tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-116988292010-05-03T07:01:22.690-05:00This site monitors and compiles information about civic engagement activities in Illinois -- at the local level, among organizations and at colleges and universities. It is an outgrowth of the Illinois Civic Engagement Project at the University of Illinois at Springfield.Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1123680490090090722005-08-10T08:26:00.000-05:002005-08-10T08:28:10.096-05:00

From a United Way of Chicago press release:The United Way of Metropolitan Chicago announced this summer that $55.7 million of community investment funds for health and human service programs will be available beginning July 1st. This marks a 9% increase in community funding for the second year in a row.Due in part to the recent consolidation of 54 United Ways into one regional system, United Way

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com155tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1121774083994225232005-07-19T06:51:00.000-05:002005-07-19T06:54:44.006-05:00

If you want to see a list of organizations in the Chicago area, many of which are civically engaged, go to the Member and Partner Links of the Donors Forum of Chicago -- http://www.donorsforum.org/about/partnersac.html -- or try the Chicago Area Directory of Organizations -- http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/clubs/clubsa.html -- compiled by the Chicago Public Library.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1117970720890004842005-06-05T06:20:00.000-05:002005-06-05T06:28:16.796-05:00

First Lady Laura Bush traveled to Chicago and gave a thumbs up to a program called CeaseFire, which was started in 1995 and now has an outreach to 11 Chicago neighborhoods at high risk of being hit by gang violence. For more information, go to http://www.ceasefirechicago.org/. To read the Chicago Tribune's account of the First Lady's visit, go to http://www.edwoj.com/civic/FirstLady_Trib_060305.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1117970402312528762005-06-05T06:12:00.000-05:002005-06-05T06:20:02.316-05:00

The Chicago Tribune, in an editorial, cites the success of a federal-local initiative called Project Safe Neighborhoods for help in reducing the homicide rate in Chicago. For more information, go to www.psnchicago.org. To read the complete editorial in the Tribune, go to www.edwoj.com/civic/safe_05082005.mht .

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1117909383741693642005-06-04T13:20:00.000-05:002005-06-04T13:23:03.746-05:00

There is a lack of clarity in concepts and terms in the scholarship of civic engagement, Ed Wojcicki (2001) concludes. For a scholarly look at the history of the terms "social capital," "civic engagement" and "civil society," click on the link http://www.edwoj.com/Articles/thesis3.doc.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1117160713232292312005-05-26T21:22:00.000-05:002005-05-26T21:25:13.233-05:00

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

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1117160393769470052005-05-26T21:17:00.000-05:002005-05-26T21:19:53.773-05:00

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.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1116764824060640842005-05-22T07:25:00.000-05:002005-05-22T07:27:04.060-05:00

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

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1116764571749358942005-05-22T07:21:00.000-05:002005-05-22T07:22:51.753-05:00

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.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1115919311791532822005-05-12T12:33:00.000-05:002005-05-12T12:35:11.796-05:00

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.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1115734260365312232005-05-10T09:04:00.000-05:002005-05-10T09:11:00.373-05:00

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

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1115553393766803862005-05-08T06:53:00.000-05:002005-05-08T06:56:33.770-05:00

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

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1114946692927297232005-05-01T06:20:00.000-05:002005-05-01T06:24:52.926-05:00

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

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1114775445955066562005-04-29T06:43:00.000-05:002005-04-29T06:50:45.956-05:00

I know this is an Illinois-centric blog, but sometimes I come across a site I just have to share. It seems that Northern Kentucky University has come a long way in integrating civic engagement into its curriculum and its mission. Located in Highland Heights, KY, across the river and seven miles south of Cincinnati, the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement works with students, faculty and

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1114208661609306742005-04-22T17:16:00.000-05:002005-04-22T17:24:21.610-05:00

I was pleased to attend an awards breakfast this morning at Lincoln Land Community College, where more than a dozen community volunteers were recognized for providing great service. None of these people do their volunteering for the recognition, but it was nice nonetheless to see, collectively, how much energy volunteers bring to a community. The Community Volunteer Center, a joint center of

