• Voices For Illinois Children hosts its Kids Count Symposium on Friday, March 28, 2008 from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. This is free of charge. Visit voices4kids.org for more information and to register.
• Japanese American Service Committee hosts a Health Screening Day on Saturday, April 19, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Appointments required. Must be age 18 or older. Call JASC at (773) 275-0097 x 226 for more information.
• The State of Illinois proudly offers the Illinois Warrior Assistance Program. This program is to help meet the ongoing needs of the veteran population. Visit illinoiswarrrior.com for details.

Two brief but meaningful thank-you’s to pass along to your donors.

 

 Tony and Brenda: Thank You [0:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the early 1990s Chicago experienced a recurrence of measles. Many parents in the city’s Austin neighborhood were unaware of the importance of immunizing their children by the age of two—which meant they were often not vaccinated until they enrolled in school. Others were aware of the importance of vaccinations, but lacked the resources and access to healthcare that were necessary to have their children properly immunized.

United Way launched the Austin Immunization Initiative to educate parents and guardians on the value of immunizations, as well as to provide accessible healthcare so parents can stay up-to-date on their children’s vaccines. The Austin Immunization Initiative works by communicating to parents why their children should be immunized, assessing the needs of children and their families, and providing training and resources to day care providers and license-exempt home day care providers. Committee members strategize around efforts to increase immunization rates among children 0-6 in Austin, identify local community partners, conduct assessments, facilitate training and host resource fairs.

The work of United Way in Austin continues. The Austin Immunization Assessment is conducted with school nurses, parents and day care providers to measure the effectiveness of the Austin Immunization Initiative and identify strategies and resources to sustain the Initiative as a model for other communities. United Way is conducting the assessments through the end of March.

Also, to commemorate National Immunization Awareness Week, April 19-26, United Way will host immunization fairs for home day care providers and an Immunization Day at a local church in Austin.

Last summer, United Way launched the implementation phase of the African American Initiative (AAI), a program designed to help young African American males transition successfully to adulthood. United Way is investing $1.9 million in the implementation of these community activities.

Since their selection, the five agency partners who are participating in the initiative have been hard at work implementing their programs. In Englewood, Team Englewood is working on conflict resolution programs and student achievement. In Grand Boulevard, Centers for New Horizons is organizing youth to become leaders in their community. In Greater Roseland, Metropolitan Family Services is working on a unique family group mentoring initiative. In North Lawndale, Lawndale Christian Health Center and Young Men’s Educational Network (YMEN) are working on a comprehensive mentoring program for young men. In Rogers Park, Organization of the Northeast is mobilizing community stakeholders around specific issues that affect youth.

All five agency partners will conduct mid-year reports early this spring. Volunteers will evaluate the progress that programs are making and how well they are meeting their goals. The final phase of the Initiative, scheduled for 2009, is to evaluate and measure the outcomes for all participating young boys in the program, as well as the development of a sustainability plan to continue these community-wide activities through partnerships and corporate support.

View the newest AAI video on Google Videos.
Read more about AAI here.