listen to interviews with Lower Wacker Drive residents.

Opening Friday, October 12th 6-9pm
Oral History Listening Sessions Saturday & Sunday, October 13th & 14th 1pm
Closing Sunday, October 14th 3pm

Green Lantern Gallery
1511 N Milwaukee Ave, 2nd floor

Peace Corps at Starkville

Come hear regional recruiter and returned Peace Corps volunteer Debbie Curley share her experiences from Cameroon and tell you more about how you can sign up for an amazing adventure helping others at the same time!

MONDAY, OCTOBER 8

5:00-6:00pm
GlobeTalk
Montgomery Hall Room 15
Mississippi State University

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9

1:00-4:00pm
MSU Career Fair
Humphrey Coliseum

For more information contact Debbie Curley at
dcurley@peacecorps.gov or 404.562.3477.

This is CareTeam October

At 6 O’Clock We Eat.
October 12th-14th
This is your official invitation: You are invited to view the artwork of Dignity Diner patrons at the Green Lantern Gallery from October 12th thru 14th as a part of Chicago Artists Month! Many of you came out and jumped right into painting, drawing and sculpting with the patrons, and we’d like you to see what you’ve helped create. Nineteen different artists will present over 30 pieces of work. Don’t be a party pooper!
Opening Friday, October 12th 6-9pm
Oral History Listening Sessions Saturday & Sunday, October 13th & 14th 1pm
Closing Sunday, October 14th 3pm

Green Lantern Gallery
1151 N Milwaukee Ave, 2nd floor

Want to help us hang art work, serve hors d’oeuvres, take photos or explain the exhibit to visitors? Email Kara Teeple of Dignity Diner: Kara.Teeple@illinois.gov.


Cheer for Team M3 at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon
Sunday, October 7th
Come cheer on Team M3 students and mentors running in the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. We’ll meet at the Team M3 tent in Charity Village and take the el train to miles 23 and 25 to cheer on our marathoners as they near the end of the course! Our last runner will pass by at approximately 3pm.
Charity Village (Lower Hutchinson Field in Grant Park)
9am
To volunteer, contact Cathy Braund of Team M3: Cathy@mgrf.org.

CareTeam Eats
Mondays: October 8 15 22 29
PICNIC season’s over, but we still want to give out free food. You do, too? Then join us every Monday at our partner organization, Inspiration Café, to put food into individual bags that we’ll pass out to people on the streets of Uptown. The best part is that all the food from Trader Joe’s tastes incredible (some of us subsist on free food).
Inspiration Café
4554 N Broadway
1-3pm

REST Men’s Olympics
Wednesday, October 10th
Serving food isn’t the only way to volunteer. Another way is to fall on the floor laughing from an intense round of Charades. Join the men of REST Shelter in distracting themselves from the fact that . . . they’re in a shelter.
REST Men’s Shelter
941 W Lawrence
8-9:30pm
I'll volunteer for this.

Dignity Diner Art Showing
Tuesday, October 16th
All the artwork from “At 6 O’Clock We Eat” will be on display at Dignity Diner for those patrons who just couldn’t make it to the gallery. This would also be your last chance to see all the pieces in their glory. It’s not, however, your last chance to hang out with patrons, as . . . . . what the?!?! Who wants another round of Dignity Idol?!?! Coming up, then!
Holy Covenant United Methodist Church
925 W Diversey
6:30-8:30pm
I'll volunteer for this.

Put the DuSable Campus Garden to Sleep
Saturday, October 20th
Not in that We-have-to-put-Whiskers-to-sleep kind of way but in that Let’s-protect-the-perennials kind of way. If you’re handy with a shovel or rake and like to work with dirt, we need to literally cover up our garden so as to protect our flowers for next year. This is an easy one. We supply the gloves and you supply the glamour.
DuSable Campus Garden
4935 S Wabash (city lot)
9-11am
I'll volunteer for this.

Art with Logan Square Youth
Tuesday, October 23rd
We have a thing for art, that’s for sure. We want you to see all the ideas that come out from youth armed with paint and paintbrushes, and you help catalyze those ideas. We’d like you to spend two hours with some youth, Crayola paints and construction paper. There’s no way you can’t see their potential.
Logan Square Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club
3228 W Palmer Ave
6-8pm
I'll volunteer for this.


