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Children and Youth 2

Neighborhood News 3

Resident Programming 4

In the Community 5

Community Calendar 6

Reminders• For information about this newsletter contact

Cristina Gomez at cgomez@tcbinc.org or 773-967-9211

• For work orders call: 773-967-9207

• For emergency maintenance after hours call: 708-237-6153

• Parking permits are required to park in building parking lots. Unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense.

• Cable or phone installation service is done between 9am and 4pm, Monday through Friday

• Maintenance hours are Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

• If your kids need something to do during after school time, contact Rachel Faulkner at 773-967-9201 at our Community Center for ideas and referrals. ph

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Splash!COMMUNITY NEWS | OCTOBER 2010

Digital Connectors Go Behind the Scenes at NBC 5Members of the after school program, Digital Connectors, visited NBC 5 Studios this August for an in-depth look at how the news is made. Traveling together from Oakwood Shores Community Center, the teens arrived in downtown Chicago eager to meet newscasters and get behind the camera themselves. At NBC 5 Studios, the Digital Connectors received tours of the entire studio, met extensively with the Brant Miller of the weather team, and even visited the studio set for Judge Mathis. After the general tour, the teens got to sit behind the news desk in Studio 5 and test their skills with equipment and sets. Many of the Digital Connectors have an interest in jobs in media and entertainment so the tour helped introduce them to unknown aspects of the profession. After a question and answer session with NBC 5 college interns, the students shopped in the gift shop, and took pictures to commemorate their experience. For more photos of the Digital Connectors at NBC 5 Studios, please turn to page two. Oakwood Shores is grateful to Deborah O. Brown, NBC 5 Director of Station Relations, and the entire NBC staff for allowing the Digital Connectors this special opportunity. Digital Connectors is an after school program organized in partnership with One Economy. Program participants learn about internet safety, writing, blog creation, web design, and financial literacy. Digital Connectors II will launch this fall and will be a stipend-based program for teens particularly interested in digital literacy and advertising. For more information contact Rachel Faulkner at 773-967-9201 or rfaulkner@tcbinc.org.

Diamond Cumbo is a natural behind the camera.

2 The Oakwood Shores Newsletter

Children and Youth

Curnisha Kelly is an example citizen and student to the Oakwood Shores community. A Girl Scout for more than a year now, she has earned many patches and points for her respectful, responsible, and friendly nature.

Last year, Curnisha unleashed her great leadership and creativity skills when she helped choreograph a dance routine for the Girl Scout troop’s first Fashion Show Fundraiser. As Curnisha graduates to become a Senior Girl Scout she will work to address community issues. Curnisha is also an ace student. She has received numerous awards for her academic prowess such as the Principal Scholar award, ‘A’ Honor Roll, and the High Achievement distinction in Science and History. Her strong academic record has even been recognized by State Representative Jacqueline Y. Collins. At the age of 14, Curnisha has already planned her future. She wants to own her own business, a full service beauty salon and spa.

Curnisha Kelly, 14 years old

Scout’s HonorSpotlight on Girl Scout Curnisha Kelly

Since Oakwood Shores started the Girl Scout troop a year ago, Curnisha and her fellow scouts have not stopped. They have learned important life skills like how to open a bank account and buy healthy food. They have attended an overnight camping trip, participated in a Micro Society field trip, marched in the July 4th Parade, plunged into the city on an Urban Adventure field trip, and made Girl Scout Build-a-Bears. Leading the Girl Scouts is Oakwood Shores resident Sonia Gallaspy. Oakwood Shores would like to sincerely thank Sonia for all her hard work and congratulate her on the success of the Oakwood Shores Girl Scout troop. The troop is looking forward to another successful year under Sonia’s leadership and is always looking for new members. If your child is between the ages of five and 18 and is interested in becoming a Girl Scout or Boy Scout please contact Rachel Faulkner at 773-967-9201 or rfaulkner@tcbinc.org.

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Abrille Dodd, Whitney Cumbo, and Diamond Cumbo get comfortable behind the newsdesk.

2010 Girl Scout Dates to Note• October 2 - Fall Product Sale Begins

• October 16 - Investiture Ceremony

• October 30 - Orange Party

• November 11 - Talent Show Fundraiser

• December 4 - Troop Dues Payment

• December 18 - Parent Cookie Meeting, 4:30 pm, Holiday Party

• January 8 - Troop Dues Payment, Urban Adventure Field Trip

• March 5 - Troop Dues Payment

• March 19 - Fashion Show Fundraiser

• April 9 & 10 - Troop Overnight Camping Trip

• May 7 - Mother and Daughter Tea

• June 4 - Bridge Ceremony

• June 17 - Father and Daughter Dance

• June 18 - Year End Celebration and Award Ceremony

All events are held at the Oakwood Shores Community Center at 3711 S. Vincennes Avenue on the second floor, unless otherwise notified. Events begin at 2:30pm unless otherwise noted.

Oakwood Shores Teens Tour NBC 5 Studios

Troy Stewart and John Wallace pose for their close-ups.

