Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to the weekly show here on iHeartRadio,
a ninety three to nine light of FM one, O
three five Kiss FM and Rock ninety five to five.
I'm Paulina, and every week we're here to discuss a
variety of topics that matter to Chicago Land, from health, education, finances,
and so much more. Today on the show, we have
Sally Sholsey and we're going to talk all about the
state of refugee one. I also have Aarin joining me
(00:23):
from Aaron's Farm, which is located in Indiana and it
is a rescue for unwanted farm animals, and of course
Erin will be telling us all about her upcoming gala.
We also have many other special guests joining us today
on the show, so you don't want to miss it.
Let's tune in. Hi, It's Paulina here with iHeartMedia Chicago,
and today I am chatting with our friends at Aaron's Farm,
(00:44):
and I'm chatting with the one and only Aaron.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
How are you gooded?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
How are you?
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Yeah, I am so excited you're here today. So Aaron's
Farm Rescue Sanctuary at Ofvacy, that is what you stand for.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
So without further ado, can you tell us a little
bit about yourself and then of course about Aaron's farm.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Sure, I just you know, I was an animal lover
kid that became an animal lovering adult and just wanted
to share that passion with kids. So we focus on
rescuing animals, but then also the educational aspect, and we're
trying to change the next generation and teach them to
be stewards of nature and more caring individuals and care
about the world around them. So it's kind of what
we're all about here. So yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So your animals in particular, and my coworker from the
Frend show, Kaylin, she speaks about you guys so highly,
and she's actually been to your fone.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
She came out, Yeah, she came out for Crow Teddling
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
It's great, that's incredible, and that's very Kaylen. That is
very much her. So I think that's so cool. So
tell a little bit about the history right of your animals, Like,
I know that they come from very unfortunate circumstances and
it's you know, it is extremely heartbreaking, but I love
that they end up with you because it's a second
chance at life, you know, So tell us little bit
about some of the stories you know that you can
(02:02):
share with us about your animals, where they've you know,
where they've come from essentially, and then also you know
about the people life that they get to live.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Now. Sure, So I was a vet nurse originally, and
we would get all these animals, you know, dumped at
the hospital, and so I started doing these educational programs
and actually it became a business where I would teach.
I would take these rescued animals and teach at schools.
And then as time went on and we grew bigger,
I didn't want the animals to travel. I wanted them
to stay at home. So I figured, how can we
(02:30):
do this? So we we started this the farm and
it became the nonprofit because we wanted a place for
these animals to go. And and a lot of the
animals that we rescue are not necessarily dogs and cats.
There's there's so many dog and cat rescues. I mean,
I know they're all over overflowing, but there's so many
of them across the United States. There there wasn't really
a huge place for you know, farmed animals to go,
(02:53):
you know, you know, a sheep or a pig that
you know, a lot of those people just consider them
food and they you know, they say, well, why would
you rescue that? So I saw this need for like,
these guys needed a place to go, and they were
no less worthy than a dog or cat or any
other animal that we loved. So we saw the need
(03:13):
to for that, and I wanted a place for these
kids to come out to like maybe field trip to
us or visit us and learn, you know, put the
iPads down, get your hands in the dirt and soil,
pet the animals, and just get in nature and have
not just me bringing the animals to the classroom, which
I used to do, but for them to have the
whole entire experience and coming out to the country and
(03:34):
getting involved and seeing where the animals live and seeing
how they interact with the other animals and stuff. So
we've had some pretty amazing rescue stories through the years.
You know, there's the famous Elda, which was our first
big giant pig you know food industry peg, and she
was you know, came to us at thirteen pounds or something,
and she was a tiny little thing, no bigger than
(03:54):
a cat. But she had jumped off one of those trucks,
you know, a factory farms the animals are taking from
their mom and sent to you know, fattening farms. And
so she jumped off the truck. And now we like
to say she took a leap of faith and got
a better life because she ended up at the farm
and now everyone loves her and she's you know, she's
just as cute and cuddly as a dog. And now
(04:15):
we've we've got ten of those now, so ten of
those jumpers, you know, taking the leap of face. So
so a lot of those guys didn't have a place
to go to grow because some of those pigs, you know,
get to be eight or nine hundred pounds, so it's
not like they can stay at your local animal shelter
or your local backyard. So it's not like a pop
bealley pig that can stay at your house. So so
they obviously had it, you know, we had a need
(04:36):
for them. And even some of our cows we have,
you know, a couple of cows that have you know,
uh that are handicap that had we have one of
our cows, a sky has a prosthetic leg that she
uses and she gets around the farm with that. So
so we have some pretty unique cases too.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, no, absolutely, I think it's so incredible all the
work that you're doing and how you are giving these
animals a second chance. That is so sweet. So what
a about as far as you know, people wanting to
help and support the farm?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Right?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Are you open twenty four not twenty four seven? That's
not that's not possible. Are you open throughout the whole year,
like throughout the seasons? Are people able to come and
see these animals to help take care of them? What
can we do to help?
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Yeah? So we have we have like classes for kids
and then we also have camp for kids, and a
lot of that is tied to this gallon that we're
having because we need an indoor space. But we do
have kids camp, camps, cloud I Can camps, Oh my gosh,
classes and camps that they can sign up for. We
do have open public days and they're kind of hit
or miss. It's based on how many volunteers we have,
(05:40):
what we have going on that week, and you know
what the weather is. But but you can come and
when they when we do have open days, you can
kind of wander around at you leave here, it's seven
dollars a person and you can bring apples and treats
to feed the animals, but you can see where they
live and learn about them. On those days, we do
also offer tours like where we take you doing guided
tour with me through the farm and I take you
(06:02):
into the fields where they live and you hear all
their animal stories for me, because because I know them,
I know them the best of course.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Oh my god, that is the sweetest thing.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So okay, that's really good to know.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
And then before we jump.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Into your gala, which we are here to talk about
as well, what is a good website to check out
everything you just mentioned regarding your farm.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
For general information just about our mission, you can check
out our website which is www dot Nature's I'm sorry,
aaronsfarm dot net. And then for most of our activities
and events going and most of that is on social
media these days, so I would say Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,
there's all the all the places that we share it on.
