Entertainment:

The Basement Band
Dexter
Handsome Dave & The Ravens
The Nuisance Band
Sweet Potato Zydeco Band

Emcee: Ravi Baichwal, Anchor-Reporter with ABC 7 Chicago News

Tuesday, September 20, 2011
7:00. – 10:30 p.m.

Evanston SPACE
1245 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL

Tickets

$18 in advance
$20 at the door
Buy Your Tickets Now

Follow us on Facebook @unitedwaychicago and on Twitter @unitedwaychi.

It’s that time again- time to put on your favorite jersey, dust off the old pig skin and paint your face in your favorite team’s colors- it’s time for FOOTBALL! To celebrate this wonderful time of year, the NFL and United Way of Metropolitan Chicago are teaming up again for Back to Football Friday, an exciting partnership to make youth health and wellness a nationwide priority.

Statistics show that a startling 33 percent of kids and teens are overweight or obese in America today. Overweight and obese children are at a higher risk for developing chronic ailments, like heart disease and diabetes, later in life. Findings show students who are physically fit are more likely to do well on standardized tests, have better school attendance and are less likely to have disciplinary problems. Fact is, youth health is a key strategy for kids to succeed in school and in life.

 Do you want to help tackle childhood obesity? Here’s how you can!

1. Ask your company if you can conduct a Back to Football Friday in your office. Encourage you colleagues to donate $5 to United Way and show their support and team pride at work on September 9 in celebration of the start of the NFL season. If your company currently runs a United Way campaign, this event can help bolster support.

2. Sign the United Way Health Kids Pledge. By signing the pledge, you’re standing with United Way in the fight against childhood obesity. You’re pledging to explore ways you can encourage active and healthy lifestyles in your home, neighborhood and community. Participants are eligible to win a $50 NFL Shop Gift Card.*

3. Enter the Extreme Cubicle Makeover. Show your NFL team pride by transforming your workspace into the ultimate NFL fan zone and promoting youth health and wellness. Be creative and have fun! One lucky person will win a trip for two to Super Bowl XLVI.*

4. Enter the United Way Superfan Contest. Plan a Back to Football Friday event to celebrate the return of football and show your support for youth health and wellness. Go all out, be creative and show that you are a super fan!  One person will win a trip for two to Super Bowl XLVI.*

For more information about Back to Football Friday or to participate in one of these great contests, contact your United Way representative or Melissa Kast, Marketing & Communications Coordinator, at 312.906.2292 or visit BACKTOFOOTBALL.org.

 *Official contest rules can be found at BACKTOFOOTBALL.org.

Last weekend’s volunteer event at Northside College Prep High School was amazing!  Even though the weather wasn’t the brightest, there were 17 YLS volunteers who participated in the service project. I am happy to say, we totaled approximately 75 hours that will go towards our overall goal for this year.  We spent out time at Northside shoveling and spreading mulch, creating a rock wall and planting trees.  Many Northside students and gardeners joined the effort, which resulted in a very productive day.  Overall, this was a great volunteer project that we strongly recommend as an ongoing project and a great relationship for YLS-ers!

Photo from Off The Street Club website

A bus picked up YLS members and other volunteers downtown the evening of March 17 and transported them to Garfield Park. When they arrived at the Off the Street Club (OTSC), Chicago’s oldest boys and girls club, they were greeted like rock stars. The kids were waiting with smiles, hugs and the anticipation of a great night.

From October through May, this ritual occurs on the third Thursday of every month. Volunteers interact with children from age 4 through high school. “It’s a completely different experience to get off the bus and have kids come right up to you and give you a hug,” said Luke Newcomb. “Your mood completely changes. The kids had a lot of energy and were so outgoing.”

The YLS volunteers joined the OTSC kids for activities such as basketball, jump rope, roller skating and other games. YLS members also helped with schoolwork and computer skills. “With OTSC, kids can get off the street and into a place that is safe, fun and committed to their success,” Newcomb said. “These kids grow up in such a tough environment and what OTSC provides them is really neat.”

YLS is exploring the possibility of making this a monthly volunteer project for members. Find out more about OTSC here.

Going to a bar to relax after a tough week and socialize with friends is a standard diversion for young professionals. What if you could do this while supporting a worthwhile cause in the process?

