This coming #GivingTuesday December 2nd 2014, Universidad Popular will be participating in the #ILGiveBig campaign.

What is #ILGiveBig? 

It’s the #GivingTuesday Illinois campaign, a statewide social media movement dedicated to giving. Giving Tuesday allows consumers the opportunity to give to the charities and issues they care about. Right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #ILGiveBig’s goal is $12 million raised by Illinois organizations from 100,000 donors on this single day.

Why are we participating?

Universidad Popular’s mission is to reach community empowerment through participatory learning. We work in partnership with community residents and organizations to transform their lives and, ultimately, the community. To be able to implement our mission, we employ over 150 community residents and committed individuals throughout the year. Over 90% of our employees are residents of our primary Latino communities: Little Village/South Lawndale and West Lawn/Chicago Lawn. In collaboration with our dedicated volunteers, they help us implement over 8 year-round programs, countless seasonal projects, and commmunity-focused social campaigns. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee year-round employment to everyone due to our dependence on seasonal funding–forcing us to reduce our employment numbers by 5/8’s.

We desire to be independent from the uncertainty of grant funding cycles and want to carry out our mission while being able to support these dedicated community residents on a year-round basis.

What can I do?

• Donate to Universidad Popular and be a part of the #ILGiveBig movement this December 2nd on #GivingTuesday!
• Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Share, re-tweet, and re-gram #UPLatinCenter to bring attention to our initiatives.
• Spread the word to everyone you know!
• Volunteer!