What's New Archives www.franoutreach.org

July 22, 2010 - Buy a boat - benefit the homeless! or "But honey, it's for the homeless!"

Have you always wanted a fishing boat but couldn't justify the expense? Here's a once in a lifetime chance to buy that boat while having every penny of your expenditure go toward helping the homeless.

Here's the deal - a donor has a fishing boat they'd like to donate to us. Problem is, we have no use for the boat and no way to store it. If any of our donors would like to buy the boat, we would get the proceeds and you'd get the boat - and many hours of peaceful, exciting fishing at wherever you like best. The person who is donating the boat gets a tax donation equal to the value of the boat. You write the check to us. You get the boat, but not the tax donation, since you are getting something of value for your expenditure. We get funds that we can use to support our programs that provide 86,000 shelter nights and 215,000 meals each year.

The boat is a ...

16 foot Aluminum Sea Nymph V-Haul Fishing Boat from the 80's with one raised fishing chair and two bench seats. It comes with:2 Johnson Motors (1979 - 25hp; 1980 -7.5hp), a Boat Trailer, 2 Oars. The trailer has wiring problems and one tire that looses air. The boat was last used about 10 years ago.

It is located in Bourbonnais, which is near Kankakee. You may look at it before you decide whether to buy it. You'll need a hitch on your car and probably fix the tire before you can move it. Maybe even just with a can of Fix-a-flat.

June 24, 2010 - Lots of Housing Successes! Cots Needed - Can you Buy-A-Cot? - UPDATE ------ We have them all - thank you!!!

HOUSING SUCCESSES are MULTIPLYING! This year so far, we are seeing a lot of success in getting homeless people into housing. We are already at 64% of last year's total with 57 housing. Yeah!

How important is getting housing? Consider our guest whom we'll call "Richard." He has been homeless for many years and working with us since 2007. He has many barriers to housing, including substance abuse issues, mental health issues, and hearing loss. These issues have caused a lot of conflicts with other people and staff members from agencies who have tried to help him. We have never given up on him. He now has housing in a subsidized unit and comes back to visit us regularly. We remain ready to help him with whatever he needs. Watch for our campaign this summer to hire more case managers. We're only reaching 10% of our shelter guests with case management services, but we reach 40% of the Marquard guests and 100% of the guests to our case management offices at St Peter's Church downtown. If you know of a person, church, or business who might want to help us with funds for case managers at the shelter, call Diana.

NEEDED COTS for the SHELTER - At our shelter, most of our guests sleep in beds. However, because of space considerations, we have several cots that we set down on the floor for the night and put up during the day so we can clean. Several of our cots are broken and need to be replaced. The ones we want are heavy duty, holding up to 600 pounds, so they should last a long time. Each one costs $79.95, which is a discount from the usual price of $89.95. We need 10. If you send a donation and mark it as

restricted for a cot, we will use your money to buy it. This is a great opportunity to buy something for the homeless that doesn't cost too much. Use our online donation link or send a check. -------Thank you! We've now received enough donations to buy all the cots we need plus three more to replace some mats we've been using. It's nice to know you care!

May 6, 2010 - A Four Star Charity Rating, Shelter Volunteers Needed, Coffee and Sugar Needed, Spring Dinner Next Week

We have great news! We have been designated as a Four Star Charity by Charity Navigator, America's premier independent charity evaluator. They help charitable givers

make intelligent giving decisions by providing in-depth, objective ratings and analysis of the financial health of America's largest charities. Charity Navigator awarded four out of a possible four stars. Go to www.charitynavigator.org and type "Franciscan Outreach" into the search bar. Only one-quarter of the charities rated by Charity Navigator receive a Four Star rating, so this is a big deal! (If you want to donate, use the donation page on our site rather than the page on the Charity Navigator site.)

It's that time of year when school groups are out of session and we need volunteers. Right now, we need sandwich volunteers for our shelter. The dates we need one or two persons to serve soup and sandwiches are: May 7, 10, 13, 15, 16, 19, 26, 28, 31. Visit our Volunteer at the Shelter page and sign up using the form.

We also need coffee and sugar for the shelter and soup kitchen. We serve approximately 250 cups every evening and another 250 in the morning at our shelter. We serve coffee at our soup kitchen and day program as well, so that’s another 130 or so a day. The total is around 630 cups every day. So anything you can do to help us provide that small comfort for our guests would be great. If you want to send in a restricted donation to buy some, contact Carin.

