Community networking newsCommunity and EConomiC dEvElopmEnt assoCiation of Cook County, inC.

fall 2009www.CEdaorg.nEt

in this issue

our mission is to work in partnErship with CommunitiEs to EmpowEr familiEs and individuals to aChiEvE sElf-suffiCiEnCy and improvE thEir quality of lifE.

CEDA Weatherization Day Press Conference

(left to right) Larry Dawson, Managing Director, Office of Energy Assistance, IL DCEO; Patri-cia Doherty-Wildner, Executive Vice-President, CEDA; Hon. Seth D. McCormick, Jr., Chairman, CEDA Board of Directors; Gil Sperling, Senior Advisor for Policy and Programs, US Department of Energy;Robert L. Wharton, President/CEO, CEDA; and Robin Roy, Vice President Projects and Policy, Serious Materials at the CEDA Weatherization Day press conference.

See WEATHER page 7

As a part of Energy Awareness Month, CEDA celebrated National Weatherization Day as an opportunity to not only highlight the benefits and importance of home weatherization, but to also showcase the impact of the work that CEDA does in communities throughout Cook county.

CEDA partners with local legislators to host Energy Fairs for winter seasonIn efforts to further prepare com-

munities for cold temperatures, CEDA partnered with local utility companies to hold a series of energy fairs this sea-son.

Held throughout the city and sub-urban Cook county, these energy fairs brought CEDA home energy and ener-gy efficiency programs directly to resi-dents presenting them the opportunity to receive hands on attention outside of

standard CEDA offices.Through partnerships with local

legislators CEDA was able to draw in hundreds of applicants and commu-nity members interested in reducing or receiving assistance with home energy bills.

“These community energy fairs presented a wonderful opportunity where residents can go to get personal See ENERGY page 8

CeDA southwest retirees.................................p.2 CDFi BoArD memBers............p.2hispAniC heritAge month...p.3CintAs BeAutiFiCAtion projeCt..................................p.3men’s wArehouse suit Drive.....................................p.4Berwyn Business FAir...........p.4southlAnD summit...............p.4eAn network.....................p.5ohs heAD stArt visit..........p.6CeDA suCCess story...........p.6Census 2010..........................p.7workForCe AnD Development........................p.9southwest legislAtive BreAkFAst..............................p.9 holiDAy giving 2009........................................p.10-11

Tamelya Lett, CEDA Energy Services, ex-plains LIHEAP application process to Thornton Township Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli.

helping people. ChAnging lives.

2CEDA Programs

Child & Family DevelopmentActive Fathers/ Male Involvement

Early Head Start/ Head StartFamily Case Management

Parenting Skills DevelopmentTeen Parent Services

Economic DevelopmentEntrepreneurship Training

Individual Development AccountsSmall Business Loan Program

Workforce Investment ActEducation

Adult LiteracyComputer TrainingFinancial Literacy

GED TrainingReading is Fundamental

ScholarshipsTalent Search

Emergency ServicesCrisis Intervention for Seniors

Food and Shelter for the HomelessEmployment and Training

Adult Job Readiness/Word ProcessingCareer Center

Summer Youth EmploymentYouth Basic Skills and Workforce

Preparation and placementEnergy Conservation

Home RepairHome Weatherization

Lead AbatementHealth and Nutrition

Food ConnectionLead ScreeningWIC Program

Breast Feeding Promotion/ SupportSummer Feeding Program

Housing ServicesAffordable Housing Project

Comprehensive Housing CounselingHome Maintenance SeminarsRental & Mortgage Assistance

Senior ServicesHealth PromotionDisease PromotionSenior Mobilization

Senior StabilizerUtility Assistance

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAPShare the Warmth

ComEd Residential Hardship

Feature Photo

CDFI Welcomes New Board Members

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CEDA Southwest Retirement Ceremony

(Left to right) Retiree Charlene Hawthorne, CEDA Center for Community Action (CCA); Patricia Doherty-Wildner, Executive Vice President, CEDA; Retiree Claudia Riley, CEDA CCA; Doris Robinson, CDA Director, CEDA Southwest Development Association; Retiree Ruby Jones, CEDA CCA; Margaret Saunders, WIC/FCM Director, CEDA; Sarah Sullivan, WIC/ FCM Coordina-tor, CEDA; Michelle Ward, WIC Field Coordinator, CEDA; and Carolyn Taylor, CDA Director, CEDA CCA at the retirement ceremony at the CEDA Center for Community Action. Each retiree was awarded a plaque as a token of gratitude for their combined 107 years of service. Local board recognition was held in October for Hawthorne who retired after 35 years of service. On December 29, local board recognition was held to honor Riley for 30 years of service and Jones for 42 years of service.

