Sign up for free books, and be entered to win book ends!

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is celebrating 3 years in the Elgin area in February! This program sends free books monthly to all Elgin, South Elgin, Pingree Grove, Hampshire, and Burlington children who sign up. Any child from birth to 5 years old with a home address in those towns can sign up!

And if you sign up in February, you will be entered to win these adorable train bookends. How’s that for a win-win?

Sign up online now or download the registration form to mail it in! Your children will receive their first free book within 8 weeks, and then one book every month until their fifth birthdays. And be sure to sign up every child you have eligible in the age range, as they will all get unique books addressed to them each month!

The purpose of the program is to foster a love of reading and learning in children at a young age. This will help them enter kindergarten prepared to succeed. Learn more about the program.

Last Chance to Train to Volunteer as a Tax Preparer

Tax season is fast approaching, and we hope you will join the Center for Economic Progress as a volunteer this year, helping low income families to file their taxes for free and claim valuable credits. It’s not too late to get started!

If you’ve volunteered in the past, all training can be completed online this year. To attend classroom trainings, please get started right away–classes only run for a couple more weeks.

To volunteer at a tax preparation site:

• No experience is necessary—choose a position to fit your current skills or learn something new.
• All trainings are provided; classes run in January.
• Volunteers are asked to commit 20 hours (averaging to a few hours a week) between January and April.

Volunteer positions available as:

• Tax preparers: Work with clients to file federal and state tax returns and provide counseling on tax credits and forms.
• Tax site assistants: Perform essential non-tax-preparation activities, including client intake, translating and educating on basic banking options available on site.

In Elgin, volunteers work at the Gail Borden Library.

Next steps:
See why over 1,100 volunteers dedicated last winter to serving 28,000 families statewide. Register to volunteer, view training schedules and find a site near you at www.economicprogress.org/volunteer.

Contact:
With questions, please contact Volunteer Services at 312.630.0288 or volunteer@economicprogress.org. We hope to hear from you soon!

Illinois doubles the Earned Income Tax Credit

Good news on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for Illinois—the EITC will be doubled! The Earned Income Tax Credit is a valuable credit for low income families. Through our partnership with the Center for Economic Progress, we help low income families file their taxes for free and claim this valuable credit. If you would like to volunteer to help people file their taxes, all training is provided in early January. Sign up to volunteer as a tax preparer on our website.

Here is information about the EITC increase, passed by Illinois legislature on December 13. The information is from Tax Credits for Working Families:

This week the Illinois legislature passed a bill to increase its Earned Income Tax Credit, doubling the size of the credit to 10 percent of the federal EITC, phased in over three years. The bill cleared its final legislative hurdle Tuesday when the Senate passed it in a special session, after the House passed the bill on Monday. Governor Pat Quinn is expected to sign the bill, which is paired with a bill to cut taxes for corporations and smaller businesses.

The expanded credit will help 935,000 working families keep a bit more of their paychecks, providing them with an additional $90 million in 2014, when the improvement is fully implemented. Low- and middle-income working families will also receive an additional boost from a $50 increase in the personal exemption, which is now indexed to inflation. Gov. Quinn championed the EITC increase, insisting that relief for families be included in any plan that cuts taxes for businesses. While earlier versions of the tax cut package put forth a larger increase that would have tripled the size of the EITC, the expanded credit still represents a significant portion of the $330 million overall package.

The Illinois Make Work Pay Coalition, staffed by Voices for Illinois Children, has advocated for an increase in the state EITC since 2003. The improvement to the Illinois EITC demonstrates that states can enact or expand tax credits for working families as part of a larger plan for jobs and economic growth even during difficult economic times.

Elgin Community Holiday Toy Drive and Giveaway

Last year, this drive collected over 6,000 toys for over 2,700 area children. This year, help them keep up with the generous holiday giving tradition!

The annual Toy Giveaway will be held Thursday, December 15, 2011 in the basement of the Hemmens Center.

Volunteer: Volunteers are needed for this event:

• Set Up: Wednesday, December 14, 12-5pm
• Distribution: Thursday, December 15, 9a-7p

Donate: To donate toys, please bring new, unwrapped gifts (here are some ideas) to The Grand Victoria Casino Pavilion or the Elgin Township Office (Nov 25-Dec 13).

Participate and receive gifts: You need to bring your ID for proof of residency, as well as an ID for each child 16 years old or younger. No child care is available.

• Elgin and South Elgin ID including an address
• ID for each child 16 or younger can be Public Aid Medical Card, Birth Certificate, or Current school record. No social security cards.

For more information, contact the Community Crisis Center at 847-742-4088 x304 or email toygiveaway@crisiscenter.org.

Visit our website for more information on Elgin area holiday gift donations and needs!

Feeding Greater Elgin Food Pantry Grand Opening

The Feeding Greater Elgin Food Pantry is opening in its new location, 1553 Commerce Drive, Elgin, IL 60123. And as an interested community member (a volunteer, donor, or user of pantry services), you are invited to attend the grand opening of this great new collaborative nonprofit organization. Details of the grand opening:

• When: Saturday, December 10, 2-5pm, 3pm opening ceremony
• Where: Feeding Greater Elgin food pantry, 1553 Commerce Drive, Elgin, IL 60123
• What: An opportunity to celebrate and tour the warehouse and office space for other local service organizations.

At Feeding Greater Elgin pantry, clients have the opportunity to choose their food themselves, called “Client Choice”, which helps cut back on waste as well as allows the client to have greater freedom and the ability to account for dietary needs.

The pantry is currently open for Food Distribution on Tuesdays from 9-11am, Wednesdays from 11am -1pm, Thursdays from 6-8pm, and Saturdays from 9am -1pm. The pantry will be staffed primarily by volunteers, who anticipate helping 1000 families each month.  Clients must have photo ID and proof of residency in Elgin or South Elgin.

Learn more about how you can volunteer with the Feeding Greater Elgin pantry.

Dolly Parton Imagination Library receives $25,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase Foundation

We are proud to announce that the JPMorgan Chase Foundation has renewed their commitment to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program with a $25,000 grant. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library sends free books monthly to Elgin area children from birth to age 5. Find out how to sign your child up to receive free books.

“We are thrilled and grateful that JPMorgan Chase Foundation has chosen to continue supporting this important program,” said Lynne Bosley, President of the United Way of Elgin. “This grant is critical foundation to a program that helps our local children enter kindergarten prepared to succeed.” The JPMorgan Chase Foundation’s goal is to be the catalyst to meaningful, positive and sustainable change within high-need neighborhoods.

Since launching in the area in February 2009, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library has sent over 72,000 books to 4,500 children in Elgin, South Elgin, Burlington, Hampshire, and Pingree Grove. The United Way of Elgin and community partners have a goal of reaching 5,000 children by 2012. Parents can learn how to register their children to receive books by visiting uwelgin.org and clicking the “Free Books” link in the lower left corner.

The Imagination Library was started by Dolly Parton in 1996 in her hometown, and launched as a national program in 2000. The goal of the program is to foster a love of reading by providing all children, regardless of family income, with a library of books. At United Way of Elgin the program is one of many Education Initiatives, which work to ensure that the families in our community have the capacity to act as primary caregivers, with particular focus on creating home and school environments where children and youth have every opportunity to become literate, secure, and prepared for productive adulthood.

In addition to this grant, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in the Elgin area is supported by grants from local groups like the EFS Foundation, The Fideliter Club of Elgin, and donations from community members.

If you would like more information, please call the United Way office at (847) 741-2259, e-mail Elissa Kojzarek at ekojzarek@uwelgin.org or check out the information on our website.