WANT TO GIVE AN HO=
UR OR
SO, EVERY NOW AND THEN?
HERE ARE SOME
IDEAS…
Since
moving to Michigan Avenue, our parish grown. Many of us have served at our
previous parishes as St. Vincent de Paul volunteers, lectors, finance commi=
ttee
members, visitors to the homebound, etc. We now have a NEW SPIRITUAL HOME at Old St. Mary’s. The Social Justice Committee is open =
to new
ideas to touch our friends and
neighbors in need. We invite
“old time” parishioners and new ones to share your wisdom. Join=
us!
Become part of the team!
One of our primary goals is to inform parishione=
rs
of the numerous volunteer programs available in our area. Knowing the hectic
and busy schedules of many of our fellow parishioners, we want to involve as many as we can in committing t=
o one activity per year, whether it is serving food at Catholic Chariti=
es,
separating peppers at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, providing legal
assistance at Visitation Law Clinic, attending an Aid for Women luncheon,
donating toiletries to our Just On=
e Item
Campaign, helping with a SRO dinner---whatever. In short, we want to=
live
Matthew’s gospel:
"Amen, I say to you, =
whatever
you did for one of the least b=
rothers
of mine,
you did for me." Matthew, 25, 40
COMMITTEE
MEETINGS: Second Tuesday of each month at 7 PM, 2nd floor church
conference room.
Herb
Hrebic, chair: 312-341-0948; =
barbherb@sbcglobal.net
Vill
Harmon, co-chair: msvillofca@aol.com<=
/a>
Social Justice Committee Re=
gular
Activities
Aid for Women
Aid
forWomen is a volunteer organization established to support women in their
pregnancy decisions and assist them in accessing personal and community
resources. It is the only life-affirming pregnancy =
center
in downtown Chicago. Located at 8 South Michigan Ave, Suite 100, Chicago, IL
60603—Telephone 312-621-1100, Aid for Women provides numerous volunte=
er
opportunities, e.g. answering phones, mentoring. Training
is provided. Some OSM
parishioners are active volunteers. Also, the Auxiliary hosts an annual spr=
ing
luncheon and sponsors a historic church tour each fall. More information will appear in our
bulletin.
Blind Service Association
The
Blind Service Association is a multi-faceted organization with many programs
and services for the over 1,500 clients in the Chicago Metropolitan area. If
you are interested in “helping people create their own future,”
contact BSA at 312-236-0808. For more specific information, talk with
parishioner Pat Maderic, a weekly volunteer.
Catholic Charities
On
the first Tuesday of every month, =
the
Social Justice Committee serves the disadvantaged at the St. Vincent Center=
at
721 N. LaSalle. We
“redline” to the Center at 3:47 PM, serve food, and return arou=
nd
6:17. Catholic Charities prov=
ides the
dinner; we serve the food and offer encouragement to the disadvantaged. If =
you
would like to help, email or call Barb and Herb Hrebic, barbherb@sbcglobal.=
net
or 312-341-0948. Dorey Kuhn, the director of programs for Catholic Charitie=
s,
312-655-7322, also needs volunteers for a variety of Catholic CharitiesR=
17;
programs.
Chicago Scores
Chicago Scores, the local affiliate of America
Scores (www.americascores.org), works with over 200 children in =
the
Lawndale and Little Village communities on the west side. Their mission is =
to
provide a safe environment where kids can express themselves through creati=
ve
writing and poetry and learn life lessons through being part of a soccer te=
am.
OSM parishioner Heather Walles (Theo Von Blyenburgh’s wife) directs t=
he program
in Chicago. In Heather’s current group, there are thirty 3rd,
4th, and 5th graders in need of school supplies. Befo=
re
school starts in September, the Social Justice Team provides SHOES
BOXES in the Commons for
these young children that
parishioners can fill with pencils, pens, crayons, small notebooks, rulers =
etc,
so these Chicago Scores Poet-Athletes can participate in the joys of creati=
ve
writing and poetry. Donations are accepted throughout the year.
Greater Chicago Food Depository
The
Greater Chicago Food Depository is Chicago’s food bank, a not-for-pro=
fit
distribution center providing food for hungry people while striving to end
hunger in our community. The Food Depository is located at 4100 W. Ann Lurie
Place (near Pulaski Avenue). =
Old
St. Mary’s volunteers provide “credit—dollars” for =
St.
