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Dear Volunteers,
Happy May! Thank you for working so hard to help feed our neighbors. Whether you're packing food, driving for home delivery, heavy lifting, working intake, personal shopping, or all of the above (we see you rockstars!) – thank you!
Enjoy the May bulletin full of updates, announcements, photos, a new merch drop, and a new shift opportunity!
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VOLUNTEER ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPDATES | | | |
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Extra, extra! Read all about it! We’re thrilled to share our bold new strategic plan to guide our work, growth and impact over the next five years.
Founded in 1970, Nourishing Hope — formerly known as Lakeview Pantry — has never been an organization to sit still.
We plan to serve 30% more households by the end of this five-year period, primarily through expanding partnerships with trusted organizations in communities across the city.
This strategic plan was created in partnership with staff, volunteers, board members and community partners. It was informed and inspired by the people we serve. This is our blueprint to meet the rising need across the city, a vision grounded in equity and collaboration.
Please give it a read and then jump in to help us make this plan a reality. With your support, we’ll continue to rise to the moment.
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MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH | |
May is Mental Health Awareness Month! 💚
At Nourishing Hope, we’re proud to offer free, trauma-informed mental health counseling for people in need. Food insecurity and mental illness are often linked. While food is often the most urgent need, mental health therapy can create lasting positive change in a person’s life.
In the past year, we’ve provided more than 3,000 mental health services for nearly 200 people in need.
We’re so grateful to our donors and partners to support this life-changing work. And we’re very proud of our amazing mental wellness team, who help people to break the cycle of generational trauma.
Have you met our incredible therapists? Check out the video below or or click here to see it on instagram.
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NEW SOUTH LOOP HOME DELIVERY DISTRIBUTION SHIFT | |
We are looking for volunteers interested in distributing groceries at a senior building in the South Loop every 4th Wednesday of each month from 2 to 4 p.m. This shift will require some heavy lifting and delivering door to door to our neighbors.
As this is a new shift, we could really use some help sharing the word. Please send this flyer to anyone you know may be interested, and sign up with a friend if you are able to come support. Thank you!
Carpool party! Due to parking limitations at the building, volunteers can choose to meet at HQ (1716 W. Hubbard) and ride to the distribution with Nourishing Hope staff.
Please reach out to Julia Mendoza at julia.mendoza@nourishinghopechi.org if you are interested.
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ONLINE MARKET HEAVY LIFTING | |
Skip the gym and help prepare for our Online Market distribution at the Hub on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.!
Some of the shift will involve working in the cooler/ freezer. Closed-toed shoes are required.
Volunteers are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing — something that can get a little messy.
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The Hub needs your help! Help us load and unload vans, build and wrap pallets, shelve boxes, move pallets around using pallet jacks, and otherwise help us keep the warehouse running. Most of the boxes are no more than 50 lbs.
Experience using a pallet jack is great but not required. Sturdy closed-toed shoes are required. Grab some comfortable clothing that you don't mind getting messy in, and come break a sweat!
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On a recent spring day at Nourishing Hope’s Sheridan Market, work permits were top of mind for many families receiving food.
For Lisbeth Camacho and her family, the arduous journey to the U.S. has already been worthwhile. The children have been flourishing in Chicago schools, she said. People have been mostly welcoming.
But they’re eager to receive work permits so they can work more and rely on food pantries less, she said.
“This program helps us a lot,” said Camacho, 52, of Sheridan Market. “This week, we didn’t have much work, so I didn’t have money for food. This helps a lot. And I love the way we’re treated here.”
Read more at the latest on our blog, Starting over in Chicago, migrant families hope for work permits
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May was a really fun month because we had various events! Among them, we had our all-staff meeting on May 7. Thank you for understanding that all our locations were closed on this day. Here is a picture illustrating what a great time we had! | |  |
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Just a couple of days later, on May 9, we had our End Hunger Social event! It was a very successful night as we met and exceeded our goal of $65,000 and raised $73,000.
We are immensely grateful for all of your generosity and support to end hunger in Chicago.
