“We’re so grateful for your help in supporting those in need.” That’s the strong and reoccurring theme of the responses received to the Chicago Shares announcement of its 2016 grants.
Chicago Shares, a unique Chicago not-for-profit founded in 1993, provides meals to the hungry through a voucher program.  Each year a certain percentage of the vouchers purchased by generous people are never redeemed, thus providing a reserve of funds from which grants are made.
Recently, Chicago Shares announced that it is providing $15,000 in grants to 10 Chicago area not-for-profits that subscribe to a “help-the-needy” mission.
Grant recipients have underscored that these grants are particularly welcome now as other resources including state and local funding continue to dwindle.
Here are the 2016 grant recipients:
Lincoln Park Community Shelter
600 W. Fullerton Parkway
Chicago, IL  60614
http://www.lpcsonline.org/
Breakthrough
402 North Saint Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL  60624
http://www.breakthrough.org/
Care for Real
5339 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60640
http://careforreal.org/
Pacific Garden Mission
1458 S. Canal Street
Chicago, IL  60607
https://www.pgm.org/
Fourth Presbyterian Church
126 E. Chestnut
Chicago, IL  60611
http://fourthchurch.org/
Common Pantry
3744 N. Damen
Chicago, IL 60618
http://commonpantry.org/program/
Society of St. Vincent DePaul
10525 Delta Parkway
Schiller Park, 60176
http://commonpantry.org/program/
The Chicago Help Initiative
440 N Wells Street, Suite 44
Chicago, IL  60654
http://chicagohelpinitiative.org/
Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Chicago
721 N. LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL  60654
http://www.catholiccharities.net/
Franciscan Outreach
1645 W. LeMoyne
Chicago, IL 60622
https://www.franoutreach.org/


Chicago Shares vouchers (which cannot be used for alcohol or tobacco) are safe, convenient, and easy to use. They enable generous Chicagoans to help the needy person-to person in a dignified way.
Chicago Shares has always been a volunteer program, which means there are no paid staff.
For more information on where Chicago Shares are sold and where they can be redeemed (plus information on becoming a volunteer or a merchant), please email us at chicagoshares@gmail.com, or visit http://chicagoshares.com/

On May 26, Chicago Shares’ President Ron Polaniecki and Executive Director Julie Stagliano visited the Relevant Radio studios to discuss our program. You can listen to the interview here.
You can learn more about Relevant Radio here.

Comments from King Poor, a suburban resident who works downtown and is a Chicago Shares “frequent giver.”
“Chicago Shares offers an immediate way to give needy people a boost — people who may say to themselves, ‘Who cares about me?’ Beyond the importance of providing someone with a meal, giving Shares also means giving someone encouragement.”
And a story from the frontlines: “Three days before Christmas, I was giving Shares to someone who’d been a regular recipient over the past year. He thanked me and then said that he wanted to show me something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of the Shares that I’d given him. He said that he’d been saving them so he could buy something special for the holidays.
It was a reminder that we never know how small acts of encouragement may help lift someone up.”
Tell us – Why do you give Chicago Shares?
Send your thoughts to: Chicagoshares@gmail.com

On June 26, 2016, Holy Name Cathedral honored Monseignor Dan Mayall with a reception in the lovely Cathedral courtyard. Msgr Mayall, a faithful board member of Chicago Shares for 12 years, is being transferred to another parish in Wilmette.
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Executive director Julie Stagliano and past board chair Rich Kaczmarek were there to present a certificate of thanks on behalf of Chicago Shares.

Seeing needy people on the streets of Chicago is not unusual.  However, the DNAinfo Chicago, February 1, 2016, article headline about the needy was: The Most Lucrative Panhandling Spots Downtown, According to Panhandlers (emphasis added).
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(For the full article, click here)

The reporter’s fresh approach was used to provide a fair-minded, street level view of the challenges and personal histories of some needy Chicagoans (dubbed “panhandlers” for this article).
The article echoed what has become a mantra among observers of the urban landscape, namely, “People who are homeless have always been stigmatized, but some groups say it’s worse now than ever.”

Reader responses (for responses, click here) to this article expressed varied emotions from compassion to the needs of those on the street, to frustration with the lack of government action, to criticism of the needy for not doing a better job of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps — and an assortment of others.

Here’s one more view plus an action step.

Viewpoint:  While long-term solutions to homelessness and poverty is an imperative, we know that it’s critical to provide short-term help.  In other words, we want to help the needy meet today’s need for food and basic necessities.

Action step:  We suggest that those who want to provide immediate help to those they encounter on the street give them Chicago Shares vouchers instead of cash.

These vouchers (coupons) can be used for food and necessities – never for tobacco or alcohol – at Loop and near Loop establishments, including sandwich shops and grocery stories.

The program, which has been around since 1993, is simple and proven.

The $1 vouchers are sold at area places of worship and online.

Then generous Chicagoans can distribute them to needy people, who in turn can redeemed  these vouchers at such places, for example, as Max’s Take Out, 20 W. Adams, and the Jewel at 550 N. State Street.

The article revealed that while there are some locations that are better than others to ask passersby for change, there is no universal best location (perhaps akin to identifying the best place to get a flat tire).
What this means for those wanting to help the needy they may encounter:  It’d be wise to have a few Chicago Shares vouchers in your pocket or purse to hand out as the occasion might arise.