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As a partner of CEDA’s Workforce and Development program, CINTAS volunteered time and service to help beautify the CEDA Southwest CDA in Summit on September 23, 2009.

The CINTAS Leadership team and local volunteers were welcomed by Village of Summit Trustees and CEDA President/CEO Robert L. Wharton at 12:30p.m.

CINTAS led the beautification project at CEDA Southwest with staff and volunteers who applied new paint and landscaping to the building’s inte-rior and exterior infrastructures.

This team-building community event was a continuum of the part-nership developed by CINTAS and CEDA’s Workforce and Economic Development (WED) program, to en-hance job training and workforce pre-paredness opportunities for youth and adults.

In the past CEDA has worked

closely with CINTAS and in 2009, CIN-TAS gave a generous donation of more than 10,000 pieces of interview cloth-ing for low-income job seekers on their roads to self-sufficiency.

At the 2009 CEDA Awards Lun-cheon, CINTAS received the Presi-dent’s Circle Award for Economic De-velopment.

This award is for those companies in the private sector who have made

major contributions to job creation in low-income communities.

CINTAS Corporation provides highly specialized services to busi-nesses of all types throughout North America.

CINTAS operates more than 390 facilities in the U.S. and Canada, in-cluding four manufacturing plants and eight distribution centers that employ more than 30,000 people.

CINTAS leads beautification effort at CEDA Southwest CDA

Volunteers outside of the CEDA Southwest Development agency after completing a beautification project in partnership with CINTAS.

CEDA celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, CEDA kicked off several activi-ties beginning September 15.

To start the celebration, Board of Directors members Craig Chico and Rep. Lisa Hernandez called for fellow Hispanic Cook county residents to honor their local heroes by submitting a 30 second video to the CEDA blog.

Video submissions were accepted

from children and adults and heroes could be anyone who touched the life of the individuals, through work in the community or personal achievement.

CEDA also extended the celebra-tion to staff and clients through a Pi-nata giveaway at the central office and satellite and all CEDA WIC sites.

To raise awareness among the CEDA Board of Directors, a Mexican-style lunch was served at the Septem-ber board meeting in addition to a fun piñata activity.

Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15 to commemorate the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Mexico also declared its indepen-dence on September 16 and Chile on September 18.

The month-long observance ends October 15.

WIC Pinata winner during Hispanic Heritage Month. Zeke Montes, Teleguia Publishing, was nomi-

nated by his daughter Cristina as her His-panic Hero on the CEDA blog. Video submis-sions were accepted from adults and children throughout the month. Heroes could be anyone who touched the life of the individuals, through work in the community or personal achieve-ment.

CEDA Southwest Development Association receives fresh paint and new landscaping in team building event

helping people. ChAnging lives.

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Comcast SportsNet joined other professional men who donated busi-ness suits and other professional attire to CEDA’s Workforce and Economic Development program.

The donations will provide at-risk men the clothing needed to ensure a polished appearance when seeking re-entry into the workforce.

“As we continually make it a point to service our community, we are very proud to make our donation to CEDA and the ‘National Suit Drive’ to help those individuals entering and re-en-tering the work force,” said James J. Corno, President of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. “We wish these men much success in their pursuit of a positive professional work experience.”

During the month of September, CEDA along with more than 200 oth-er nonprofit organizations across the country partnered with Men’s Wear-house, the nation’s leading retailer of men’s tailored clothing, to help em-power unemployed men by provid-ing the necessary work attire that will build their self-esteem and help make a lasting impression during job inter-views.

“We are extremely thankful for the generous support that the people at Comcast SportsNet have offered,” CEDA President/CEO Robert L. Whar-ton. “Their community service helps to increase awareness about the impor-tance clothing has on clients’ success as they work to overcome barriers to gainful employment.”

