Illinois Campus Compact 2011-2012 Issue #3, December 2011

NLU SERVICE GIVES HOPE FOR THE

HOLIDAYS

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National Louis University’s Center for Civic Engagement kicked off the holiday season by holding the school’s 1st Annual Fall Quarter Day of Service at the Cornerstone Community Outreach Center on Saturday December 3, 2011.

Over 50 volunteers showed to help out in various areas of the CCO, from preparing meals in the dining hall to organizing donations in the warehouse.

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This successful service project came about through the smooth partnership between the NLU Civic Engagement Center staff and Volunteer coordinator for Cornerstone Community Center, Lyda Jackson.

“Todays service was actually just a really pivotal event for us,” said Jackson.

The Cornerstone Community Outreach Center was founded in 1989 to raise the quality of life for low-income residents in the Uptown community and continues to support nearly 500 men and women

Issue #3, December 2011

Contents:

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ADLER VISTA GIVES GREAT ADVICE

ILCC 2011 PHOTO REVIEW!

MEETING OF THE MINDS AT ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY

DECEMBER VISTA SPOTLIGHT

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NLU DAY OF SERVICE

Main

Illinois Campus Compact 2011-2012 Issue#3, December 2011

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and continues to support nearly 500 men and women daily. Ongoing programs at the center include its clothing pantry, also known as the free store, a food bag program and a weekly dinner function providing meals for 150-200 low income families every Saturday.

ILCC VISTA Emma Adebayo along with NLU’s Center for Civic Engagement staff, wanted to act on the mission set forth by NLU’s tenets for its Civic Engagement Center and the AmeriCorps VISTA mission of combating poverty.

“It started as a toiletries drive, but we felt we could do more,” said Adebayo.

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And more they did. When asked about the volunteer performance for the day, Jackson commented, “By far the most monumental project was the transportation of the donations to the clothing pantry on the fifth floor of our warehouse with no elevator, it was excellent!”

With their 1st Annual Fall Quarter Day of Service a success, NLU definitely proves that a small service can yield huge results.

For more information on the Cornerstone Community Outreach Center, feel free to

NLU SERVICE DAY

On Wednesday December 7th, 2011 Ashley Brazil, ILCC VISTA at Adler Professional School of Psychology, warmly welcomed both college students and graduates to attend a free professional development seminar with the hopes of helping them finding gainful opportunities within the field of psychology.

Brazil said she felt it necessary to hold the event due to there being “no clear-cut career services program,” available to the students there. The nearly 2 hour workshop provided an in-depth analysis of the practices and procedures crucial to gaining positions within the psychological profession, particularly with an emphasis on community service practicums and externships.

ADLER VISTA HOLDS FREE PROFESSIONAL FORUM

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NLU volunteers dutifully shuttling donations up to the fifth floor

ILCC Vista Ashley Brazil addresses the audience

Volunteers hauling more donations into the fifth-floor warehouse

Illinois Campus Compact 2011-2012 Issue #3, December 2011

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ILCC EVENTS IN 2011

Illinois Campus Compact 2011-2012 Issue#3, December 2011

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NLU Service Day (Continued)

Resource Links for December

1) AmeriCorps Week is an opportunity for AmeriCorps members, alums, grantees, program partners and friends to demonstrate AmeriCorps' impact on critical issues, bring more Americans into service, and thank the community partners who make AmeriCorps possible. AmeriCorps week is set for March 10-18, 2012. http://www.americorps.gov/about/americorpsweek/index.asp

Have an interesting or insightful link to share? Send it to jhurley6@depaul.edu or camwoods007@gmail.com

visit their newly renovated website at ccolife.org or email CCO Volunteer Coordinator Lyda Jackson at lyda@ccolife.org to get involved.

You can also find more opportunities like the Fall Quarter Day of Service directly from NLU’s Center for Civic Engagement website at http://nlu.nl.edu/cec/ or find them on twitter, with the tag @NLUcec.

