The Chambana Volunteer, May 24-31
Spotlight on a Cause:
Urbana Park District
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The Urbana Park District offers a variety of fun, healthy, and educational programs to thousands of local residents. The District oversees several unique facilities in Urbana, including the Dog Park, Crystal Lake, Park, and Pool, the Anita Purves Nature Center, and the Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center. Volunteers play a large role in day-to-day operations for the Park District, as well as for scheduled programming. Currently, there are openings to help coach youth soccer and to lead guided tours through the Nature Center, but there are many other possibilities and opportunities that will need to be filled depending on the time of the season. To learn more about the Urbana Park District, go to www.urbanaparks.org. To sign up to volunteer contact Ellen Kirsanoff at 367-1536 or ekirsanoff@urbanaparks.org.
Volunteers Needed
Wesley Pantry Volunteers Needed
Help feed the hungry by volunteering at the Wesley Pantry one night a month. There is a lack of volunteers during the summer months when students are out of school, and volunteers are needed more than ever! Pantry Night is always the third Thursday of the month, with the next one falling on June 21. Volunteer orientation must occur for all new volunteers and will be on the evening of Wednesday, June 20. For more information on the Wesley Pantry and other ways to help, go to www.wesleypantry.org.
Become a Champaign County CASA Advocate
Help give children in need a voice by becoming an advocate. Volunteers are ordinary people who care about the well-being of children and act as extra eyes and ears for courts and child welfare agencies. All new volunteers must first fill out an application, then be interviewed and screened to work with the children. No experience is necessary; volunteers will be trained on everything they need to know. For more information on volunteering with CASA, please visit http://www.chcocasa.org/Volunteer.htm
Upcoming Events
Champaign County Humane Society GIANT Garage Sale
Hours are Friday, May 25 7am-6pm, Saturday, May 26 8am-6pm, and Sunday May 27 10am-noon. The Sale will take place at Kesler Hall in the Champaign County Fairgrounds. All sorts of goods will be available, with all proceeds going to the Champaign County Humane Society. More details are at www.cuhumane.org.
Register NOW for the East Central IL Volunteerism Conference
Registration is now open to join the East Central IL Volunteerism Conference, taking place at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon on June 7. This is an all-day event that will include workshops, keynote speakers, and a chance for networking. This event is open to the public with an emphasis towards those who volunteer and/or mange volunteers. Price is $30 which includes lunch. Please go to www.ecivc.net or call Marsha Reardon at 359-6500 for more information and to register.
Tickets Still Available for Crisis Nursery Auction & Dinner!
Join the Crisis Nursery for their 19th Annual Dinner & Auction on Friday, June 1 at the I Hotel. Doors open at 5:30pm, as cocktails are served and silent auction bidding begins. Dinner is served at 7pm, with the live auction at 8pm to close out the evening. Nearly 100 silent auction baskets are up for bid and live auction baskets will include prizes such as hard-to-get-tickets and weekend getaways. This is their biggest fundraiser of the year and tickets can be purchased today by calling 337-2731.
Disclaimer: I gather this information based on local community calendars and from colleagues at local service organizations. Some of the wording is based directly on what I receive and research. Please feel free to email me if you have any comments, questions, or have anything you would like to see posted. Thank you. (MER)
Most Recent Culture Comments
@Jason: You’re right about that. I get groceries at Schnucks (they carry what I buy, which I can’t say of any other single grocery store in town), and if they have a beer I’m in the market for it’s usually a quarter or two cheaper per 6-…
Best Neighborhood Bar (& Grill) : Urbana - My ‘hood- the ‘Boom! http://www.boomerangbarandgrill.com Go on a Wing Wednesday or Fish Friday, or see a band play some night. Local blue-collar Urbana terroir galore. My only beer snobbish gripe is lack of a pale hopped ale, but you…
The one thing that’s bothered me for a while about the Friar is that, for most commonly purchased adult beverages, you can actually walk down the strip mall to Schnucks and get them cheaper. It makes no sense, but there it is. I suspect it’s because Schnucks…
Maybe I complained enough in person. One time I even explained to the (wholly uninterested) clerk how to navigate the Illinois Statutes web page, and Savoy’s Municipal Code database I wouldn’t know because I only go there when I want to pay 30% more for anything, which is never.
@Rob: You seem to have the weirdest experiences. I’m in Friar Tuck every other week (don’t tell my mom that I’m a lush). They never fail to ask for my birth date but never my age, they never card afterwards, and they often allow me to use…
This column affords me a long-awaited opportunity. I’ve wanted to write my own column called Fuck You Friar Tuck Liquors. but I always thought it’d be too pithy. Here, I can say Fuck You Friar Tuck Liquors and not feel bothered to stretch it out to 750…
Ha! Exactly. You, sir, are welcome at the bar in My House.
Why wait ‘til 3 pm?
I’m excited to go tonight- should be very fun!
Most Recent Comments
High-profile whining. AKA Lobbying.
it’s quite choice. looking forward to seeing how it and its patronage grow and develop over the course of the year. could be a neat little ecosystem.
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Super cool! Excellent track, Excellent band.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.
Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
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The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!