VOLUNTEER GUIDE. Bethel New Life 4950 W Thomas Chicago, IL bethelnewlife.org Opportunities to Volunteer

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1 VOLUNTEER GUIDE Opportunities to Volunteer Bethel New Life 4950 W Thomas Chicago, IL bethelnewlife.org

2 BETHEL NEW LIFE Volunteering made simple. Welcome to Bethel New Life. We are pleased that you are considering volunteering with us. This guide is designed with you in mind. Our goal is to make volunteering at Bethel New Life simple and rewarding. Bethel New Life was founded in 1979 by a small church on Chicago s West Side. The riots of the late 1960s and early 1970s left West Side communities in shambles. Businesses, jobs, and people fled. In the ruins of Chicago s once robust manufacturing center, West Side communities decayed. Decades of disinvestment, disenfranchisement, and deterioration followed. The West Side today would be barely recognizable by those who lived here in the 1940s and 1950s. Multigenerational poverty, illiteracy and unemployment are prevalent. A young boy born on the West Side has a higher likelihood of going to prison than of graduating from high school. His chances of being shot are higher than if he had served in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. His chances of going to college are lower than his chance of contracting most forms of cancer. Options for many West Side residents are between subsistence living on government subsidies (robbing you of your dignity), a life of crime (likely robbing you of your life itself), or not being able to feed oneself or one s family. At Bethel, our mission is to address the chronic poverty that permeates the West Side and transform our West Side communities. To achieve our mission, we will need to accomplish the following: 27,000 more adults need gainful employment making at least $17.32/hour 10% more West Side youth must graduate from high school 14% more West Side adults must graduate from college In order to achieve our mission, Bethel s resources are focused on three primary areas: Education Community Economic Development Senior Housing

3 VOLUNTEER AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE Volunteering for Bethel New Life means using your talents to help us achieve our mission. We ask that you share your skills and expertise in one of our programs to help us create greater impact. We have volunteer opportunities available across our organization and in each major focus area: Education Community Economic Development Senior Housing

4 Select the volunteer opportunity that best fits your interests and talents. We have made every effort to describe the opportunity, the special skills required (if any), the time commitments, and the names of contact people within Bethel who can provide you with more information about each opportunity. Education. Right Start for Families Right Start for Families is a birth to three early childhood education program that focuses on helping young families learn to provide appropriate growth and learning experiences for their child. Right Start is primarily a homebased program, with center-based multi-family groups and outings offered every month. Volunteer Opportunities: Multi-family Group Aide Special Skills Needed: Patience, caring, interest in working with parents and young children Right Start for Families Brain Train Time Commitment: 1-2x/mo, 2 hours (over lunch hour) at Right Start for Families offices Luther Poole Director of Right Start 4125 W. Washington Rear Chicago Illinois (773) ext: 2115 lpoole@bethelnewlife.org Brain Train The Brain Train helps students improve their reading fluency and comprehension. It uses fluency-based and precision-teaching techniques to help students improve their rate of learning and their level of automaticity with building blocks of learning. The Brain Train is school-based. You must be willing to participate in a CPS background check to volunteer in a school.

5 Children learn to read in kindergarten to third grade. Third grade and beyond, they read to learn. If you struggle to read, you will struggle to learn." Brain Train, continued... Volunteer Opportunities: Education. Brain Train assistants Special Skills Needed: Willingness to learn new things; ability to closely follow curriculum and instructions; love of having fun. Time Commitment: Up to 15 hours/week or as little as 2 hours/week during the school day. Must be able to commit to a consistent schedule over a full school semester. Elayne Nickaloau Director of Education 4950 W Thomas (773) ext: 139 enickaloau@bethelnewlife.org Upcoming Opportunity... Link Unlimited Bethel is exploring a partnership with Link Unlimited to provide Brain Train tutoring supports to high school students in Link Unlimited's programs. If you are interested in working with high school students after school or over the summer, this could be an opportunity for you. Elayne Nickaloau Director of Education 4950 W Thomas (773) ext: 139 enickaloau@bethelnewlife.org

6 Strengthening existing businesses and building new businesses are essential to creating jobs on Chicago's West Side." Community Economic Development. Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Bethel's Small Business Development Center is the only SBDC on the West Side of Chicago. Our goals are simple: help local businesses grow and grow new West Side businesses. Counselors/mentors are needed for SBDC clients. There may also be some opportunities for a volunteer to be a trainer or presenter for some classroom or workshop sessions that require a specific business expertise. Volunteer Opportunities: (1) Business Faculty; (2) Advisory Committee Members; (3) Mentor Special Skills Needed: Extensive knowledge in of business specialty areas, experience in some aspect of business management, comfort instructing others. ACT Yoga Time Commitment: One-time presentation if presenting; quarterly meeting if advisory committee member; monthly consultation if mentor. Curtis Roeschley Director SBDC 1140 N Lamon (773) ext: 113 croeschley@bethelnewlife.org Reco's Variety Store Entrepreneurship Training Program (ETP) The Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Bethel New Life is currently seeking volunteers to counsel and mentor new and emerging small business owners on the west side of Chicago. The primary need for these counselor/mentors is for the Entrepreneurship Training Program (ETP). This program has 15 weeks of training, a