If you haven't RSVP'd, send in your reservation for our Spring Dinner on Thursday, May 13, 2010. View the invitation here.

For March 5, 2010 - Job Openings, Request for Board Nominations, Matching Grant for New Donors, and Repair Project Volunteers

We have a matching grant for new donors - if you are a new donor, your donation can be matched $ for $, for a limited time only or until we reach a total of $1,000 in matched donations.

Say that you are a new donor when you donate online or mail in your donation using the mail-in donation form. Special offer for Facebook and Linked in friends - whoever gets the most friends to donate gets a beautiful 5" San Damiano cross from me. See the letter about our guest whom we'll call "CeCe" and read about her struggle at www.franoutreach.org/match.htm.

We also have two job openings in our Full-Time Volunteer Program. One is for the Full Time Volunteer Coordinator, who would run all aspects of our Full Time Volunteer Program, including recruiting, orientation, administration, and community living. See the listing at: (Link expired. Interviews in process.)

The other position is an RA position for our volunteer community. This is a resident assistant position that offers room and board and a small stipend. See the listing at: (Link expired. This position has been filled.)

We are also looking for nominations to our board of directors. See the letter describing who we're looking for at board nomination networking.htm

We also need volunteers or a group of persons who can do small repair projects at our two sites. This is a great opportunity for groups such as Men's Clubs, Women's Clubs, prayer groups, or a workplace. Members of the group can respond on an as needed basis and pick the project they'd like to take on. Most projects are small, such as patching a few holes in the wall, changing a light fixture, or installing soap dispensers. Contact Diana for more information if you or your group might be able to help.

We are happy to report that Downtown Dan, a guest whom we helped find housing four years ago, is still housed. Here's his story:

Five years ago, "Downtown Dan" was living "everywhere." He slept in a shelter, on the streets, or with friends, depending on where he was or what he could arrange. “I was homeless off and on for three quarters of my life. I was nomadic,” said Dan, adding that he is a veteran and had worked as a cab driver and bartender, among other jobs in his life.

He heard about the Marquard Center when he asked around about a place to eat. One day he was approached by our Director of Case Management services, Nick Benedetto. After chatting about the services our case managers provide, Downtown Dan decided to come back the following day to see how we could help him. Nick worked with him on applying for social security, identifying housing options, completing and application, and going through the interview process. It wasn't long before Dan was able to get into a senior housing unit at Patrick Sullivan Apartments, not far from here.

Four years later, Dan is still in his apartment. He's very happy to have a stable place to live. He continues to eat at our soup kitchen he says, not just for a meal, but also for fellowship. He said that just the other day when he was in the soup kitchen, he was approached by our Marquard Center Program Director, David Erickson. David asked Dan if he would be interested in volunteering with us. Dan gave a quick, “of course!”

Dan now volunteers by working the desk at our Marquard Center on Wednesdays. He hands out mail, talks to the guests, and makes sure each guest signs in and out of the building. He often tells them how much we have helped him. He said he intends to volunteer every Wednesday for as long as we need him. He enjoys talking to the other guests and having the opportunity to "give back" to a place that helped him get off the streets and stay off the streets.

Moving persons off the streets is what we do. In 2009, our case managers and collaborators who work at our shelter got 89 persons off the streets and into permanent housing! We congratulate our case managers on their hard work and our guests on having the courage to make a significant lifestyle change. Way to go!

New Volunteer opportunity: Women Dorm Assistant - works from just before opening (6:15 until March 1 and 7:15 after March 1) until around 9:30 pm when lights go off. The Women's Dorm Assistant works with the Women's Dorm Monitor to help the women get settled and comfortable. See more details at www.franoutreach.org/volatshelter.htm or contact Chris. Women's Dorm Assistants can move up to volunteering overnight.

Wanted: Businesses that will offer a matching grant: Last year, a matching grant inspired our donors to donate a total of $50,000 for the homeless in our Lenten appeal. We're looking for 10 businesses or individuals that can offer $5,000 in matching funds that will give our donors a reason to be extra generous. If you want more details, contact Diana. Help us motivate donors by doubling their donation! Double your donation by letting us use it for a match!

Save the Date! Our spring dinner will be Thursday, May 13, 2010 at a beautiful spot on Chicago's lakefront. Mark your calendars today! Let Tony know if you have any silent auction prizes to donate.