THANK YOU to our Corporate Sponsors!

The generous donations from our top Serve-a-thon sponsors make it possible for Chicago Cares to strengthen the city and meet critical needs all year long.

For a complete list of our sponsors please click here.

Meet Your AmeriCorps: Elliott

I am an advocate. I am a capacity builder. I am a VISTA.

Hi! My name is Elliott Dionisio and I’m serving as the AmeriCorps VISTA Days of Service Specialist for Chicago Cares. 

This is actually my second term serving with AmeriCorps; for 10 months in 2009, I served in the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. NCCC members are required to wear the AmeriCorps uniform (or as it’s colloquially referred to, the ‘A’) every day for the entire workday, and needless to say the routine was a little drab. VISTA does not have this requirement, but each time I do wear the ‘A’ – in the office or casually – I can say I take more pride adorning it than at any time I suited up during NCCC. What began for me as a way to get out of my parents house has now become a cherished part of my identity. And I owe this in large part to not only the work I accomplished in NCCC, but to the work I’m currently doing for Chicago Cares.

My primary responsibility at Chicago Cares is to recruit and offer support to volunteers for our two large-scale annual service events, the Celebration of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King (held in January) and Serve-a-thon (in June). I’ve mapped recruitment strategies, created tip sheets, hand-delivered posters to business owners, passed out flyers to the Loop lunch rush and answered countless e-mails and phone calls to spread the word about these two awesome opportunities. Writing this, I’m engulfed in the onrush of volunteer management for Serve-a-thon (and the event still seems like a long way off!).

Answering the messages of folks interested in Serve-a-thon is a pleasure, and whether I need to walk them through the registration process step-by-step or simply forward a document, I derive a great sense of satisfaction from ushering people to service. Rallying new groups to Serve-a-thon is a bigger challenge, and often I cannot understand why folks don’t immediately jump on board when I describe to them the scope of Serve-a-thon! But publicity is publicity is publicity, and I know that every interaction I have with a member of the community raises awareness of the wonderful work of Chicago Cares.

Years down the road, when I will have encapsulated my VISTA service term with Chicago Cares into a single memory, I’ll take the most satisfaction from having exposed hundreds if not thousands of people around Chicago to an organization they’d never heard of before. Chicago Cares is so simple in concept, and makes an impact so large, that it will always be the first stop I recommend to interested volunteers in the Chicagoland area.  

And I’m sure to have this conversation again and again any time someone asks me about the ‘A’ on my shirt.

The Life of Serve-a-thon Project

Cbeyond Volunteers Make an Impact Through Business Shares

Two weeks ago, Cbeyond volunteers brought their outstanding attitudes and dedication to Perspectives/ITT Math & Science Academy, dedicating 168 volunteer hours to paint classrooms and build work tables and a portable tool box for the school's Robotics Team!

Feeling inspired to make an impact at a CPS school yourself? Join us at the 17th Annual Serve-a-thon and give some very deserving students the learning atmosphere they deserve!

Leader Spotlight: Phillip Kinnison

Phil Kinnison has volunteered with Chicago Cares since 2001. He started his service with our organization as a volunteer for the largest service event in Chicago, Serve-a-thon. Over the years, Phil has served as a volunteer at our large scale service events, Serve-a-thon and Celebration of Service, with his company Accenture. In 2008 Phil stepped up to the roll of Bus Ambassador for Serve-a-thon and has been volunteering in a leader capacity ever since. 

Aside from being a Serve-a-thon project site manager, Phil has volunteered in a number of other roles with Chicago Cares. He has participated in our ongoing program at Cabrini Connections, and has been a leader for our Youth in Service department. Phil also volunteers with PAWS Chicago. “I like the opportunity to work with my hands as opposed to being at a desk all day,” says Phil. Even while traveling for work, Phil still can’t get away from volunteering. He has volunteered with our partner affiliates in Washington DC, Greater DC Cares; and in Philadelphia, Greater Philadelphia Cares.

This year Phil is a primary project site manager at Hedges Fine and Performing Magnet Cluster School for the 17^th Annual Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon. He will be working with a team of six other project site managers and over one hundred volunteers to help revitalize this Chicago public school. With the help of Phil’s leadership skills and dedication to volunteering, Chicago Cares volunteers will transform 14 classrooms, two administrative offices, the lunchroom, and the assembly hall into bright and better learning environments. 