Men’s Warehouse National Suit Drive concludes with generous clothing contribution from cable network

2010 Benefit GalaSaturday, May 8, 2010

Save the DateSaturday, May 8, 2010

Navy Pier Grand Ballroom 600 East Grand Ave Chicago, IL

CEDA Berwyn partners with local legislators to host first Business Resource Fair

CEDA Berwyn, in partnership with State Representative Lisa Hernan-dez and Berwyn Mayor Robert Lovero, held its first Business Resource Fair on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 8:00 a.m. at Seneca Restaurant 6544 W. Cer-mak Rd. in Berwyn, IL.

Fifty-five (55) business owners and Alderpersons Michele Skryd and Nona Chapman attended.

Speakers included, Dario Solano, Berwyn Main Street; Gerardo Zavala, Berwyn Development Corporation; Fa-biola Amezcua, ComEd; Harris Bank, Business Banking; Paul Christman, CEDA Small Business Loan Program; Jonathan Bruce, CEDA Weatherization; Christian Rivera-Perez, CEDA Work-

force; and Fred AuWerter, of Focus Partners.

“What a success!! It was very in-formative and I liked the fact that there were speakers from all of the commu-nity,” said Gerardo Zavala, Business Outreach Coordinator, Berwyn Devel-opment Corporation.

Later in the month, the United States Secret Service’s Chicago branch Counterfeit Squad came to Berwyn to speak to their small businesses on how to detect counterfeit currency and guard against forgery loss. This meet-ing was organized by CEDA Berwyn and was held November 30, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. in the Berwyn Police Depart-ment in the Community Room.

CEDA and United Way hold Human Services Summit

CEDA and South-Southwest Sub-urban United Way co-hosted the first annual Southland Human Services Summit Thursday, December 3 at Oak Forest Hospital.

The summit brought fifty non-profit social service providers and business leaders together to discuss issues that are dramatically affecting the health and human services sector and provided the opportunity to cre-

ate positive solutions in response to the current funding crisis.

The breakout sessions allowed multi-service agencies, youth service organizations, housing agencies, men-tal health and disabilities organizations and health care providers to meet as part of a large network to discuss po-tential strategies to alleviate cash flow issues for each service area.

“As we head into the next state budget cycle, it is important that non-profits have the information and re-sources available to make thoughtful decisions to sustain services and staff,” said Jack Kaplan, Director, Public Poli-cy and Advocacy, United Way.

The Honorable M. Maggie Crotty, Senator, 19th District, State of Illinois was the keynote speaker. Senator Crot-ty remains active in the south suburban community by volunteering for many not-for-profit organizations and serv-ing on their boards.

Participants are greeted at the registration table as they arrive at the Southland Human Services Summit.

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5City of Chicago forms Energy Action Network as part of Climate Action Plan

On November 2, 2009 Mayor Rich-ard M. Daley announced that the City of Chicago will contribute up to $1 million to help create a new “Energy Action Network” pilot program to expand winter heating assistance ser-vices in neighborhoods and encourage residents and businesses to save mon-ey through energy efficiency.

“More than ever, Chicago’s work-ing and low income families need our support. Now, as winter’s cold weath-er approaches, I’m increasingly con-cerned that many families may not be able to pay their winter heating bills and that the number of families who cannot pay them this year may be high-er than ever,” Daley said in a news con-ference held at the Chinese-American Service League, 2141 S. Tan Ct., one of the new network sites.

For many years the City and CEDA have worked together with the federal and state governments and many part-ners from the private and not-for-profit sectors to provide support for those who need help paying their heating bills.

In the 2010 City budget, Daley has recommended that $750,000 from the Parking Meter Human Infrastructure Fund be used to increase funding for the “Share the Warmth” program the City operates with Peoples Energy to help families pay their heating bills.

“No one wants any family, child, or senior to be left in the cold,” the Mayor said.

The new initiative is called the En-ergy Action Network and in addition to CEDA, the City is partnering with the Field Museum, the Illinois Depart-ment of Commerce and Economic Op-portunity, the Northern Illinois Energy Project, ComEd and Peoples Gas.

According to Mayor Daley, the idea for the network came out of the City’s Climate Action Plan as part of an overall goal of reducing energy con-sumption.

The Network consists of 21 al-ready-existing locations around the City that are able to expand the sup-port they provide to residents thanks to the contributions of partners.

At these locations, residents will be able to apply for a range of services provided by the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the Share the Warmth Program and ComEd’s Residential Special Hardship Fund, in addition to the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program.

