Franciscan Outreach Association 

1645 W. LeMoyne Street, Chicago, IL 60622

Telephone (773)278-6724 

 

About Us

Shelter

Soup Kitchen

Case Management

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Wish List

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What's New?

What's New Archives for 

October 15 to December 26, 2001

For the week of December 26 - Homelessness on the Rise Throughout the USA

     From our web pages, you can see that requests by homeless adults for shelter at our emergency overnight shelter have increased an estimated 4.71% since 1999.  (See www.whats new archives 4th.htm#Nov 13.)

     The actual number of persons who have requested shelter is greater because we've found that when potential guests are turned away from our shelter because we're filled to capacity, they often don't return the next day because they don't think they'll get in. When we talk with them later, we sometimes find out that they were not able to find adequate shelter on the nights they didn't come to us.

     It appears that the number of requests for shelter have increased throughout the country. In a report issued by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, requests for shelter have risen in 19 of 27 cities surveyed. For more information on the report, see the summary by the National Alliance to End Homelessness at http://www.endhomelessness.org/pub/onlinenews/121701.htm#article2

or the report itself at http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/news/press_releases/documents/hunger_121101.asp

       What can you do to help? If  you can provide any financial support for our programs, we will put it to good use. Although we're likely to receive the amount of income we had budgeted for 2001, our expenses have increased since the budget was prepared  because we added additional staff. Because of this, we're likely to end the year at a deficit. Your end-of-the year donation will help strengthen our financial picture for the start of 2002. You'll help us look better to grantmakers and other donors if our deficit is less. 

      In fact, if you donate on-line before December 31 we'll send you a set of our colorful pens - 5 neon colors per set! Act now!

For the week of December 18 - St. Francis and the Celebration of Christmas

       Christmas was important to St. Francis of Assisi because it reminded him of the humilty of the Incarnation. His biographer, Thomas of Celano wrote of him...

"Francis used to recall with regular meditation

the words of Christ

and recollect His deeds with most attentive perception.

Indeed, so thoroughly did the humility of the Incarnation

and the charity of the Passion

occupy his memory

that he scarcely wanted to think of anything else."

       To bring his understanding of the humility of Christ's birth to life, St. Francis asked his friend John to get bring a few things to a cave outside the town of Greccio. St. Francis said to him:

"...I wish to enact the memory of that babe who was born in Bethlehem: to see as much as possible with my own bodily eyes the discomfort of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, and how, with an ox and ass standing by, he rested on the hay."

       The man prepared things as St. Francis directed. Thomas of Celano wrote:

"Finally, the day of joy has drawn near

the time of exultation has come.

From many different places the bretheren have been called.

As they could,

the men and women of that land with exultant hearts

prepare candles and torches to light up the night

whose shining star has enlightened every day and year.

Finally, the holy man of God comes

and finding all things prepared,

he saw them and was glad.

Indeed, the manger is prepared,

the hay is carried in,

and the ox and the ass are led to the spot.

There simplicity is given a place of honor,

poverty is exalted,

humility is commended,

and out of Greccio is made a new Bethlehem.

The night is lit up like day,

delighting both man and beast.

The people arrive, ecstatic at this new mystery of new joy.

The forest amplifies the cries

and the boulders echo back the joyful crowd.

The brothers sing, giving God due praise,

and the whole night abounds with jubilation.

The holy man of God stands before the manger,

filled with heartfelt sighs,

contrite in his piety,

and overcome with wonderous joy.

Over the manger the solemnities of the Mass are celebrated

and the priest enjoys a new consolation.

       St. Francis sang the gospel and preached a sermon. In his preaching he

"pours forth sweet honey about the birth of the por kings and the poor city of Bethlehem. Moreover, burning with excessive love, he often calls Christ the 'babe from Bethlehem' whenever he means to call him Jesus."

       Of the event, Celano wrote...

"The gifts of the Almighty are multiplied there and a viortuous man sees a wonderous vision. For the man saw a little child lying lifeless in the manger and he saw the holy man of God approach the child and waken him from a deep sleep. Nor is this vision unfitting, since in the hearts of many the child Jesus has been given over to oblivion. Now he is awakened and impressed on their loving memory by His own grace through His holy servant Francis."

       May all of us appreciate the humility of the Incarnation and be inspired to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ!

       Merry Christmas from Franciscan Outreach Association!

To send this Christmas greeting to a friend,

copy and paste the following link into an email message:

          www.franoutreach.org/whats new archives 4th.htm#Dec 18

Quotations are from The Life of Saint Francis by Thomas of Celano in The Saint, Volume I of Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, edited by Regis J. Armstrong, OFM Cap., J.A. Wayne Hellman, OFM Conv., and William Short, OFM, @1999 Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, NY

available from: 

Franciscan Resources, P.O. Box 350, Menagha, MN 56464

Telephone and Fax: (218) 837-5447

email: franres@wcta.net

For the week of December 11 -  Christmas Presents Needed!  Update Dec. 18: Donors have been found! Thanks!

     Every year at the Marquard Center, we try to find good and generous people who will buy Christmas presents for the children who eat here on a regular basis.

