CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Dates: Saturday, February 27 - Saturday, March 6, 2010

Cost: $425.00 - Participants will need additional spending money for leisure activities.

Immersion Site:
Chicago is the largest city by population in the Midwest, and a dominant center of finance, industry and culture in the region. The city was long the second in population to New York, and is currently the third-most populous city in the United States, with nearly 3 million people.  Since the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, it has been regarded as one of the ten most influential cities in the world. Among the fields in which its influence has been felt are science, architecture, theater, art, sports and business.

But Chicago also faces very significant problems including a shrinking middle-class, the decline of manufacturing industries, and an education crisis.  In 2005 over 436,000 people were living in extreme poverty meaning that their income level is less than half the poverty line.  Each year, almost a half million people rely on emergency and supplemental food provided by the Greater Chicago Food Depository.  In the city of Chicago, only 54% of students graduate from high school, with people of color graduating at significantly lower rates.  Of those who attend a 4-year college immediately after high school, only 35% will graduate.

Community Partner:
In order to explore the issues of urban poverty and education in depth, we will be partnering with Amate House, a home for volunteers under the supervision of the Archdiocese of Chicago.  Currently there are two John Carroll graduates who work at Amate House as well as many graduates from the University of Dayton and other schools.  These volunteers share a communal lifestyle and offer their services on a daily basis to various community agencies and schools.  Amate House is based in three different neighborhoods of Chicago.  We will be staying at the North House which is located just blocks from historic Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.  This neighborhood is made up of the very wealthy as well as the poor, who are often invisible.  There are many shelters and services in the neighborhood that assist those in need.

Service:
During our stay we will be immersing ourselves in the simple lifestyle of the Amate House volunteers.  Each volunteer lives on a food budget of $1.50 per day and we will sharing these very simple meals with them. Willingness to embrace the ethic of the community is a very important part of your participation in this immersion trip.

We will be visiting a number of the urban schools and agencies where the volunteers work.  We will be offering direct service and interacting with the people of Chicago.  On some of the days, we will have the opportunity to shadow the volunteers and assist them in their daily responsibilities.

Accommodations:
We will travel to Amate House from John Carroll in rented vans.  While there we may be transported to the various service sites in Amate House volunteer vehicles.

Amate House is a former convent building which has limited sleeping quarters for its volunteers.  Consequently our group will be sleeping on the floor of one of the living room areas.  Separate sleeping quarters for men and women are not available and immersion participants will provide their own bedding.  Adequate bathroom facilities are shared among everyone in the house.