Monday December 13,1999
Corinthian Yacht Club/Montrose Harbor
Lake Shore Drive and Montrose
(Near the Bait Shop—ample parking available)
6:00pm–10:30pm
It’s not too late! Contact Nancy Kramer
773/725-6944, e-mail ,
or Helen Haugsnes 630/355-3916 ASAP to reserve space
and indicate what you will bring. Bring friends,
family, and ethnic CD’s or Tapes. Try your luck in a
Raffle to benefit Peace Corps Partnership Projects.

Join CAPCA and ring in the holidays together!
CAPCA NEWS

Thanks to CAPCA from the American Red Cross
William Braden, Chief Executive Officer for the
American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, thanked CAPCA
on October 1 for our two $1000 donations to the
Turkish Earthquake Relief Fund, and the Kosovo Relief
Fund. He said:
Thank you for making the American Red Cross of Greater
Chicago the recipient of your recent contribution[s] .
. .. Throughout the U.S. and the world, victims of
disasters and conflict seek safety, shelter, food, and
clothing. On a daily basis, families are displaced
and left with nothing, and the Red Cross Disaster
teams are there to ease the suffering.
Your support enables the Red Cross to supply food,
medicine, shelter, clothing, furniture, and help
rebuilding lives. Often Red Cross mental health
workers are there to help children and adults cope
with and recover from a disaster.
Thank you, again, for your interest and support. We
are very grateful for friends like you who help make
our work possible.

A HOLIDAY MESSAGE FROM MAXINE, LESLIE, AND ROBYN
Many of us will be doing some substantial buying in
the next few weeks, and chances are good that we’ll
use the Internet to do at least part of it. Consider
visiting one of the new websites that allow visitors
to select charities and non-profit organizations to
receive a portion of the profit. Websites like
GreaterGood and
Working Assets , allow
users to research dozens of charitable organizations,
then visit retailers like Amazon.com, J. Crew, and
REI, and have some percentage of the total bill sent
to the non-profit organization. Users can choose to
benefit all sorts of groups, from the Nature
Conservancy and the Special Olympics to Amnesty
International, UNICEF, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Some groups will even match donations
(visit this site and
get a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice
cream by making a donation to one of many non-profits)
made by the end of 1999.
And as long as you’re online, visit the Hunger Site
. A part of the United Nations
website, this group solicits corporate sponsors to
provide money to donate a set amount of food for each
user that visits the site. The food is sent to a
country in the developing world where it is most
needed. Users may donate food only once each day.
Bookmark the site and donate every day!

1999 Culture Shock Softball
by Joe Andrews

Your co-rec RPCV softball team, the Culture Shocks,
wound up a successful season on October 30th. The Shocks
displayed persistence all season long and overcame
such obstacles as a spring outfield filled with moats
and trees, and a wildly disorganized league. The
Shocks also dispelled the notion that they lose every
game. Veteran players and rookies who served in
Senegal, Mali, Lesotho, Kenya, Honduras, Grenada, and
Ukraine helped lead the team to an impressive number
of victories.
A 19-0 shutout and an 8-7 come-from-behind win early
in the season were spring highlights. The ’99 Shocks
also introduced a series of promotional “days” to
provide fun for everyone at the ballpark. House Plant
Day, Team History Day, and Protest Day were fan
favorites.
The Shocks continued winning ball games as the
weather heated up. The team swept a double header on
July 31st and then celebrated with a barbecue on the
lakefront. Late in the season the Shocks pounded out a
21-16 victory even though their manager was ejected
for arguing an outrageous call. The Shocks’ patience
had worn a bit thin, but the players showed that they
had grit and they confidently headed into the August
playoffs. In the first playoff game the Shocks’ hits
piled up higher than clichés in a clubhouse and the
team charged to a 20-15 victory. The Shocks took an
early lead in their second game, but bats then fell
silent and the team had to settle for a 9-7 defeat.
The Culture Shocks played a short fall season and
talked about playing winter ball in Venezuela, the
Dominican Republic, or, most likely, Camp Vista, the
RPCV winter retreat in central northeast Wisconsin.
Whether the team is playing ball or poker by the
fireplace remains to be seen, but cross-country skiing
and sledding on aluminum cookie sheets could provide
valuable cross training to keep players agile and
strong during the off season. Look for the Shocks in
the 2000 season and come out and join this laid back,
take it one-day-at-a-time, have-fun-at-all-costs team.
Go Shocks!