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Splash! 3

SeniorFest 2010by Aaron Beswick

On August 18, McCormick Place became the largest senior center in the city. Sponsored by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, Mayor Daley’s Senior Fest 2010 hosted an estimated 8,000 of Chicago’s elder residents for a morning of excitement and activity. Anticipating the fun and free prizes, Oakwood Shores senior residents joined the celebration. Every year, Senior Fest offers Chicago residents aged 60 and better a variety of social activities and access to information and resources. The Healthy Aging Pavilion and city service fair catered to those eager to learn, while an entire floor of interactive programs entertained the masses. During the festivities, Mayor Daley himself stopped by to share a few words with Chicago’s most experienced residents. In his absence, live musicians enlivened the crowd, providing an animated soundtrack for the game area, arts activities, and dance pavilion. After working up an appetite, seniors were treated to a picnic lunch, compliments of the Mayor. Jacqueline Thompson, attending her first Senior Fest this year, was impressed by the City’s effort. “They really successfully planned a well-rounded day. They had every avenue of interest that one would want.” An avid and talented artist herself, Ms. Thompson enjoyed the arts pavilion where she added a personal poem to a tree crafted from the poems of attending elders. For Ms. Thompson, Senior Fest proved itself “supremely prepared to entertain and satisfy the seniors.” First-time guest Naomi Sharif appreciated the warm and friendly atmosphere of the Fest. “The people were very hospitable. Anything they thought you might need or might want to go, they steered you in the right direction.” In addition to the mood of the event, the unexpected and spectacular caliber of prizes thrilled residents. Playing bingo in the game area, seniors competed for CD players, boom boxes, and 15-inch flat screen televisions. Though they left empty-handed, the chance to win was enough to satisfy. As a veteran guest of the Senior Fest, June Smith is well-accustomed to the prizes and ambiance of the event. When looking forward to the event every year, however, Ms. Smith most anticipates meeting new friends and catching up with those of old. “You see old people your age that you haven’t seen in a long time, people from all over the city.” For all its fun and activities, Senior Fest most offers elder Chicagoans the chance to meet one another and form friendships. As Ms. Sharif said, “I enjoyed seeing so many seniors in a setting where they were having fun. I would go again.”

Neighborhood News

FREE FOR RESIDENTS!Stop by the Community Center on the second floor at 3711 South Vincennes to get your free reusable bag. Supplies are limited. Limit three per household.

Staff SpotlightsSpecial Thanks Go to Oakwood Shores Facilities Management and Maintence Staff

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From left to right: Manny Amaro (Director of Facilities), Edgar Matute (Facilities Services Manager), Michael Day (Groundskeeper), Charles Murry (Maintenance Technician), Roberto Sevilla (Maintenance Technician), Johnny Bunch (Maintenance Technician), Theotis Coker (Maintenance Technician), Not Pictured: Velma Parker (Administrative Assistant)

4 The Oakwood Shores Newsletter

Resident Programming

Success never tasted so sweet. Or Delicious! The Oakwood Shores Sophisticated Seniors hosted their second Cooking Class last month and not only did they come away with a full stomach, but they also left with new recipes and new techniques for cooking on a budget. In fact the day’s dessert, called Dump Cake, only costs $3.50 to make and serves eight people.

Oakwood Shores Facilities Manager, Manny Amaro, led the class through a cooking demonstration of Breaded Italian Style Chicken Thighs, Summer Salad with Strawberries, Feta Cheese and Pecans, and a dessert called Dump Cake, for which the recipe can be found on page five of this newsletter.

Manny taught to the Sophisticated Seniors what ingredients they would need and where they could buy them – cheap. After a review of

Sophisticated Seniors Get Cooking

the ingredients, Manny prepared the cake, then the chicken, and finally the salad.

When the meal was complete the entire Community Center smelled delicious. The Oakwood Shores Sophisticated Seniors and Oakwood Shores staff enjoyed the meal Manny prepared so much that they came back for seconds and thirds. In the first cooking demonstration class, Manny even received a marriage proposal!

Ms. Peebles, long time resident of Oakwood Shores, leads the Sophisticated Seniors in a monthly check-in and special events like the demonstration cooking class.

If you are interested in starting your own group or having resident events like the Cooking Class contact Emily Vaughan at 773-967-9210 or evaughan@tcbinc.org.

Members of the Sophisticated Seniors take notes during the cooking presentation.

Bulletin• Have some time to volunteer?

Contact Aaron Beswick at 773-967-9213 or abeswick@tcbinc.org to setup your assignment.

• Want to form your own group? Contact Emily Vaughan at 773-967-9210 or evaughan@tcbinc.org to start planning.

• File for Life: In Case of Emergency Contact Aaron Beswick at 773-967-9213 or abeswick@tcbinc.org to get your FREE File for Life. The File for Life keeps all your medical information in one spot.

• Need Help Filing for Social Security? If you are aged 65 or older, blind, or disabled contact Aaron Beswick at 773-967-9213 or abeswick@tcbinc.org for help filing for Social Security.

• Seniors, How Are You Doing? Seniors should expect a call from Aaron Beswick to complete their Senior Assessment.

Oakwood Shores staff member, Aaron Beswick enjoys his second serving of Dump Cake.

