Center for Changing Lives

🍂✨ ¡Octubre es el mes de las Oportunidades en CCL! ✨🍂
Un nuevo mes trae nuevas oportunidades para conectar, aprender, crecer y avanzar hacia tus metas.

¡Consulta nuestro calendario de octubre e inscríbete en una o en todas! 💙
📋 5 de oct. — Presupuesto de manera sencilla
👩🏾‍💻 13 de oct. — Apoyo para la búsqueda de empleo y horas de laboratorio de computación
🏠 14 de oct. — Ejecución hipotecaria: cómo prevenir una crisis
💵 19 de oct. — Ahorros: el colchón para el flujo de efectivo
📋 21 de oct. — Metas SMART para tus finanzas
❄️ 26 de oct. — Cómo preparar tu presupuesto para las fiestas
👩🏾‍💻 27 de oct. — Apoyo para la búsqueda de empleo y horas de laboratorio de computación
📝 7, 14 y 21 de oct. — Orientación para nuevos miembros en nuestra oficina de Logan Square en inglés
📝 28 de oct. — Orientación para nuevos miembros en nuestra oficina de Logan Square en español
📝 Bajo solicitud — Orientación para nuevos miembros en nuestra oficina de South Chicago

Formas de apoyar a CCL
💫 17 de oct. — Gala 2026 de CCL: Rooted & Thriving en el Union League Club of Chicago
👻 29 de oct. — Fiesta de disfraces y noche de juegos para recaudar fondos

🔔 Recordatorio: ¡TODOS nuestros servicios son GRATUITOS y están abiertos al público!

Te acompañamos en cada paso mientras trabajas hacia tus metas financieras, de vivienda, empleo y de pequeños negocios.

👉 ¡Eres creativo/a, ingenioso/a, capaz y una persona plena! Inscríbete en linktr.ee/cclchicago

🍂✨ October is for Opportunity at CCL! ✨🍂
A new month brings new opportunities to connect, learn, grow, and take steps toward your goals.

Check out our October calendar and sign up for one or all! 💙
📋 Oct 5 — Budgeting Made Simple
👩🏾‍💻Oct 13 — Job Search Support & Computer Lab Hours
🏠Oct 14 — Foreclosure: Preventing the Crisis
💵Oct 19 — Savings: The Cash Flow Cushion
📋Oct 21 — SMART Goals to Finance
❄️Oct 26 — Budgeting for the Holidays
👩🏾‍💻Oct 27 — Job Search Support & Computer Lab Hours
📝Oct 7, 14 & 21 - New Member Orientation at Logan Square Office in English
📝Oct 28 - New Member Orientation at Logan Square Office in Spanish
📝Upon Request-New Member Orientation at South Chicago Office

Ways to support CCL
💫Oct 17 —2026 CCL Rooted & Thriving Gala at Union League Club of Chicago
👻Oct 29- Costume Party & Game Night Fundraiser

🔔 Reminder: ALL of our services are FREE and open to the public!
We’ll support you every step of the way as you pursue your financial, housing, employment, and small business goals.

👉 You are creative, resourceful, capable and whole! Sign up at linktr.ee/cclchicago

🎲 GAME NIGHT FUNDRAISER THIS WEEK! 🎲

Join us Wednesday, September 30 from 7:00–10:00 PM for an evening of laughter, friendly competition, and community, all while supporting Center for Changing Lives!

Hosted at Avondale Bowl and powered by Games on Taproom, this is game night, leveled up. Expect original mini-games featuring drawing games, board games, cup games, and more. Come play for a cause! 🎉

🎟️ Your ticket to play? Just a $5 minimum donation. Want to give a little more? Every dollar helps and you can give at an amount that is meaningful to you!

100% of proceeds benefit CCL and our work helping individuals and families build financial stability and mobility.

Bring your friends, show off your game skills, and make a difference one game at a time!

📅 Wednesday, September 30 | 7:00–10:00 PM
📍 Avondale Bowl, 3118 N Milwaukee Ave

Can’t make it? You can still support CCL with a donation at linktr.ee/cclchicago

🎟️ Come with us, and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination! ✨

What if your Golden Ticket could take you somewhere new?

Enter CCL’s Golden Ticket Raffle for your chance to win a 3-night getaway for four to your choice of 12+ U.S. and Canadian cities, plus a $200 dining card to enjoy the local food scene!

✨ Pick your destination:
🇨🇦 Montreal or Toronto
🎷 New Orleans
🌴 San Diego or Orlando
🎸 Nashville or Austin
🏔️ Salt Lake City
☕ Seattle or Minneapolis
🌸 Savannah
…and more!

You choose the destination and have the flexibility to select your travel dates. Every date offers a new selection of city escapes, so you can find the getaway that works for you.

🎟️ $100 per entry
🎟️ Enter as many times as you’d like!
🎉 Winner drawn at CCL’s Gala on October 17
🙌 You do not need to attend the Gala to enter or win!

Best of all, your Golden Ticket supports Center for Changing Lives and our work helping individuals and families build financial stability and mobility.

✨ So, where will your imagination and Golden Ticket take you?

Enter today at linktr.ee/cclchicago

Kinda chic & chingón to purchase your first home with free support. 🏡✨

Buying your first home is a big step, but you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.

