El Valor

El Valor, located in Chicago, has one of the most fantastic stories of organizing on behalf of people in need. El Valor's mission is to support and challenge urban families to achieve excellence and participate fully in community life. Its programs exist to enrich and empower people with disabilities, the disenfranchised and the underserved. It has a special interest in education and other assistance for Hispanics. Go to http://www.elvalor.org.

Small groups and Willow Creek

It is no secret that "small groups" are emerging in many communities as a way for people to connect. The Willow Creek Community Church, a megachurch in the Chicago suburbs, is among the many religious groups promoting small-group activity for its members. To see how this church does it, go to http://www.willowcreek.org/smallgroups.asp.

Corporations help boost Chicago jazz

The Boeing Company, Bank One, Kraft Foods and The Chicago Community Trust announced in April 2005 the formation of an informal partnership to broaden participation in Chicago’s jazz music scene and increase awareness of the accomplished musicians and exciting jazz venues in Chicago. In forming the collaboration, the members have agreed to coordinate their existing efforts for greater impact where possible, while partnering to create other opportunities for people to learn about and enjoy Chicago jazz.For more information, go to http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2005/q2/nr_050412a.html

List of Chicago community organizers

The Chicago Community Trust has compiled a list of organizations engaged in community organizing in the city. You can find it at http://www.newstips.org/commnews/chiorg2.html.

Mikva helps young people learn civics

The Mikva Challenge was founded in 1997 as a tribute to Abner and Zoe Mikva, who have fostered a dedication to community service in thousands of young people across the Chicago area. The essential philosophy of all Mikva Challenge programs is that the best way for young people to learn civics is to actively participate in the democratic process. Go to www.mikvachallenge.org for more information.

Obama writes chapter on community organizing (1990)

U.S. Senator Barack Obama burst onto the national scene in the summer of 2004 when he gave a stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston and then was elected in a landslide by Illinois voters in November 2004. Earlier in his career, he was deeply involved in community organizing in Chicago and wrote an article about those efforts for Illinois Issues magazine. Get this early insight into Obama's thinking by clinking on the link below. http://www.edwoj.com/Alinsky/AlinskyObamaChapter1990.htm

Chicago expert connects political, ethical convictions

Moral imperatives grounded in religion call us to come to know a good in common we cannot know alone, writes Jean Bethke Elshtain in the May 2005 edition of Illinois Issues, published by the University of Illinois at Springfield. Elshtain has written extensively on the connections between the nation's political and ethical convictions. She is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago and the co-chair of the national Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Read her complete essay at http://illinoisissues.uis.edu/features/2005may/civic.html.

Groups advocate campaign reform

A coalition of many grassroots organizations has announced its own recommendations for reforming Illinois' system of the way Illinois campaigns are financed. Getting Illinois to change its system has been an uphill battle, but these groups persevere. See http://www.ilcampaign.org/press/releases/2005/2005-3-23.html for the announcement of the nine recommendations from the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, which has broader information of Illinois issues at www.ilcampaign.org.