(06:45):
That's that's we're gonna get most of the more up
to date events and what we're having that week and
et cetera, and what's going on the farm or and
our Patreon. We have a Patreon pages is the donor page,
so it's patreon dot com backslash Aeron's farm. You could
sign up and get behind the scenes scoop of what
what's happening and some of the things that don't make
the social media pages. You can see all that kind
of stuff. So get more involved.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
That's amazing, Okay, beautiful, And now Aaron, we are talking
about your gala that is coming up and I would
love to dive into that. That is August second, and
where is that and who are we supporting with your yala?
Speaker 4 (07:19):
So's it's very exciting. It's our first like Raise the
Roof gala. It's for a barn raison gala and it's
at Wildwoods in Hobert, Indiana, which is a darling little
place right in the middle of town. We're going to
have some live music, some auction items, food, drinks, everything.
It's going to be great. But the whole the so
at the farm, we have all these visit days and
(07:40):
things where people can come out and camps. But the
problem is we don't have a huge indoor space. So
if it's a rainy day, we have to cancel. If
it's a school group, we have to cancel and reschedule,
you know. And camps are only able to be done
during the warm one weather months, where we so that
we need a barn for multiple reasons. We need you know,
hay storage for the winter time, we need you know,
(08:01):
some areas for some of these elderly animals to come
in during the winter. But we're going to have a
learning annex, and that's the most important part of it,
where it's going to be a year round weatherproof room
where you know, any any event, whether it's a field
trip that's coming or our campers that are here, if
it's a thunderstorming, rainy day, we can just go inside.
And it would have an arena where we could just
bring the animals inside and continue all the same learning
(08:23):
activities despite the weather and so and we could even
have a you know, a winter camp and you know,
a fall camp and stuff. So it would just more
than anything, it would, you know. Right now, I think
we're limited to being open almost like six months of
the year and the rest of the year we're just
kind of waiting for the good weather. Where this gallay,
this barn will be life changing for us because it
(08:44):
will open everything up to being year round and we
could have more stuff and more events and more learning
experiences and more kid activities and everything. So it's it's
a huge Yeah, it's a huge step and it will
just be life changing for us. So I love it.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Oh that's so exciting. Well, thank you so much for
joining us on the show today and thank you for
sharing this and of course, you know, thank you for
all all you do for these animals. I think that's
such like a selfless uh mission in life. I mean
it's just really you know, care for other animals that
really truly deserve the second chance in life. So I
think that's incredible. So one last time, what is the
website to get more information about you? And of course
(09:21):
the gala.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
So the website for Aaron's Farm, just for general information
in our in our mission is www dot Aaronsfarm dot
net and the gala is Aaronsfarm dot home dot qt
gos apellued k q t e g O dot u
s that's our galla side where you could get tickets.
You could buy raffle tickets, you can bid on the
(09:46):
items that we have and all that. I hope you
guys join us. I hope I hope you come out
for the galas because it's going to be a lot
of fun and that's our first one. So yeah, it's
super exciting.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Thank you Aerin so much for your time today. We
appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Thank you, hope you guys, hope to see some of
you guys there.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Hi, It's Paulina here with iHeartMedia Chicago, and today I
am chatting with our friend Jessica Stockel, executive director of
Chicago Angels. How are you, Hi, I'm great. How are you?
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I'm doing so good.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
First and foremost, tell us a little bit about yourself
and about Chicago Angels.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Sure.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
So, I joined Chicago Angels as the executive director in
October twenty twenty four, but I was a volunteer for
four years prior to that, so I've been able to
see the impact that this organization has. Chicago Angels services
Chicago and the surrounding Chicago Land area. We support children
and youth and families experiencing foster care by providing them
(10:43):
a one on one volunteer who walks alongside their experience.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Well, thank you so much for sharing. Can you tell
us about the upcoming event that you have going on? Yeah? Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
On Friday August first, we are having an event called
Cementing the Few Sure at the Metropolitan Social Club, which
is inside the Willis Tower. So we're inviting the community
anyone who considers themselves a fundraiser, a person with a
large network to come and basically it's a good old phonathon,
(11:19):
follow your network and start fundraising. We're going to be
having people selling bricks for twenty five dollars each to
try to break out of the room. You can also
buy bricks to add to the wall next to you
so that other people don't break out.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
That's incredible. I love to hear it.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And then, Jessica, I am really curious as well, is
how can people donate and then of course get involved
with your upcoming event, but also just for future, you know,
events you have going on or whatever else is happening
for the remainder of the year.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
How can we get involved?
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Absolutely so.
Speaker 5 (11:56):
Our website is simply Chicago Angels dot org has the
donation link and all of our events listed. You can
also email at info at Chicago Angels dot org to
learn more about how to get involved in volunteer.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Amazing. Thank you so much for being here with us
today one more.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Time for those who want to donate or get involved,
and of course to be a part of your upcoming event.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
What's the website, chicagoanngels dot org.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Awesome, Jessica, thank you so much for being here with
us today. We appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Thank you so much for having me, Jessica, You're the best. Okay,
so perfect. I got to make it off this call
so we can pull the audio whenever it's ready in
the next couple of minutes. I'm going to get this
show together before like five, but it's going to air
tomorrow and Sunday, and it's going to air on ninety
three nine LIGHTM Rock ninety five five and one of
the three five kids at them. Okay, awesome.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
I greatly appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
You're the best. I appreciate you. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Hi, it's iHeartRadio Chicago Paulina. Today I am chatting with
John Streets and we're talking about an event that is
hitting Tinley Park soon.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (12:56):
John?
Speaker 6 (12:58):
Very very good, Paulina, thank you so much. Yes, Summer
Ween is tomorrow. It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Summer Ween Okay, so I'm a fan of Summer Ween,
but I feel like people might not understand what that is.
Can you give us a little bit of a description
of what that might be like? And then also what
can you find at Summer Ween?
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (13:14):
So Summer Ween is basically Halloween in the summer. It's
boiled down to that simplex like super simple. And at
this particular event, you know, it's a curated market, so
there's lots of artists making handmade items, but you'll find
everything from Booper gade goes to halloween decoor spiders. Well
even have a vendor selling live spiders at this event.