That is why nearly 50 young professionals from throughout Chicago and members of YLSraised a glass on March 4 to toast to Education at Redmond’s Ale House. During the Power Hour, Redmond’s donated all the revenue from food and beverage sales to the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago’s Education Initiative. This initiative will expand access to early childhood programs and improve community schools.

“Education is one of the United Way pillars,” said Angie Zavala, chair of the YLS events committee. “It was great to see so many people turn out for a good cause. The vibe was very positive and everyone was excited to be there.”

Guests seemed to enjoy the relaxed feel of a Friday night vent. “We had a different group of people,” said Zavala. “So many people travel during the week and we were hoping this would spark a new crowd.”

The Power Hour and raffle raised more than $680. Raffle prizes included brunch for two from Sweets & Savories as well as a chocolate and martini tasting from Life’s A Cabernet.

The United Way of Metropolitan Chicago’s Young Leaders Society (YLS) is calling all rock stars.

The best part? These rock stars don’t have to carry a tune, read music or play two notes on the guitar.

YLS is looking for members who consistently Give, Advocate and Volunteer in our community. Prospective rock stars should be YLS members as well as people who contribute to Chicago in other ways. The grandest of gestures to the simplest of good deeds could all make someone the next Community Rock Star.

This honor should go to someone determined to make the Chicago area better. It could be something as simple as connecting with a child at a local agency or lending your professional skills to help an individual or organization. Everyone has a unique talent and we want to showcase people who go the extra mile.

Bono once joked that the worst scourge on God’s green Earth is a rock star with a cause. At YLS, we are looking for those exact types of people. This summer, YLS will be holding an event to celebrate all of our nominated rock stars and we’ll be giving away incredible prizes including the new iPad 2! Our Rock Stars won’t be the only winners though. By nominating someone, your name is automatically put into a raffle and if your nominee is chosen as the Community Rock Star, then you will win a prize too!

If you know someone who you consider a Rock Star in our community, nominate that person by April 15.

Nominate a Rock Star Now

Money is a worry that seems to be on everyone’s minds these days.  United Way of DuPage/West Cook can help settle some of those fears with Money Smart Week DuPage running April 2-9. The week of events will kick off Saturday, April 2, at the College of DuPage where CEO of Calamos Investments, John Calamos, will be the keynote speaker. The week is filled with workshops to help address some of the most pressing financial concerns such as using credit wisely, financial education for youth, retiring, and identity theft. All of these seminars are free and filled with great information on how to be financially savvy in a recession.  United Way of DuPage/West Cook board member and certified financial planner, Nate Paulson, of Paulson Wealth Management, will be hosting the seminar “Charitable Giving; an Investment in the Future” on Wednesday, April 6, at the Winfield Public Library.  Check out all of the seminar topics, times and locations and get money smart with United Way DuPage/West Cook!

And then, just like that, it was done.

The 2011 Deloitte and United Way Alternative Spring Break has officially come to a close.

Emotions were close to the surface today as we said goodbye not only to the High Road Academy students we’ve worked with all week, but also to our ASB team members. The most difficult part of a week-long service project like this is parting ways. It truly is a special thing to see how quickly connections are made, relationships formed and trust earned.

One of the hardest parts of this week was when “Wheezy”, a High Road student (who looks like ‘Lil Wayne, hence the nickname), said in a group setting: “Awwww, ya’ll are just goin’ to leave us like everyone else.” And you know what? He’s absolutely correct. And that hurts. A lot.

Today we were able to work one on one with our high school students on college applications, which is just one piece of preparing them for the next stage of their lives. Wrapped around that was painting the finishing touches on both murals and doing a quick paint job on the boys bathroom (which had some very interesting graffiti).

As we finished our work streams, faculty and students would come through the areas and, without exception, pause, smile and comment how great the murals looked and how much they improved the school. The faculty and students were also very appreciative of our service and the time we shared. As evident by the length and strength of the hugs we shared at the end of the day it was difficult for all of us to say goodbye.

