Area agencies ready to lend helping hand
United Way of Metro Chicago, South-Southwest Suburban Region is holding an April Food Day donation drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 12.
United Way of Metro Chicago, South-Southwest Suburban Region is holding an April Food Day donation drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 12.
With the pandemic amplifying the challenges many people face in meeting their basic needs, such as food, shelter and health care, a simple thing such as providing a few meals can make a big difference.
The drive is accepting unopened, unexpired cans and boxes, no glass items, including fruit and vegetable juice, rice and beans, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, oatmeal, granola bars, canned meats or stews, peanut butter and jelly, infant supplies, laundry detergent and toiletries.
Items can be dropped off at Blue Cap. 2155 Broadway St., Blue Island; Orland Township, 14807 S. Ravinia Ave., Orland Park; Governors State University, 2552 135th St., University Park; Cornerstone, 943 E. Lincoln Highway, Ford Heights; Respond Now, 1439 Emerald St., Chicago Heights; Restoration Ministries, 253 E. 159th St, Harvey; Rich Township, 22013 Governors Highway, Richton Park; St. Irenaeus, 79 Cherry St., Park Forest; Thornton Township, 15340 Page Ave., Harvey; and Together We Cope, 17010 Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park.
Will County joins state to provide rental assistance
The Will County Board has authorized an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Housing Development Authority to coordinate Emergency Rental Assistance for individuals and families struggling to pay rent, according to a news release from the county.
Up to nine months of
back rent and three months of future rental expense are covered by the assistance. The assistance will also help landlords who have seen rents dry up even as the cost of maintaining their buildings continues, county officials said
As part of the pandemic relief plan, the United States Treasury granted $20.6 million to Will County for rental assistance. The County will work with IHDA, which also received a grant from the federal government to provide direct financial assistance for rent and utilities.
Vaccine site opens in Lansing
The Cook County Department of Public Health
COVID-19 vaccination site at Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing is now open to eligible residents living within the boundaries of Thornton Fractional School District 215. This includes residents of Burnham, Calumet City, Lansing, and Lynwood who are included in Illinois Department of Public Health COVID-19 vaccine eligibility phases 1A, 1B, and 1B+.
People will be required to provide proof of residency in District 215 and proof of eligibility in one of the qualifying phases upon arrival. The site is by appointment only.
New appointments are released weekly on Sundays. Appointment scheduling, confirmations, rescheduling, and cancellations,
along with eligibility questions, are being handled exclusively by the Cook County Department of Public Health.
The vaccination site at TF South was originally established to specifically serve the staffs of local school districts but was recently expanded to include local government employees and Pace and Metra employees.
The site, which opened Feb. 10, has administered more than 8,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Virtual variety show benefits St. Vincent de Paul Society
The Blue Island-based Society of St. Vincent de Paul will host its first Top Hat Variety Show. The curtain opens at 2 p.m. April 18.
According to a news release from the society, guests will have the opportunity to bid on raffle baskets and prizes prior to and during the show. This free admission virtual event will feature entertainment by talented members of the agency, as well as highlights of charitable works during the pandemic. There also will be prizewinning games and raffle.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Chicago is hosting the Top Hat Variety Show to raise funds to support volunteer programs that help local people in need.
The impact of COVID19 has greatly increased the number of individuals and families seeking assistance for food, clothing, rental payments, utility bill payments, and medication/ medical financial support. Register to attend the event at www.svdpchicago.org.
Illinois Philharmonic presenting virtual concert
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra continues its popular IPO Reimagined virtual season with its spring concert “Poetic Strings” filmed in IPO’s stunning home venue, Ozinga Chapel at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, available to stream April 9-23.
The hourlong concert features 32 IPO string players performing American modernist composer Ruth Crawford’s “Andante” followed by Austrian-American composer Arnold Schoenberg’s “Transfigured Night.”
Tickets are $15 and now available at ipomusic.org.
Ruth Crawford began her studies at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago in 1921 and composed her most famous work “Andante” in 1931. The score is extraordinarily complex, with overlapping crescendos and diminuendos creating a sense of melody out of single pitches in each instrument.
“IPO is committed to featuring less well-known composers, especially female, African American and Bulgarian composers,” IPO Music Director Stilian Kirov said. “We are thrilled to perform the work of Crawford, a female composer with strong Chicago ties, paired with the work of one of the most influential composers of the 20th century, Schoenberg.”