(13:36):
So you'll find everything that you can imagine. If you
like anything spooky, horror related or halloween.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Amazing, well I do. So that's so cool. I love
to hear that.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
So as far as you know, people who want to
attend and everything, are they able to also you know,
sip and shop, what's available to do? You know, as
far as food, drinks and where is happening of course
and the time address parking?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
What can we get all that information and what can
you provide?
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (14:06):
Yeah, so you can find that on my website streets
Arts Alliance dot com is s t R E E
t Z a R t Z alliance dot com. But
this is held at Sound Growler and Tinley Park. It's
completely free to attend. It's twelve pm to five pm.
The brewery has a great variety of craft beer, seltzers,
ciders and sodas for all the patrons, you know, so
(14:28):
there's a nice variety. They also have some of the
best tacos I've ever had my entire life. Yeah, and
there's plenty of parking on sites, so there's no worries
for that.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And that's amazing. We love parking, we love good a
good time as well. So where can people find the
most up to date information about this event via social.
Speaker 6 (14:46):
Sure on Facebook. I would just have them look up
Summer Ween Market and this is the event that's happening
on the twenty sixth of July at in Tinley Park
at Soundgrowler Grewing. You can always go to the Streets
Arts Alliance Facebook page and just a reminder, Streets ends
with the Z and Arts end with the Z. But yeah,
(15:07):
that's where you can find all the latest and great
information about the event.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Amazing excited for that.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
So John, exactly what days is happening, and what's a
good website or Facebook page we can go for more information?
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Sure, this is happening on July twenty sixth, twenty five.
And the website that you want to go to is
www Dot Streets Arts Alliance dot com and that's s
T R E t Z A R t Z Alliance
dot com.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Thank you John so much for your time today. We
appreciate you and we wish you a successful event.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
Thank ks.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Paulina here with iHeartMedia Chicago today. I am on the
phone here with our friend Kevin Davenport. How are you today?
Speaker 7 (15:49):
I'm fantastic. How about yourself?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
I'm doing so good. Thank you for joining the show.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
We are talking to the founder and CEO of The
Ideal Candidate. First and foremost, can you tell us a
little bit about yourself and then of course the Ideal Candidate.
Speaker 7 (16:04):
Absolutely so Kevin Davenport, you know, founder, author, and just
overall community God love giving back. And I started this company,
The Ideal Candidate, because I saw a huge lack of
soft skills and just our generations. So the whole program
or company provides infrastructure to access soft skills. So we
(16:25):
have programming ourselves. You know, we're actually a non for
profit and a for profit, so we hold programming ourselves
and give that away for free to the African American
Latino community and other LODA monor income communities here in
the southwest side of Chicago, as well as provides services
and training for other programs such as municipalities, universities, high schools,
(16:47):
and other organizations that make an impact to help them
with their workforce training.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Oh that's incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Congratulations at all of that. And of course you guys
are having an event happening on Thursday, July thirty first,
from twelve to five. That's happening at Navy per Can
you tell us all about that event, what you expect
and all that good stuff.
Speaker 7 (17:06):
Yes, yes, thank you so much for that. So it's
called the Ideal Path is the Tech and Opportunity Expo,
and it is all about access, empowerment, and opportunity, and
we're especially focused on our youth of color and underrepresented communities.
So our whole focus for this was bringing together local employers,
tech organizations, and other community resources all under one roof
(17:27):
to help people launch and level up their careers.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
That's so incredible. So what time is it happening?
Speaker 1 (17:33):
If you want to just repeat that to our listeners
one more time and then what should they bring as well?
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Do we have to prepare to meet with you guys
and see you guys? You know what? Can we expect
all that good stuff?
Speaker 7 (17:42):
Absolutely, thank you for that. So again, it's going to
be at Navy Peer on the thirty first. It is
going to be from twelve pm to five pm and
we're going to be located on the second floor above
the flyover, so it's called the landing. If you see flyover,
go to that second floor. There will be other signs
of course, but you know that's how you can see us.
(18:03):
And you know, you really don't have to bring anything.
If you are looking for to speak with our employers.
You know, maybe a little icing on the cake would
be to bring your resume and or your digital resume
in today's day and age. You know, you can create
a QR code for that. But you know, other than that,
our employers are still just looking to meet the community.
But we're also giving away other free resources. There's resources
(18:24):
for some kids and children. So it's definitely a very friendly,
family friendly event and one based on learning exposure as well.
As hiring.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Oh incredible, Kevin, Thank you so much for sharing with
us today. We hope to have you back on the
show and we hope to you know, be able to
support the ideal candidate again in the future.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
So thank you again for coming on excellent.
Speaker 7 (18:46):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Hi, It's Paulina here with iHeartMedia Chicago and today I
am chatting with Sally Shulsey, communications manager at Refugee One.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
How are you.
Speaker 8 (18:56):
I'm well, Thanks so much for having me here.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
I'm excited that you're here. I really do appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
First and foremost, Can you give me a little bit
of a background about yourself and your current role.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Yes, so right now, I am the communications manager at
Refugee One, which is Chicago's largest resettlement agency which helps
people from conflicts around the world to have a new
start here in Chicago. I came to this from a
kind of a different path. I used to be a
news reporter as well. It used to be a news
reporter and an anchor here in Chicago and other places.
(19:29):
Just decided to make a change and to instead of
talk about other people doing great work, try to be
involved in it. A little bit closer and make a
change myself.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
That's incredible. I love that shift. I mean like that.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
That's a pivot I've ever seen one.
Speaker 8 (19:43):
So that's incredible, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Oh my gosh, I love it. So can you please
give us a little bit of a background as well
about Refugee one and the current state of things over
at Refugee one.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yes, Refugee one has been around a long time, forty
three years here in Chicago. In that time, we have
held to resettle about twenty two thousand refugees from world
conflicts everywhere that you can think of. We're talking about
people who have been forced to flee from their homes
because of terror, war, persecution. Bottom line, it is a
place where they and their family are not safe, so
(20:15):
they have no choice. They have to leave, and they're
designated as refugees by a United Nations agency. They needed
a new place to start over, and that's what we
helped them do here in Chicago. Our job has changed
a lot recently and has become more difficult. We've been
facing a lot of challenges in uncertainty as well. Since
President Trump took office. Immediately he stopped refugee resettlement cut
(20:39):
funding as soon as he took office as well. But
the important thing is is we continue to do the work.
