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| Commons Connections |
June 2015 |
This was a big year for Chicago Commons, and my first full year as President & CEO. It was our 121st year of serving as an agent of change, innovation and servants of community service. This year we...
- Developed a new, three year strategic plan that will take bold steps to improve our services
- Added 11 new corporate funders over the last two years
- Worked with nearly 500 families and provided early childhood education to more than 1,200 children across our four child development centers and community partner sites
- Kept 1,400 seniors and disabled adults on the South and West sides in their homes
- Have 190 new adults enrolled in our adult education programming and connected 89 with employment
- Will be rolling out a new multi-generational Family Service Program that will position our centers as a one-stop-shop for our families to access services. We will offer programs like ESL classes, computer literacy, Zumba, and cooking classes at our child care centers.
As you can see, the ground work is there and we are on our way to continuing our success in the upcoming year. We would like to thank our board members, staff, donors and volunteers for making this year a successful one for Commons.
Sincerely,
Edgar Ramirez
President and CEO
Chicago Commons
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Advocacy Update
Illinois' state budget crisis looms over hundreds of providers of early childcare, youth services and senior care. We ask that you consider joining Chicago Commons and other human services providers in a citywide rally:
Illinois Budget Walkout and Rally
Wednesday, July 1st, 2015
10:00 a.m.--- Noon
James R. Thompson Center (Randolph and LaSalle)
If you are not able to participate, I ask that you consider calling your state representative at 1-844-311-CUTS. We've included a sample script. On behalf of the thousands of children, youth, adults and seniors we serve, I thank you for joining us in our efforts to reduce the risk of this budget being balanced on the backs of those who depend on services.
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New Board Members
David R. Perez
David Perez joins Chicago Commons' Governing Board as the
vice president of distribution operations at ComEd. He currently oversees the overall operations activities within ComEd's Chicago and Maywood regions including engineering, new business, work management, construction and maintenance and field operations. Perez was awarded outstanding leadership in the private sector by the March of Dimes in 2011.
Torrence Hinton
Torrence Hinton has been involved with Chicago Commons as a member of the Emerging Leaders Council since 2014. Torrence is currently the director of operations & maintenance with Peoples Gas. He has 13 years of gas distribution experience, including 10 years of formal leadership experience. In 2013, Hinton became a Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago.
We would like to welcome both David and Torrence to our governing board.
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New Faces At Commons
Sheena Bryant 
We would like to welcome Shenna Bryant to the development team as our full-time Grants Manager. In this role, she will write, prospect and manage all reporting for our foundation and corporate support. Sheena joins us from the American Diabetes Association where she served as the manager of grants and mission delivery since 2012.
She brings with her experience in growing and cultivating grant opportunities as well as increasing community involvement and volunteerism with corporate partners.
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Secretary Burwell and Mayor Rahm Emanuel at Commons
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Last week, Chicago Commons celebrated 121 years of service at our
annual meeting. James Hill III was honored for his years of services as Chairman of the Board and we welcomed Will Evans as the new Chairman. Thank you to everyone who attended to celebrate with us.
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Bud Blossom Golf Outing
The 2015 Bud Blossom Golf Event was a success, raising more than $105,000 in support of Chicago Commons' work in the community. Thank you to our golfers and everyone who helped make the annual event a success.
Special thanks to our sponsors who made this event possible:
2016 Bud Blossom Golf Outing: Monday June 27, 2016
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Senior Care Fraud Prevention Workshop
In partnership with
U.S. Bank, Chicago Commons hosted a fraud prevention workshop for senior care program participants, community members and others in the senior care industry. Fraud investigators from US Bank presented
a special event in coordination with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Clients and their families met with fraud investigators to learn about scams and other illegal activities targeted at seniors.
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School Supply Drive
This year we hosted a school supply drive to benefit children from our early childhood development program who will be going to kindergarten in the fall.
We collected backpacks, crayons and books among many other items and distribute the supplies to families of our childcare centers.
Thanks to the success of our event House of Commons, we raised more than $1,000 in support of the school supply drive. A special thanks to the following groups and individuals for their work: HBK Engineering, LLC, CELC member Sharon Moy, Liza Bloomer and The British School.
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Friday, November 13, 2015
Galleria Marchetti
For more details or sponsorship information contact Carolyn Branton at [email protected] or 773-826-4253.
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Love what we're doing? Support our children, families and communities today!
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Esther & John Benjamin
