Taste of North Lawndale

CCIL, along with other community supporters, will be participating in the Taste of North Lawndale Family Festival on Saturday, August 2, 2008.

Celebrating its seventh year, A Taste of North Lawndale Family Festival 2008 is quickly earning its reputation as a popular neighborhood festival. This community event is a spin off the famous Taste of Chicago, and is intended to give residents a taste of the many resources available to them inside and outside North Lawndale, while letting them enjoy the community’s many other diverse features including music, art, and other forms of entertainment. North Lawndale Community News is the proud sponsor of this event.

Taste of North Lawndale

Saturday, August 2, 2008

11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Douglas Park Pavilion - 1401 S. Sacramento (Ogden/Sacramento)

There will be food vending, face painting, t-shirt making, magicians and a Jumping Jumboree throughout the day. A tentative event schedule is listed below.

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Choir Performances

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Taste of North Lawndale Talent Show

4:30 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. - Jazz performance by Ray Silkman

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - Stage performances by Twista and Speedknot Mobstaz

Come out and join in on all the fun!

Sizzling with Success...

CCIL Foodservice Training Program Gives Hope to Three Ex-Offenders

CCIL honored three foodservice graduates on Monday, July 7, 2008. Tesa Brown, Tyrone Simmons and Andrew Murphy all successfully completed an intense nine-week training program preparing them for jobs in the food industry.

Foodservice Training Program graduate Andrew Murphy comments, "I was really bad off before I started this program. I could barely read. CCIL has helped me readjust and reposition my life. I appreciate the people at CCIL and am grateful for the Foodservice Training Program."

In partnership with Aramark and the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development (MOWD), CCIL's foodservice training program has been sizzling with success since its inception in February 2006. With a focus on work ethic and structure, non-violent ex-offenders 21 years and older get a jump start on their career path.

"The training program is challenging. We cover a great deal of material in just nine weeks, including hands-on and in-the-field experience. Tesa, Tyrone and Andrew are to be commended on their gallant efforts. I'm so proud of them for making a commitment and seeing this training program through," said Bob Joens, CCIL Foodservice Director.

Family members of the trainees gathered with CCIL staff and Aramark General Manager Ginger Knowles to celebrate this accomplishment.

CCIL participates in 23rd Annual Hunger Walk

CCIL staff, volunteers, residents and more than 5,000 others joined in the march against hunger on Saturday, June 14, 2008. The 23rd Annual Hunger Walk will directly benefit participating food pantries that are member agencies of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, including CCIL.

Many agencies recently have experienced increasing demand while food supplies from the federal government have dwindled. The Greater Chicago Food Depository's Annual Hunger Walk is a unique fundraiser that helps agencies support their food programs.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Hunger Walk this year!

About CCIL's Community Food Pantry...
CCIL proudly announced the grand opening of a new service in November 2006 – a Community Food Pantry. CCIL, in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD), opened its doors to the public and is providing emergency food to the community in North Lawndale. Between 200-250 families (averaging 6 people per family) visit CCIL's Community Food Pantry every week. Every year at least 9,500 families are served and more than 10,000 pounds of food is distributed monthly from the Greater Chicago Food Depository.