We welcomed about five hundred refugees right before President Trump
took office, so they are still counting on us every
day to help them through. We've also seen about one
hundred and twenty refugees come to US as walking clients
since Trump took office. A lot of these are Afghan
(21:00):
allies who helped our forces in Afghanistan. They've been able
to travel here on their own, but now they need
a lot of help and we are here to support them.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
That's so incredible.
Speaker 7 (21:09):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
And what about some of the services that you offer?
Can you dive into those?
Speaker 8 (21:13):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
So I want you to imagine, if you can, that
you've come to a new country, you don't speak the language,
maybe you don't know a soul, and all you have
is what fit in your suitcases. That is the situation
for most refugees who have been forced to take this
rather long and difficult journey to get here. So we
have to help them in many ways, right housing and food,
to start connecting them to benefits. We have classes that
(21:36):
help them learn English. We have a whole team here
that helps them find jobs because they need to support
their families and we want to put them on that
path the self sufficiency. We also have a wellness team
to help them process their trauma. For the adults and
the kids, think about it. They've seen some awful things,
right they need to talk about it and work through that.
We're one of the only resettlment agencies that is able
to offer that kind of services and we're really proud
(21:58):
of that. And we have youth program which I absolutely
love to see in action. Yes, we help and roll
kids in school, but we support these kids in so
many ways. Right now, we're in the midst of summer camps,
so like a lot of summer camps, right they're going
to explore the city, have some fun, learn some things,
but they're also feeling connected, feeling safe, and feeling a
part of this new home. I got to go to
(22:20):
the Shed Aquarium with our team group yesterday and it
was so fun for like everybody except one of them,
they've never.
Speaker 8 (22:25):
Seen this before.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
So to see them see the Shed Aquarium downtown Chicago
like that for the first time, see their eyes light up,
it was quite an experience. So helping them feel welcome
in Chicago is such a huge part of this.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
One hundred percent agree and I love this text question.
So why are refugees important additions to Chicago?
Speaker 4 (22:45):
Oh?
Speaker 8 (22:45):
My gosh, in so many ways. There are studies.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
There was a one big government study this show how
much they add to our economy. We're talking billions of
dollars because they have businesses, they pay taxes.
Speaker 8 (22:55):
So they put in a lot more than they take out.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
But it goes beyond that to the intangible stuff, the
diversity they bring to our communities, and just amazing people
that they are. Let me tell you, I've met so
many amazing people since I've worked here. One of them
as an eighteen year old girl. She got here when
she was I think seven, fled the war in Sudan
with her family.
Speaker 8 (23:16):
Didn't speak English.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
She said she'd never heard of America, got here, was
afraid to leave the apartment. Well, fast forward to now,
she's eighteen years old, just graduated near the top of
her class here in Chicago. She's got a full ride
to go to scholarship to go to college. She wants
to study pre med to be a doctor. To give back.
I talked to her teachers and her coaches. They talk
about how much positivity she brings to the community. She
(23:40):
got an award from the Chicago Bears about her community engagement.
I mean, this girl is a rock star and there
are so many just like her. That brings so much
to our communities, our neighborhoods, and a lot is lost
when we closed the doors to people like that, I think, I.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Mean, I absolutely agree with that. That's such an incredible story,
and thank you for sharing that for her.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
I mean, I love it. I love that for her.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
And you know you did mention that there have been
several changes since President Trump kind of took office. So
how are you guys internally kind of dealing with that?
Speaker 3 (24:15):
You know, honestly, it has not been easy. We've had
some layoffs, we've had to pause some programs, but we
are still standing. Community support has been immensely important to us,
our donors who support us, our volunteers who help us
in so many ways. We also know what's going to
be tough going forward, that new legislation everybody's been talking about,
the one big, beautiful bill. We know that's going to
(24:36):
hurt a lot of our clients when they lose access
to Medicaid, snap and more. I mean because like so
many families, they count on that health insurance, that food assistance.
They keep their families healthy, keep food on the table. Right,
It's going to be hard. So again, yes, you know,
community support is going to be so important for that.
These families, every time I meet them, I just struck
again about they just want to be safe, they want
(24:56):
to have a job, they want food in the fridge,
they want their kids in school doing well, the same
things each of us once for our families. So we're
going to be walking beside them every step of the
way that we can. We're also continuing to advocate for
the doors of this country to be reopen, knowing that
a lot of families are stuck in unsafe conditions. A
lot of families are separated, including some of the colleagues
(25:19):
that I work with, some of a lot of the
clients we deal with, they don't know when they're going.
Speaker 8 (25:22):
To be able to be reunited with their families.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Again, it's a very distressing time and a very stressful
lot of anxiety. So we just continue to urge our
elected officials to restart the refugee resettlement and also stay
true to the long standing value that this country has
had of being a welcoming place for those people in need.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
One percent agree with that. Well, I really appreciate you
being here with us today and for sharing this about
refugee want I think it's amazing that you guys are
still doing all of this work despite some of the
you know, curveballs and circumstances that you unfortunately have to
deal with, which is very unfortunate. But how can people
how can our listeners, how can Chicago help refugee one?
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Oh, great question. I'm so glad that you asked. There's
a fun way you can volunteer. We need mentors and
tutors for kids and adults. You can also donate right now,
we have a donation drive underway for a back to school.
We have a big back to school carnival next month,
less than a month from now, and we plan to
give four hundred backpacks that are loaded, you know, pencils, paper,
(26:24):
all that stuff you need for a good first day
of school. Four hundred of those for four hundred refugee kids.
So we need help filling those backpacks. You can also
have a donation drive in your community. We have people
that do you know a diaper drive. That's pricey stuff
that's so hard to keep on the shelves in your
own home, and you can donate money. All of that
happens refugee one dot org.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Thank you so much for being here though today. We
appreciate it very much.
Speaker 8 (26:49):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
I'm so glad you gave me this opportunity to chat
with you.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Thank you so much for tuning in, and thank you
always for supporting the Weekly Show here on iHeartRadio. If
you love this episode or want to catch up a
previous episodes, you can always look for them on our
free iHeart Radio app and just search for the Weekly Show.
Thank you so much. We'll talk to you again next weekend,
and of course, stay safe, Chicago. Thank you again for
tuning in.
