2010 Charity of the Month Program
January The Junior Council of Children’s Memorial Hospital
The mission of the Junior Council is to support the Pediatric and Adolescent AIDS/HIV Section at Children’s Memorial Research Center. Founded in 1988 following the establishment of the Pediatric and Adolescent AIDS/HIV Section at CMH by Doctors Ram Yogev and Ellen Chadwick, the Junior Council is an organization of young professionals dedicated to supporting CMH’s patient care mission of providing high quality healthcare to every child who needs it, regardless of his or her family’s ability to pay. Specifically, our efforts have focused on Pediatric AIDS Research and Care.
February Step Up Women's Network
Step Up Women’s Network is a natural non-profit membership organization dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls through teen empowerment programs for underserved girls, women’s health education and advocacy, professional mentorship and social networking opportunities.
March Big Shoulders Fund
The mission of the Big Shoulders Fund is to provide support to the Catholic schools in the neediest areas of inner-city Chicago. 100 percent of the funds raised by the Big Shoulders Fund are used to support children through scholarships, special education programs, instructional equipment, facility improvements, faculty support and operating grants. The Big Shoulders Fund is a 501 © 3 non-profit organization.
April Autism Training Center at Giant Steps Illinois
The day school, founded in 1998, is the only school in Illinois dedicated to providing therapeutic services for Primary, Intermediate, Junior High and High School students dealing solely with autism. To expand services throughout the state, the Autism Training Center serves the autism community in several ways. Consulate services are provided to public schools in need of developing autism specific programs. The Rec Center After School Program provides after school activities to supplement education. Community based trainings are also available. For example, community workers such as police officers, fire fighters and medical personnel can benefit from a first responders’ training.
May Les Turner ALS Foundation
ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressive neurovascular disorder in which degeneration of nerves leads to muscle weakness and impaired speaking, swallowing and breathing, eventually causing paralysis and death. The mission of the Les Turner ALS Foundation is to raise funds to: advance scientific research into the causes, treatments, and preventions of ALS; provide people living with ALS, their families, and caregivers exceptional clinical care and support services; increase awareness and education of ALS.
June The Chicago Lighthouse
The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired is a not-for-profit agency committed to providing the highest quality educational, clinical, vocational, and rehabilitation services for children, youth and adults who are blind or visually impaired, including deaf-blind and multi-disabled.
July Chicago Architecture Foundation
The Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public interest and education in architecture and design. CAF presents a comprehensive program of tours, exhibitions, lectures, special events, and adult and youth education activities, all designed to enhance the public’s awareness and appreciation of Chicago’s outstanding architectural legacy.
August Friends of the Parks
The mission of Friends of the Parks is to preserve, protect, improve, and promote the use of Chicagoland’s parks, preserves, and natural areas for the benefit of all neighborhoods and citizens.
September Abraham Lincoln Centre
Founded in 1905, the Abraham Lincoln Centre (ALC) has provided social services to disadvantaged communities on Chicago’s southside for over a century. As a leading social service agency in Chicago, ALC helps over 8,000 children and families each year. ALC assists people overcome many of the obstacles associated with living in disadvantaged communities such as gangs, violence, abuse, neglect and poverty by offering positive options and programs including Head Start, Teen Reach, Child-Care, Mentoring, After-School and Educational opportunities. Abraham Lincoln Centre is also the leading agency on Chicago’s southside providing supportive housing and social services for children and adults with mental illness and development disabilities. ALC is committed to equipping people with the essential tools necessary to build healthy families and successful futures.
October Kids Fight Cancer
To design, develop, and implement oncology activity centers that focus on the psychological needs of pediatric cancer patients in order to comfort their physical pains through education, social interaction, and creative expressions through arts and crafts.
To fund palliative care programs for families with terminally ill children in order to lessen the stresses imposed on both the patient and the family by providing in home comfort, and financial, emotional, and physical support.
To provide financial assistance to leading cancer research physicians with hopes of finding cures, vaccinations, and immunologic interventions.
November Lakeview Pantry
Lakeview Pantry is a non-profit organization with the mission of eliminating hunger in our community by providing food to fill the basic need of hungry people, increasing the independence of our clients through self-help initiatives and other innovative programs, and raising awareness of poverty and its solutions. We provide on-site food distribution, a home delivery service for the homebound, distribute free clothing and have a case management program in order to help clients with other services they may need.
December Providence St. Mel School
The mission of Providence St. Mel School is to provide an excellent college-preparatory education to underprivileged inner-city students. Hailed as a “model for urban education,” Providence St. Mel has stood for thirty years as an independent school on the West Side of Chicago, an area still notorious for some of the highest rates of crime, unemployment, and poverty in the country. Each year educating over 500 African-American students, in grades pre-kindergarten through 12, Providence St. Mel strives to break the devastating cycle of poverty, dependence and despair through a challenging education of exceptional quality.
Applications for our 2011 Charity of the Month will be available at a later date.