*If you need driving directions to any of these events, please try www.mapquest.com. For public transportation, try www.yourcta.com. If you need a ride, please let us know by selecting “Need Transportation” when you sign up.

September CARE Team Events

DuSable Campus Garden (click on a date to sign up)
Saturdays, September 1 8
Our garden’s going to sleep . . . . help us prepare it for winter and recognize the completion of our first ever we-did-it-ourselves garden.
Across the street from the DuSable Campus
4935 S Wabash (city lot)
10-2pm

Englewood Youth Against Lead Garden (click on a date to sign up)
Sundays, September 2 9
With all we've learned about lead, we're inviting neighbors to learn about its effects. Join us as we take people through the garden and show them how to safeguard their own homes.
Imagine Englewood if . . . .
1854 W Garfield
3-6pm

REST Olympics
Wednesday, September 12th
The first of a series: The men of REST Shelter have shown themselves to be mentally and physically agile. We're therefore bringing a series of competitions that require risk, teamwork and coordination. We can't tell you the games, but we can tell you that you're on a team.
REST Men’s Shelter
941 W Lawrence
8-9:30pm
I'll volunteer for this event.
I'd like to lead this event.

Ginormous Beach Clean-Up at 79th
Saturday, September 15th
“Ginormous” is actually a word, according to Merriam-Webster. And they’re right about everything. Did you pretend to work all summer? Enjoy a beautiful, isolated beach while making it a little cleaner. Beaches all over the city will be getting the same treatment.
79th Street and Lake Michigan
10-1pm
I'll volunteer for this event.
I'd like to lead this event.

At 6 O’Clock We Eat. Artwork at Dignity Diner
Tuesday, September 18th
The exhibit's next month! Join us as we work alongside DD patrons to select works and discuss how the event will go. Patrons may also create last-minute artwork.
Holy Covenant United Methodist Church
925 W Diversey
6:30-8:30pm
I'll volunteer for this event.
I'd like to lead this event.

*If you need driving directions to any of these events, please try www.mapquest.com. For public transportation, try www.yourcta.com. If you need a ride, please let us know by selecting “Need Transportation” when you sign up.


- SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION -

COMING SOONER THAN SOON

At 6 O’Clock We Eat.
October 12-14, 2007

A collaborative effort of CareTeam & Dignity Diner, “At 6 O’Clock We Eat.” is a multimedia art exhibit in which homeless artists document their unique perspectives on identity, order, the creative process, and Chicago life in tenuous, unstable, and often dangerous environments. Artists include Kokomo Joe, Tiffany Leonard, Billy Bob James and Hank Freeman.
Green Lantern Art Gallery
1511 N Milwaukee Ave, 2nd Floor
Opening: Friday, 10/12, 6-9pm
Oral History Listening Sessions: Saturday, 10/13 & Sunday, 10/14 at 1pm
Closing: Sunday, 10/14 at 3pm

CareTeam Volunteer Opportunities for August

DuSable Campus Garden (click on a date to sign up)
We’ve essentially finished planting our garden and are left with maintaining it. Next we’ll paint the ugly metal posts that border the front, take a tour of Soul Vegetarian Restaurant to learn about healthy eating, and take a cooking class at Kendall College . Do you like to paint? Try out restaurants? Encourage youth to treat themselves well?
Saturdays, August 4 11 18 25
Across the street from the DuSable Campus
4935 S Wabash (city lot)
10-2pm
Volunteer Leader: Jeff Min

Englewood Youth Against Lead Garden (click on a date to sign up)
After a recent delivery of mulch fell into our garden, we realized that a) we have too much mulch, and b) since the garden’s about finished, the youth are ready to educate their neighbors about protecting themselves against lead (ex: plant a garden). If you need mulch or would like to help some young folks create posters about lead poisoning, join us. Don’t know about lead poisoning? We’ll explain it to you.
Sundays, August 5 12 19 26
Imagine Englewood if . . . .
1854 W Garfield
3-6pm
Volunteer Leader: Jermont Montgomery

PICNIC (click on a date to sign up)
You may find yourself sitting in an over-air conditioned office, wearing a sweater as added insult. Leave that office immediately and plop yourself down next to us volunteers and some of Chicago ’s homeless. We eat donated lunches from Trader Joe’s while discussing topics ranging from Top 5 Favorite Fruits to social service availability in Chicago .
Mondays, August 6 13 20 27
Millennium Park, northeast corner of Monroe & Michigan (look for our picnic blanket and bags of food)
12:30-2pm
Volunteer Leaders: Jeff Min & Moshe Zvi Marvit