Hello, and welcome to the weekly show here on iHeartRadio,
a ninety three to nine light of FM one, O
three five Kiss FM and Rock ninety five to five.
I'm Paulina, and every week we're here to discuss a
variety of topics that matter to Chicago Land, from health, education, finances,
and so much more. Today on the show, we have
Sally Sholsey and we're going to talk all about the
state of refugee one. I also have Aarin joining me
(00:23):
from Aaron's Farm, which is located in Indiana and it
is a rescue for unwanted farm animals, and of course
Erin will be telling us all about her upcoming gala.
We also have many other special guests joining us today
on the show, so you don't want to miss it.
Let's tune in. Hi, It's Paulina here with iHeartMedia Chicago,
and today I am chatting with our friends at Aaron's Farm,
(00:44):
and I'm chatting with the one and only Aaron.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
How are you gooded?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
How are you?
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Yeah, I am so excited you're here today. So Aaron's
Farm Rescue Sanctuary at Ofvacy, that is what you stand for.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
So without further ado, can you tell us a little
bit about yourself and then of course about Aaron's farm.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Sure, I just you know, I was an animal lover
kid that became an animal lovering adult and just wanted
to share that passion with kids. So we focus on
rescuing animals, but then also the educational aspect, and we're
trying to change the next generation and teach them to
be stewards of nature and more caring individuals and care
about the world around them. So it's kind of what
we're all about here. So yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So your animals in particular, and my coworker from the
Frend show, Kaylin, she speaks about you guys so highly,
and she's actually been to your fone.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
She came out, Yeah, she came out for Crow Teddling
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
It's great, that's incredible, and that's very Kaylen. That is
very much her. So I think that's so cool. So
tell a little bit about the history right of your animals, Like,
I know that they come from very unfortunate circumstances and
it's you know, it is extremely heartbreaking, but I love
that they end up with you because it's a second
chance at life, you know, So tell us little bit
about some of the stories you know that you can
(02:02):
share with us about your animals, where they've you know,
where they've come from essentially, and then also you know
about the people life that they get to live.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Now. Sure, So I was a vet nurse originally, and
we would get all these animals, you know, dumped at
the hospital, and so I started doing these educational programs
and actually it became a business where I would teach.
I would take these rescued animals and teach at schools.
And then as time went on and we grew bigger,
I didn't want the animals to travel. I wanted them
to stay at home. So I figured, how can we
(02:30):
do this? So we we started this the farm and
it became the nonprofit because we wanted a place for
these animals to go. And and a lot of the
animals that we rescue are not necessarily dogs and cats.
There's there's so many dog and cat rescues. I mean,
I know they're all over overflowing, but there's so many
of them across the United States. There there wasn't really
a huge place for you know, farmed animals to go,
(02:53):
you know, you know, a sheep or a pig that
you know, a lot of those people just consider them
food and they you know, they say, well, why would
you rescue that? So I saw this need for like,
these guys needed a place to go, and they were
no less worthy than a dog or cat or any
other animal that we loved. So we saw the need
(03:13):
to for that, and I wanted a place for these
kids to come out to like maybe field trip to
us or visit us and learn, you know, put the
iPads down, get your hands in the dirt and soil,
pet the animals, and just get in nature and have
not just me bringing the animals to the classroom, which
I used to do, but for them to have the
whole entire experience and coming out to the country and
(03:34):
getting involved and seeing where the animals live and seeing
how they interact with the other animals and stuff. So
we've had some pretty amazing rescue stories through the years.
You know, there's the famous Elda, which was our first
big giant pig you know food industry peg, and she
was you know, came to us at thirteen pounds or something,
and she was a tiny little thing, no bigger than
(03:54):
a cat. But she had jumped off one of those trucks,
you know, a factory farms the animals are taking from
their mom and sent to you know, fattening farms. And
so she jumped off the truck. And now we like
to say she took a leap of faith and got
a better life because she ended up at the farm
and now everyone loves her and she's you know, she's
just as cute and cuddly as a dog. And now
(04:15):
we've we've got ten of those now, so ten of
those jumpers, you know, taking the leap of face. So
so a lot of those guys didn't have a place
to go to grow because some of those pigs, you know,
get to be eight or nine hundred pounds, so it's
not like they can stay at your local animal shelter
or your local backyard. So it's not like a pop
bealley pig that can stay at your house. So so
they obviously had it, you know, we had a need
(04:36):
for them. And even some of our cows we have,
you know, a couple of cows that have you know,
uh that are handicap that had we have one of
our cows, a sky has a prosthetic leg that she
uses and she gets around the farm with that. So
so we have some pretty unique cases too.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, no, absolutely, I think it's so incredible all the
work that you're doing and how you are giving these
animals a second chance. That is so sweet. So what
a about as far as you know, people wanting to
help and support the farm?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Right?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Are you open twenty four not twenty four seven? That's
not that's not possible. Are you open throughout the whole year,
like throughout the seasons? Are people able to come and
see these animals to help take care of them? What
can we do to help?
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Yeah? So we have we have like classes for kids
and then we also have camp for kids, and a
lot of that is tied to this gallon that we're
having because we need an indoor space. But we do
have kids camp, camps, cloud I Can camps, Oh my gosh,
classes and camps that they can sign up for. We
do have open public days and they're kind of hit
or miss. It's based on how many volunteers we have,
(05:40):
what we have going on that week, and you know
what the weather is. But but you can come and
when they when we do have open days, you can
kind of wander around at you leave here, it's seven
dollars a person and you can bring apples and treats
to feed the animals, but you can see where they
live and learn about them. On those days, we do
also offer tours like where we take you doing guided
tour with me through the farm and I take you
(06:02):
into the fields where they live and you hear all
their animal stories for me, because because I know them,
I know them the best of course.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Oh my god, that is the sweetest thing.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So okay, that's really good to know.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
And then before we jump.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Into your gala, which we are here to talk about
as well, what is a good website to check out
everything you just mentioned regarding your farm.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
For general information just about our mission, you can check
out our website which is www dot Nature's I'm sorry,
aaronsfarm dot net. And then for most of our activities
and events going and most of that is on social
media these days, so I would say Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,
there's all the all the places that we share it on.