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1114095194321797022005-04-21T09:38:00.000-05:002005-04-22T17:25:57.453-05:00

Illinois has 14 official volunteer centers that compile information for volunteers and for organizations that need volunteers. This is a great partnership. The list of these 14 centers, along with other information about volunteer oppportunities in Illinois, are available at http://www.illinois.gov/volunteer/opportunities.cfm.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1114094081253178412005-04-21T09:31:00.000-05:002005-04-21T09:34:41.256-05:00

The state of Illinois helps keep track of resources for Illinois volunteer leaders. It has a web site that provides information on state, national, and international organizations committed to community services. Go to http://www.illinois.gov/volunteer/resources.cfm. The contact listings for the programs were prepared by the Metro Chicago Volunteer Coalition, in collaboration with the Illinois

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1114092333426868702005-04-21T09:01:00.000-05:002005-04-21T09:05:33.426-05:00

The Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, part of the Illinois Department of Human Services, strives to improve communities in Illinois by supporting and enhancing volunteerism and community service. The commission has created a Unified State Plan (USP) to guide its activities and program priorities . The goals of the USP are to make communities stronger through volunteer

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1113652017913986142005-04-16T06:38:00.000-05:002005-04-29T12:12:03.350-05:00

United Way of America has updated its Standards of Excellence and hopes that these standards help local United Ways serve their communities better and consider five areas of operation: community engagement and vision; impact strategies, resources and results; relationship building and brand management; organizational leadership and governance; and operations. See this PDF document.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1113651341519348932005-04-16T06:30:00.000-05:002005-04-16T06:35:41.520-05:00

Bethel New Life is a place-based (West Garfield Park), faith-based community development corporation. Since 1979, it have developed initiatives that deal with the causes of problems in ways that build on the strengths of the people and community. This approach is known as asset-based community development and runs counter to the more common "needs-based" model of community development. Bethel

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1113567472519863232005-04-15T07:13:00.000-05:002005-04-15T07:17:52.520-05:00

The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission has established a "Common Ground Project," a pioneering regional planning process that is bringing the six-county Chicago region together to create a shared vision for its common future. This is an unprecedented opportunity for the whole region to work together in full public view. More information and an invitation to join Common Ground are at http:/

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1113476485330420472005-04-14T05:58:00.000-05:002005-04-14T06:01:25.330-05:00

The University of Chicago has announced that Michael Dawson will return as a Professor in the Department of Political Science and the College this summer. He is one of the nation's leading experts on the racial divide in the United States and has been at Harvard since 2002. Between 2000 and 2004 Dawson and Lawrence Bobo conducted six public opinion studies on the racial divide in the United

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1113476093304436552005-04-14T05:48:00.000-05:002005-04-14T05:54:53.306-05:00

Two respected Chicago organizations that promote a regional approach to change, encourage communities to collaborate rather than dig in on local interests only, and that work actively to change public policy are the Metropolitan Planning Council (http://www.metroplanning.org/ and Chicago Metropolis 2020 (http://www.chicagometropolis2020.org/. Metropolis 2020 has come up with a slogan, "One region

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1113391901173433152005-04-13T06:24:00.000-05:002005-04-13T06:31:41.176-05:00

The Community Renewal Society has been around since 1882 as a faith-based social justice organization. It serves in many ways as a conscience for what's happening in Chicago, and it has two respected publications, the Chicago Reporter (http://www.chicagoreporter.com/) and the Chicago Catalyst (http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/); the latter deals with school reform. The society's web site is at

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11698829.post-1113222162343280862005-04-11T07:18:00.000-05:002005-04-11T07:22:42.343-05:00

I felt a lot of energy in the room yesterday when dozens of college students from throughout the state met for a lobbying and political action workshop sponsored by the Illinois College Compact and the University of Illinois at Springfield. Today these students will go to the State Capitol to lobby their various representatives. What a great thing -- to have college students talking about the

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com15