Having spent this past weekend in a room with a group of exceptionally bright and relentlessly compassionate young folk discussing global poverty and sustainable economic development, I got good-doing on the brain. (I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is, yes. I do know how to party.)
And yes, there is a particular satisfaction and sense of purpose in dedicating time and thought to a cause that demands not only our attention but our action as well, and a moral imagination, an intolerance for apathy. I’m happy to spend all the weekends from now until the end of time talking about global poverty and advocating for its eradication. I do, however, love coming back to Zealous Good on Mondays and focusing on the local and the immediately actionable. Thinking about global change and wide-scale social impact can be, frankly, daunting. This makes it no less critical. But it is refreshing and equally critical to refocus, come Monday, on Chicago and the immediate community, to recall that we here have plenty to sink our hands and our hearts and our teeth into. An excellent post in GOOD just this morning offers this reminder:
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
The whole of the Zealous Good community – our team, our nonprofit partners, and our donors and supporters – comes alive when serving the needs of perhaps not the whole world but certainly of Chicago. We have charities that deliver high-quality educational and skills training programs to our youth, programs that provide jobs, family support, and cultural preservation.
We also have organizations that do nearly all of the above.
This week, welcome Chicago Lights:
A community outreach organization that provides hope and opportunity to Chicago’s children, youth, and adults who face the challenges of poverty. Through supportive relationships and diverse programs, Chicago Lights empowers people to thrive academically, secure economic stability, lead healthy lives, and build community.
Chicago Lights’ seven community outreach programs foster education and literacy,advance health and wellness, and alleviate hunger and homelessness. The programs include:
I’m Almost There
by DeshawnI’m almost there
one more step,
one more building, the next step will be the crib
laying in my own bed, looking up at my ceiling.
D.O.C. is where I’m about to be, 24 months, that’s nothing to me.
I’m gonna knock that out in a heartbeat. Patience, that’s all it takes,
can’t mess with no lames
’cause all of them fake. Just keep things to myself
that’s all its gonna take.
I can’t mess up
no time for error, no time for mistakes.
Me coming home, I gotta do whatever it takes.
I’m almost there, I’m almost there, I keep getting this weird feeling
that I’m already there.
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