(06:45):
That's that's we're gonna get most of the more up
to date events and what we're having that week and
et cetera, and what's going on the farm or and
our Patreon. We have a Patreon pages is the donor page,
so it's patreon dot com backslash Aeron's farm. You could
sign up and get behind the scenes scoop of what
what's happening and some of the things that don't make
the social media pages. You can see all that kind
of stuff. So get more involved.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
That's amazing, Okay, beautiful, And now Aaron, we are talking
about your gala that is coming up and I would
love to dive into that. That is August second, and
where is that and who are we supporting with your yala?
Speaker 4 (07:19):
So's it's very exciting. It's our first like Raise the
Roof gala. It's for a barn raison gala and it's
at Wildwoods in Hobert, Indiana, which is a darling little
place right in the middle of town. We're going to
have some live music, some auction items, food, drinks, everything.
It's going to be great. But the whole the so
at the farm, we have all these visit days and
(07:40):
things where people can come out and camps. But the
problem is we don't have a huge indoor space. So
if it's a rainy day, we have to cancel. If
it's a school group, we have to cancel and reschedule,
you know. And camps are only able to be done
during the warm one weather months, where we so that
we need a barn for multiple reasons. We need you know,
hay storage for the winter time, we need you know,
(08:01):
some areas for some of these elderly animals to come
in during the winter. But we're going to have a
learning annex, and that's the most important part of it,
where it's going to be a year round weatherproof room
where you know, any any event, whether it's a field
trip that's coming or our campers that are here, if
it's a thunderstorming, rainy day, we can just go inside.
And it would have an arena where we could just
bring the animals inside and continue all the same learning
(08:23):
activities despite the weather and so and we could even
have a you know, a winter camp and you know,
a fall camp and stuff. So it would just more
than anything, it would, you know. Right now, I think
we're limited to being open almost like six months of
the year and the rest of the year we're just
kind of waiting for the good weather. Where this gallay,
this barn will be life changing for us because it
(08:44):
will open everything up to being year round and we
could have more stuff and more events and more learning
experiences and more kid activities and everything. So it's it's
a huge Yeah, it's a huge step and it will
just be life changing for us. So I love it.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Oh that's so exciting. Well, thank you so much for
joining us on the show today and thank you for
sharing this and of course, you know, thank you for
all all you do for these animals. I think that's
such like a selfless uh mission in life. I mean
it's just really you know, care for other animals that
really truly deserve the second chance in life. So I
think that's incredible. So one last time, what is the
website to get more information about you? And of course
(09:21):
the gala.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
So the website for Aaron's Farm, just for general information
in our in our mission is www dot Aaronsfarm dot
net and the gala is Aaronsfarm dot home dot qt
gos apellued k q t e g O dot u
s that's our galla side where you could get tickets.
You could buy raffle tickets, you can bid on the
(09:46):
items that we have and all that. I hope you
guys join us. I hope I hope you come out
for the galas because it's going to be a lot
of fun and that's our first one. So yeah, it's
super exciting.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Thank you Aerin so much for your time today. We
appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Thank you, hope you guys, hope to see some of
you guys there.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Hi, It's Paulina here with iHeartMedia Chicago, and today I
am chatting with our friend Jessica Stockel, executive director of
Chicago Angels. How are you, Hi, I'm great. How are you?
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I'm doing so good.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
First and foremost, tell us a little bit about yourself
and about Chicago Angels.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Sure.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
So, I joined Chicago Angels as the executive director in
October twenty twenty four, but I was a volunteer for
four years prior to that, so I've been able to
see the impact that this organization has. Chicago Angels services
Chicago and the surrounding Chicago Land area. We support children
and youth and families experiencing foster care by providing them
(10:43):
a one on one volunteer who walks alongside their experience.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Well, thank you so much for sharing. Can you tell
us about the upcoming event that you have going on? Yeah? Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
On Friday August first, we are having an event called
Cementing the Few Sure at the Metropolitan Social Club, which
is inside the Willis Tower. So we're inviting the community
anyone who considers themselves a fundraiser, a person with a
large network to come and basically it's a good old phonathon,
(11:19):
follow your network and start fundraising. We're going to be
having people selling bricks for twenty five dollars each to
try to break out of the room. You can also
buy bricks to add to the wall next to you
so that other people don't break out.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
That's incredible. I love to hear it.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And then, Jessica, I am really curious as well, is
how can people donate and then of course get involved
with your upcoming event, but also just for future, you know,
events you have going on or whatever else is happening
for the remainder of the year.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
How can we get involved?
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Absolutely so.
Speaker 5 (11:56):
Our website is simply Chicago Angels dot org has the
donation link and all of our events listed. You can
also email at info at Chicago Angels dot org to
learn more about how to get involved in volunteer.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Amazing. Thank you so much for being here with us
today one more.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Time for those who want to donate or get involved,
and of course to be a part of your upcoming event.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
What's the website, chicagoanngels dot org.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Awesome, Jessica, thank you so much for being here with
us today. We appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Thank you so much for having me, Jessica, You're the best. Okay,
so perfect. I got to make it off this call
so we can pull the audio whenever it's ready in
the next couple of minutes. I'm going to get this
show together before like five, but it's going to air
tomorrow and Sunday, and it's going to air on ninety
three nine LIGHTM Rock ninety five five and one of
the three five kids at them. Okay, awesome.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
I greatly appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
You're the best. I appreciate you. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Hi, it's iHeartRadio Chicago Paulina. Today I am chatting with
John Streets and we're talking about an event that is
hitting Tinley Park soon.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (12:56):
John?
Speaker 6 (12:58):
Very very good, Paulina, thank you so much. Yes, Summer
Ween is tomorrow. It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Summer Ween Okay, so I'm a fan of Summer Ween,
but I feel like people might not understand what that is.
Can you give us a little bit of a description
of what that might be like? And then also what
can you find at Summer Ween?
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (13:14):
So Summer Ween is basically Halloween in the summer. It's
boiled down to that simplex like super simple. And at
this particular event, you know, it's a curated market, so
there's lots of artists making handmade items, but you'll find
everything from Booper gade goes to halloween decoor spiders. Well
even have a vendor selling live spiders at this event.
