Do you enjoy lively discussions, free exchange of ideas and a mental challenge? CommUniversity is for you!

Every year in February, CommUniversity students and instructors gather for four enjoyable Sunday afternoons to learn from each other and to delight in the breadth and depth of ideas that can make even a Midwestern winter bright.

Share the fun as you explore new ideas and opportunities in a friendly learning atmosphere. You choose what interests you for the four Sunday sessions. Attendees get new learning experiences in a casual, friendly environment. There are no exams or papers. You decide how much you want to do.

To register, please download, complete, and mail the registration form.

A light reception will follow the last class today in the Rogalski Center Ballroom with 2012 CommUniversity students, presenters, and the board.

• Are you interested in applying for an IHC Community Grant?
• Are you looking for tips on publicizing your programs or fundraising ideas?
• Do you want to create community conversations in your town or neighborhood?

Representatives from Illinois nonprofit organizations are invited to join us for this special grant application and resource day. During the workshop, you'll learn about the many ways in which the Illinois Humanities Council provides support for nonprofits, while making important connections and creating potential collaborations with other local organizations.

Schedule of events:

• 10:00 AM - Overview of IHC Community Grant Guidelines and Application Procedures with IHC Program Officer Ryan Lewis
• 11:00 AM - Facilitated roundtable exchanges on fundraising, communications, and other nonprofit issues with special guests
• 12:30 PM - Lunch and demonstration of other IHC resources, including the DIY Café Society Toolkit

Read our Community Grant guidelines. The next grant application deadlines are April 15, 2010 and July 15, 2010.

Launched Stateville Book Club for Prisoners in Joliet

CHICAGO - The John Howard Association of Illinois has been named the winner of the Illinois Humanities Council's (IHC) 2008 Lawrence W. Towner Award for its program, The Stateville Book Club. Shaena Fazal is the director of the Association's Long-Term Prisoner Policy Project.  The award will be presented at the Association's board meeting on March 12.

Every January, the IHC board selects a Towner awardee from a list of five grant applicants from the previous year, identified by IHC staff for its unconventional or unique methods in pursuit of ambitious goals.

Launched in 2005, The Stateville Book Club reaches prisoners at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet who are serving long-term sentences and normally spending nearly 23 hours a day in their cells. Volunteer facilitators lead discussions and class readings of literature, short stories, plays, and essays. The book club meets twice a month for two and a half hours, from September through May.  For many prisoners participating in The Stateville Book Club, it is the first time they have ever had the opportunity to read a book.