Centro Romero Adults

Site Leaders: Kate Goodman , Melissa Ammann

Southeast Asian Center
Type of Site: Immigrant/Refugee Issues (Adults)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers help teach ESL and citizenship classes by doing individual tutoring and helping the clients.
Training: Some classes may require training
Language Skills: Spanish helpful, but not required
Location: Rogers Park
Individual or Group Site: Individually or in Pairs

Centro Romero After School

Site Leaders: Alicia Lobeiras, Arth Srivastava

Type of Site: Immigrant/Refugee Issues (Children)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers typically tutor kids from ages 7-12. Each volunteer works with 1-3 kids and is expected to help them finish their math, reading and spelling homework, and then play games with them.
Training: None
Language Skills: Spanish helpful, but not required
Location: Rogers Park
Individual or Group Site: Group

Chinese Mutual Aid

Site Leaders: Andie Xin, Tiffany Liu

Type of Site: Immigrant/Refugee Issues
Volunteer Activities: Tutors for adults teach reading and writing, while tutors for children work in the Family Literacy Program and help children read, write, solve math problems and create artwork.
Training: Required
Language Skills: None required; Chinese and Russian helpful
Location: Uptown/Argyle
Individual or Group Site: Group or Individual

Christopher House

Site Leaders: Emily Machado, Halle Bauer

Type of Site: Youth Development
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers typically help with the 3 and 4-year-olds for snack time, play time, and enrichment activities such as reading stories. Primarily African immigrant population. The organization has a day care, pre-school, as well as after-school programs.
Training: None
Language Skills: None required; many kids speak Spanish or Vietnamese
Location: Uptown
Individual or Group Site: Group

Community Garden

Site Leaders: Erin Justice, Ruth Orme-Johnson

Type of Site: Miscellaneous (Environment)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers would spend 2 hours a week on Saturdays, Sept-Nov and April-June, gardening organic vegetables and fruits for local food pantries, such as Inspiration Café.
Training: None
Language Skills: None
Location: North side
Individual or Group Site: Group

Community Health

Site Leaders: Nishant Goyal, Hareem Khan

Type of Site: Health Issues
Volunteer Activities: Community Health is a clinic in Chicago that provides primary healthcare to a patients that cannot afford health insurance; significant Hispanic and Polish populations. Volunteers can triage (take blood pressure and other vitals), work in a lab, work in pharmacy or work behind the desk.
Training: Required; 2-9 hours depending on your job. Training has a good emphasis on public health issues that goes beyond the technical work.
Language Skills: None
Location: Chicago (40+ min. travel time)
Individual or Group Site: Individual after training

Connections for the Homeless

Site Leader: Arundati Nagendra, Vania Leung, Mallory Dwinal

Type of Site: Miscellaneous (Homelessness)
Volunteer Activities: 1) MORNINGS: Volunteers prepare and cook breakfast for the residents at Hilda's Place. After cooking, volunteers sit down and eat with the residents while socializing and getting to know them. 2) AFTERNOONS: Join outreach specialists to seek out homeless people on the streets of Evanston and link them with shelter and supportive services. 3) EVENINGS: Welcome and socialize with residents as they return in the evenings. Coordinate "check-in" and "chore sign-up."
Training: None
Language Skills: None
Location: Evanston
Individual or Group Site: Group and individual

Family Focus

Site Leaders: Preethi Krishnaswamy, Megan Fitzpatrick

Type of Site: Youth Development
Volunteer Activities: Family Focus offers innovative, community-based programs that helps support and strengthen families and communities. Volunteers work at least one afternoon a week at the center’s after-school tutoring and mentoring program, assisting students from 3 rd-8 th grades with homework and helping to manage students’ recreational time.
Training: Orientation
Language Skills: None
Location: Evanston
Individual or Group Site: Both offered – will depend on the day of the week volunteer is able to attend

Have Dreams

Site Leaders: Ja Whi, Suegene Lee

Type of Site: Health Issues (Children)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers mentor autistic children, from elementary school to high school age. Some volunteers teach swimming lessons while others help the kids develop social & life skills through interactive games and lesson plans. Former DM beneficiary.
Training: Informal Orientation
Language Skills: None
Location: Park Ridge , IL
Individual or Group Site: Group or Individual

Heartland Alliance

Site Leaders: Claire Ruberg, Elliot Fried

Type of Site: Immigrant/Refugee Issues (Children)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers teach ESL and play with the children, who are mostly non-English speaking and non-American, offering a unique mentoring and tutoring experience. The mission of Heartland Alliance is to respond to the human needs of endangered populations such as the poor, the isolated, and the displaced.
Training: None
Language Skills: None
Location: Uptown
Individual or Group Site: Group

