September 2012 - Monthly Newsletter
Message from the Executive Director - Breandán Magee
Fall is almost upon us; the days are growing shorter and knowing what awaits us, Chicagoans seem to be doing our best to milk every last minute of this great weather. The avid Bears fans among us are also like kids the night before Christmas waiting for the football season to ratchet up.
Football, not be confused with Gaelic football or soccer, seems to be the talk of the town these days, not just in Chicago but in Dublin too. The Emerald Isle had a decidedly American twist to its sporting line up last week as an estimated 35,000 American fans made their way to a festive, fun-filled Dublin to enjoy unseasonably good summer weather and a great game of college football. The Fighting Irish, Notre Dame played Navy in Lansdowne Road and trounced them with a score of 50 -10.
The event was a huge success and one that cannot simply be measured in terms of the number of visitors and the projected $150 million that they pumped into a flailing Irish economy. The game also brought many top executives to town and helped to showcase Ireland’s potential as a place to do business in and with. In many ways this was also a precursor to ‘The Gathering 2013’: the much vaunted Irish government initiative to encourage as many people globally with Irish heritage to visit Ireland next year. For the rest of the message...
Paul Dowling, Director of Social Services News and Events
The United States of Aging Survey
United Healthcare, USA TODAY, and the National Council in Aging surveyed 2,250 U.S. adults aged 60 and over for the inaugural United States of Aging Survey. The survey questioned seniors about their preparedness for aging. Despite the daily reports we hear about the vulnerabilities of our nation’s seniors the findings were largely upbeat. Most respondents expressed great satisfaction for the present and optimism for the future. For the rest of the article...
Senior Group Programming
September sees the return of our senior group meetings at both the Irish American Heritage Center and Gaelic Park. We are delighted to be back and hope you missed us as much as we missed you! As usual all meetings take place between 10am and noon. There is no cost and refreshments will be served. For more information about the Senior Group Programming click here!
If you need further information please contact the office on 773-282-8445 or ciissocialservices@gmail.com
Social Work Student Program
Chicago Irish Immigrant Support is proud to host an innovative student program in collaboration with Wellspring Personal Care and the major Irish universities. We have teamed up with Wellspring, a homecare agency, to provide a social work field placement opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students from Irish universities. For more information about this program, click here!
Help us Support our Seniors
For over a year now the Irish American Heritage Center has been partnering with the City of Chicago to run the Golden Diners Luncheons. These wonderful events provide affordable and nutritious lunches to seniors. The Golden Diners Luncheons also offer a great opportunity for seniors to get together socially and enjoy one another’s company while sharing a meal. This fantastic program is run entirely by hard working volunteers that help out with Meal service, clean-up, and interacting socially with the seniors that attend. We need more enthusiastic volunteers to keep the program vibrant so we can continue to provide this great service to the seniors of our community. If you would like more information or would like to volunteer please call Paul Dowling at Chicago Irish Immigrant Support on 773-282-8445.
AN IMMIGRANTS MUSINGS BY FATHER MICHAEL LEONARD
SIGNS OF HOPE
As I put my fingers to the keyboard, I listen to the radio announce news of hope for “The Dreamers”. The Illinois Coalition For Immigrant and Refugee Rights are today processing applications for D.A.C.A. That is, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This is an effort by the Obama administration to give a chance to young people who entered the US as minors without the necessary legal documents, to apply for this common sense solution for young people who are in a very difficult position through no fault of theirs. The following quotation from USCIS is a summary of the temporary fix that the DHS is offering at this time.
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