The Chicago Cares Business Shares program offers expertise in community service to corporations by creating customized, hands-on group volunteer projects that complement team building, leadership development, and philanthropy initiatives. Through this program, Chicago Cares will fully develop and coordinate all aspects of your company's volunteer project.

Services Provided by Chicago Cares Include:

Project Identification: We match your corporate objectives, including the type of work that you want to perform, the neighborhood you wish to serve, number of volunteers participating and timeframe, with the needs of a community agency.

Work Assessment: We develop a work plan outlining the project tasks and number of volunteers needed to perform each task to ensure that your project can be completed in the time allotted with the number of volunteers specified
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Supply Planning: We devise a complete list of supplies needed for the project and deliver all supplies to the project site before the project begins.

Project Implementation and Leadership: We lead your volunteers throughout the project. Chicago Cares representatives give your volunteers a brief orientation, instruct your volunteers on what tasks to perform, teach your volunteers how to do each task and provide guidance from start to finish.

Project Results Reporting: We distribute project evaluations to your volunteers and compile a report summarizing their accomplishments. Chicago Cares will provide you with the project results report and evaluations as well as photographs from your project.

Chicago Cares is constantly in touch with the needs of our city and has relationships with many social service agencies, parks, educational centers, and other community organizations. Thus, our Business Shares program can offer your company a wide variety of volunteer activities. For example, your company can:

• Paint the town red by creating a colorful mural for children living in a group home
• Exercise your green thumb by planting a community garden
• Make magic happen by transforming a playground through painting and landscaping
• Go back to school and paint classrooms in a Chicago Public School
• Be kids again and build a sandbox for children attending Head Start
• Be a role model for the day by taking children with special needs to a zoo or a museum
 

Depending on the size of your volunteer group and type of volunteer project, a donation to Chicago Cares is requested in return for the development and leadership of the activity as well as the cost of project supplies. The overall benefit of community service for the company, employees, and our city has made these activities a valuable part of the corporate environment.

For information please contact Senior Manager of Corporate Relations Barbara Khalouf at 312.780.0800 x147 or barbara@chicagocares.org.

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