La Rabida

Site Leaders: Dana Liu, Bryant Priromprintr

Type of Site: Health Issues (Children)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers play with the kids at the hospital who usually spend a lot of days in bed with without enough human contact. There are also opportunities to tutor as well as help in the kids’ pavilion, where those who may leave their beds can play.
Training: Required, but “rewarding”
Language Skills: None
Location: Chicago (45-60 min. drive)
Individual or Group Site: Usually small groups of 2-3 volunteers; may be individual

Mather Pavillion

Site Leaders: Mindy Hoffman, Jennifer Hoffman
Type of Site: Miscellaneous (Elderly/Senior Issues)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers generally participate in running bingo games, an ice cream parlor, physical therapy, computer tutoring, playing piano, mini-dance marathons, Catholic communion, and conducting rehearsal for plays/musicals/etc. Or volunteers simply talk with the residents and develop close personal relationships with some of them. Cocktail hour once-a-month.
Training: Required
Language Skills: None
Location: Evanston
Individual or Group Site: Individual

Project JAM

Site Leaders: Allison Wessel, Zach Freeman

Type of Site: Youth Development
Volunteer Activities: Project JAM focuses on male & female issues. Volunteers facilitate activities planned by the site leaders, such as grammar exercises, team-building exercises, and other games and outdoor activities such as rapping. Cool kids make this a unique mentoring experience.
Training: None
Language Skills: None
Location: Rogers Park
Individual or Group Site: Group

Rice Family and Child Center

Site Leaders: Hetal Sheth, Maya George

Type of Site: Health Issues (Children)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers work with children with mental and psychological disorders. Afternoon volunteers help with homework, while evening volunteers engage in sports and other free-time activities.
Training: None
Language Skills: None
Location: Evanston
Individual or Group Site: Group mostly, Individual also possible

Senior Connections

Site Leaders: Sara Kalish, Erin Corcoran

Type of Site: Miscellaneous (Elderly/Senior Issues)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers are paired up with a senior citizen and visit weekly to play games and chat. Other volunteers may be asked to help their senior with chores or errands.
Training: Required
Language Skills: None
Location: Evanston
Individual or Group Site: Individual

SMART Girls

Site Leaders: Sharence Griffin, Cheriece Ward

Type of Site: Youth Development
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers tutor and mentor. Site has a special
emphasis on women’s issues and empowerment.
Training: None
Location: Southside/Lanthrop
Individual or Group Site: Usually Group; Can Be Individual

Southeast Asian Center

Site Leaders: Aparna Arjunan, Kunj Sheth

Type of Site: Immigrant/Refugee Issues (Children)
Volunteer Activities: Volunteers tutor, mentor, and play with the children. Mostly Vietnamese and Eritrean clientele, either K-1 st or 5 th-6 th grades.
Training: None
Language Skills: None
Location: Uptown/Argyle
Individual or Group Site: Group

Vital Bridges

Site Leaders: Alex Pictor, Mina Farahzad

Type of Site: Health Issues (HIV/AIDS)
Volunteer Activities: Vital Bridges is a kitchen for AIDS patients in Chicago . Volunteers prepare grocery orders for clients, organize supplies, and have occasional special assignments.
Training: None
Language Skills: None
Location: Edgewater
Individual or Group Site: Groups of 2-3 Volunteers each week

Y.O.U. at Washington Elementary

Site Leaders: Conrad Hendrickson, Megha Agrawal

Type of Site: Youth Development
Volunteer Activities: Y.O.U. reaches out to young people ages 10-18. Volunteers help kids with their homework and fun activities such as playing soccer, making a craft, or leading Reader’s Theater.
Training: None
Location: Evanston
Individual or Group Site: Group

Evanston Shelter for Battered Women

Site Leader: Jackie Weisman, Kristen Cragwall

Type of Site: Miscellaneous (Women’s Issues)
Volunteer Activities:Volunteers can either work with the children at the site, or help with the crisis line. If you volunteer with the children, you are allowed to come up with your own activities with the kids and just spend time with them and play games. The crisis line volunteers answer calls from women suffering from domestic violence who are in need of housing or assistance. They also manage the affairs of the shelter and provide whatever the women living there may need.
Training: Required; extensive
Language Skills: None
Location: Evanston
Individual or Group Site: Individual