The first group of Energy Action Network locations includes religious institutions, housing organizations and other community-based organizations with experience working in and serv-ing their community.

Sites were selected using a compet-itive grant application process.

( left) Mayor Richard M. Daley addresses the audience of the first Energy Action Network (EAN) press conference on November 2, 2009. The Mayor formed the EAN to help support the goals of the City’s Climate Action Plan to reduce energy consumption. The Network will consists of 21 existing locations around Chicago that are able to expand the support they provide to residents thanks to the contributions of partners like CEDA, the Field Museum, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Northern Illinois Energy Project, ComEd and Peoples Gas.(above) Bernie Wong, President, Chinese American Service League (CASL); Patricia Doherty-Wildner, Executive Vice-President, CEDA; Ben Lau, Housing Coordinator, CASL; Jennifer Schmidt, Fuel Funds Coordinator, CEDA; Esther Wong, Executive Director, CASL; and Ricky Lam, Employ-ment & Training Department Manager, CASL stand together after the EAN press conference.

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In October 2009, CEDA welcomed new employee Leslie Washington as a member of the Office Services de-partment located at 208 South LaSalle Street, in Chicago.

Leslie originally came to CEDA in

2007 as a client of our Workforce De-velopment Program; he participated in career seminars and went on job inter-views. In 2008, Leslie was selected to assist our Facilities Department with the enormous task of cataloging and relocating CEDA’s entire file room; Leslie assisted throughout the entire project. It was then that CEDA man-agement took notice of his strong work ethic, professional attitude and friend-ly nature.

Because Leslie had previous expe-rience in records management and mail room operations, he was able to fill in during staff shortages in Office Servic-es; he played a key role in keeping the mail room running smoothly. In addi-tion to that, Leslie took on a temporary assignment in CEDA’s LIHEAP/Ener-gy Department working in the records

management division. From May 2008 to October 2009,

Leslie was a familiar face at CEDA as a member of our many temporary staff; he fit right in from early on. When an Office Services’ position became avail-able, Leslie was encouraged to apply for it. CEDA received a large number of applicants, including Leslie, and conducted interviews with those who qualified.

In October 2009, Leslie Washington became a permanent CEDA employee working in the Office Services depart-ment! Congratulations Leslie! This success story not only speaks to Les-lie’s abilities, but exemplifies CEDA’s mission at work of helping people and changing lives through its many pro-grams—this one being Workforce De-velopment.

CEDA Workforce and Development Success Story: Leslie Washington

OHS Director visits Ray Walker Head Start

The fall Region V Leadership and Professional Development conference for Head Start was held October 26-29, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago. This multi-state conference brought Head Start national and local leadership together to tackle pressing issues related to program design and management; fiscal operations; com-ponent area service delivery and par-

ent involvement.During the conference Yvette San-

chez-Fuentes, Director of the Office of Head Start toured the Ray Walker Child and Family Development Cen-ter in Schaumburg on October 30th. The visit also included a tour of one of CEDA’s newest partners, Children’s Home + Aid Schaumburg Child and Family Center.

ANNOUNCEMENT

CEDA HEAD START AWARDED EARLY HEAD START GRANT

New Funds Will Improve Centers, Serve Tens of Thousands More

Children and Families, Create Jobs

Grants totaling nearly $220 million nationally will allow current Head Start grantees to serve 16,600 additional children and families. Grants worth nearly $1.2 billion, will support Early Head Start expansion and allow the program to serve 55,000 more pregnant women, infants, toddlers and their families and nearly double the number of Early Head Start participants. The increased number of children and families served by these grants will create new jobs at Head Start and Early Head Start centers as more additional staff are hired to handle increased enrollment.

For suburban Cook County enrollment details, call CEDA Head Start at

800/571-CEDA (2332) or visit on-line at www.cedaorg.net

(left to right) Kay Willmoth, OHS Regional Program Manager; Yvette Sanchez-Fuentes, OHS Director; Rudy Thompson, Assistant Vice President, CEDA; Unita Sims, Vice President, CEDA; Katie Williams, OHS Team Administrator IL/IN/MN; John Tschoe, Director of Policy Implemen-tation, CEDA; and LaNissa Trice, Health Services Coordinator, CEDA, at Ray Walker Head Start.

Leslie Washington, once a CEDA Workforce and Development client, at his desk in the Of-fice Services Department. Washington became a full-time CEDA employee in October 2009.