James’ Food Pantry, the=
only
pantry in zip codes 60605 and 60616. We volunteer each month on a Saturday
morning. Read the bulletin for specific dates and times. To volunteer, call
Herb Hrebic at 312-341-0948 or email at barbherb@sbcglobal.net.
Also,
the Greater Chicago Food Depository is looking for volunteers during the week---Monday and Tues=
day, 9
AM to noon; Wednesday and Thursday, 1 PM to 4 PM; Wednesday evenings, 6 PM
– 9 PM. To volunteer, call Jim Callahan, the head of volunteer servic=
es,
at 773-843-2600 at least one day in
advance. At the sign-in, please indicate the “credit” shoul=
d be
given to St. James’ Food Pantry.
Single Room Occupancies (SRO’s)
Three
SRO’s are located within walking distance of Old St. Mary’s. These facilities pro=
vide
single room housing for low-income individuals to “get back on their
feet.” As a Christian gesture of friendship, our committee periodical=
ly
serves Sunday dinner to our neighbors and friends. To help or donate, call or email H=
erb
Hrebic.
Central City Housing
Ventures (CCHV)
CCHV
is an organization composed of religious congregations in the general area =
of
downtown Chicago. Old St. Mary's is one of those congregations. CCHV's
purpose is to preserve and expand affordable housing in central and
near-central Chicago, and at the present time its primary focus is on the Studios, a Single Room Occupancy
residence at 18th and Wabash. Old St. Mary's is represented on =
the
Board of CCHV and works with the Studios and CCHV to provide support for
residents of the Studios with social events, fundraising and collections for
the food pantry at the Studios.
St. Elizabeth
School—Christmas Clothing Drive
Located at 4051 South Wabash, St. Elizabeth School is a historically Black Catholic elementary school that evangelizes, educates and empowers children and fami= lies to grow and to develop as people committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. At Christmas the Social Justice Committee collects clothes for the children of= the school, most of who live below the poverty level. We also help with a scholarship during our Black History Month celebration.
St. James Parish—Our Jus= t One Item Campaign
What
some people consider to be commonplace and ordinary, others consider to be
precious and golden. The Social Justice Committee collects toiletries for our neighbors at St. James Parish. These collect=
ions
take place on the third weekend of=
each
month--our Just One Item Campaign. For the business travelers in our
parish, baskets are always available under our table in the Commons.
Besides
feeding hundreds of needy people each week through the food pantry, St. Jam=
es
also conducts a Senior Program,
visiting nursing homes in the area whose residents are on Medicaid, receivi=
ng
only $30.00 per month for personal needs. As a result, St. James Senior Pro=
gram
tries to provide personal items----body
lotion, body wash, bar soap (especially Ivory), toothbrushes, toothpaste,
deodorant, razors, shaving cream, shampoo—so the residents can use
their limited funds on other more pressing concerns. For more information, contact Sist=
er
Barbara at 312-842-1919 x 206 or Catherine Moore at 312-842-1919 x 211.
They
also deliver bags of groceries to homebound seniors. Even though some of th=
ese
individuals are not on Medicaid, their meager Social Security check doesn’t go far. We can help!
Visitation Law Clinic
The
Visitation Law Clinic is operated at Visitation Church in Englewood in
conjunction with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation. Volunteer attorneys, paralegals an=
d law
students provide free legal servic=
es
to low-income clients on the third
Saturday of each month.
Volunteers, who are scheduled to come once every three months, spend
about two hours interviewing and counseling clients, and providing needed
follow-up services, including court representation. CVLS provides training, office sup=
port
if needed, and malpractice insurance. Anyone interested in volunteering is =
welcome
to observe the clinic. Call M=
ary
Anne Smith 312-567-3034 (days) or 773-493-3418 (evenings) for more informat=
ion.
Why volunteer? It’=
;s a
great experience working with f=
ellow
parishioners, young and old, representing all the diverse and wonderful
cultures of our parish family. We
work, laugh, and make new friends. WE ARE COMMUNITY!
Old St. Mary’s Church
1500 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 922-3444
www.oldstmarys.com
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<= o:p>
Social Justice Committee
Volunteer
Programs