7 Bethel's Community Economic Development investments include work in Business Development, Workforce Development and Community Asset Building." Community Economic Development. Entrepreneurship Training Program (ETP), Con't microloan component, and the opportunity for a student to be matched with a counselor/mentor throughout the class and up to nine months after the class is over. Volunteer Opportunities: Mentor Thermal Electric Special Skills Needed: 1) An individual who has had experience in owning and operating their own small business venture. 2) A professional with specific business knowledge and experience in a particular field of business, or expertise in a specific industry. 3) The candidate should also have extensive general business knowledge, and if they have not owned and operated their own business, have preferably provided business expertise to small business owners in some capacity. 4) An individual who is sensitive to the needs of lowerincome entrepreneurs and the ability to work in a cross cultural setting with a racially and ethnically diverse clientele. 5) Volunteers that have experience in manufacturing industries or significant financial analysis skills are highly sought. Time Commitment: Ability to mentor on at least a monthly basis for a full year. AI Industries Curtis Roeschley Director SBDC 1140 N Lamon (773) ext: 113 croeschley@bethelnewlife.org

8 The Bethel Business Accelerator is designed to provide the specialized support needed by businesses with the potential for rapid growth and job creation." Community Economic Development. Bethel Business Accelerator (BBA) Bethel's Business Accelerator program supports small to medium-sized businesses in key growth niches that have the opportunity to achieve 20% growth annually over the next five years. Bethel's program of targeted support and services seeks to help them achieve this success. Volunteer Opportunities: Faculty Mentor Ricky Veal, Contractor Special Skills Needed: 1) An individual who has had experience in owning and operating their own small business venture. 2) A professional with specific business knowledge and experience in a particular field of business, or expertise in a specific industry. 3) The candidate should also have extensive general business knowledge, and if they have not owned and operated their own business, have preferably provided business expertise to small business owners in some capacity. Time Commitment: Ability to mentor on at least a monthly basis for a full year or provide targeted, specific support on a more intensive but time-limited basis. ETP Cohort 1 Marvin Austin Director of Business Development 4950 W Thomas (773) ext: 136 maustin@bethelnewlife.org

9 Bethel's workforce development programs are designed to provide West Side residents who are ready to make an investment in themselves with the skills they need to succeed in a high growth industry." Community Economic Development. New Market Tax Credits Program (NMTC) Bethel's NMTC program provides Bethel with investment capital to support West Side businesses via an investment fund that is professionally managed and targets investments for impact and return. Volunteer Opportunities: Bethel Business Investment Advisory Committee Member Advanced Manufacturing Training Special Skills Needed: Bethel has a committee of 12 banking, investment, community development and business professionals who assist in making investment decisions utilizing NMTC dollars. Persons with investment experience, especially in business investment and investment in under-resourced communities may especially enjoy this dynamic group. Time Commitment: Quarterly meetings, generally in the loop, generally over lunch. Marvin Austin Director of Business Development 4950 W Thomas (773) ext: 136 maustin@bethelnewlife.org Electric Utilities Construction Trades Workforce Development (WFD) Bethel's WFD programs are designed to prepare West Side adults for skilled jobs. Bethel provides employment readiness training, academic skills enhancement, and industry-specific skills training to cohorts of adults.

10 In order to transform the West Side, we will need for 27,000 more adults to obtain full time employment in skilled jobs." Community Economic Development. Workforce Development (WFD), Con't... Bethel currently provides training in Advanced Manufacturing and in Electrical Construction Trades. Volunteer Opportunities: (1) Academic Skills Instructor, (2) Program Aide Special Skills Needed: Specialized knowledge and skill in math and science are especially helpful for the academic skills instructor opportunities. Program aides require no special skills. Advanced Manufacturing Training Time Commitment: Ability to commit to a regular schedule for Program Aides. Instructors can provide support on a one-time or more frequent schedule depending upon their skills and interests. Donna Germany Director of Workforce Development 1140 N Lamon (773) ext: 175 dgermany@bethelnewlife.org Electric Utilities Construction Trades

11 Beth Anne Place is a supportive living community for seniors aged 65 and older. We offer affordable 1-bedroom and studio apartments on Chicago's West Side." Senior Housing. Beth Anne Place Supportive Living Bethel operates a supportive living facility which has eighty-five apartments. For those unfamiliar, supportive living is basically like assisted living only Medicaid covers a substantial portion of the cost of the housing and the supportive services (meals, snacks, housekeeping, medication monitoring, activities). Volunteer Opportunities: (1) Activities Assistant; (2) Reading coach; (3) Special program volunteer Special Skills Needed: None other than the interest in caring for and supporting seniors. Beth Anne Place Time Commitment: (1) Activities Assistant -- Bethel provides a regular schedule of activities, both onsite and offsite. If you are interested in assisting with any activities on a regular basis (weekly or monthly) you will need to pass a background check with the State; (2) Reading coach -- we have several seniors who would like to confidentially improve their reading. If you have the skills to help them learn to read, arrangements can be made around your schedule; (3) Special program volunteer -- if you have a special program or entertainment you want to bring to Beth Anne Place, let us know. Beth Anne Place Linda Johnson Administrator, Beth Anne Place 1143 N. Lavergne Ave. (773) ext: 5020 ljohnson@bethelnewlife.org

12 BETHEL NEW LIFE 4950 W Thomas, Chicago, IL Phone: Fax: info@bethelnewlife.org bethelnewlife.org