Volunteer Opportunities in Chicago

Volunteer Opportunities in Chicago

Hello, Ramblers!  I hope you are as excited as I am as we count down the days to break!

This week I have been thinking ahead about next semester, specifically finding a new volunteer opportunity for next semester. Like the majority of students at Loyola, I have volunteered since middle school and view volunteer work as an integral part of my week, whether the work entails running a food donations drive or giving tours around campus. I see each volunteer shift or event as a learning experience, specifically a tool that helps me to see beyond myself.  Donating a few hours a week of time can both help others and offer a humbling experience that can lead to a career.

With this in mind, I have been applying to multiple volunteer opportunities pertaining to the medical field.  I want to familiarize myself with the dynamic hospital environment and offer to the patients I work with the best care available.  Multiple premed Loyola students like me share these same aspirations, so I thought it would be helpful if I shared a few of the wonderful volunteer opportunities I found last week.  This is the time to get involved!  Here we go, and please comment with questions!

  1. Misericordia (6300 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago, IL) is home to over 600 children and adults with mental and/or physical disabilities.  Students from LUC interested in participating in service at Misericordia can sign up through Loyola’s ministry office, specifically Loyola4Chicago.  I believe a group of students through L4C visit the residents at Misericordia once a week.
  2. Northwestern Memorial Hospital (251 E. Huron St. in Chicago, IL) is the main teaching hospital for Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.  This nationally-ranked medical center requires hundreds of volunteers in multiple departments, offering volunteer shifts once a week for four hours.
  3. Literacy Center (on campus) provides services to aid adults who are learning English as a second language.  Students typically choose one day out of the week to tutor in English for one hour.  Training is offered, and according to my friends who participate in the literacy center’s programs as tutors, the backgrounds of the ESL students are amazing, since we teach adults from all over the world.
  4. Clubs–Multiple on-campus clubs participate in, or even host, service events.  For example, LUC Red Cross holds blood drives and needs volunteers for each event.  NSCS (National Society of Collegiate Scholars) hosts multiple donation drives and PACE tutoring events.  New Life Volunteering Society hosts club trips to the Devon Health Clinic off Howard.

These wonderful opportunities listed above are only a few of many.  The beauty of living near a big city is that there are hundreds of volunteer opportunities in Chicago alone that can use a helping hand from us.  These charitable volunteer foundations are calling our name to help!  I am answering their call and am inviting you to do the same.  Again, any questions please comment!

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