Many Volunteer and Internship Opportunities at Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center
A Volunteer-Run Nonprofit Organization Invites You to Come Help Out
Volunteers are the ones who take care of things. Volunteers paint, repair, fix, and more. Volunteers secure donations that we need for our building, our residents, and our programs. Everyone is welcome! All board members are volunteers. They back the Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center and help to be sure we have what we need to maintain our building and programming. The Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center building has plenty of needs. Currently, we are planning and implementing the Communities Art Walk and Bus Tour for September and planning and funding the Tubman-Kahlo Resource Center. This is a big project we are working on right now and could use your help! Check out more volunteer and internship opportunities below.
Would You Like to Share the Fun With Us?
We sure can use help with gardening tasks once spring is here! If you would like to help, send an email with the dates and times you are most available to help in the Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center’s gardens! No experience necessary. At the Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center, we are committed to bringing the best programs and opportunities to those we serve. We have seven programs and can use plenty of helpers!
Like all non-profits, we need the help of volunteers in order to run these programs. Unlike most nonprofit organizations, we cannot do it without volunteers since we are an all-volunteer organization!
We ask that you devote just a little of your time and effort so that together we may continue to provide a place for artists and the community to join forces. If you are truly interested in volunteering with us, please take a look at some of the opportunities listed below. We welcome people with all sorts of skills so if you do not find anything that interests you, let us know! We need you to show up, be punctual, and do a good job. We need to be able to depend on each other. We need you to do what you say you will do. Even if you cannot come to our site, if you have a computer at home- you can help from your computer! Become a virtual volunteer from home!
I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all
— Leo Rosten
Are you interested in helping with the Children’s Program? Maybe you are more interested in helping with a room makeover for the Women’s Residence? Perhaps you would like to be the entertainment at a Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center event? Or, maybe you would like to help with publicity, office duties, or mural painting? Maybe you would like to help with gardening chores? We can always use your help with our community art program project which is the Peace Parks Project of North Lawndale. No matter what interests you, Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center can use your help!
Help once or twice, monthly or weekly, it’s all up to you! All agreements have a time limit, for example, you can commit to helping weekly for two months, monthly for six months, or just for the Kid’s Summer Program next year. You decide, depending on your schedule.
To get started, join us for a Volunteer Orientation on any Saturday that works with you at noon. You can learn more about our organization and we can have the opportunity to meet you. More information on Orientation can be found below.
List of Potential Volunteer Work
– Paint signs (small and big)
– Help improve a room in the women’s residence
– Paint walls inside or outside of the Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center
– Help with gardening projects (picking up litter, weeding, planting flowers or shrubs, creating a patio, removing yard debris, composting)
– Work with children in reading, writing, learning compassion, art-making
– Work on a mural project for the garden or the neighborhood
– Distribute flyers door-to-door in the neighborhood
– Help create flyers or brochures
– Find financial sponsors
– Help organize the office or art studio
– Need volunteers to take care of our building and property
– Need helpers with our campaign to raise money for the expenses involved in becoming wheelchair accessible
– Need help with our beautiful peace park which honors African American heroes
– Help plan & implement our end of summer Youth Art Fest and art contest
– Bring food and water for our activities
– Help develop the Artists Network
– Help create art district near Kedzie Pink Line stop
– Help work on sculptures paying homage to African American heroes made from recycled materials and cement
– Scrounge for recycled materials used to create sculptures by car or by wheel barrel (metal, cement, glass, etc.)
– Help create an art district nearby
– Help create a new Artists Network
More Opportunities
– Housekeeper duties include cleaning, taking out the trash, watering plants, preparing bedrooms for new residents
– Children’s Program utilizes volunteer mentors as part of a team approach
– Mural project for boarded-up buildings (by appointment)
– All of our off-site programs are headed up by volunteers
– Staff informational booths at various sites including Roosevelt University, DePaul University, and Columbia College outreach to student events. We also staff info tables at art events and social justice issues
– Help out at art tables and face painting at community events
– Follow up on leads to obtain donated supplies for our non-profit organization
– Distribute information about our organization in our area and engage businesses in a sponsorship program to support us
– Place advertisements and announcements, attend outreach festivals, etc. to reach potential supporters, program participants, and more
– Help maintain and keep our website up-to-date, add photos, etc.
Volunteers organize events and activities for Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center. Periodically, we have movie times, book groups, poetry readings, art receptions, garden relaxation times, marshmallow roasts, children’s art festivals, and Grandparents Lemonade Times. volunteers also attended community meetings to represent Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center like CAPS, Law & Order Cops, Chamber of Commerce, and LCDC to hear about community news. Volunteers also help keep Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center organized with weekly meetings.
More Ideas
– Gardening helpers
– Art program assistants
– Child artists needed – no experience required
– Weed pullers needed to work with children in our garden
– Botany class leaders to work with children in the outside garden on site
– Weekday and Saturday office assistants
– Women’s group co-facilitator
– Mentors for girls
– Tutors to help people get their GED
– Event assistants
– Gallery staff
– Marketing assistants
– Media helpers
– Pied Piper of Child Artists
– Artists-in-residence volunteers
Donate Your Time Now! The opportunities are endless.
Orientation
To learn more about our organization and/or find out about volunteering or becoming an intern, you may RSVP for an orientation.
Orientation takes place year-round on Saturdays at noon. It takes one hour depending on how many people attend and what their interests are. No drop-ins are allowed. People must RSVP in advance to contact@urbanartretreat.com and we will confirm your appointment. We recommend people make sure they choose a day they can really attend as re-scheduling orientation is discouraged. We also ask that you wear a mask so we can help keep everyone safe.
People are asked what they are interested in, a bit about themselves, and how they heard about Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center. Then, the staff talks about the history of the organization, mission, programs, and volunteer opportunities for adults. Attendees are encouraged to read over the website before attending Orientation.
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