     For three or four years, FGI Print Management and its employees purchased all of the presents for us.

     This year, the following organizations have sponsored families:

             AT&T Communications

             WNUA Radio Station

             Old St. Pat's Church

             Focal Communications

      However, we have received two more requests and need additional sponsors. The ages of the family members are:

    Family #1 -   8 year old girl

                         12 year old boy

                           9 year old boy

                         17 year old boy

                           4 year old girl

                          mother (wants food, if possible)

    Family #2 -  14 year old girl

                          13 year old boy

                            6 year old girl

                          11 year old girl

                          10 year old girl

                          18 year old girl

                           mother

     It would be nice to have one substantial present and one small present for each family member.

     If you or your group can make Christmas bright for all or part of one of these families, please call Fr. Manny at 773-278-6724 or email Diana at diana@franoutreach.org

For the week of December 4 - Our Christmas Wish List

Are you tired of buying presents

for people who have everything?

     How about buying something for Franciscan Outreach? There are a lot of things we need.

• 12 kitchen tables (4 persons each, approx 3' x 3') for our soup kitchen

• 50 sturdy chairs for our soup kitchen

• 2 fully equipped tool boxes with hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, etc.

• another car for use in our programs (used would be great!)

• 8 metal or wood wardrobe cabinets for the full time volunteer bedrooms

• throw rugs for the volunteer community

• high pressure washer for the floors in the kitchen and bathrooms at the shelter - approx $2,900

• kitchen equipment for the volunteer community (4 slice toaster, blender, set of 16 sturdy dishes that match, coffee pot, etc.)

• replacement beds for some of the guest beds at the shelter (we'd buy them - 25 beds would cost around $2,500)

• money for program support for our Case Management Program - $5,000 would help a great deal

    If you have or can donate any of these, we would be very grateful. You donation would be tax deductible!  Email Diana at diana@franoutreach.org Thanks!

For the week of November 27 - Volunteers Needed! 

Does the Christmas season motivate you 

to get out and help your fellow American? 

     We don't need your help on Christmas Day - any day between now and then will help. What we really need is someone who can come into our office during business hours to help us analyze our case management statistics. 

     The City of Chicago will soon be releasing new guidelines for grantees that require extensive reporting on how well we help our guests move from homelessness to independence. We do a lot for our guests, but reporting on what we do takes a lot of time. 

     You can help us secure funding for the next contract year. We need help in tabulating what we've been doing for our guests this year so that we can set realistic expectations for the next contract year. 

     If you can volunteer, then our case managers won't have to stop helping people in order to tabulate the statistics. You'd be freeing up the case managers so that they can work directly with the clients in the cold days before Christmas. 

     We have two specific tasks that we need help with:

     - a 15 to 20 hour project that requires knowledge of the Excell word processing program. You would be entering data and producing reports. 

     - a 10 hour project that does not require computer skills. You would be reviewing the reports that the case managers tabulate daily. You'd be tabulating categories of tasks, counting the number of unduplicated clients, and helping us use the numbers to describe how much good work we're doing. 

     Call now! We need to have this information gathered by the end of the year. Set aside some time this Christmas season to do something good for the homeless!

     For more information, call Sr. Pam Falter or Diana Faust at (773) 278-6724 or email Diana.

For the week of November 20, 2001 - Announcing Fr. Larry's Parish Mission

The Reign of God and People of the Good News:

A Parish Mission Celebrating 

the Tradition of Catholic Social Teaching

     Many have stated that Catholic Social Teaching is the best kept secret in the Church. This parish mission is an effort to deepen appreciation of the Church's presence to the world and celebrate God's goodness in seeing ourselves as God's Daughters and Sons.

     Fr. Larry Janezic, OFM, Executive Director of Franciscan Outreach Association,  has prepared a series of presentations that can be presented in any of the following formats:

   -  as a 3 night parish mission

   -  as an adult education series

   -  as a retreat

   -  in English or Spanish

He's available to parishes and Secular Franciscan groups. He has times available during Lent of 2002 and can arrange other dates in 2002. 

     Here's an overview of the content of the talks:

Day One

We are made in God's Image and Likeness

     The Book of Genesis calls us to appreciate our personhood. Our personhood is an expression of God's creativity and revelation in Christ. We identify with Christ as we promote the dignity of the human person.

Day Two

We are Sisters and Brothers in Christ

     A clear sign of our life a Church is that we live in relationship with each other. The New Testament and our tradition of Catholic Social Teaching offer direction for our family life, cultural life, and civic responsibility. This talk can be combined with a service of reconciliation.

Day Three

We are People of the Good News 

who Demonstrate the Reign of God

     What are the visible signs of God's reign? How can we resonate with the teaching of God's care for the "widow, the orphan, and the stranger?" This talk highlights the social teachings on solidarity and justice for the poor. It can be combined with the Way of the Cross and a reflection on the new life of the Resurrection as a vision of the Reign of God.

     Join us for a time to appreciate and celebrate our life in mission to the world!  

      For more information, contact Fr. Larry at frlarry@franoutreach.org or call him at (773) 278-6724. 