As a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, CCL offers free First-Time Homebuyer Workshops to help you understand the homebuying process, prepare your finances, learn about available resources, and feel more confident taking that next step.

And yes, it’s FREE and open to the public. 🙌🏾

Ready to turn “someday” into a plan?

👉🏾 Sign up for services at linktr.ee/cclchicago

Kinda chic & chingón to offer free employment coaching. 💅🏾✨

Your next job. Your next career move. Your next opportunity. Let’s get you ready for it. 💼🔥

CCL’s Employment Coaching offers one-on-one support to help you:
✨ Strengthen your resume
✨ Prepare for interviews
✨ Navigate your job search
✨ Identify opportunities that fit your goals

And yes, it’s FREE and open to the public. 🙌🏾
You’re creative, resourceful, capable and whole.

👉🏾 Sign up for CCL's services at linktr.ee/cclchicago

✨ The deadline to sponsor the 2026 Center for Changing Lives Gala is almost here! ✨

There’s still time to claim your sponsorship for the 2026 Center for Changing Lives Rooted & Thriving Gala, secure yours by Wednesday, October 1.

We’ve already secured almost $50,000 in sponsorships, and we’d love to welcome more businesses, organizations, and community partners to the table. 💙

Join us Saturday, October 17 at the Union League Club of Chicago for a joyful evening celebrating community, opportunity, and the people who make this work possible.

Sponsorships range from $15,000 to $750, with every level supporting financial coaching, employment services, housing counseling, and small business support across Chicago.

✨ Ready to claim your sponsorship? Secure yours by October 1!

🔗 Head to www.cclconnect.org/gala

🔒 Protect Your Identity: Shield Your Success!

Join Center for Changing Lives for a virtual workshop to learn how to protect yourself from identity theft and safeguard your financial future.

You’ll learn:
✅ How identity theft happens and warning signs to watch for
✅ What to do if your information is compromised
✅ Safe banking practices and ways to protect your credit
✅ Tools to monitor your accounts and credit reports

📅 Monday, September 28
🕒 2 PM–4 PM
📍 Virtual via Zoom

Your financial wellness is possible! 💙

📲 Sign up today: linktr.ee/cclchicago

A little flashback to September 14! 💚 We were honored to have helped coordinate the 2nd Annual Southeast Side Housing Resource Fair, bringing neighbors together with organizations and resources that can help support housing stability, financial well-being, and opportunity.

🫂It's a joy to be in partnership with Claretian Associates, Inc., Alliance of the Southeast, Southeast Side Community Business District (SSA #5), and all of our community partners for creating space for neighbors to connect, ask questions, and learn about resources available right here on the Southeast Side.
💫Huge thank you to Fifth Third Bank for bringing the E-Bus and offering banking and financial education services on-site!

💞Shout-out to Natalie and Adriana for representing CCL and connecting with so many community members. This is what it looks like when we come together to build towards our vision of a community where everyone thrives. ❤️

South Chicago showed up! ❤️🔥

This past Saturday at the Salud Center was full of big ideas, good energy, new connections, and plenty of sabor as small business owners, entrepreneurs, resource partners, and neighbors came together!

Center for Changing Lives was proud to co-host the 3rd Annual South Side Small Business Fair with Claretian Associates, Inc.. We LOVE seeing what happens when a community comes together to connect entrepreneurs with the people, resources, and opportunities that can help move their businesses forward.

A special shoutout to Jeremy Riegler, CCL’s Director of Small Business EEC, for his leadership in making this day happen and for the relationships he continues to build with South Chicago entrepreneurs and partners. ❤️

And, what a joy to have five local businesses in the spotlight for the TechRise South Chicago Pitch Competition!

🍵 Sensei's Tea House & Asian Cuisine Sensei’s Boba Tea Bar
💻 Litzsey Tech Services
🍲 African Food Palace Chicago
🎨 FEOM Expressions The FEOM
☕ The Brew

Five businesses. Four minutes each. And a whole lot of vision.

Congratulations to Ahava Bey and Timothy Ruther of Sensei's Tea House & Asian Cuisine on taking home the $25,000 grand prize! 🎉 And congratulations to Kenneth Litzsey, Courage Wissink, Fenesha Hubbard, Osceola Muhammad, Nina Askew & Sam Sparks, whose entrepreneurial dream each received a $1,250 stipend to invest in their businesses and their vision for South Chicago.

We’re especially grateful to United Way of Metro Chicago and the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park for putting capital directly into the hands of local entrepreneurs.

And thank you to our judges, Terrence Johnson of Greenwood Archer Capital, Lucero Chavez Diaz of PNC Bank, and Melissa Perez of Miel 85 Collective, for sharing their time, expertise, and encouragement with these entrepreneurs.

Thank you to Angela Hurlock of Claretian Associates for keeping the day moving and the energy high as emcee and to all of our partners, vendors, and resource organizations who showed up for South Chicago’s small businesses.

At CCL, we believe in what our communities already have: creativity, knowledge, vision, resourcefulness, and poder. Our collective role is to connect that poder to opportunity.
And Saturday? We got to see that power in action. ✨

South Chicago is building. We at CCL are honored to be part of it. ❤️

📸 Check out a few photo highlights from the day. More to come!