(13:36):
So you'll find everything that you can imagine. If you
like anything spooky, horror related or halloween.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Amazing, well I do. So that's so cool. I love
to hear that.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
So as far as you know, people who want to
attend and everything, are they able to also you know,
sip and shop, what's available to do? You know, as
far as food, drinks and where is happening of course
and the time address parking?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
What can we get all that information and what can
you provide?
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (14:06):
Yeah, so you can find that on my website streets
Arts Alliance dot com is s t R E E
t Z a R t Z alliance dot com. But
this is held at Sound Growler and Tinley Park. It's
completely free to attend. It's twelve pm to five pm.
The brewery has a great variety of craft beer, seltzers,
ciders and sodas for all the patrons, you know, so
(14:28):
there's a nice variety. They also have some of the
best tacos I've ever had my entire life. Yeah, and
there's plenty of parking on sites, so there's no worries
for that.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And that's amazing. We love parking, we love good a
good time as well. So where can people find the
most up to date information about this event via social.
Speaker 6 (14:46):
Sure on Facebook. I would just have them look up
Summer Ween Market and this is the event that's happening
on the twenty sixth of July at in Tinley Park
at Soundgrowler Grewing. You can always go to the Streets
Arts Alliance Facebook page and just a reminder, Streets ends
with the Z and Arts end with the Z. But yeah,
(15:07):
that's where you can find all the latest and great
information about the event.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Amazing excited for that.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
So John, exactly what days is happening, and what's a
good website or Facebook page we can go for more information?
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Sure, this is happening on July twenty sixth, twenty five.
And the website that you want to go to is
www Dot Streets Arts Alliance dot com and that's s
T R E t Z A R t Z Alliance
dot com.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Thank you John so much for your time today. We
appreciate you and we wish you a successful event.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
Thank ks.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Paulina here with iHeartMedia Chicago today. I am on the
phone here with our friend Kevin Davenport. How are you today?
Speaker 7 (15:49):
I'm fantastic. How about yourself?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
I'm doing so good. Thank you for joining the show.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
We are talking to the founder and CEO of The
Ideal Candidate. First and foremost, can you tell us a
little bit about yourself and then of course the Ideal Candidate.
Speaker 7 (16:04):
Absolutely so Kevin Davenport, you know, founder, author, and just
overall community God love giving back. And I started this company,
The Ideal Candidate, because I saw a huge lack of
soft skills and just our generations. So the whole program
or company provides infrastructure to access soft skills. So we
(16:25):
have programming ourselves. You know, we're actually a non for
profit and a for profit, so we hold programming ourselves
and give that away for free to the African American
Latino community and other LODA monor income communities here in
the southwest side of Chicago, as well as provides services
and training for other programs such as municipalities, universities, high schools,
(16:47):
and other organizations that make an impact to help them
with their workforce training.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Oh that's incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Congratulations at all of that. And of course you guys
are having an event happening on Thursday, July thirty first,
from twelve to five. That's happening at Navy per Can
you tell us all about that event, what you expect
and all that good stuff.
Speaker 7 (17:06):
Yes, yes, thank you so much for that. So it's
called the Ideal Path is the Tech and Opportunity Expo,
and it is all about access, empowerment, and opportunity, and
we're especially focused on our youth of color and underrepresented communities.
So our whole focus for this was bringing together local employers,
tech organizations, and other community resources all under one roof
(17:27):
to help people launch and level up their careers.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
That's so incredible. So what time is it happening?
Speaker 1 (17:33):
If you want to just repeat that to our listeners
one more time and then what should they bring as well?
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Do we have to prepare to meet with you guys
and see you guys? You know what? Can we expect
all that good stuff?
Speaker 7 (17:42):
Absolutely, thank you for that. So again, it's going to
be at Navy Peer on the thirty first. It is
going to be from twelve pm to five pm and
we're going to be located on the second floor above
the flyover, so it's called the landing. If you see flyover,
go to that second floor. There will be other signs
of course, but you know that's how you can see us.
(18:03):
And you know, you really don't have to bring anything.
If you are looking for to speak with our employers.
You know, maybe a little icing on the cake would
be to bring your resume and or your digital resume
in today's day and age. You know, you can create
a QR code for that. But you know, other than that,
our employers are still just looking to meet the community.
But we're also giving away other free resources. There's resources
(18:24):
for some kids and children. So it's definitely a very friendly,
family friendly event and one based on learning exposure as well.
As hiring.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Oh incredible, Kevin, Thank you so much for sharing with
us today. We hope to have you back on the
show and we hope to you know, be able to
support the ideal candidate again in the future.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
So thank you again for coming on excellent.
Speaker 7 (18:46):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Hi, It's Paulina here with iHeartMedia Chicago and today I
am chatting with Sally Shulsey, communications manager at Refugee One.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
How are you.
Speaker 8 (18:56):
I'm well, Thanks so much for having me here.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
I'm excited that you're here. I really do appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
First and foremost, Can you give me a little bit
of a background about yourself and your current role.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Yes, so right now, I am the communications manager at
Refugee One, which is Chicago's largest resettlement agency which helps
people from conflicts around the world to have a new
start here in Chicago. I came to this from a
kind of a different path. I used to be a
news reporter as well. It used to be a news
reporter and an anchor here in Chicago and other places.
(19:29):
Just decided to make a change and to instead of
talk about other people doing great work, try to be
involved in it. A little bit closer and make a
change myself.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
That's incredible. I love that shift. I mean like that.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
That's a pivot I've ever seen one.
Speaker 8 (19:43):
So that's incredible, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Oh my gosh, I love it. So can you please
give us a little bit of a background as well
about Refugee one and the current state of things over
at Refugee one.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yes, Refugee one has been around a long time, forty
three years here in Chicago. In that time, we have
held to resettle about twenty two thousand refugees from world
conflicts everywhere that you can think of. We're talking about
people who have been forced to flee from their homes
because of terror, war, persecution. Bottom line, it is a
place where they and their family are not safe, so
(20:15):
they have no choice. They have to leave, and they're
designated as refugees by a United Nations agency. They needed
a new place to start over, and that's what we
helped them do here in Chicago. Our job has changed
a lot recently and has become more difficult. We've been
facing a lot of challenges in uncertainty as well. Since
President Trump took office. Immediately he stopped refugee resettlement cut
(20:39):
funding as soon as he took office as well. But
the important thing is is we continue to do the work.
