Newsletter sections:
Volunteer Opportunities
GCFD Hunger Study
The Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) seeks committed volunteers to assist in their 2000 hunger study. This study will allow the GCFD to serve the community better. Volunteers will have the
opportunity to visit and speak with food recipients. It will take place between mid-January and mid-March. All volunteers must attend a one-time, three-hour training session. The dates for the training sessions are January 4 or 8. Volunteers must be available during the day at least once after training and before mid-March. The GCFD will assign volunteers, in pairs, to agencies. For more information or to sign up, contact Matt Coatar at 773/843-2600 or mjcoatar@gcfd.org.
Chicago Cares Celebration of Service
Join the CAPCA team in participating with Chicago Cares Celebration of Service. The all-day volunteer
event will be held on Saturday, January 13 in honor of Martin Luther King Day. CAPCA will put together a team of volunteers to work together on a service project.
Details: Meet at the Windy City Field House, 2637 W. Logan (Logan and Western) at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 13. Buses will take the teams to various parts of the city to begin the volunteer project. Buses will bring volunteers back to the Windy City Fieldhouse by 3:30 p.m.
It is still undetermined what type of project CAPCA will work on, but all projects are very hands-on. Projects will focus on eight areas: educational and recreational activities for children and teens, the homeless and hungry, adult human services, health and wellness, the environment, seniors/the elderly, and housing and beautification.
Volunteers must be over 12 to participate. Young people 12-16 need a parent's permission. Volunteers are requested to bring their own lunch or snack.
To sign up, send a signed application to Trina Janes by December 14. For an application form, visit www.chicagocares.org, click "Celebration of Service" and fill out this form. If you have trouble or do not have Internet access, call Lee Whelan at
312/780-0800 for a mailed or faxed form, or contact Trina Janes at 312/645-9400 x 35 (days), or
847/663-0484 (evenings) or cjanes1999@kellogg.nwu.edu Completed forms should be mailed to: Trina Janes; 5315 W. Suffield Terrace; Skokie, IL 60077.
Tuesday, January 23, 2001
Michael Diamond, Executive Director of Global Chicago, will discuss his organization and how RPCVs can get involved in its work. Global Chicago is a collaborative project whose mission is to enhance
Chicago's strengths as a global city and raise awareness - both here and abroad - of Chicago's global
connections. Global Chicago seeks to identify Chicago's global assets and its economic, social,
intellectual, and cultural links to the rest of the world; facilitate communication and collaboration
among internationally-minded groups; and help Chicagoans understand the challenges and opportunities of globalization. For more information, visit www.globalchicago.org.
Directions to Reza's: Take the purple or brown line to the Chicago Ave. stop (Chicago/Franklin). Walk four blocks south on Franklin to Ontario, and west on Ontario two blocks.
The University of Chicago Office of Career & Placement Services is recruiting U of C Alumni who have been Peace Corps Volunteers and who are presently working in the Chicago area. They periodically offer programs to U of C students about short-term work opportunities after graduation. Students are especially interested in hearing about the experiences of alumni.
If you are a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in the Chicago area who would be interested in talking with
University of Chicago students, contact Marlene Richman at Career & Placement Services; University of
Chicago; 1212 East 59th Street; Chicago, IL 60637; mrichman@midway.uchicago.edu; 773/702-7040;
773-702-6038 (fax).
Rotary International
Grad School in 2002? Rotary International needs an Administrative Assistant for 18 months, beginning immediately. Work in international Campaign headquarters for the United Nations Foundation and the Rotary Foundation joint campaign to raise $250 million to eradicate polio. 12 - 18 month contract. Access and PowerPoint skills needed.
Contact Elizabeth Versten 847/424-5368 or verstene@rotaryintl.org.
Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC Union Organizers and Union Organizer Interns; Chicago and other locations
Local 880, the largest homecare union in the Midwest, is rapidly expanding our organizing staff to build political power, attack union busting under public contracts, and move statewide and nationwide
legislative campaigns for a "living wage" and healthcare for homecare and home daycare workers.