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LIMITED EDITION PRIDE SHIRTS AND HATS
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Available in early June we'll have new Nourishing Hope Pride shirts and hats!
Wondering how you can get your hands on one? Stay tuned! Our Pride merch page will go live next week.
Keep an eye on our social media for an announcement or click here if you would like to be notified by email!
Visibility is a powerful tool for showing up for the LGBTQ+ community. Show off your Pride, show your support for our LGBTQ+ neighbors and show off your commitment to Nourishing Hope!
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STAFF SPOTLIGHT — BETSY ROSS | | |
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Betsy Ross is a development associate for Nourishing Hope. She was raised in the suburbs, went to school in Colorado, studied and/or worked in Mexico, Spain, and Ecuador, and now lives in Andersonville with her family.
She taught elementary school before joining Nourishing Hope as a volunteer in 2021 and now works part-time on the development team, helping with all things donor related and more!
When she’s not working, she’s probably momming, cooking, reading, or practicing yoga.
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VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT — JIM AND GINNY G. | | |
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May’s volunteer spotlight is for Jim G. and Ginny G., a father/daughter team and longtime volunteers!
From Jim G.: Our time with Nourishing Hope began in 2015 when Ginny began volunteering at the pantry on Broadway. Strong beliefs in trying to eliminate food waste and food insecurity coupled with a sense of community and a nonprofit employer who encouraged volunteering created a solid opportunity match. She would tell me stories about something called gleaning….
A couple of years later, upon retirement, she invited me to join her for a shift at the pantry on Sheridan. I think that it was peach season and I learned a lot about gleaning that day. But I came back. We shared many more volunteer sessions and soon I became a regular. Times and situations change; it's now a treat when our
schedules align and we volunteer together.
The level of food insecurity in the community is astounding, and NH offers a wide
variety of volunteer opportunities that help fill the need. The scale of the operation
is incredible with a focus on getting food into the hands of those that need it.
Volunteer time and effort matters.
I always enjoy and look forward to my shifts. The staff is great, welcoming and
among the best that I’ve worked with. The pace is fast, the need is great, there is
always something that needs to be done. At the end of the day you can have a sense of accomplishment and community knowing that collectively you’ve made a
difference and helped address a need.
Thank you, Jim and Ginny, for all your support and dedication! We appreciate you so much!
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Shoutout to Dave S., Daniel L., Allison R., Chris M., Ryan A. (pictured) for taking double routes for Home Delivery North! | |
Shoutout to Ben M. for supporting us with Online Market volunteer on Saturday, April 18.
Shoutout to the Sheridan AM Crew (pictured) that came to volunteer on April 20!
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Shoutout to the entire Wednesday night crew! Gabby, Marty, Annie, Erin, Sarah, Kristina, Lee S, Lee W, Adam, Meta, Bri and Philip. They are an amazing group of humans and appreciate the work they put in coming in week to week. | Shoutout to Meta and Adam (pictured) for helping every Friday with Online Market distribution! They are a great team and work so in sync that even their outfits match not only once but twice! (Technically three times, did you spot them in the photo at the top of this bulletin?) | Shout out to Carol and Eleanor plus Justin, Ellie, Hanna, Joey and Elena who got deputized to enter the 29 new client registration forms at the end a long Saturday at Sheridan. Thanks to all of these amazing volunteers for sticking around to help with data entry. Great job everyone! | Shoutout to our first volunteers (pictured) to work the newest volunteer shift: Home Delivery South Loop! | | |
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Carlton A.
Carolyn A.
Kira B.
Luke B.
Kimberly B.
Brayden C.
Richard C.
Kevin C.
Alex D.
Molly d.
Neha D.
Ron D.
Rebecca E.
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Lauren E.
Adam F.
Brian F.
Jonathan G.
Timothy G.
Tia H.
Patricia H.
Michael K.
Amy K.
Samuel K.
Daniel L.
Dorian L.
Claire M.
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Desiree O.
Julie O.
Simon P.
Michael R.
Helen S.
Adrienne S.
Frances S.
Heather S.
Leticia V.
David W.
Cooper W.
Christie W.
Jeffrey Y.
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