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St. Vincent DePaul Society received one of Chicago Shares' 2023 Grants. Below is the text from a letter that noted the impact the grant has made in their mission and support of migrant families. You may also view the original PDF here.
Dear Ron, On behalf of the St. Vincent DePaul Conference at St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish I would like to thank Chicago Shares for the extremely generous award of $3000 and for the Chicago Shares of $500 that we received in May 2023. I can assure you that we are putting these funds to work. During the month of May due to migrants arriving in Chicago and being temporarily housed in Chicago Police Stations we restarted our winter season program of feeding those awaiting shelter in the l6th District Police Station. From May 1 to current date, we have provided 804 meals at the cost of $2,670.35. During May and June, we also provided for local friends in need who needed temporary shelter, furniture, housing, and transportation costs. Without this Chicago Shares grant there is no way our parish conference could offer this much needed assistance in welcoming the stranger and feeding the hungry while we continue to support and sustain our current mission of assisting those in need in our neighborhood. Chicago Shares gave our SVDP conference the confidence to answer the call to a new and emerging need while continuing to support those in need in our neighborhood. May God continue to bless all who work and contribute to Chicago Shares. We are truly grateful. Dave McNaughton President, SVDP Conference St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish
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For the most recent grant cycle, Chicago Shares was able to support several organizations working to address food insecurity in Chicago with additional funding. The grant recipients are 1) Care for Real, (2) Young Men’s Educational Network, (3) Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, (4) St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish, (5) Pope Francis Center, and (6) Dion’s Dream. King Poor, Chairman, Chicago Shares Board of Directors, and Julie Stagliano, Executive Director, Chicago Shares, recently visited many of the grantees to present their checks. Young Men's Educational Network Kimberly George, Community Asset Manager at Young Men's Educational Network showed Julie Stagliano and Elizabeth Kohlbeck the vegetable gardens that were being planted at their facility. They serve young people in the North Lawndale neighborhood by setting up their Good Grills program in strategic areas, providing free food to the residents. They also serve 150 people experiencing homelessness for breakfast on Saturday mornings and collaborate with Stone Temple Church on Mondays for a meal program. Dion's Chicago Dream Dion Dawson is the founder of Dion’s Chicago Dream. Dion is working tirelessly to improve the efficiency of delivering food to people in need, expanding from his original “Love Fridge” idea. He now serves over 732 households, has a paid staff of 19 and is expanding to a Dream Vault program. Chicago Shares Board member Elizabeth Kohlbeck and Julie Stagliano recently presented a check to Dion. Accompanying them was Sofia Oliynyk, a Ukrainian journalist visiting Chicago on a U.S. Dept. of State Professional Fellows program. Pope Francis Center Pope Francis Center staff member Victoria Grandillo handing out Chicago Shares. St. Vincent DePaul Society Chicago Shares Secretary Ron Polaniecki (immediately to the left of the banner) makes a check presentation to St. Vincent DePaul Society President Dave McNaughton (immediately to the right of banner) as other Society volunteers look on. Care for Real King Poor, Chairman, Chicago Shares Board of Directors, and Julie Stagliano, Executive Director, Chicago Shares, present a grant award to Jen Kouba (center), Director of Development and Communications at Care for Real. Our Lady of the Angels The Mission of Our Lady of the Angels collaborates closely with The Chicago Food Depository to provide food access to over 500 families per week. The challenges have been great this year as migrants continue to arrive in Chicago. Julie Stagliano met recently with Sister Laura Toth and observed the work of many volunteers who ensured that each family in the line would receive what they needed.
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Founded in April 1993, Chicago Shares is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. At its annual meeting this past April, its board of directors was pleased to make grants to six Chicago non-profits that provide help to those who are experiencing homelessness or food insecurity.
To mark the 30th anniversary and to honor three decades of volunteer service to Chicago Shares by its president, Ron Polaniecki, the board named this year’s awards as the "Ron Polaniecki Chicago Shares 2023 Grant Award.” Those receiving the grants are (1) Care for Real, (2) Young Men’s Educational Network, (3) Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, (4) St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish, (5) Pope Francis Center, and (6) Dion’s Dream. At the same meeting, the board also elected King Poor as its new president. King is a longtime Chicago lawyer who retired as chair of the appellate practice group at the firm of Quarles & Brady LLP. Also, for many years, King has represented clients pro bono in their federal and state court appeals and continues that practice at Quarles & Brady. King succeeds Ron who has served as president since 2017. Ron will continue as board secretary. John Bradley will continue as treasurer. Julie Stagliano continues to serve as the volunteer executive director, a post she has held since 2000. Since its founding 30 years ago, Chicago Shares has distributed over 1 million vouchers in Chicago, and since 2021, in Evanston.
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We are excited to announce that Holy Name Cathedral is again selling Chicago Shares. They will be available on May 21, in the lobby after the 8:30am and 10:30am masses. A copy of the Holy Name Cathedral April 30 bulletin is below. 
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The newest Chicago Shares' ad is now on display in the October 31-November 6 issue of StreetWise. You can purchase a copy of the newspaper or visit it online here.  |
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