UPCOMING EVENTS
Santa’s International Family Day
Every year the YMCA of Evanston puts on a festival
around the winterholidays. Over 200 elementary school age kids
and their families come to the Y to do several things—
get their pictures taken with Santa,
decorate cookies, eat a free hot dog lunch, listen to
storytellers, and most importantly, visit
countries around the world. Volunteers who are
either from a particular country or very knowledgeable
about the country decorate a table with souven-irs,
foods, pictures, costumes, games, books, etc. that
depict life in that country. The children are given a
“passport” and get their passport stamped as they
“visit” each country. The objective is to teach them
a little something about many different countries and
cultures. The price of admission is an item of
donated food.
The more the merrier. Stop by and meet the kids and
say “hello” to your fellow RPCV’s.

Santa’s International Family Day
Saturday, December 11
10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Ë
Large gym of McGaw YMCA, 1000 Grove St., Evanston
Ë
Contact Mary Collins
847/864-5915

PEACE CORPS NEWS
Peace Corps Day 2000
The third annual Peace Corps Day will be Tuesday,
March 7, 2000, in honor of the Peace Corps’ 39th
Anniversary. The Peace Corps is asking former
volunteers from across the country to once again
become involved in this national celebration.
Returned volunteers who are interested in speaking to
a class, or teachers who would like to host a
volunteer speaker, should contact the Peace Corps
immediately for a Peace Corps Day brochure. Call
800/424-8580 (press 2, then ext. 1961); e-mail
pcday@peacecorps.gov; or write Peace Corps Day ’00;
Attn: Lisa Ward; 1111 20th St., NW, Second Floor;
Washington, DC 20526.

Founder’s Day Early Warning
CAPCA’s Founder’s Day Celebration will take place on
June 3, 2000 at the Field Museum, Rice Hall. Save
the date!

Opportunity for High School Students
Attention Teachers and Parents of Sophomores and
Juniors!
CARE, an international relief and development
organization providing food, clothing, and medical
relief to over 60 countries, as well as disaster
relief, small business assistance, primary health
care, nutrition, girls’ and basic education,
agriculture and natural resource management, and
family planning programs, announces a special
opportunity through CARE Youth Corps.
The CARE Youth Corps is a pilot program that will
provide eight high school students the opportunity to
experience international development work for three
weeks in Peru in July 2000. CARE has been working in
Peru since the 1970 earthquake; today CARE Peru
projects benefit more than one million of the poorest
people in the country. Selected students will have
short homestays with Peruvian families, interact with
local youth, work side by side with CARE project
participants in Cajamarca, explore the ancient ruins
of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, and meet local
community leaders and officials.
Qualified students must:
1. Embody CARE’s core values: Respect for the dignity
and worth of every human being, integrity, commitment
to service, and excellence
2. Be a current sophomore or junior in high school
3. Be proficient in Spanish (two semesters or
demonstrated speaking ability)
4. Be willing to share their experiences by
representing CARE at their schools and other CARE
events in the area.
All travel, accommodations, and food expenses will be
paid by CARE through special donations.
The application deadline is January 31, 2000; contact
Lisa Smith for more information, 312/641-1430,
smith@mw.care.org, or CARE; Youth Corps 2000; 70 E.
Lake St., Suite 1430; Chicago, IL 60601.

Meet Your Membership
In the interests of some of the goals of CAPCA—staying
aware of events in the developing world, spreading the
word about international events in the Chicago area,
and providing networking and social opportunities to
its membership—we’d like to provide some information
each month about CAPCA members and Board members.
Feel free to send us an e-mail with interesting facts
about yourself, whether you just returned, or you’ve
been back in Chicago for decades. Where did you
serve, and what are you doing now? Do you belong to a
“friends of . . .” group that other CAPCA members
might be interested in? Are you looking for a job . .
.?
In the interests of midwestern politeness, we’ll go
first. Following are bios of three of the newest
CAPCA Board members:

JOB OPPORTUNITIES
The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s Food
Bank, is looking for an Agency Relations
Representative: Assists current and prospective
Greater Chicago Food Depository member agencies with
GCFD certifications, networking and management of food
distribution programs. Builds positive interactions
between the Depository and member agencies. Social
service experience or experience managing a community
program required. Some college required, degree
preferred. Strong verbal and written skills required.
Ability to travel in the Chicago metro area—if by car
then valid driver’s license and vehicle insurance
required.
Send a cover letter and resume to Agency Relations;
Greater Chicago Food Depository; 4501 South Tripp;
Chicago, IL 60632.