SPECIAL Support Team M3 Runners
A program of MGRF, Team M3 pairs high school students with Chicagoland adults to train together as a group to run the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon (Oct 7th) and the Chicago Distance Classic (Aug 12th). Before the CDC, Team M3 needs help registering runners and handing out packets. Come out and learn about Team M3 and how exactly a group of teenagers and adults train together for a marathon. Maybe next year you’ll run, too.
Saturday, August 11th
Hilton Chicago, North West Hall
720 S Michigan Ave
Anytime between 9am-6pm
I'll volunteer for this.

At 6 O’Clock We Eat. Artwork at Dignity Diner
The next 2 themes for painting: How I see myself, and How others see me. How many pieces of artwork do we plan to show? As many as you’ll help DD patrons create.
Tuesday, August 21st
Holy Covenant United Methodist Church
925 W Diversey
6:30-8:30pm
Volunteer Leader: Sarah Casey
I'll volunteer for this.


*If you need driving directions to any of these events, please try http://www.mapquest.com/. For public transportation, try http://www.yourcta.com/. If you need a ride, please let us know by selecting “Need Transportation” when you sign up.


- SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION -

Presenting

At 6 O’Clock We Eat.
October 12-14, 2007

A collaborative effort of CareTeam & Dignity Diner, “At 6 O’Clock We Eat.” is a multimedia art exhibit in which homeless artists document their unique perspectives on identity, order, the creative process, and Chicago life in tenuous, unstable, and often dangerous environments. Artists include Kokomo Joe, Tiffany Leonard, Billy Bob James and Hank Freeman.
Green Lantern Art Gallery
1511 N Milwaukee Ave, 2nd Floor
Opening: Friday, 10/12, 6-9pm
Oral History Listening Sessions: Saturday, 10/13 & Sunday, 10/14 at 1pm
Closing: Sunday, 10/14 at 3pm

June CARE Team Volunteer Events

To continue from last month, we’ve got a lot of gardening to do. Both our DuSable Campus Garden and Englewood Youth Against Lead Garden involve high school students and empty lots of land. We’ve started weeding at the EYAL Garden and discovered we have excellent soil (provided the lead test comes back negative). So if you enjoy gardening or just want to stop by and see the chaos (high school students + dirt), mosey on over. You can click any of the dates below the respective gardens:

DuSable Campus Garden
4934 S Wabash
10-2pm
June 2nd, June 9th, June 16th, June 23rd, June 30th
I want to lead one of these dates.

Englewood Youth Against Lead Garden
1854 W Garfield (press the “Imagine Englewood if” doorbell)
2:30-5pm
June 3rd, June 10th, June 17th, June 24th
I want to lead one of these dates.


Tuesday, June 12th
This is Me. Who are You? Art Projects
We have a date for our “This is Me. Who are You?” art exhibit: It’s October 13th & 14th at the Green Lantern in Wicker Park !! More details forthcoming. Till then, come sit next to Dignity Diner patrons and spark their artistic sides (while you work on something yourself). This is a relaxed, creative atmosphere. But not really relaxed. More like hectic.
Holy Covenant United Methodist Church
925 W Diversey
6:30-8:30pm
I'll volunteer for this.
I want to lead this event.

Monday, June 18th
Oral History at the Nathalie Salmon House
One of Chicago 's few intergenerational houses, the Nathalie Salmon House is inviting us to interview residents on some of their life experiences. Think of yourself as a Barbara Walters, only without the makeup.
Nathalie Salmon House
7320 N Sheridan
6-8pm
I'll volunteer for this.
I want to lead this event.

Wednesday, June 20th
Operation HOPE training
If you missed it last month, here's another chance: Learn to teach youth to become financially literate. What does this mean? You'll learn to explain to youth what money is, how to create a budget, what a bank account is, etc. Hey – we’re all about acquiring new skills.
United Way Building
560 W Lake
6-7:30pm
I'll volunteer for this.
I want to lead this event.


*If you need driving directions to any of these events, please try www.mapquest.com. For public transportation, try www.yourcta.com. If you need a ride, please let us know by selecting “Need Transportation” when you sign up.