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On Friday October 30, 2009, CEDA held a press conference and demon-stration in partnership with Serious Materials, The US Department of En-ergy, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the City of Chicago to make two major an-nouncements.

CEDA Weatherization is now us-ing R5 windows in homes that receive window replacements, which are not only more energy efficient but also a higher standard than required. At this time California-based Manufacturing company, Serious Materials, is sup-plying CEDA with R5 windows at a cheaper price than many manufactur-ers sell lesser quality windows.

Serious Materials also made the announcement that they are in the pro-cess of re-hiring 270 union workers laid off from Republic Windows and doors, which they recently purchased in 2008.

“I commend the dedication and shared aspirations of CEDA, Serious Material, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the U.S. Department of Energy, and all agencies involved in this project to cre-ate jobs, save energy and money, better the lives of our citizens, and improve the energy security of our nation,” said Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. “We look forward to sharing our Weatherization success and experience using super-insulating windows throughout the Midwest and across America.”

The press conference drew atten-tion from local news media and resi-dents who came armed with questions regarding policy change and the Amer-ican Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Gil Sperling, Program Director of the US Department of Energy, addressed

these questions from concerned attend-ees, guaranteeing that steps were being taken in Washington to best serve the communities in need.

Sperling also spoke highly of the collaboration between CEDA and Seri-ous Materials and the efforts that both are making to improve the lives of in-dividuals nationwide through promot-ing energy efficiency.

“We are pleased to work with Se-rious Materials to help make homes more energy efficient,” said CEDA President/ CEO Robert L. Wharton. “They supply a product that is unique to weatherization, and we believe that this will greatly benefit not only the families we serve but the local econo-my as well through job creation.”

“Efforts like CEDA’s have the po-tential to create thousands of US manu-facturing and skilled labor jobs. This is exactly what we need to so across the

country to save energy, save money and rebuild America’s economy based on home-grown manufacturing inno-vation and leadership.”

WEATHER cont. from page 1

Beginning April 1, 2010 the United States Census Bureau will issue a call to action for every resident in our na-tion to complete a confidential ques-tionnaire.

Comprised of only ten questions, this quick and easy survey is conduct-ed every ten years by the United States Census Bureau to update demographic

and statistical information. Each year, nearly $400 billion in

federal funding for critical community services is distributed to state and local governments based on census data.

In addition, census data guides lo-cal planning efforts, such as where to build new roads and schools and plan-ning for future water and sewer utility

improvements. Census data also helps determine

how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives.

By law the Census bureau cannot share an individuals’s census question-naire responses with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforce-ment entities.

Census 2010: It’s in Our Hands

(above) Lana Kennebrew, Cassandra Fricke, Case Manager, CEDA Weatherization; gives an over-view of the CEDA Weatherization processes and services with John Hamilton, Program Director, CEDA Weatherization; and Gil Sperling, Program Director of the US Department of Energy. (below) A Union worker explains how the makeup of R5 windows helps keep homes energy efficient.

helping people. ChAnging lives.

8ENERGY cont. from page 1

attention and information needed to help them manage their energy costs,” said Paul Patterson, LIHEAP and Weatherization Public Relations Coor-dinator.

At each event, attendees were able to apply for a one-time utility bill pay-ment assistance through programs such as LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program), ComEd Residential Special Hardship Fund and Peoples Gas Share the Warmth.

Intake workers were also on hand for those interested in applying for the Illinois Home Weatherization Assis-tance Program (IHWAP) as well as NI-COR Sharing.

On November 4, 2009, the CEDA Center for Community Action part-nered with Thornton Township, ComEd, NICOR, and State Represen-tative Will Davis hosted an energy fair for local residents.

More than 700 participants came to receive the one-time payment on their gas or electric bill, with Thornton Township residents receiving addition-al utility assistance from the township.

Attendees also received smoke de-tectors courtesy of State Rep. Will Da-vis’ office.

CEDA distributed energy con-servation kits to attendees who par-ticipated in the Energy Efficiency Pre-sentation given by Deborah Harper, LIHEAP Field Coordinator, CEDA. Harper also answered questions from participants regarding program eligi-bility.

