We are kicking the new year off with big ideas. Today, we meet with Northwestern's Campus Catalyst program to begin planning and brainstorming ways that they can work with us to create social change.
We also want to spread the word about two Evanston families in need. At this site you can contribute to and find out more about an Oakton (School) family who is facing homelessness. They have raised half of their goal. Please consider helping Paul and his family. Home4Paul1-1-15 from Laurel Watson on Vimeo. In addition to the expanding grocery programs at District 65 schools, we pitched in where Santa needed help this month. My favorite delivery was a Christmas tree, ornaments, a wreath and pretty gold candlesticks for a family of twelve. Thank you to the kind donor who preferred to remain anonymous. And Laura Jeffris, from Lincoln's COPE, sent me this wonderful message from a staff member at the school. I was able to witness a family receiving the gift and it is amazing what we take for granted is so essential to families in need. This was a great program and I hope we can continue this throughout the year because we know there is a need. Thank you to all for making this holiday a happy one for our recipients. Thank you *Any unused donation money from this campaign will be used for our regular monthly grocery programs.
Rina Campbell has been diligently working to follow up with our Buddy Bench schools! She has the full commitment from Tommy Sabin that he will do what he has to in order to get them in place. She hopes to work with Don Stevenson to do 2-3 bench installations each week before the weather turns.
Thus far, the only principal who contacted the district to schedule is Willard’s, so they will be our “test” bench. The main hang ups are 2 things: 1- Concern that the benches will be lifted and removed from the schools, and 2- That the thin wood benches will not last long with our harsh winters. The principal at Dawes has been pleased at how the kids pass our painted bench in the hall outside her office and talk about it. She wants to keep the bench inside as a symbol of our great school. We are also researching materials for signs to be posted behind existing benches on the playgrounds- something colorful with “Buddy Bench,” like on their website: http://buddybench.org). For the past four years, COPE has helped families struggling with illnesses, deaths and other temporary hardships. Last week, we said a heartbreaking goodbye to a friend and mother of four children (with students at Haven and Kingsley Schools), Robyn Randolph. Her family has allowed us to share her story with you in an ongoing effort to raise monies for the COPE illness fund. Robyn and the children had been staying with family in Gary, Indiana last week when she was walking to a local convenience store and was hit by a drunk driver. Robyn was a single mother. The children's grandmother, Lily, is in need of assistance for funeral costs and other financial support as she assumes the care of Robyn's four children. If you can help, please support our community-wide efforts to bring comfort and support to families like these by donating to the COPE Illness Fund. You can donate online or send a check to "Evanston COPE" c/o Juliet Bond 1711 Harrison St. Evanston. If you knew Robyn and would like information on her funeral arrangements, please feel free to contact us via the contact page at this website. The music that accompanies the below video is a recording of a solo that Robyn sung for our community COPE concert this June. It had been a lifelong dream of Robyn's to sing in front of an audience. As we drove her home afterwards, tears streaked her face as she cried, "I am so grateful. You have no idea how much that meant to me. I am so proud that I did that! Thank you." Robyn from juliet bond on Vimeo. For months COPE has been wading through the paperwork, consulting with a lawyer and meeting to put our heads together in order to obtain non-profit status. Last month, we got it! Thanks to the hard work of Rebecca Parmet, Latasha Triplett, Kim Stanton and Rachel Niemann, we now have our own EIN number and no longer need a sponsor to accept tax-free funding. This feels a bit like walking for the first time so with us luck!
A few months ago, Juliet applied for several grants and yesterday, we got a very exciting phone call from the Evanston Community Foundation. We are being awarded a very generous grant that we intend to use to expand our efforts to combat food insecurity in Evanston! Over the summer, we will start planning the allocation of a portion of the funds for each participating COPE school. Stay tuned! |
AuthorJuliet C. Bond, LCSW Archives
June 2016
Categories |