Each position involves work as an organizer with low-wage workers organizing for decent wages and benefits, dignity, and respect. Local 880 members confront a broad range of economic and political
issues which affect their livesùbuilding power at the workplace and in the community to win better wages and benefits, organizing non-union companies, joining with low-wage workers statewide on legislative and other campaigns that build power for low and moderate income people.
The organizer works with Local 880 members in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of group strategies. Other responsibilities include research on local campaign issues, leadership development, participation in statewide campaigns, development of the financial self-sufficiency of Local 880 by coordinating the membership dues system, and other ongoing fundraising projects. The organizer must
attend staff meetings and training sessions.
First year salaries start from the high teens to low twenties, with increases based on experience, seniority, and performance. Hours vary depending on the needs of the project. Evening and weekend work will be required on a regular basis. The compensation has been computed to include all evening, weekend, and staff meeting work hours. Benefits include health insurance, seven paid holidays, one week paid vacation the first year (increasing with seniority), five paid sick days, transportation reimbursement, dental plan, and pension plan.
Applicants must demonstrate a concern for economic justice, dedication to social change, willingness to move according to the needs of the organization, and ability to work well with people of varied background. Public policy, volunteer coordination, field work, second languages, and fundraising experience all helpful.
For information contact Myra Glassman, Local 880 Field Director; 650 South Clark, 2nd Floor; Chicago, IL 60605; 312/939-7490; 312/939-8256 (fax); seiu880ch@acorn.org; www.SEIULocal880.org.
The Malawi Children's Village (supported by members of Friends of Malawi) provides health and food security outreach in a region of Malawi devastated by AIDS. Many girls there cannot attend school because they have no clothes. They receive donations of shorts and shirts, but due to cultural beliefs, only boys can wear these things.
CAPCA member Robyn Michaels is collecting dresses, 18 months to size 8, to send. Pencils are also needed.
Please contact Robyn at mzungu@megsinet.net or 773/973-3663.
ISID Meeting
The next meeting of the Illinois Society for International Development will be Tuesday, December 12, at 6 p.m. at the U.S. Export Assistance Center, 55 West Monroe, Ste. 2440 in Chicago. This month's meeting will focus on electing a new Board for the Illinois Chapter, and brainstorming ideas for future speakers.
Non-members are welcome to all meetings, but only members can vote. Annual membership dues are $20. ISID meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in varied locations. Join the listserv to find out about future meeting locations by sending a message to Elizabeth Versten at verstene@rotaryintl.org, ISID is a chapter of the Rome-based Society for International Development (www.sidint.org).
The CAPCA database is now up to date (thanks to Stephanie Arnold), enabling us to accurately track membership renewal dates. Please take the time to confirm that your membership is current, and if it
lapsed, to renew your membership today. Note that you will need to keep your CAPCA membership current in order to continue receiving this newsletter.
Your membership renewal date is printed to the upper right of your address on your newsletter's address label. If that date is missing, please let us know. For your convenience, there is a membership renewal
form on the back of this newsletter. You can register on line at www.capca.org/membershipform.htm.
CAPCA Board Meeting
In Memoriam
Frank was active in progressive politics in Chicago. He was a founding member of Independent voters of Illinois, Independent Precincts Organization (IVI/IPO), and Project LEAP (Legal Elections in All
Precincts), which trained election judges to spot vote fraud. He left his estate to VEZA, which still has its U.S. advisory board in Chicago.
January Dinner Meeting
U of C Alumni/RPCVs
Job Opportunities
Malawi Children's Village
Upcoming Events
Keep Current with CAPCA
CAPCA Board Meeting minutes
6:30 p.m.
Reza's Restaurant, 432 W. Ontario, Chicago
Frank Giarrizzo died in November after a yearlong battle with ALS (Lou GehrigÆs disease). He was 73. He seved as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Dowa district, Malawi, from 1989 to 1991. There he founded the Village Enterprise Zone Association with Trickle Up grants. These were small grants to small holder farmers for developing food security and their own revolving loan fund. The program faced many obstacles, including having no communications infrastructure (they established a radio system in the mid 1990Æs, but roads always remained non-existant in much of Dowa), drought, crop failure, spiraling inflation, and AIDS, but Frank was single-minded in having this project succeed and becomeself-sufficient (which it now is).