Since we are all leaving DC at different times tomorrow we also said goodbye to our ASB team members tonight at our final dinner hosted by United Way Worldwide. We shared plenty of big laughs, inspiration through shout outs from our friends, some tears, and a walk down memory lane in the form of a slide show set to the hip music that all the kids are listening to these days. Following dinner we enjoyed a St. Patrick’s Day ice cream social where more goodbyes were said, final pictures were taken and promises were made to keep in touch. Of course, back at the hotel, the game room is hoppin’ again tonight, but I’m old and I’m COOKED. J

Even though we were only at High Road for a few days I know we impacted the lives of some students and I know that we made a mark. Every student at High Road will not “succeed.” Some may struggle, but some will contribute to their society in a positive manner and my hope is that we had some very small part in that. As for the ASB students I believe this was a jumping off point for them. I had several conversations where we discussed how they would carry this week of service back to their respective schools. Some may start student United Ways, some may volunteer through their school, and some may align their philanthropic priorities with the philanthropic priorities of the companies they want to work for. All of us, no matter which region of the country we return to, will always remember this week fondly and with respect for each other, the teachers and administration we worked with and especially the students at High Road Academy in Washington DC.

After today, our mural (one of two) is officially finished! It looks so much better than I ever thought it would. Of course, I had to suspend some of my obsessive/compulsive issues with straight lines and clean painting but once I got over that stuff I began to see the true beauty in our work.

One of the high school students that has been working on our project, we’ll call him Marcus, would be classified as developmentally challenged. For the majority of this week he has been on the outskirts of the project, the conversations and the interactions between the ASB college students and the High Road high school students. Today, that changed thanks one of my ASB team members, whom we’ll call Malinda.

Ms. Falby, the faculty person we are working with asked for volunteers to work one-on-one with some students this morning and several stepped forward immediately. Malinda and Marcus were able to go through some reading exercises using books that were at the level that he could comprehend. While they were patiently working together in a classroom the rest of his classmates and friends worked on the mural with us. Malinda reported back later that day that Marcus was counting the pages left to read before he could finish so that he could go back and paint – it’s all he wanted to do. It’s not that he didn’t want to read, or learn, or work one on one with Malinda, but what he really wanted to do more than anything was be with his friends and create something that would be displayed on a prominent wall in his school forever. It was a very touching and special moment for Malinda, one of many that the ASB students are experiencing this week.

This week I have been a witness to the incredible skills these high school students have when you position them to succeed. They have amazing concentration, dedication, commitment and pride in their work, and this, frankly, was surprising to me. Is there a lot of joking around among them? Yes. But there is also plenty of laughter and love. Is there some slacking off? Yes. But there are plenty of them who keep others in line when they step out. There is growth at High Road and there is inspiration. I have been a witness to that.

Students on Alternative Spring Break in Washington, DC

“My team is awesome!” -Me

Scott McQuillan (a Deloitte professional) and myself are fortunate enough to lead a group of college students this week who are engaged, outgoing, passionate and above all, smart.

Today we had a full day of training and education at the United Way Worldwide Training Facility in Alexandria, VA. Among several sessions, there were two panel discussions involving youth of DC that were transitioning from high school to college and also currently enrolled in college. The great thing about these panels was that the ASB students were the ones answering questions from the students on the panel, not the other way around. It was such a great moment because the ASB students were able to use their knowledge and experience to assist the youth of DC in overcoming some of their anxieties. This was the perfect introduction to their roles in service this week.

After dinner we boarded buses for an evening monument tour of DC. Having a top-notch local guide in this situation makes all the difference and Michael did not disappoint. Not only did he have a wealth of knowledge about the history of our nation but he was passionate about sharing it with us. At one point when we were walking near the Lincoln Memorial a student commented to me that Michael seems like the kind of person who goes to the monuments on his days off and give tours to anyone who will follow his flashlight umbrella around.

There were many moments in the monument tour that were exciting, overwhelming and impressive but, for me, the most memorable was the Vietnam memorial. More than 56,000 Americans died in that war and as we were walking through it two things happened: Number 1: everyone became very quiet and respectful. I noticed that this happened not just with our tour, but everyone that walked through the exhibit. And Number 2: I talked with Samuel, a United Way professional, about the fact that many of the 56,000 killed in Vietnam were the same age as the students that were participating in ASB and walking among us at that moment. It because very emotional for me, very sad, but also very enlightening as I could really see how special this week will be, not only for the students, but for myself and the other professionals. I anticipate many more moments like that as we begin our projects. I can’t wait go get started!

For more photos of our adventures, check out United Way’s Flickr page!