The energy assistance fairs were held at the following locations between September and December 2009:

CEDA Center for Community ActionThornton Township Hall333 E. 162nd StreetSouth Holland, IL 60473

Congressman Bobby RushWalter Reed Elementary School6350 S. StewartChicago, IL 60621

Dwight D. Eisenhower H.S.12700 S. Sacramento Ave.Blue Island, IL 60406

Rainbow/PUSH930 E. 50th StreetChicago, IL 60615

Congressman Luis GutierrezWestside Technical Institute2800 S. Western AveChicago, IL 60608

CEDA Bloom-RichBloom-Rich Township Center425 S. Halsted St.Chicago Heights, IL 60411

Orland Park Civic Center14750 S. Ravinia AveOrland Park, IL 60462

CEDA Bloom-RichPark Forest Village Hall350 Victory DrivePark Forest, IL 60466

Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.Olive Harvey College10001 S. WoodlawnChicago, IL 60628

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CEDA’s Job Placement Assistance Program is a joint federal and state funded program that helps residents, particularly adults and dislocated workers, of Suburban Cook County successfully enter the workforce.

The program uses a comprehensive approach that prepares individuals for job interviews, resolves barriers to em-ployment and provides job prepared-ness support such as basic skills testing to match an applicant’s job skills and work experience with the right work-force opportunities.

Increased funding provided through the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act has expanded CE-DA’s work programs.

CEDA expects to enroll approxi-mately 700 clients into apprenticeship and customized training programs by September 2010, which puts indi-viduals on career paths in industries that include hospitality, weatheriza-tion, health care and green renovation, among others.

On Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009, CEDA held an application intake and training session for new applicants at Prairie State College, 202 S. Halsted, in Chicago Heights.

More than two dozen residents

from suburban Cook County attended the full-day event and received one-on-one career counseling, initial as-sessment of job skills and need, and in-formation on a variety of employment training services and opportunities.

Though CEDA does not guarantee employment, the program has enrolled hundreds of individuals and placed many on promising career paths.

CEDA’s workforce staff serves as a liaison between employers and clients to ensure the highest job placement rate possible.

Workforce and Development Program seeks to enroll 700 by September

State Representative Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez hosted a Grant Seminar Monday, October 26, 2009 at Morton College, 3801 S. Central Ave, in Cicero, Illinois.

West Suburban small business owners learned first-hand about the different grant programs available for business through state and local agen-cies.

Experts from partnering organiza-tions provided information on digi-tal divide grants, employer training investment programs, American Re-covery & Reinvestment funds, busi-ness loan program and revolving loan programs, ComEd Hardship funds for business, work opportunity Tax Credit, and much more.

CEDA Southwest Development Association hosts CEDA At A Glance Legislative Breakfast

Community leaders and local southwest suburban elected officials joined CEDA senior management and staff for a legislative breakfast, CEDA at A Glance.

The purpose of the October 5th, 2009 Legislative Breakfast in Summit, IL was to inform community leader-ship and elected representatives of the array of services available through CEDA in Southwest Suburban Cook County.

The overwhelming majority of available services are for those resi-dents who meet the low to moderate income guidelines.

The breakfast was also an opportu-nity to solicit input from local munici-pal leaders concerning the gaps in ser-vices that are available and the needs of the community.

This breakfast is one event in a se-ries of community meetings hosted by CEDA Community Development Ar-eas.

CEDA Center for Community Ac-tion (CCA) staff were on hand to do outreach and provide information re-garding CEDA services to over 1000 attendees, at the Steve Harvey Turkey Giveaway in Markham.

On November 23, 2009, radio per-sonality Steve Harvey and V103 part-nered with the City of Markham for this event.

Families receiving a turkey were also given the opportunity to stop by the CEDA table and receive informa-

tion regarding the many programs, in-cluding some new services, provided by the agency.

New services offered by the center include the CSBG Senior Stabilizer pro-gram and the CSBG Vocational Schol-arship program.

These programs are conducted with funds provided under the Com-munity Services Block Grant Program and the American Recovery and Re-investment Act administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and

Economic Opportunity and it does not necessarily represent in whole or in part the viewpoint of the Illinois De-partment of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Rep. Lisa Hernandez hosts grant seminar for small business owners in Cicero

CEDA CCA reaches out to community during V103 and Steve Harvey Turkey Giveaway

Hon. Mayor Joseph W. Strzelczyk of Summit and Raymond Akers, Jr., Solid Waste Coordina-tor, Cook County Dept. of Environment at the CEDA at a Glance Legislative Breakfast.