For the week of November 13 - Numbers of homeless persons seeking assistance increases - Updated February 14, 2002

     The number of persons we have served at the shelter increased every month but two so far this year. 

     The increase in the number of persons we have served does not reflect the extent of the demand we have been seeing because our shelter is very often filled to capacity. A good measure of the unmet demand is our turn away rate. Here are the turn-aways for 2001.

     These turn away numbers are only the tip of the iceberg because when a person is turned away after standing in line for hours one night, they will often not stand in line the next. Also, our case managers have been able to get a significant number of our guests out of the shelter and into a better living arrangement. Many of the persons who are turned away from our shelter are new to us. Pray for us and our guests!

For the week of November 5, 2001 - Volunteers needed for repair projects

Use your skills to help the homeless!

Volunteers with experience in rehab or repairs are needed for various projects at our overnight shelter. Some of the projects we need help with are...

installing thresholds under the doors at the shelter

removing and installing kitchen cabinets in the volunteer quarters

removing and installing a linoleum floor in the volunteers' kitchen 

replacing ceiling tiles in the women's bathroom 

installing sink brackets in the men's bathroom

moving and reinstalling a washer and dryer 

painting of kitchen walls

...and several other projects in the former mop factory that is our shelter. These projects are too involved for our staff. Some of these projects need to be completed before the end of the year so that we don't lose funds granted to us by State Sen. Ricky Hendon through the Illinois First Program.  

If you have experience in any of these areas and can volunteer for us reasonably soon, we need your help! We'll take help on a one-time or ongoing basis. If you know how to do any of these things and would like us to arrange other volunteers to help you, we might be able to do that too. 

Please e-mail Diana or call her at (773) 278-6724. You may also call Bill at (773) 265-6683. We need your help to keep our shelter running well!

For the Week of October 29 - Radiating the Compassion and Love of God

First of all ... we'd like to thank everyone who supported our 25th Anniversary Dinner. The food, music, and speakers were excellent. The silent auction was a lot of fun. Its safe to say that a good time was had by all!

Now, back to business... The following quote from a book by Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing, reflects one of the many motivations that the staff and volunteers at Franciscan Outreach have for reaching out to the homeless and poor who come to our doors. 

     The last thing that Jesus asked of us before he ascended, was that we go to all peoples and nations and preach his presence. However, that must be understood precisely in an incarnational, not theistic, way. ...The challenge is not... to pass out religious tracts, establish religious television networks to make Jesus known, or even to try to baptize everyone into Christianity. The task is to radiate the compassion and love of God, as manifest in Jesus, in our faces and our actions.

Love. 

In action. 

That's what we are all about at Franciscan Outreach Association.

Others may have a mission of passing out literature or establishing TV networks, but our mission is to radiate compassion and love to the homeless and poor.

The Holy Longing is available at www.doubleday.com.

For the Week of October 15 & 22 - Make your reservation now for our 25th Anniversary Dinner!

Join us...

For our 25th Anniversary Dinner

Monday, October 29, 2001

at the Union League Club in Chicago

to celebrate 25 years of fruitful ministry 

to the homeless of Chicago

     Tickets are only $125 each, with a table of 10 for $1,175. 

All who come to the dinner are eligible to win the door prize of two round trip tickets on Southwest airlines.  

      You can send a check in the mail or donate on-line. If you donate on-line, please also send us an e-mail with your phone number so that we can reach you if we have any questions or additional info about the dinner.  Send it to mail@franoutreach.org. 

     Either way, you'll be supporting our three programs that help the homeless survive and move beyond their current circumstances.  

Our Featured Speakers...

     This year, we have two excellent speakers... 

Harry Porterfield 

of ABC Channel 7 Chicago, 

who interviewed Fr. Phil Marquard for his 

Someone You Should Know program 

and

Fr. John Doctor, OFM, 

Provincial of the Sacred Heart Province of Friars Minor

Sponsorships

     Would you like to sponsor part of the dinner? You would help us raise more funds for our programs that help the homeless. You could sponsor... 

dessert for $675

salad for everyone at $575

the music (joint sponsorship with musicians) for $300

a silent auction prize - negotiable 

use of the the magnificent 2nd Floor Lounge for $400

the wine for $950

or even the main course for $3,000

For details about the sponsorship opportunities, click here. Sponsorships are available on a first come, first served basis. Call Diana today to reserve yours - (773) 278-6724 or email her at diana@franoutreach.org. You can send in you sponsorship fee on-line if you talk to Diana first.

Virtual Dinner

     Can't come to the dinner? Join us at our Virtual Dinner for less than the ticket price of the dinner. For a $95 on-line donation, you can participate in the dinner - in a virtual sort of way. When you send in your on-line donation of $95, we'll do the following...  

list your name with those of other virtual diners 

on a sign at the dinner

send you 3 photos of the event 

(you specify whether you want them by mail or e-mail)

send you a "Fruitful Harvest" placemat - use it 

in the center of your table at home for decoration

You'll also receive the satisfaction of knowing that your virtual participation is helping the homeless. Questions? email Diana. To participate, click here to donate and then come back to this page and email us with your preferences for photos. 

   To donate on line using     click here. 

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