Northbrook Nonprofits and Charities

OPR volunteers are AMAZING and they truly care about the well-being of the rescued monkeys they care for! It's so heartwarming to experience the trust and friendship bonds they create with each primate! Bringing them special treats, providing novel enrichment, giving belly rubs, keeping their habitats clean, and just truly loving and respecting them is such an incredible blessing for the monkeys AND the humans!

CWC has such an important mission of offering a free support center in the North burbs of Chicago and empowering families touched by cancer!! <br> <br>GREAT org, GREAT team— the CLOZTALK team is honored to call CWC our partner!! <br> <br>CLOZTALK team <br>>> Jonny Imerman, co-founder

The Allstate Foundation has not responded to my inquiry regarding its grant to the Coaching Boys Into Men program developed by Futures Without Violence where Futures says (according to correspondence I have received) that tailoring of their programs for people with autism and other special needs is not a focus area despite the US CDC estimate of 1 in 54 children along with 1 in 37 boys being on the autism spectrum.<br>Since some people with autism may disagree with certain messages in such programs, such tailoring can make these programs even more effective by catering for a special audience and can even enhance autism awareness.

I have been involved with Dreamweaver International since the beginning and I love to see how it is changing the lives of those who are less fortunate. One of our projects is Kilimanjaro Mission Hospital in Kimana, Kenya, we have been constructing the hospital and providing medical clinics to this rural area. For many of the people there, these medical clinics are the only opportunity for medical care!

I have been a member of the NSYMCA for over 30 years. When my children were young they participated in many activities at the Y. My 38 year old son now uses the Y to train for his Ultra Marathons.<br>I played squash and now Spin and use the cardio machines. <br>The Y has always been a very special place for me & my family, like it has been for so many other families. It is much more than a fitness club. It is a place to call home

I have been a volunteer for this parrot rescue for a number of years, having found them through my avian vet The birds are lovingly cared for in a safe, clean environment, with the greatest detail given to their health and well being in a happy environment. <br><br>Adoption happens after a thorough inspection of the potential adoptee’s home and environment to ensure the well being of the bird, as well as a good personality match with the owner and their family. This is an important step and one that can be overlooked by other places. <br><br>The rescue is a one of a kind in our area, with approximately 60 birds. They visit schools, libraries, and other organizations with a small sampling of their birds in order to educate the public about parrots, and to emphasize the need to adopt and not breed. A top avian vet in our area typically accompanies them to answer questions.

The leaders of CCF were asked to give a Christmas Cheer presentation to the Boy Scouts of America, who wanted to become volunteers helping the charity during the holiday season.<br>Upon arriving, it was a surprise to both of them that the presentation was not to the scouts themselves, but to their leaders from various troops throughout the city.<br>The presentation went well and when they were just about to end, a scout leader raised his hand and asked if he could come up to the stage and speak.<br>We will never forget what he was about to say.....................<br>He volunteered on Christmas day the previous year and when he went to the last delivery home on his route, no one answered the doorbell. He was given their phone number on the route sheet and when he called, there was no answer. He was told before he began the deliveries, that he should not bring any food back to the Dominican University (where the deliveries came out of) and he should give it to the next home on the route sheet. Since this was the last delivery, he placed the meals and new childrens books in the car and went home for his holiday dinner and forgot about it. That evening, his phone rang with the same family telling him that they were still waiting for their meals. He immediately took his entire family to deliver the meals on Christmas night and he said it was the most meaningful thing his family could have done together on Christmas.<br>To hear this wonderful volunteer experience brought tears to our eyes and we once again knew that a greater power was involved in what we do.<br>_____________________________________________________________________________<br>A few years back, we realized on Christmas morning that we had incorrectly ordered the meat. We were going to be short the meat portion for many meals. There was nothing we could do, but keep going until we ran out. One of the volunteers handling the meat would tell us when to stop making meals due to lack of meat. Well we never stopped – in fact there was so much meat left that we donated over 100 lbs. to a food pantry.<br>_______________________________________________________________________<br>And then there is the story of two gentlemen who volunteer with us that previously spent Christmas in bed for many years due to depression because they were alone and had no family. Well they are not alone anymore as they come every Christmas morning to put meals together to help those in need. We know never to refuse God's hand.<br>__________________________________________________________________<br>A few years back..........we were closing the kitchen on Christmas morning.<br>All the thousands of deliveries had gone out and just as we were about to leave, the phone rang and it was a family that never received their meals. They had two small children and the father was ill with Cancer. We remember that we had placed a "Donors Box" on one of the tables and when we opened it, there was one $100.00 bill thrown on the bottom of the box and we knew at that time that it was placed there for this family.<br><br>

Village Treasure House is a great place to volunteer--where else can your efforts help 17 different agencies change the lives of women and families in crisis? It's also a great place to shop and consign--merchandise changes almost daily, is very reasonably priced, and all profits from your contributions go to that purpose. Check out the website, www.villagetreasurehouse.org--you will be very impressed!

I have been coming to Friendship Circle events since I was a freshman, mostly to things like holiday parties and the like. It wasn’t until my junior year that I began the “Friends at Home” program. That year, I began to devote an hour and a half on most Sundays to go see my friend Josh. Coming over on Sundays was amazing for me. I got to put down my homework and leave the house to play video games and board games. It was really fun playing Wii Sports and I got to learn how to play new board games such as Blockus and Banagrams. When it was warm out, we would play Frisbee or jump on the neighbors’ trampoline. I love coming to see Josh every week, and I’m always in a great mood when I leave his house. The “Friends at Home” program was certainly my favorite part of Friendship Circle, and I am so happy that I was able to take part in it the last two years.