May Care Team Events

From May till September, CareTeam will be working with youth in Englewood and Bronzeville to produce vegetable and flower gardens. Regardless of your experience, if you’d like to help plant, prune, water, mulch, accidentally kill (and possibly resurrect) the various vegetables, flowers and trees we’re about to plant, please email us at careteam@mgrf.org. Each site has a different schedule: Until school’s out, our Englewood garden will meet on Sundays at 2:30pm, and our Bronzeville garden will meet on Saturdays at 10am. Want more details? Just email us.

If you like, be a Volunteer & Event Leader and lead other volunteers through the event. It’s easy schmeasy.


Saturday, May 5th

Urban Art Retreat Mural

Phase one of UAR mural and neighborhood beautification project: We’re surveying neighbors on what they’d like to see as the subject of the UAR mural in North Lawndale; inviting them to participate in painting the mural; and finding out what other beautification projects they’d like to start. After the surveys are taken, volunteers will have a chance to make some art of their own at the UAR studio. Artists and non-artists are welcome.

Urban Art Retreat

1957 S Spaulding Ave

11-1pm


Wednesday, May 9th

REST Men’s Shelter Trivia

After a one-man riot threatened to prematurely end our trivia game last time, the men of REST Shelter told us to soldier on and finish the game, which we did. Team Chi Town won again and promised trivia dominance forever. Will you come out? You’ll join a team and aid its members to victory.

REST Shelter

941 W Lawrence

8-9:30pm


Tuesday, May 15th

Dignity Diner Artwork

We must have produced 30-something pieces of work last time, and we only want more. Our upcoming summer art exhibit is themed, “This is Me. Who are You?” Come out and encourage the patrons to create works of self-expression using paint, clay, pencils, charcoal – anything they get their hands on. For this next session, we want patrons to use only their 3 most favorite colors in their work.

Holy Covenant United Methodist Church

925 W Diversey Ave

6:30-8:30pm


Saturday, May 19th

Rainbow Beach Cleanup (technically we’ll be at 79th)

After careful scientific sampling of Lake Michigan , our E. coli sample came up negative. We did, however, find a piece of luggage with underwear and a bathing suit. We also found a den of garter snakes. All this while doing a superb job of cleaning up the lakefront. We filled up 5 large garbage bins! Bring your Frisbee or volleyball, ok?

79th and Lake Michigan
10-1pm



Sunday, May 20th

Oral History on Lower Wacker, Part I

Ever see someone living on the street and wonder where your lives diverged? (At birth? At 12?) Ever wonder how they got there? We’re offering you the chance to sit down and talk with people from Chicago ’s large(ly) ignored population. We’ve asked some of the men and women who live on Lower Wacker Drive to sit down with us and share their stories. Someone from StoryCorps is helping to develop the questions, and she’ll train us from 10-11am. Later in the summer, we’ll display the stories at our art exhibit.

Initial meetup place: Starbuck’s @ 202 N Michigan Ave

10-1pm



Wednesday, May 23rd

Community Lenses

Some of Living Room Café’s guests live in the neighborhood and have taken us on walking tours. This time we’re taking cameras. Community mapping is a great way for us volunteers to understand where people are coming from (literally and figuratively) with visual cues to remind us. It also encourages us to collectively develop community improvement projects for the future . . . .

Living Room Café

806 E 64th St

4-6pm


Sunday, May 27th

Oral History on Lower Wacker, Part II

Reverse the roles: Now we get to be interviewed.

Initial meetup place: Starbucks @ 202 N Michigan Ave

11-1pm


*NOTE: If you need driving directions to any of these events, please try www.mapquest.com. For public transportation, try www.yourcta.com. If you need a ride, please let us know by selecting “Need Transportation” when you sign up.

CARE Team April Events

Below are volunteer opportunities being sponsored by the CARE Team for the month of April. You can register for each of these events through the Team's website: http://www.careteam.mgrf.org/.

... get out there and make a difference in your world!



GET TRAINED! Here’s your opportunity to empower other Chicagoans. We’re partnering with Operation HOPE to train CareTeam volunteers in basic financial education to educate youths 9-18 years old in Chicago ’s underserved communities. You don’t need a banking background. Topics covered include (I) Basics of Banking and Financial Services, (II) Checking & Savings Accounts, (III) The Power of Credit and (IV) Basic Investments. After training, we’ll be able to offer basic financial education to youth all over the city.