For information regarding all of CEDA’s programs and services contact :

CEDA Hotline800.571.CEDA (2332)

helping people. ChAnging lives.

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Throughout the year CEDA works diligently to help improve the lives of families throughout Suburban Cook County through a diverse range of pro-grams and services.

Whether we’re promoting healthy families through WIC and Head Start programs or helping individuals fund and consume energy in their homes more efficiently, CEDA touches the lives of thousands daily.

During our lunches, before and after work and on weekends, CEDA staff find the time to take care of their families, themselves and those less for-tunate.

During the holiday seasons we don’t buy a few extra groceries for some one else because it’s in the grant---we do it because it’s in our hearts.

For this Thanksgiving season, CEDA instituted a new tradition in holiday giving; The Berwyn Week of Giving.

During the Berwyn Week of Giving CEDA partnered with several organi-zations and businesses in the Berwyn community to provide food baskets to needy families in the community.

Bright and early, Saturday Novem-ber 21, 2009, Berwyn Mayor Robert Lovero and CEDA Board of Director’s own Representative Lisa Hernandez joined CEDA staff and volunteers to distribute baskets filled with items donated from Berwyn residents Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, Dominick’s, Harris Bank, Women’ Workout World and Homescape Builders.

By noon, 100 families had received holiday baskets and good cheer from the workers at the CEDA Berwyn of-fice.

In addition to CEDA Berwyn LI-HEAP clients, recipients included, 25 seniors referred from Solutions for Care, 20 families referred from the

Township of Berwyn Public Health District, 1 family referred from the Children’s Center and 4 families from Rep. Lisa Hernandez’s office.

Meanwhile across town, CEDA Calumet Park’s food pantry was pre-paring its Thanksgiving baskets to be donated.

While the Calumet Park food pan-try feeds hundreds weekly, the holiday season is an especially crucial time in the lives of families in need.

On November 16, CEDA staff dis-tributed baskets to new and old food pantry clients who had three or more members in the household with little or no income or recently laid off.

With the help of donations from Ultra Foods, Moo & Oink and Marian Health Care, CEDA Calumet Park was able to donate 67 whole turkeys, 3 cas-es of turkey wings, 40 hams and other non-perishable items to 147 families in the community.

Immediately following the Thanks-giving season, CEDA collectively mag-nified its giving efforts for the Christ-mas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa seasons as the need continues.

CEDA’s central office kicked off its annual food drive in conjunction with the Calumet Park Food Pantry Christ-mas basket donation.

Full donation boxes lined the halls of the 20th floor of CEDA central as En-ergy staff were rewarded with a jeans day as an incentive to give.

While there are some special re-wards and incentives for giving, CEDA staff does it for the love of it.

Each CDA hosted giving activities at their sites to further provide for the communities they serve.

Each WIC site spread holiday cheer through the distribution of 2010 wall and pocket calendars and Sesame Street DVDs and booklets to children

(Top to Bottom) Decorations line the walls of the Diversey CEDA WIC office donated by Home Depot. Home Depot also donated shelving units to CEDA WIC locations.A mother assists her young son with his new Sesame Street book given as a part of CEDA WIC’s Holiday giving. This Holiday season, each WIC site distributed 2010 wall and pocket calendars and Sesame Street DVDs and booklets to children and their families. Hedy Gist, Program Coordinator, CEDA Berwyn; Patricia Doherty-Wildner, Executive Vice-President, CEDA; and Marsha Belcher, Director of Marketing and Resource Development, CEDA accept a generous donation of 100 turkeys from Sam’s Club in Cicero, for the Berwyn Week of Giving Food Basket donation. The Berwyn Week of Giving allowed CEDA Berwyn to partner with several organizations and businesses in Berwyn to provide food baskets to needy families in the community.Food donations collected by CEDA WIC staff at their December staff meeting for the CEDA Calumet Park food pantry.

The Heartbeat of

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and their families, promoting healthy eating habits.

WIC clinics were also decorated with ornaments and bookshelves, do-nated by Home Depot. At the month-ly WIC and FCM meeting, staff held a canned food drive to donate to the CEDA Calumet Park Food Pantry.

CEDA Head Start and Early Head Start sites continued several of their own holiday traditions to give back to students and their families.

