The Do-Gooder Corner: The Night Ministry.

The Night Ministry.

Started in 1976 to provide services to vulnerable youth and adults on Chicago’s nighttime streets, The Night Ministry continues its mission to serve. Although The Night Ministry is faith-based, it is not affiliated with any particular religion or congregation. The Night Ministry serves homeless and runaway youth, working poor adults, uninsured and under-insured individuals seeking medical assistance, and others who have fallen through the cracks of the social service system regardless of religious beliefs.

Do Gooders may have seen The Night Ministry’s Health Outreach Bus in the Uptown, Humboldt Park, Hyde Park and Uptown neighborhoods. The Health Outreach Bus is a custom-built bus providing free health care, STD testing, and referral assistance and hospitality to youth and adults from 7pm to 2am, six nights a week.

In addition to The Night Ministry’s Health Outreach activities, the organization also provides and Open Door Youth Shelter, which is the only shelter in Chicago that takes pregnant and parenting teens as young as 14, and a Youth Shelter Network.

There are many opportunities to get involved with The Night Ministry as an individual or with a group of your fellow Do Gooders. Some of the programs Do Gooders can get involved in are:

• - Freezin’ Fridays. Small groups of adults provide and serve hot soup and hot beverages on the nighttime streets in Lakeview neighborhood from November through April.

• - Sack Suppers. Small groups assemble sack suppers to be distributed from the Health Outreach Bus.

• - First Saturdays. Individuals can pack cookies and hygiene kits on the first Saturday of the month at The Night Ministry’s administrative offices in the Ravenswood neighborhood.

• - Health Outreach Bus. Individuals can volunteer on the Health Outreach Bus by providing hospitality.

• - Donate homebaked cookies or hygiene kits.

More information on The Night Ministry and ways to get involved can be found on their website at www.thenightministry.org or by contacting Gail Bernoff, Volunteer Coordinator at 773-506-6015.

The Do-Gooder Corner: Kiva

Kiva

The Do Gooder’s Corner mission is to relay information on volunteer opportunities in Chicago. Sometimes, however, the Do Gooder would like to focus attention on other ways readers can make a difference. One such deserving organization is the focus of this week’s column: Kiva.

To understand Kiva, one must understand microfinancing, which supplies loans, savings and other basic financial services to the poor. Microfinancing is nothing new (who hasn’t gotten a small loan to cover the rent from a parent, sibling or friend?), but on a global scale starting in the 1950’s, it took the form of governments in developing countries providing credit to small and marginal farmers as a way of trying to raise income. Since then, microfinancing has grown and evolved, and according to the U.N., there are now over 7,000 microfinance institutions serving the needs of the poor. Microfinancing also received some attention in 2006 when Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, a microfinance bank, and Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, won the Nobel Peace Prize.

While microfinance institutions (MFIs) were doing good work to serve the world’s poor, Kiva founders, Matthew and Jessica Flannery, felt there was a gap between individuals who could make small loans and the small businesses those individuals wanted to help. Thus, the idea of Kiva was born: connecting micro-lenders (that’s you, fellow Do Gooders) with small businesses in developing countries.

Kiva partners with MFIs that are already “on the ground” in the country or region the businesses are located. The MFIs assess whether a business is a good candidate for a loan, and if accepted, forwards the profiles Kiva. Kiva then posts profiles of loan candidates on its website. Individual lenders, primarily from the United States and England, can then make a loan (minimum of $25) through PayPal. The MFI then distributes the loan.

Lenders are paid back in full at the end of the loan term (usually between 12-18 months), but they do not receive interest for their loan. Because this is a loan, Do Gooders cannot claim it as a charitable donation on their taxes, however, any donation to Kiva itself is tax-deductible. Lenders receive periodic updates from the MFI about repayment progress and how the individuals are doing via email and journal entries.

You can watch PBS Frontline/World’s 15-minute documentary on micro-lending and Kiva at this link.

And check out www.kiva.org for more information and to make your micro-loan.

The Do-Gooder Corner: Community Building Tutors.

Community Building Tutors

Rachel Lewis’ exposure to the Community Building Tutors happened when she was running workshops on nonprofit organizations for the Illinois CPA Society. When she met Bart Phillips, founder and current Board President of Community Building Tutors, Rachel says “I was so impressed with what he was doing that I asked how I could become involved.” Rachel now serves on CBT’s Board of Directors.

Community Building Tutors is a relatively new volunteer organization in Chicago, with its first program taking place in Spring 2005 at the Chicago Park District’s Chase Park. CBT joins young professionals and students at all grade levels - elementary through college - for one-on-one tutoring and community focused projects.

Community Building Tutors recruits young professionals to serve as the coordinators of tutoring services of elementary and middle school children. High school and college students perform the actual one-on-one tutoring, with young professionals proctoring the sessions. At the end of the year, all CBT volunteers and students participate in a one-day community service project.

Community Building Tutors serves a diverse population of young students, and this year has expanded to serving three sites: Chase Park (4701 N. Ashland), ACME Art Works (1741 N. Western), and Merit School of Music (38 S. Peoria).

There are different time commitments for volunteers, depending on the way one wants to get involved. CBT is looking for tutors, site coordinators, activity leaders, volunteer activity participant and Board members. Potential volunteers can email specific question about getting involved at playarole@cbtutors.org.

To find out more information about Community Building Tutors, check out the website at www.cbtutors.org.

Or better yet, attend CBT’s Spring Tutoring Session Kick-off Fundraising Party, Friday Feb. 9 at Wrightwood Tap (1059 W. Wrightwood), 8-11pm. For $25, you can get into the all-you-can-drink party. Proceeds, of course will benefit CBT.

The Do-Gooder's Corner: One-Brick.Org

Early on a Saturday morning, people file into a downtown office building lobby. A woman wearing an orange fleece jacket asks “Are you here for One Brick?” Another orange fleece-clad woman asks people to sign in and hands them a nametag with the logo “OneBrick.org – Volunteering Made Easy.” Once everyone arrives, they are brought up to the offices where they will spend the next three to four hours counting letters, assembling boxes and stuffing envelopes for a charitable organization. At the end of their assignment, most of the One Brick volunteers will go out for lunch or drinks and get to know each other better.

Welcome to One Brick, an organization that provides an easy way to get involved and make a difference. One Brick supplies a volunteer pool to charitable organizations and encourages social networking among its volunteers. Started in December 2001 in San Francisco, One Brick has expanded to four cities nationwide. One Brick Chicago recently marked its second anniversary.

On One Brick’s website (www.onebrick.org), volunteers can sign up to participate in a range of different activities (called “events”). Recent events include sorting food at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, stuffing envelopes at the Muscular Dystrophy Association, ushering at the Goodman Theater or painting rooms at the YMCA.

At lunch after a recent event, one volunteer named James said he started volunteering with One Brick because he wanted to give “something back.” Others wanted to do something good while meeting new people. Another volunteer, Ilango half joked that he decided to volunteer with One Brick in order to “rebuild his soul.” Other volunteers mention they like One Brick’s flexibility, as there is no minimum commitment for volunteers.

Looking to volunteer and to meet new people? Check out One Brick at www.onebrick.org.