Orchard Village is an agency that empowers people with developmental disabilities in their…read morecommunity. Within the year that I have worked with this agency I have worked with adults with disabilities ranging from schizophrenia, autism, down syndrome, tourette syndrome and bipolar. In this field many of the adults I have worked with struggle with many of the simple things that we do in our daily lives, such as washing the dishes, thorough cleaning, cooking and planning. To be honest it is quite fun at times because everything is an adventure, but it could be a nightmare if you do not have the patience to deal with certain behaviors, plus assisting them with the daily things that I have mentioned. For me, as a CILA (Community Integrated Living Arrangement), the rewarding part is having the pleasure of teaching these adults the simple things in life and experiencing their happiness through it, plus monitoring behaviors throughout the day to help them live a much more peaceful life in the community. Orchard Village as an agency is not a bad place to work. And as I share this review I have now hit a year with the agency. Compared to another agency I work for, Orchard Village appreciates the hard-work of their DSP's (Direct Support Professional's) and acknowledges their birthdays & work anniversaries with the agency, as well as DSP Recognition week. Those were just a few things I noticed on their Facebook page prior to accepting a job with, which gave me a lot of comfort joining its staff. Thomas G

I used to work on the Combined Federal Campaign in my office and was exposed to a number of…read morenon-profits during my tenure with the CFC. So I know that many charitable organizations have overhead costs that can be upwards of 25% of all donations. Any organization that only spent 12 pennies of my donated dollar on overhead was really good and below that is truly stellar. I made note of some of those organizations in my CFC days. Fast forward a few years and I decide to use my free time for something more productive than drinking. Or shopping. Or man-pedis. Or any of the other fun things that we all love to review on Yelp. So I went to Happy Hours and Volunteer Seminars and informational meetings for a bunch of local non-profits. All of them were worthy of the great staff and volunteers that helped them. But of all of the places that I went, I was most impressed with the CFF. They have an overhead cost of under 10% which means that most of the money raised goes right into the research pipeline for medications to treat and cure Cystic Fibrosis. They have a TON of events every year with volunteer committies working hard to raise those much-needed dollars. They work to raise funds for a disease that only effects about 30,000 people in the U.S. That makes them very un-sexy to drug companies. Pharmaceutical companies don't want to pour a ton of money into drug trials for medications that won't have enough users to make them a big pile of cash. Does the foundation whine about this and beg for government funding? No, sirreee! They work tirelessly on super fun events like Beer and Wine tasting events, a Casino night, Breath of Life gala, inexpensive weekly happy hours, walks,and the list goes on. Then they take that money and become venture philanthropists, funding the research into drugs to help people with CF. But many of you got some great information about the CFF when they came out to represent at the Yelp event which put us in touch with a number of great charities. If you want to judge for yourself, keep your eyes on the events page and come out and join us one night!

It is heartbreaking to see that this foundation is plagued with poor management. The politics are…read moreextremely evident and it is obvious that the mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has been lost or at least gone astray. As a sister with a brother with CF and friends with CF, it is hard to support this organization when they have been so far removed from their vision. I know that many people share my disappointment. I AM IN NO WAY SAYING NOT TO DONATE TO CYSTIC FIBROSIS! I am simply saying, mail your check to the national office.

I have contacted this organization at least five times previously, to request the removal of my…read moredeceased (March 2015) father from their mailing lists. Apparently, they don't mind wasting their research money to send solicitations to dead people. Maybe they could have found a cure by saving their money instead of sending mailing labels to people who are no longer in need of them. Just a thought...

I loooooooove the ALA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Volunteer Nights are so fun. Like I mentioned in my ACS…read morereview, if you're looking for a younger crowd of volunteers, this seems to be the ticket. Alexis, the volunteer coordinator, is SUPER nice. And on Volunteer Nights, not only do you get to meet a bunch of fun people, you also get FREE FOOD!!! It doesn't get much better than that. Only downside is I was a liiiiittle worried about walking back to the El stop after dark, but it's really not that bad... I'm just a newcomer.

If you were wondering if there are still good people in this world, look no further than H4Y…read more Wonderful, caring staff....honest people with integrity. The people at Horizons truly care for the families in this organization and they make me believe in humanity again.

I absolutely love the values and inclusivity of this organization as well as the work they do.read more

After reading the negative reviews on Yelp, admittedly from many years ago, I was reluctant to…read moreattend a service there. But I did go and was delighted that my experience was completely delightful! We were joyfully greeted immediately in the lobby and welcomed enthusiastically. The service was thoughtful and timely and the music was uplifting. After the service we were again engaged with welcoming kindness in chats with other members as well as with the minister and assistant minister. Ignore any negative reviews and go! You're sure to love it!

When my children were of preschool age I wanted to give them the support of a spiritual community…read more My wife and I investigated many different types of religious organizations and found the UCE had the most comprehensive program for life long education. While we initially joined for the benefit of the children, we discovered many opportunities for our personal growth. We've been members for nine years now, and it has been a life changing and life affirming experience. The community is very welcoming to all races, religions, sexual orientations and political ideologies. The Church offers opportunities to safely explore your thoughts and feelings. By providing this safe space, the impact of fear and dogma are reduced. I find that most consistent aspect of the community is that we build compassion by celebrating open discussion, deep connection, and creative empathy. In my experience there, members generally find that their spiritual beliefs align with what might be considered progressive ideology. However, we are all exploring and learning each time we meet.

This is a complex one for me. My family got involved with this organization back in 2001 because my…read morewife had SMA and we had recently had our first child. She found them while doing research on women with SMA having children and had only found 2 others documented. Since then there have been quite a few, with some crediting my wife with being the reason they tried. We went to our first conference that year and were hooked. We have contributed to them in many ways over the years. She spoke at conferences for the rest of her life. I worked for them for 4 years and she spent 4 years on their board of directors. We did volunteer work across more than 4 chapters in multiple states including 2 here in Florida where I now live. The chapters provide support for individuals and families and do various fundraisers throughout the year. The local chapters are all volunteer run and are vital to the community. The national office provides support for individuals, families and the local chapters. To try and understand everything they do you would need to visit their website. For a bit of context, (SMA) Spinal Muscular Atrophy is the leading genetic cause of death for infants. Cure SMA is dedicated to the idea of an SMA free world. They have helped with funding the first treatment and are still working towards a cure.

If there is to be any hope for saving the planet from the robber barons pushing globalization and…read moreignoring global warming, then organizations such as the Sierra Club need our support. Stop in at the Illinois chapter and see what's going on. Volunteer opportunities exist and you'll be hanging with some great folks!