Local Community Resources
The list below is a place to begin - to access local (NW Chicagoland & Illinois) resources so that educators and students can apply and practice their global competency skills in their own communities. There are many more organizations in the Chicagoland area than are represented here, so feel free to email me the names of additional sources you've come across that are not identified below, and I will add them to the list below.
The NW Chicagoland Region
Gigi's Playhouse - A local organization with a global outreach. Gigi's Playhouse provides free educational and therapeutic resources to educate the broader community on Down syndrome and to support families and their children. Gigi and her family have transformed the Barrington School Community and have in the process made a global impact with 55 locations in North America and 200+ applications for chapters around the world.
Barrington Area Conservation Trust - With a mission to preserve the rich natural resources of the Barrington area, BACT models the the UN mission put forth in several of their SDGs including #15 - Life on Land.
McHenry County Conservation District - Located in the far NW suburbs of Chicago, the MCCD seeks to preserve and restore the rich lands and wildlife of McHenry County. They offer a variety of locations, programs, and volunteer opportunities for community members to enjoy and contribute to their conservation efforts.
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation - A local organization that seeks to protect and conserve wildlife. Their mission honors the UN's SDG #15. Students who wish to take action and to volunteer to help will find a rewarding experience. Our Sophomore Board students were rewarded with a visit from a Flint Creek staff member who brought a snowy owl with her to demonstrate the values and benefits of wildlife conservation.
60010 Feeds Kids - In conjunction with Kids Around the World One Meal Program, Barrington area students are taking action to address food insecurity in their community. Their service honors the UN SDG #2: Zero Hunger.
KSOFA- Kaleidoscope School of Fine Arts Youth Board - Youth Board members will assist with classroom and office activities, represent Kaleidoscope at Community Events (Art in the Barn, Memorial Day Art Show, Scarecrow Fest) and much more! Youth Board members need not be artists to apply. High School students with website, accounting, marketing and customer service experience are encouraged to apply.
Barrington Giving Day - Serving the Barrington community for over 80 years to serve families in need. Barrington Giving Day provides necessities to children and their families within District 220 (Barrington Illinois Schools) who either qualify as low-income or are experiencing a hardship. Volunteers are always welcome.
Project B3: Be Safe. Be Smart. Be Kind - Student Leadership Program, will meet monthly throughout school year; volunteers will help to design and create a program for middle school students to educate and empower students to use technology and social media in the best way possible, attend workshops, and participate in an annual service project; for more information click here.
D300 Food Pantry; To volunteer click here. If interested, complete the Volunteer Registration Form
Boy & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township; Volunteers are needed to help with STEM activities, academic support, and small group activities for K- 5th grade students; to volunteer for the 2022-2023 school year go to http://bgcdt.org/give/volunteer/
Smart Farm at Good Shepherd Hospital. If you are passionate about helping our community improve their lives through access to fresh produce and like to have fun at the same time, join our volunteer team!To volunteer, click here.
Home of the Sparrow Volunteer Opportunities. Home of the Sparrow’s mission is to provide Hope, Opportunity and Support that empowers women and children as they journey from homelessness to self-sufficiency. Every day, Home of the Sparrow volunteers make a difference in the community.
House of Hope - Barrington. Project Hope's mission is to provide short-term, emergency assistance to area families in crisis, regardless of faith. Founder Sr. Lorraine Menheer understood that an act of kindness, given with compassion and discretion, could be a life-altering event, that such timely intervention could, in fact, restore self-sufficiency and hope. To volunteer, click here.
Chicago & Greater Illinois Regions
Global Illinois Scholar Certificate - The Illinois Global Scholar Certificate allows Illinois school districts to award merit on the state approved transcript to students who demonstrate global competence through coursework, service learning, global collaboration, and a summative capstone project. The Resource page provides an extensive list of teaching and learning opportunities for educators and students alike.
Simmons Center for Global Chicago complements existing organizations and highlights Chicago as a global city while amplifying the work of the global nonprofit community. The Center creates strategic pathways for interaction and collaboration among nonprofit organizations in the global development sector as well as between these nonprofit groups and the wider international landscape of organizations in the greater Chicago region.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs Founded in 1922, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing knowledge and engagement in global affairs.
Field Museum of Chicago - World Culture Resource and Field Museum of Chicago - Educator Resources Cyrus Tang Hall of China offer rich classroom materials to augment your global instruction.
Refugee One - Chicago - Offering resettlement, work training, language classes, and community support to refugees in the Chicago area. To become a volunteer or to lend support, click here.
Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley For volunteer opportunities, click here
United Way of Metro Chicago Individuals and businesses across the Chicago region are giving of their time and talents, and they’re making an impact in neighborhoods. To volunteer, click here.
WBEZ's Worldview Podcast. Conversations and interviews that investigate how culture and identity shape the news
UIC's Office of Global Engagement University of Illinois at Chicago's hub for international initiatives, resources, and programs.
Taiye Selasi's “Don't ask where I'm from;
ask where I'm a local."
ask where I'm a local."
"All experience is local; All identity is experience."
Colum McCann & Taiye Selasi
Teaching students to be globally aware begins by helping them recognize their own identities and experiences and to embrace the fluid relationship between the two. Doing so allows them to be better prepared to explore perspectives, to investigate, to learn how to communicate across cultures and identities, and to take meaningful action both locally and globally.
To become globally aware, students first need to recognize the world in which they exist, the culture that is a play in their daily environments, their "water." Though the speech here is perhaps tangential to the focus of providing local resources, the video challenges listeners to shift their mindset and perspective at the immediate, daily level. Doing so allows us to act with more intention and to see the world in new and meaningful ways.