Skokie, Have you Found your Voice through Volunteering?

I believe that giving back to the community is important.  As part of this week’s Martin Luther King Service Week, Americans are volunteering to help serve their neighbors and communities - there are many local opportunities where we can all lend a hand.  A few of the organizations I have volunteered my time include: 

Skokie’s Home Delivered Meals Program - This program distributes food to the homebound members of our community who are unable to prepare nutritionally balanced meals themselves.  My work has included packaging and delivering food providing an extremely necessary service to the many fragile members of Skokie.  By including my young son with me in this program, I hope to illustrate to him the importance of giving back to the community while instilling a sense of commitment to service.

District 73.5 - As an active parent in my school district I have volunteered at every level - from cooking in the ELL kindergarten, volunteering in classrooms working with children one-on-one, to my role as a board member. I was also fortunate enough to initiate a running program for elementary kids.  My work helps give children exposure to new experiences, the act of giving, and to help build their fitness and self esteem. My former role as Vice President of Ways and Means for the PTA included working with local businesses to support them and our district through strategic fundraising.

Festival of Cultures - Recently I volunteered with our venerable Festival of Cultures to assist with this upcoming community event.  I look forward to participating in this annual festival and celebrating our community and its many partners.

These are a few of the organizations to which I contribute and volunteer my time – they are as diverse as Skokie.  My exposure to the residents is not just through my own volunteer efforts but also through those of my friends who have also volunteered to become my campaign staff.  One volunteers at the Niles Township Schools’ ELL Parent Center in Skokie and is helping to establish the Parent Mentor Program at Devonshire and Madison schools.  Another staff member volunteers with LadderUp preparing income tax returns for low income clients.  And another has been an active member of the Fine Arts Commission for several years.  So, not only through my own volunteer efforts, but also through these friends I hear about the diverse residents and disparate needs within our community.

The Brian Novak for Skokie Trustee team believes that giving back to the community is important and we have acted on that belief by contributing our time.  In the process, we also learn more about important issues to help understand the needs of the Village.  As a Skokie Trustee, I will use that knowledge to help the community’s diverse residents, businesses, and organizations.  Only if the needs of the community are known can they ultimately be addressed.

If you are interested in volunteering your time to any of the organizations listed above or to Citizens for Brian Novak, please contact me (www.novakforskokie.com).  Skokienet.org also has postings for a wide variety of community events.  And if you want to attend a local public meeting, the various municipal and school boards all post their meeting schedules and agendas on their websites.

I will be available for one-on-one discussions at the Village Crossing Corner Bakery January 31st from 7pm – 8:30pm.  To learn more about me or my candidacy, please visit my website at www.novakforskokie.com.