April News from Chicago Cares

Volunteers Plant Seeds of Hope and Beauty
Serve-a-thon Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers Plant Seeds of Hope and Beauty

Take a step outside, walk a few blocks and you're likely to run into a park, green space or community garden. Chicago is home to nearly 12,000 acres of park land and, in the United States, Lincoln Park is second only to New York City's Central Park in number of annual visitors. 

Chicago Cares makes it easy for you to help beautify and protect the city's parks, enhance community gardens, and enjoy Chicago's beautiful summer weather while giving back to the community. 

"We always look forward to the spring when we have the opportunity to offer more outdoor environmental projects to Chicago Cares volunteers," said Wendy Mattner, senior human service and environment program manager. "This month we created more than 20 opportunities to help beautify the city. Chicago prides itself on being one of the greenest cities in America and Chicago Cares is honored to help the city keep that reputation by offering quality environmental programming."

The new Urban Gardens with Openlands project allows volunteers to visit a different community garden each month and learn essential gardening skills such as building compost bins and sustainable garden beds and natural methods to remove weeds. This month's garden is in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. 

The Imagine Englewood If… organization's community garden project promotes beautification efforts through community gardening. At this new program, Chicago Cares volunteers plant flowers and vegetables and create sustainable raised garden beds together with Englewood high school students determined to keep their neighborhood beautiful. 

Drake Gardens located in the heart of Albany Park is a much-loved community garden and green space. At this new environmental project volunteers plant flowers, build trellises and help maintain walkways. Families in the neighborhood are very proud of this garden and rely on Chicago Cares volunteers to help maintain this oasis in the city. 

Contact Wendy Mattner at 312-780-0800, ext. 136 or wmattner@chicagocares.org to learn more about Chicago Cares environmental programs or leadership opportunities with environmental programs. 


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Volunteer at the 15th Annual Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon

Big Day. Better Schools. Brighter Futures. 

Transform Chicago schools at the 15th Annual Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon on June 14, 2008. The Serve-a-thon is the largest day of community service in Chicago. Join thousands of volunteers to paint a brighter futures for Chicago children. Help students succeed as we beautify Chicago school classrooms, libraries, and playgrounds. In just one day, Serve-a-thon volunteers magically transform schools into wonderful, vibrant places to learn and grow. 

One principal from a 2007 partner school shared with us that the "facelift my school received in those few hours at Serve-a-thon will have a positive impact on the children's self-esteem and school atmosphere for a lifetime."

• Volunteer as a project leader! Serve-a-thon Leaders (PSMs, Primary PSMs and Muralists) play a crucial role in the Serve-a-thon. They work with Chicago Cares staff in the months leading up to the event to ensure that 50+ community service projects will go successfully on the day of the Serve-a-thon. Leaders provide critical on-site instruction, leadership, motivation and troubleshooting for the group of volunteers at their assigned site. Leaders also enjoy an exclusive tent at the Serve-a-thon Post-Event Party, a free t-shirt and goodie bag, new friends and the opportunity to develop leadership, painting, motivation and teamwork skills. 

• Start your own Serve-a-thon team! Ask your friends, family and coworkers to join your team of up to 50 people. You'll work alongside each other to create positive change in our schools. Raise money through pledges and you'll support the 200 volunteer projects Chicago Cares creates and manages every month. These programs meet our city's most pressing needs in education, environment, hungry, health and wellness and senior service needs and are offered at no cost to our volunteers or school and social service agency partners.  

• Join a Chicago Cares volunteer team! We created special teams just for Chicago Cares volunteers: Sox Fans Unite, Go Cubbies, Singles Serve, New to Chicago, and Caring Chicagoans. Simply choose Chicago Cares as the company when joining a team and use registration donation waiver code CCI08. Join a Chicago Cares team here!

• Share your love of Chicago Cares as a Bus Ambassador! In this new role, you will provide Serve-a-thon volunteers with information about Chicago Cares and a chance to ask questions about how to stay involved as well as using the bus ride time wisely by distributing waivers and evaluations. You will volunteer at the project site as well. Volunteer as a bus ambassador here!

Find out more about the Serve-a-thon here.