Thursday, February 18
5:00pm-7:00pm
Give Back Chicago
Dinner at the Market &
Skills-Based Volunteer Auction
Chicago French Market
131 N Clinton
(Ogilvie Transportation Center – North)
Entrances on Clinton and Canal between Washington and Randolph
Chicago – 60661
On-line registration: $20 Walk-in registration: $30
Both include $10 to purchase dinner at the Market!
$15 of each ticket will be donated to the nonprofit as voted by you!
Fun door prizes!
Questions? Email info@givebackchicago.com
Click here to register!
Your registration includes $10 to purchase dinner and eats from participating Market vendors. www.chicagofrenchmarket.com
Join us on Thursday, February 18, 2010 for a live skills auction and an evening of good food and networking! Bring your friends!
You can learn more about local nonprofits, their mission and ”bid” your skills at our live skills-auction. Give Back Chicago is a great opportunity to keep your skills sharp, learn new job-related skills, and give back!
Nonprofits who have completed the application process will be in attendance to answer your questions and encourage your vote! The remainder of your registration $15 per ticket will be donated to one nonprofit through a random drawing the night of the event. You will vote on which nonprofit you want to receive the Give Back gift!
We are currently accepting applications from nonprofits who want their projects included in the live auction. You can view sample projects from our previous auction at here.
Thank you to Chicago French Market management and vendors for welcoming Give Back volunteers and nonprofits. They are donating part of your dining certificate!
This week, we’ll be posting some quick Q&A interviews we did with some of the nonprofits that are participating in Give Back Chicago so you can get to know them a bit better as well as find out how your volunteer skills can benefit their organizations.
KINVERGE
www.kinverge.org
- Why did you choose to participate in Give Back Chicago?
We’re a relatively new non-profit, but most of our team comes from the corporate world. We understand and appreciate the impact that professionals can make in a growing organization. We also feel that, in today’s economy, nonprofits need to work harder to harness the passion and experience that their volunteers can deliver. Give Back Chicago is a great opportunity to connect with the right people.
- How are you promoting the event and your participation?
We’ve discussed Give Back Chicago with some of our partners and asked that they spread the word within their organizations.
- How will skills-based volunteers make a difference to your organization?
Kinverge has a very unique model and mission. We’re building a platform on which to mobilize communities around kids on foster care, both here in Chicago and across the country. But since we’re not a direct service provider, we think we can leverage volunteers with different skills sets. While we’re still in need of traditional resources–grant writing, board development, and training–we’re also looking for professionals who want to use their corporate skills to help grow a national movement.
INTERNATIONAL VISITORS CENTER OF CHICAGO
www.ivcc.org
- Why did you choose to participate in Give Back Chicago?
Because we depend on our volunteers! We depend on the help and the generosity of volunteers to achieve our mission and our goals. Give Back Chicago presents an opportunity for our organization to reach out and connect with new volunteers. And now, at this point when we find ourselves needing specific, skill-oriented help, we are hoping that Give Back Chicago will provide us with a medium for connecting with potential specialized volunteers.
- How are you promoting the event and your participation?
We send out a weekly email to approximately 4,000 people in the Chicagoland area. In our next e-blast, we will be including an announcement about the Give Back Chicago event and our participation in it, in order to reach out to potential volunteers and members.
- How will skills-based volunteers make a difference to your organization?
We are a 5 full-time and 1 part-time staffed office that programs and hosts over 700 visitors a year. We maintain a large program administration portfolio, but as a small staff, we are strapped for time and haven’t been able to work on system enhancements and projects which could greatly benefit our members and our visitors. Currently, we have two high-priority needs: to redesign our website and to make a video or video clips for inclusion in promotional materials or for posting on our website, Facebook, You Tube, etc, from the raw footage that we have collected over the past few years. These projects require special-skill sets and would otherwise be cost-prohibitive, thus our request for volunteer help!
For more information on these nonprofits, please visit their websites. To see the projects they’re looking to match with volunteers for through Give Back Chicago, you can click on the Nonprofit Projects tab on the menu bar above.
On Monday, October 26, Give Back Chicago was featured on Making a Difference on Blog Talk Radio hosted by Barbara Talisman.
Maura Hernandez, Justin G. Roy and Barbara Talisman took the opportunity to chat with listeners about Give Back Chicago, how we came into existence, how our live auction (and happy hour) will run and the purpose behind it all.
We are getting ramped up for this week and are pretty excited about all the projects Chicago nonprofits are looking for help with! We hope to see you there! RSVP via our Eventbrite form. All the proceeds will go to one of the nonprofits at the end of the night.
Click here to listen to the entire program on the Making A Difference Blog Talk Radio home page, or click here to download the on demand podcast as an MP3 file.
Looking for a place to volunteer your time and professional skills in Chicago? Give Back Chicago is matching volunteers with local nonprofits on Wednesday, November 4th at Buca di Beppo (521 N. Rush St.) in downtown Chicago. You can sign up to participate on our Eventbrite page – Volunteers pay a $10 fee to participate and 100% of the money will be donated to one of the nonprofts in attendance at the event.
Video by James Epstein-Reeves made with Barbara Talisman’s iPhone
Volunteer Happy Hour and Skills-Based Volunteer Auction
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
5:30pm-7:30pm
Buca di Beppo
Rush and Grand – Chicago
Cost: $10 pre-registration ($15 at the door) – Register here!
Thank you to Buca di Beppo for sponsoring the event and providing free pizza. There will also be a cash bar.
Nonprofit Application Deadline: Has passed. Thank you to all who submitted their application! We look forward to seeing you on the 4th and connecting you with an active and professional skills-based volunteer!
Come join us on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 for a live auction and night of networking!
We will have a group of nonprofits who have current opportunities that are skills-based and need your help; the goal is to match your professional skills with the needs of the nonprofit organization, in a fun and light atmosphere. Not only will you learn more about the local Nonprofits (their mission) and ”bid” your skills at our live auction, but is a great opportunity to keep your skills sharp, learn new job-related skills, and build your resume.
All proceeds from the event will be donated to one nonprofit organization at the event by a random drawing.
Thank you very much for browsing to our website! We hope you find it informative and continue visiting us as we build our content!
Give Back Chicago is managed by a group of Chicago professionals from various industries who wanted to use their “corporate-skills” to help local nonprofits connect with local professionals who are currently looking to donate their time to a nonprofit. Our passion and ideas came to fruition on a Friday afternoon at Maui Wowi (who so graciously provided us with brainstorming space), otherwise known as Fridays in Maui (organized by Jean Pickering).
Our mission is to match an individual’s professional skills with the needs of local nonprofit organizations in a fun, social, and engaging networking atmosphere. We want to engage professionals who are currently employed, un/under-employed or in transition and give them the opportunity to give back, keep their skills sharp and help nonprofits.
By connecting and coordinating with local nonprofits, Give Back Chicago will develop a list of current skills-based volunteering opportunities available. On the date of our events, a live auction will be held, where professionals and volunteers can “bid” and sign-up for projects they are qualified for with a nonprofit whose services and target market also aligns with their passions. Each nonprofit will have the opportunity to share their mission and work through promotion before and during the event.
All proceeds from our events will be donated to a nonprofit at the live auction; the winner will be determined through participant voting.
Our first event will be on Wednesday, November 4 at 5:30pm. Save the date and check back soon for more details!