We welcomed about five hundred refugees right before President Trump
took office, so they are still counting on us every
day to help them through. We've also seen about one
hundred and twenty refugees come to US as walking clients
since Trump took office. A lot of these are Afghan
(21:00):
allies who helped our forces in Afghanistan. They've been able
to travel here on their own, but now they need
a lot of help and we are here to support them.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
That's so incredible.
Speaker 7 (21:09):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
And what about some of the services that you offer?
Can you dive into those?
Speaker 8 (21:13):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
So I want you to imagine, if you can, that
you've come to a new country, you don't speak the language,
maybe you don't know a soul, and all you have
is what fit in your suitcases. That is the situation
for most refugees who have been forced to take this
rather long and difficult journey to get here. So we
have to help them in many ways, right housing and food,
to start connecting them to benefits. We have classes that
(21:36):
help them learn English. We have a whole team here
that helps them find jobs because they need to support
their families and we want to put them on that
path the self sufficiency. We also have a wellness team
to help them process their trauma. For the adults and
the kids, think about it. They've seen some awful things,
right they need to talk about it and work through that.
We're one of the only resettlment agencies that is able
to offer that kind of services and we're really proud
(21:58):
of that. And we have youth program which I absolutely
love to see in action. Yes, we help and roll
kids in school, but we support these kids in so
many ways. Right now, we're in the midst of summer camps,
so like a lot of summer camps, right they're going
to explore the city, have some fun, learn some things,
but they're also feeling connected, feeling safe, and feeling a
part of this new home. I got to go to
(22:20):
the Shed Aquarium with our team group yesterday and it
was so fun for like everybody except one of them,
they've never.
Speaker 8 (22:25):
Seen this before.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
So to see them see the Shed Aquarium downtown Chicago
like that for the first time, see their eyes light up,
it was quite an experience. So helping them feel welcome
in Chicago is such a huge part of this.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
One hundred percent agree and I love this text question.
So why are refugees important additions to Chicago?
Speaker 4 (22:45):
Oh?
Speaker 8 (22:45):
My gosh, in so many ways. There are studies.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
There was a one big government study this show how
much they add to our economy. We're talking billions of
dollars because they have businesses, they pay taxes.
Speaker 8 (22:55):
So they put in a lot more than they take out.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
But it goes beyond that to the intangible stuff, the
diversity they bring to our communities, and just amazing people
that they are. Let me tell you, I've met so
many amazing people since I've worked here. One of them
as an eighteen year old girl. She got here when
she was I think seven, fled the war in Sudan
with her family.
Speaker 8 (23:16):
Didn't speak English.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
She said she'd never heard of America, got here, was
afraid to leave the apartment. Well, fast forward to now,
she's eighteen years old, just graduated near the top of
her class here in Chicago. She's got a full ride
to go to scholarship to go to college. She wants
to study pre med to be a doctor. To give back.
I talked to her teachers and her coaches. They talk
about how much positivity she brings to the community. She
(23:40):
got an award from the Chicago Bears about her community engagement.
I mean, this girl is a rock star and there
are so many just like her. That brings so much
to our communities, our neighborhoods, and a lot is lost
when we closed the doors to people like that, I think, I.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Mean, I absolutely agree with that. That's such an incredible story,
and thank you for sharing that for her.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
I mean, I love it. I love that for her.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
And you know you did mention that there have been
several changes since President Trump kind of took office. So
how are you guys internally kind of dealing with that?
Speaker 3 (24:15):
You know, honestly, it has not been easy. We've had
some layoffs, we've had to pause some programs, but we
are still standing. Community support has been immensely important to us,
our donors who support us, our volunteers who help us
in so many ways. We also know what's going to
be tough going forward, that new legislation everybody's been talking about,
the one big, beautiful bill. We know that's going to
(24:36):
hurt a lot of our clients when they lose access
to Medicaid, snap and more. I mean because like so
many families, they count on that health insurance, that food assistance.
They keep their families healthy, keep food on the table. Right,
It's going to be hard. So again, yes, you know,
community support is going to be so important for that.
These families, every time I meet them, I just struck
again about they just want to be safe, they want
(24:56):
to have a job, they want food in the fridge,
they want their kids in school doing well, the same
things each of us once for our families. So we're
going to be walking beside them every step of the
way that we can. We're also continuing to advocate for
the doors of this country to be reopen, knowing that
a lot of families are stuck in unsafe conditions. A
lot of families are separated, including some of the colleagues
(25:19):
that I work with, some of a lot of the
clients we deal with, they don't know when they're going.
Speaker 8 (25:22):
To be able to be reunited with their families.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Again, it's a very distressing time and a very stressful
lot of anxiety. So we just continue to urge our
elected officials to restart the refugee resettlement and also stay
true to the long standing value that this country has
had of being a welcoming place for those people in need.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
One percent agree with that. Well, I really appreciate you
being here with us today and for sharing this about
refugee want I think it's amazing that you guys are
still doing all of this work despite some of the
you know, curveballs and circumstances that you unfortunately have to
deal with, which is very unfortunate. But how can people
how can our listeners, how can Chicago help refugee one?
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Oh, great question. I'm so glad that you asked. There's
a fun way you can volunteer. We need mentors and
tutors for kids and adults. You can also donate right now,
we have a donation drive underway for a back to school.
We have a big back to school carnival next month,
less than a month from now, and we plan to
give four hundred backpacks that are loaded, you know, pencils, paper,
(26:24):
all that stuff you need for a good first day
of school. Four hundred of those for four hundred refugee kids.
So we need help filling those backpacks. You can also
have a donation drive in your community. We have people
that do you know a diaper drive. That's pricey stuff
that's so hard to keep on the shelves in your
own home, and you can donate money. All of that
happens refugee one dot org.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Thank you so much for being here though today. We
appreciate it very much.
Speaker 8 (26:49):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
I'm so glad you gave me this opportunity to chat
with you.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Thank you so much for tuning in, and thank you
always for supporting the Weekly Show here on iHeartRadio. If
you love this episode or want to catch up a
previous episodes, you can always look for them on our
free iHeart Radio app and just search for the Weekly Show.
Thank you so much. We'll talk to you again next weekend,
and of course, stay safe, Chicago. Thank you again for
tuning in.
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