County: 

McDonough

Fee: 

Free. Open to the public.

Reservations required.

• 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.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration for this event is required and must be made by April 2, 2010. You can register online, by email, or by phone at 312.422.5580.

When registering, please provide your name, the name of the organization you will be representing, and the organization's address and phone number.

For more information, please call 312.422.5580.

Community Grants Program

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.

County: 

Cook

Fee: 

Pre-registration is required. $15: General Admission; $10: Teachers, students, & seniors; Free: Children under 12

When people participate in sports they are often interested in the health benefits or in competition. But, for American Indian and East African communities, physical activity can also act as a vehicle for advancing community as well as personal goals.

The American Indian Center and the Swahili Institute of Chicago will show us how "The Long Walk" and long-distance running, respectively, uplift each community in spiritual, political, and practical ways.

This event is part of the "Bodies in Motion" series.

The "Bodies in Motion" series explores the cultural significance of athletic activities for Chicago's different ethnic communities. This series is offered through Cultural Connections, a public-education program developed by The Field Museum to offer cross-cultural, public events based in an anthropological framework of Common Concerns, Different Responses. The program also offers continuing professional development courses for Chicago Public School teachers.

"Bodies in Motion" Schedule

PRE-REGISTRATION is required and space is limited!
Admission fees will be collected at the door. Cash or check only, please. General admission is $15. Teachers, students, and seniors $10. Children under 12 are always free. Event capacity varies depending on venue, and reservations are accepted on a first-received basis. A sampling of traditional foods is always served.

To pre-register call 773.830.1481 or e-mail with your name, telephone number, the event name and date to culturalconnectionsevents@gmail.com.

TEACHERS can receive 2.5 Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) as approved by the Illinois State Board of Education for each Cultural Connections program they attend. Teachers can also enroll in our Professional Development course for Lane Credit and/or CPDUs. Level I of the course begins in October and February of each year, and Level II for alumni of Level I is offered in the summer. A limited number of scholarships are available for the course on a first-come basis.

For more information visit www.fieldmuseum.org/culturalconnections.

Community Grants - 2007