Part of the clothing store cleaned and organized by NLU volunteers

NLU Civic Engagement Center logo

2) Illinois College’s Sonya Project is an after-school program that provides support for elementary school students who need help with reading. Congratulations to our fellow ILCC VISTA Ruthi Brooks for getting some ink! http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/project-36964-reading-aims.html

3) As all of you know, Congress has been discussing legislation that includes spending cuts to the Corporation for National Community Service and the AmeriCorps program. Fortunately, the original bill that sought to reduce the majority of our funding did not pass, but service will continue to need support in the future. Please send an electronic letter asking your legislators to fund the National Corporation for Community Service. http://www.saveservice.org/

Illinois Campus Compact 2011-2012 Issue #3, December 2011

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VISTA HOSTS MEETING OF THE MINDS FOR SOCIAL JUSTTICE

On Tuesday, December 13th, ILCC VISTA Nikita Stange with the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation (MISJT) hosted the third part of their series on Youth, the Criminal Justice System and Disproportionality at Roosevelt University.

The series included several panel discussions to offer perspectives from youth, law enforcement, and legal representatives to help raise consciousness on how racial inequalities in our justice system funnel poor minority children into prison instead of productive adulthood.

According to MISJT, one of the major obstacles that youth face when dealing with the juvenile justice system is that they are not treated as juveniles. “The brain continues to develop until more people are 25- therefore the decisions that young people make are not those of adults. There is a growing understanding that children need to be dealt with as children, however there is still much work to be done in this area.”

Attendees had a chance to learn from groups of academics and community leaders who are working to identify alternatives to detention for youth. One panel member was Pamela Rodriguez, president of TASC, Inc. of Illinois, a nonprofit case management agency that identifies youth and adults in the justice system who would be better served in community based treatment rather than prison.

The panel also included Judge Colleen Sheehan, who co-founded the Chicago Healing Circle Project in an effort to decrease tension between youth and law-enforcement through opening conversation.

For the final piece in the series, MISJT will host an expungement workshop in the spring to help understand the lifelong impact of a criminal record on employment and house and other obstacles. According to Stange, it will focus on information about policy and current efforts in Illinois to seal and expunge criminal records. If you would like more information about the workshop or MISJT, feel free to contact Nikita Stange at nstange@roosevelt.edu.

Illinois Campus Compact 2011-2012 Issue#3, December 2011

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Brazil relied on both physical examples of fictional resumes while integrating multimedia as well to engage the students in attendance.

“It’s always best to see how it’s done,” said Brazil concerning her presentation methods. She believes that “just telling” how to do something is not sufficient, a sentiment that was surely appreciated by students in attendance.

Brazil plans to continue offering her expertise for as long she can. “The first clinical practicum is a rigorous experience, so I help them [students] do what they must to recruit and retain these sites.”

With her sense of commitment and continued application of her skills in the area of professional development in her field, there is no doubt that Brazil will help many more students find and keep clinical and community practicum opportunities within the field of psychology, a field that millions of Americans depend on every day for serious help.

Looking for help obtaining a psychology related position or have questions concerning the practice in general or the Adler school? Feel free to contact Ashley via her email: abrazil07@gmail.com.

ADLER PROFESSIONAL FORUM CONT…

Several students taking notes during the talk

One of many creatively designed spaces located within the Adler school

Illinois Campus Compact 2011-2012 Issue #3, December 2011

This edition’s VISTA Spotlight shines brightly on ILCC VISTA Nikita Stange!

Hats off to Nikita on not only holding a great event in December by partnering with Roosevelt University’s Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation, but also continuing to document her journey as an AmeriCorps VISTA online. If you haven’t seen her blog yet, check it out now at http://ru-vista.blogspot.com/

Keep up the great work Nikita!

DECEMBER VISTA SPOTLIGHT

Nikita Stange, 2011-2012 ILCC VISTA at Roosevelt University

55 E. Jackson Blvd 8th Floor Suite 800 Chicago, IL 60604