Getting Involved!

[Jordan Merlo]

Hello,Trying to get people involved in nonprofit organizations such as Cabrini Connections can be difficult but I am impressed at what I have seen thus far. It has come to my knowledge that through networking and social media Cabrini Connections has become more well known, which gives me hope that as a result profits and volunteers will start to increase even more.We all come from different backgrounds. And from our different experiences we became who we are today. I have always found that we can always benefit from our past experiences and people who have came into our lives and the tools we were given to make the future better.Bradley Troast, recent NorthWestern graduate student is doing just that. After college Bradley joined a one year fellowship through NorthWestern University, this fellowship is a public interest program that specializes in non-for-profits, like Cabrini Connections. As part of this fellowship program Northwestern and others who are in similar programs from other schools like Princeton University and University of Chicago have weekly meetings. Former students from these schools, based on their interests, were given several non-for-profit organizations to choose from and from there they were sent to help the organization. What makes this program unique is that once a week all of the former students meet at each of their organizations and discuss the organizations purpose, their challenges, and how they are facing these challenges. I applaud Bradley for joining this fellowship as I know through this Cabrini Connections and other non-for-profits associated with the program will be given a lot of special attention.For organizations such as Cabrini Connections it is all about getting the word out to as many people as possible. To make a difference in these youths' lives we need to share our story and our mission. We currently have two students, Eunsoo Lee and Jawon Koo from IIT who will be interning here for the next six weeks. There purpose here is to use technology in a way that will visually give those who may not understand the need for tutor mentor programs in certain areas the power to be able to see our vision for the youth. In doing so it will show how Cabrini Connections and many other tutor mentor programs have impacted these neighborhoods positively.So, what is my purpose? Well, I am also an intern here at Cabrini Connections. I have been here for about a month and plan on being here till the end of March. I am currently a Junior at Loyola University of Chicago and I write about Cabrini Connections and all that it is doing to make a brighter futures for youth in low income housing in hopes that you will help be apart of the solution. It is my personal goal that through my writing I will get in touch with those who I might not run into, so that the word of Cabrini Connections can be spread further. And with 6,767,805,208 people in the world using the internet, I believe that my goal can easily be accomplished. I want those who read my blogs to want to help Cabrini Connections, so my hope is to inspire.I think it is amazing that so far we have people from three different schools participating in Cabrini Connections cause. I hope that in the future this continues to expand so that we can get more volunteers, interns, and spread the awareness of the cause even further.Getting involved though does not always have to be hands on. You can help Cabrini Connections today from the comfort of your own home. Donations are always welcome and are always a great way to contribute to the cause. Also, sending my blog to your friends and family who you believe might be interested in supporting the cause as well helps. YOU can make a difference and all it takes is just a couple of clicks!Jordan E. Merlo