Each of the 12 CEDA HS/EHS centers partnered with holiday giving programs including Chicago Tribune, Children’s Charities, Chicago Sun times, Toys for Tots and area organiza-tions such as WACO to provide holi-day gifts, toys and winter coats.

Students at Blake Head start were fortunate enough to receive winter coats, hats, gloves and toys from a pri-vate donor for the second year in a row.

In Robbins, Southeast CEDA has partnered with Project Share to donate over 200 Christmas baskets. Southeast CEDA also continued “Breakfast with Santa”, providing breakfast for the en-tire family and a toy for each child.

Last year “Breakfast with Santa” proved to be an overwhelming success with more than 300 children in atten-dance.

CEDA Bloom-Rich has also part-nered with Project Share to give away food baskets to 200 families.

The site worked with Bloom Town-ship as well to donate coats to local children.

CEDA Near west hosted a food drive for Christmas to feed residents of Cicero and surrounding communities they serve.

CEDA Southwest donated coats to 100 families, worked with the Mayor of the Village of Summit to adopt 25 families as well as provided 40 families

with $50 Wal-Mart gift cards.In Mt. Prospect, CEDA Northwest

has sponsored 400 children for the holidays, given 75 coats to Head Start students and donated 115 turkeys to needy families.

The CEDA Northwest Food Pantry has also held at least ten food drives for holiday donations.

On December 21, volunteers from Ingalls Hospital, ComEd, FCEA, Thornridge High School and the local school board all pitched in to help pack and distribute 450 food baskets at the CEDA Center for Community Action.

Toys were purchased and donated by individuals, Ingalls Hospital and ComEd and distributed along with food baskets.

One young gift recipient turned to his mother and exclaimed, “Mom, this is great!” His expression of grati-tude and appreciation brought a board member to tears.

Dedicated volunteers from Ingalls Hospital have participated in the food drive for more than 10 years, while vol-unteers from ComEd and the Thorn-ridge SAVE program were first timers.

Thanks to a donation, of 500 can-vas bags from NICOR, packaging was much easier and efficient as items were able to conveniently fit in one bag.

While the passion of community action and philanthropy drives CEDA on a daily basis, the holidays present the opportunity for us to utilize the partnerships we have built over the years to deliver services that we may not otherwise be able to.

Thanks to the generosity of staff, volunteers and partners, the heartbeat of CEDA is able to be heard through-out Cook County and impact the lives of families in need.

(Top to Bottom) A young girl visits with Santa at the CEDA Calumet Park Food Pantry during the Christmas Food Basket distribution on December 14.Carolyn Taylor, CDA Director, CEDA Center for Community Action, distributes food baskets and toys to Harvey residents December 21. Taylor’s site was able to donate food to 450 needy families in their community through partnerships with Ingalls Hospital, ComEd and NICOR.A Calumet Park resident leaves with bags of food from the CEDA Calumet Park food pantry during Christmas basket donations. Packed food baskets line the floors of CEDA Center for Community Action waiting to be distributed to residents. Baskets contained fresh fruits, hams and other non-perishable goods.

Holiday Giving 2009

208 S. LaSalle St., Suite 1900 Chicago, IL 60604-1001 800.571.CEDA www.cedaorg.net

CEDA Bloom-Rich CDA1203 West End Ave.Chicago Heights, IL 60411708.758.2510

CEDA Bloom-Rich CDA1647 Cottage GroveFord Heights, IL 60411708.754.4575

CEDA Center for Community Action53 E. 154th St.Harvey, IL 60426708.339.3610

CEDA Neighbors at Work1229 EmersonEvanston, IL 60201847.328.5166

Southeast CEDA 3518 W. 139th St.Robbins, IL 60472708.371.1220

CEDA Southwest Development Assn.7666 W. 63rd St. Summit, IL 60501708.458.2736

208 S. LaSalle St., Suite 1900Chicago, IL 60604-1001

CEDA Near West6141 W. Roosevelt Rd.Cicero, IL 60804708.222.3824

CEDA Northwest Self-Help Center, Inc.1300 Northwest HighwayMt. Prospect, IL 60056847.392.2332

CEDA Berwyn6635 W. Cermak Rd.Berwyn, IL 60402(708) 484-9670

* Proviso-Leyden Council for Community Action411 W. MadisonMaywood, IL 60153

* delegate agency