Wednesday, April 25th
United Way Building
560 W Lake St, 5th Flr
6-7:30pm


Wednesday, April 4th (Part I) and 18th (Part II)

Black & White Photography

Guests of Living Room Café have expressed interested in black & white photography. CareTeam will provide the cameras so that we can pair up with guests to take photos that explain more of who they are. On April 18th we’ll come back to create displays of the guests.

Living Room Cafe
806 E 64th St
4-6pm

Sunday, April 15th

Buckthorn Burn
Buckthorn is evil, and evil things must burn. Pyromaniacs, please sit this one out.

Dam #1 Woods
Wheeling
10-1pm

*Meet at CareTeam Central at 9am to carpool.

Tuesday, April 17th

Paint, Draw, Sculpt & Sketch

Dignity Diner

Official Announcement: Dignity Diner and CareTeam will be putting on an art exhibit in late summer. Patrons’ works will be on display, and our job is to encourage patrons to explore their identity through art. So from now on, we’ll be working on art projects with patrons and use paint, pencils, clay, charcoal and photography. The theme: “Who Am I? Who are You?”

925 W Diversey

6-8pm


Saturday, April 21st

Earth Day Beach Cleanup

According to the world, winter is over. We’ll help Chicago prepare for the upcoming beach season by getting rid of the trash and crud that has accumulated over winter. Garbage be gone.

Rainbow Beach

3111 E 77th St

10-1pm


Thursday, April 26th

Your(self) Portraits

Logan Square Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club

We’re extending the identity concept to a younger crowd – 10-16 year olds, to be precise. Using Plexiglas, drawing paper, pencils and paint, we’re creating self-portraits and then letting the youth draw their interpretations of us after they interview us. This project is about assumptions we make about each other, and we want to encourage these youth to be better than that.

3228 W Palmer Ave

6-8pm


Sunday, April 29th

Paint My Room

Low-income seniors can turn to H.O.M.E. to provide free-of-charge interior painting. If you’ve ever woken up on a Sunday morning and thought, “I want to paint someone’s living room,” this is your day. In addition to providing an otherwise expensive service to seniors, you’ll likely hear some interesting stories.

H.O.M.E.

5414B W Roosevelt Rd

10-2pm

Hey Everyone,

... mark your calendars! Below are CareTeam Volunteer Opportunities for the month of March. Note: the links are not active. ;( However you can visit the CareTeam's website (http://www.careteam.mgrf.org/) and click on the "events" link.

In solidarity,

Justina

Monday, March 5th

NEW Board games at Humboldt Park Social Services

While folks come in and eat a warm dinner, we’re taking the opportunity to get to know them. A few board games will help break the ice. Our mission: To chat it up and find out what people like to do. Then we’ll come back and do exactly that.

United Methodist Church

2122 N Mozart, basement

4:30-6:30pm

Sunday, March 11th

YOU LOVE IT Bow Saws & Loppers 2

So many of you claimed interest in using bow saws and loppers to destroy buckthorn (I didn’t see that one coming) that we thought we’d do it again. Hope for warmer weather and wear clothes you don’t care about. Check out where we'll be. (Click on #40).

Dam #1 Woods in Wheeling

Meet at CareTeam Central at 9am and we’ll carpool.

10-1pm


Wednesday, March 14th

Poetry Slam at Living Room Café

Some poetry-phobes’ fears disappeared last time after we took turns reading poems about love. The idea came up to create our own funny, sad and happy poetry, so let’s do it. You may not know how to write poetry, but who cares? You’ll be partnered up with an LRC guest and eased into the process.

Living Room Café

806 E 64th St

6:30-8pm


Tuesday, March 20th

Artwork at Dignity Diner

We’re working side by side with patrons to create artwork that will be displayed in Dignity Diner & CareTeam’s spring art show. Using different mediums – pencils, paint and clay – you and a patron may just create a piece that will later be compared to that of Picasso or Monet. If you like to write, we also have opportunities for writing poetry and recording patrons’ stories.

Holy Covenant United Methodist Church

925 W Diversey

6:00-7:30pm


Thursday, March 22nd

Beading at Marah’s

Talk to the ladies of Marah’s while making anything you like with beads. According to everyone, you can bead a bazillion things while mowing the lawn, writing your thesis and creating world peace. It’s just that simple.