Ms. Peebles adds a new recipe to her repertoire.

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Parents Group: Babies and Toddlers Session

Join staff from Erikson Institute on November 10 for a parent-baby group at Oakwood Shores. Parents with children up to 18 months old are invited to join for an opportunity to talk with specialists in child development about how their baby is learning and growing.

The new initiative, called Fussy Baby, will meet every second Wednesday of the month from 10-11:30am and provide parents an

opportunity to share parenting techniques and consult with specialists while their children play with other babies and toddlers. Snacks for both parents and babies will be provided.

For more information or to sign up, interested parents should contact Rachel Faulkner at rfaulkner@tcbinc.org or call 773-967-9201.

Splash! 5

In the Community

Oakwood Shores RecyclesResidents can help to green Oakwood Shores and reduce their carbon footprint by taking part in the Oakwood Shores recycling program.

Similar to the City’s Blue Cart program, Oakwood Shores has contracted a waste hauler to provide recycling hauling services for all residents. The contracted hauling service picks up recycling every Wednesday and takes it to recycling sites.

The recycling recepticles, called Blue Carts, are located throughout the property next to the dumpsters. Please bring your recyclables to any of the locations listed.

Residents do not need to seperate their recycling into seperate bins as Oakwood Shores is practicing single stream recycling. Single stream recycling allows newspapers, junk mail, plastic bags and paper bags, and magazines and catalogs to be mixed together.

You can help by:1. Taking another look at your trash – if

you have newspapers, junk mail, plastic and paper bags, and magazines and catalogs put it in a plastic or paper bag and bring it to the closest Blue Cart.

2. Educating your neighbors - talk to them about the Oakwood Shores recycling program when you see them, especially when they are taking out the trash.

3. Being a smart shopper - look for products with recyclable packaging or the least amount of packaging.Please start collecting your recyclables and

placing them in one of the blue carts located across Oakwood Shores. Working together, our community can increase our recycling rate and help protect our planet.

Recycling Blue Carts Near You• S.Ellis

3804, 3822, 3845, 3848, 3852

• S. Cottage Grove 3816, 3825, 3851, 3867

• S. Langley 3751, 3755

• S.Vincennes 3711, 3737, 3741, 3754, 3758, 3838, 3842, 3846

• E.Pershing 638, 860

• E.37thStreet 649, 653, 657, 661

• E.38thPlace 633, 707

• E. 38th Street 529, 533, 835

• E.39thStreet 554, 558

Make Your Own Dump Cake

About Oakwood Shores Yoga Instructor: Shalise NicolsOakwood Shores is excited to offer a free yoga class every Monday from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Taught by instructor Shalise Nichols, this yoga class is meant to encourage adults of all ages and abilities to become more actively engaged in their health and wellness.

Shalise began yoga with the quest to find an exercise that she could grow old with. This marked the beginning of her journey on a healthy and full life through yoga.

With seven years of yoga experience, Shalise began training through Global Family Yoga in August 2008 and attained the 200 hour

certification from Hatha Yoga Children and Family in May 2009.

She created her studio blissfolds to empower and strengthen family and community through the practice of yoga.

Shalise vows to leave the planet in better shape than she found it and encourages all yoga participants to join her in this endeavor.

For more information on Shalise Nichols and blissfolds please visit http://blissfolds.com.

To sign-up for Shalise’s class at Oakwood Shores please call Emily Vaughan at (773) 967-9210.

Shalise teaches yoga to all ages at her studio. At Oakwood Shores she teaches an adult class on Monday nights at 3711 S. Vincennes in the Community Center.

Ingredients: 1 box of yellow cake mix, 1 can of pie filling, 1 can of crushed pineapple, 1 stick of butter

Supplies: baking pan, cooking spray, butter knife, fork, can opener

Steps: Prepare your baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Dump the yellow cake mix, pie filling, and pineapple in the baking pan and mix with fork. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices on top of the cake mix. Bake in oven for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

6 The Oakwood Shores Newsletter

October 2010

For information about this newsletter or to add events to the calendar e-mail Cristina Gomez at cgomez@tcbinc.org or call 773-967-9211. All events are free. FD= Free Day BCM = Bronzeville Community Market, 4400 Cottage Grove Avenue

Oakwood Shores 3711 S. Vincennes Avenue Chicago, IL 60653

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday1American Diabetes Association - Walk to Fight Diabetes

2BCM 8am-1pm

3 Cinema Minima: Logan Square

4Yoga 6pm

5 FD at Shedd Aquarium

6 7 8 9BCM 8am-1pm Girl Scouts

10 11Columbus Day Yoga 6pm

12 FD at Museum of Contemporary Art

13 FD at Field Museum

14 Book Club 6pm

15 16BCM 8am-1pm

17 18 Yoga 6pm

19 FD at Int’l Museum of Surgical Science

20 FD at Field Museum

21 Sophisticated Seniors 12pm

22 23BCM 8am-1pm Girl Scouts

24 25 Yoga 6pm

26 FD at Loyola Univ. Museum of Art

27 28 Hyde Park Farmer’s Market

29 30BCM 8am-1pm

31 Halloween