Checklist for the 2015 Chicago Reload Conference

Whether you are going to the Reload conference in Chicago, or really any other gathering of professionals or other like-minded people, the following are some good tips to remember:

Reload is almost upon us here in Chicago.(Saturday, March 28, 2015 to be exact).  Reload is a national gathering of urban youth ministry workers. They might be full time youth pastors, but they can also be simply volunteers who participate when they can. The Urban Youth Workers Institute established these regional trainings to help youth workers who were unable to travel to far-away conferences and couldn't afford time off & hotel stays.

In Chicago, North Park University's Center for Youth Ministry studies leads the coordiantion for the event, and hosts the conference.

Here are some things to have ready:

• Money (there may be a few cash only items, but most vendors take credit cards)
• Pens & scratch paper - in case you have to write a note. Yes, you COULD put it on your smartphone. But will you be smart enough to remember to review it? One other alternative is to have your sound recorder or video camera readily available.  That might be another viable way for you to take verbal notes. But remember to review these notes either that night or a scheduled time the next day. 
• Business Cards --- see our Bootleg Business Card blog entry for details
• List of seminars - you can always change it on the spot,

Have a great time, and we hope to see you there. if you haven't registered, or need info, go to Reload Chicago's homepage for more details

At the conference, feel free to text us at 872-222-8008 to meet up. See you at Reload Chicago!

Look for Do-Gooder Consulting in March and beyond!

March will be a very busy month for JP Paulus and Do-Gooder Consulting, with several major events. Here's where you can find us in the next few weeks and beyond. Call or text us at 872-222-8008 or e-mail us at  blog@do-gooder.us if you have questions or would like to meet! (Also, see the bottom of this post regarding an opportunity to help your students with financial aid!

Urban Youth Network

The next meeting is Thursday, March 5  at  9am. Meet us at The Light House, 4338 S. Prairie Ave., Chicago IL. This location is just blocks from the Dan Ryan (43rd Street exit), as wel as the Green Line (43rd stop) and the #3 King Drive bus. Join fellow youth workers for fellowship & growth.  You can also call/text 872-222-8008 or e-mail blog@do-gooder.us for an update, or questions.  

Free breakfast (includes doughnuts, fruit, juice and coffee) is provided.

For more info, contact Nick River.  a at nick@gripyouth.com or see the Urban Youth Network Facebook page. 

Business First Friday  

We used to meet at Flecks Coffee for their First Friday networking event. Unfortunately, they have closed, so we have more to Chef Sara's Cafe in South Shore.

We have begun some great partnerships through these meetings. Many members of the Chatham Business Association (see below) plan on joining us. This event is hosted by Bruce Montgomery of technology TV,among many other things..

From the event's Facebook page:

Chatham Business Association 

We'll see you at the next Chatham Business Association meeting  at 8:30am on Tuesday, March 10 at the QBG Foundation Building, Meeting Room, 806 E. 78th St. Chicago, IL 60619 .The Monthly Membership Meeting held by Chatham Business Association, Small Business Development Inc. is held to inform current members and prospective members about issues and activities going on in Chatham and the City of Chicago.  You do not need to be a member to attend, but you should register.  Breakfast is provided for a small fee. See their webpage for details on this event.  

The Presenter is Nicholas J Delgado, Principal at Dignitas and he will speak on Small Business Succession Planning Strategies

Reload Chicago 2015

Reload Chicago 2015 (an Urban Youth Workers Conference) on Saturday, March 28,  2015 at North Park University. JP Paulus plans on attending and networking with you and 300 others.

FAFSA Completion sessions

We're also scheduling FAFSA completion sessions for the first week of January, where we help families correctly fill out the FAFSA. The first that we have planned is one at Oakdale Covenant Church, 9440 S. Vincennes after the 10:30am service on Sunday, January 4, 2015. We will utilize Oakdale Christian Academy's computer lab to allow up to 20 families to fill out their FAFSA at a time. Check our blog for details and updates.

JP Paulus is involved in the planning of Oakdale Covenant Church's men's retreat, April 15-17 at Camp Manitoqua in Frankfort, IL.

JP helped with the first retreat, and is in charge of the administrative and registration needs for the retreat.  He, through Do-Gooder Consulting, can help your church set up a retreat or conference. Contact us at conference@do-gooder.us for more information.

Illinois College Access Network

The next Illinois College Access Network Meeting of 2014 be will meet  on Thursday, May 14th, 2015. Location and agenda is To Be Announced.  (You can also call/text 872-222-8008 or e-mail blog@do-gooder.us for an update.) Updates for the event are at this link and  the website at www.illinoiscan.org   

 We also want to say thanks to everyone we met at  the 42nd Tutor-Mentor Conference 

We appreciate Daniel Bassill of the Tutor Mentor Institute inviting us to the November 2014 Tutor-Mentor Conference to present on on "4 Steps 2 College".  The 43rd conference will be Friday, May 8, 2014 at Metcalfe Federal Building, 77 W. Jackson Blvd. in Chicago, and the 44th in November. Look for updates here on their website. Registration will be open soon.for now, they are accepting proposals for workshops!

We hope to more fully participate in events such as:

•  the College Changes Everything Conference in July 2015, 
  
  
  
   
• The Illinois Colege Access Network Conference in August 2015, 
  
• and the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) Conference in November 2015. 
  

We will post details as they arrive.

We hope to see you at these and other events.  Don't forget to bring business cards, even if it is a "bootleg" business card (see our blog on it).  If you plan on coming to these events, please call/test us at 872-222-8008 or by e-mail at blog@do-gooder.us

We hope to see you soon!