Deborah’s Place

1456 W Oakdale

5-7:30pm


Saturday, March 24th

NEW Games with Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly

We’re introducing ourselves to the many seniors involved with LB, assisting them to their tables and helping with lunch. Afterwards we’ll play some interactive community-building games.

Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly

355 N Ashland , in the large party room

12-3pm


Wednesday, March 28th

Team Trivia at REST Men’s Shelter

The teams have been solidified. Whose team will you join? Team Chi-Town clinched first place last time, while Team One lost due to some intra-group division. Take your knowledge of Chicago history, sports, politics and art and join a team.

REST Men’s Shelter

941 W Lawrence

8-9:30pm



Thursday, March 29th

NEW Oral History at the Indo-American Center

IAC members have offered their time for our oral history project. Conduct an interview with an elder about South Asian culture, and where it meets (and diverges from) American culture; about language, food and fashion; and about those life experiences that happen no matter where you live. Be open, because afterwards, they get to interview you.

Indo-American Center

6328 N California

3-5:30pm

TGIF!!!

... Dem' Chicago Blues!

Hey Everyone:

Here's a great opportunity to enjoy great music and assist a worthy cause!

In solidarity,

Justina

16th Annual Hopefest
Saturday, February 24, 2007

Please join us at the Park West for an evening of great music while supporting the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

Featuring performances by:

NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS

& CATFISH HAVEN

& FUNKADESI

To purchase tickets or more info please cut and paste on the link below:
http://www.chicagohomeless.org/IndexNew.asp

As well as incredible music, the event also features a live and silent auction of unique prizes including:

a helmet signed by the entire CHICAGO BEARS
a guitar signed by the legendary BB KING
a record album signed by the Queen of Soul, ARETHA FRANKLIN
plus GETAWAY PACKAGES, SPORTS TICKETS and MUCH MORE!

Volunteers Needed for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Episode

Contacts:
Langston Moore, (601) 573-9467
Ron Chapman, (601) 668-8147
Elizabeth Stephens, (601) 940-2368

Volunteers Needed for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Episode
ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition makes first appearance in Metro

BRANDON, MS- Excitement becomes intense as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition sends the Jones family to Florida for some much needed R&R. Today also marks the start of construction. Thanks to the generosity of Warren Excavation, workers begin the extensive amount of dirt work needed to put the new home on a firm foundation. After the demolition and dirt work, hundreds of volunteers will be needed to assist with construction of the home.

As in all Extreme Makeover: Home Edition builds, volunteers play a crucial role in the building process by assisting with painting and general cleanup tasks. Those interested in volunteering should check in at the volunteer check-in tent located in Brandon’s Shiloh Park. Volunteers must be 18-years or older and must wear closed-toed shoes to the site. Once volunteers check in, they will be given an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition blue t-shirt to keep as a memento of the project and a hard hat for safety. Shuttles will take volunteers from Shiloh Park to the build site.

The general public is encouraged to come watch the progress of the makeover as well as to volunteer. Check in and parking for spectators are located in Brandon’s Shiloh Park, and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office will be handling traffic and crowd control during the build.

Though many local companies have donated supplies and equipment, donations are still needed. If you are interested in donating snack items and drinks for workers and volunteers, donating money to the family, or volunteering your time, please call the appropriate numbers below. Up-to-date information will be available at www.shoemakerhomes.com.

To volunteer on the build: 601-566-2016
To make food or monetary donations: 601-566-2017
To offer subcontractor services: 601-566-2018

Directions to Shiloh Park:

Driving I-20 east: Take the downtown Brandon exit 56 and proceed east on MS Hwy 80 (right). Drive 1.2 miles through Brandon’s town square to Louis Wilson Blvd. (old Hwy 18) and turn right. Continue 0.4 miles to Shiloh road and turn left. Drive another 0.6 miles, and Shiloh Park will be on your right.

Driving I-20 west: Take the Brandon exit #59 and proceed south on MS Hwy 80 (left). Drive 1.25 miles to Shiloh Parkway and turn left. Continue 0.4 miles to Shiloh Road. The main entrance to Shiloh Park will be in front of you.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has won back-to-back Emmy Awards as the Best Reality Program (non-competitive) and will enter its 4th season on ABC. The program is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.
Executive producer is Denise Cramsey.