“Phil is a solid leader. He is good at troubleshooting and has become quite the leader,” says a Chicago Cares staff member of Phil.

From all of us at Chicago Cares, THANK YOU Phil, for all your hard work and dedication. The enthusiasm and inspiration you bring to every project help spread the message of Chicago Cares. 

AmeriCorps Spotlight -Joyce Cruz

Chicago Cares AmeriCorps Role: Youth in Service HandsOn AmeriCorps Member

In honor of AmeriCorps week, Chicago Cares staff members sat down with each of our 5 AmeriCorps members to find out a little more about them and their service year. Here is what Joyce Cruz had to say about her experience so far this year. 

How did you hear about AmeriCorps and what made you decide to do a service year?

I heard about AmeriCorps through a friend that was doing AmeriCorps*NCCC. I was about to graduate from college and wanted to stay involved in volunteering and motivating others to get involved in their communities. 

Have you done any other AmeriCorps programs?

Before Chicago Cares I was an AmeriCorps member with NCCC in Sacramento, CA.

What drew you to Chicago Cares specifically?

At the end of my NCCC 10 month commitment, I started looking at other AmeriCorps opportunities closer to home. I found the posting for Chicago Cares through the AmeriCorps website and started to research the organization as a whole. I was really drawn to Chicago Cares and their Youth in Service program because of their commitment to teach the value of volunteerism to youth.

Tell us about your favorite part of AmeriCorps so far.

My favorite part of NCCC was the program really helped challenge me to step outside of my comfort zone and to learn how to live and work with the same people for our entire service year. So far, my favorite part of AmeriCorps with Chicago Cares is working with people in our office to come up with creative new ideas and then putting them into action. I no longer look at an idea and think, ‘how will that work’. Now I think, ‘how can we make this work’.

What are you most excited about working on before your service year ends?

Definitely Summer of Service. I’m really excited to be immersed in the schools we’ll be working with. I think it will be great to see the students really think about the issues in their communities and learn how take the actions to address them.

What skills have you learned in your year that you’ll take with you to your next job?

I’m less awkward talking to strangers. I’m a lot better at things like cold-calls, asking people to step up and lead projects, and building relationships with volunteers and community partners. I’ve also learned a lot about marketing, and how you present a volunteer opportunity in different ways to different people.

What are you plans for after AmeriCorps?

I would like to keep working for in the nonprofit field. I think eventually I’ll go to graduate school for a social service related career.

AmeriCorps Spotlight - Elliott Dionisio

Chicago Cares AmeriCorps Role: Days of Service Specialist AmeriCorps*VISTA Member

In honor of AmeriCorps week, Chicago Cares staff members sat down with each of our 5 AmeriCorps members to find out a little more about them and their service year. Here is what Elliott Dionisio had to say about his experience so far this year.

How did you hear about AmeriCorps and what made you decide to do a service year?

I always had a history of community service. When I got laid off from my first job after college I decided to look into AmeriCorps for my next adventure. The NCCC program appealed to me because I’d get to travel, be a part of a team and it would provide me with some good experience before I go back to school. I then wanted to continue with another year of community service and liked the position offered at Chicago Cares because it was a stable position at one organization and would provide me with a chance to learn lots of new things.

Have you done any other AmeriCorps programs?

Yes. I did NCCC based in Sacramento, CA, October 2008-July 2009.

What drew you to Chicago Cares specifically?

I felt the organization was very elegantly structured. It seemed to have a structure that was strikingly simplistic on the outside and very easy for volunteers to get involved in. I wanted to be a part of something that sustained itself so well.

Tell us about your favorite part of AmeriCorps so far.

I like having the chance to communicate with people. I like getting in touch with team captains and building relationships with them. I like being a resource for people and showing people the ropes and helping them through our systems. I love that I get to spread the word about Chicago Cares and our events and get people engaged.

What are you most excited about working on before your service year ends?

Once Serve-a-thon wraps up, I’m excited to sit down and write out everything I learned so that anyone coming into my position has a great base of information to start from. The position is a lot of learning along the way but the more resources that can be provided at the start, the better. I value taking the time to make sure the next person is prepared and continuing the legacy of the position for Chicago Cares.

What skills have you learned in your year that you’ll take with you to your next job?

I have learned a lot about professional corporate relations. I’ve also learned a lot about messaging things in an effective way by framing things correctly and choosing the right words for the right audience.

What are you plans for after AmeriCorps?

I plan to go to law school!