Yearly Archives: 2009

The first official blog post for the Chicago area team

Here it is- the first official blog post for the Chicago area team. 

My name is Angela Weepie and I cover Hyde Park, the South and West Loops, and Bucktown and Wicker Park.  I am writing the first blog post, but I am not going to be the only one blogging.  This blog is a collaborative effort, so you’ll be hearing from each of the Chicagoland counselors.  In my first blog post I am not going to talk about me, rather, I’d like you to join me in celebrating service awards for counselors who have been part of the Au Pair in America family for 15 years. 

We salute Ginny Costigan, Kathy Kressner, Pam Mayer-Caes, Sandee Plescia, Kathy Simon, and Iris Sommer, for their service and dedication to the Au Pair in America program.   We have a fantastic group of counselors here in Chicago who have set the stage for excellence in customer service.  These ladies remember hand delivering au pair applications, and sitting in their cars in the mall parking lot reading applications and swapping them with each other to find the best fit for both the au pairs and host families.  Technology has brought us to our SHARE system where families have the entire pool of au pair applicants at their fingertips 24 hours a day. From then until now, we continue to bring the world together.  Congratulations ladies, I am honored to work with each and every one of you.

The Connecticut office often calls community counselors the face of the organization, well now you get to hear our voices…

Choosing an Agency

Au Pair in America has a field network of 180 community counselors?  Au Pair in America community counselors provide daily, ongoing, local support to both host families and au pairs. Counselors are steeped in the love of cultural exchange, and their job is to 

provide the best guidance they can. They have no quotas and do not work on commission, so when you need their help, there are no strings attached!

Chicagoland Community Counsellors at Project Linus volunteer event. Project Linus an agency that distributes handmade blankets to children in need.

Chicagoland Community Counsellors at Project Linus volunteer event. Project Linus an agency that distributes handmade blankets to children in need.

Fire Safety Week

This is Fire Safety Week.  Most schools will have fire drills and talk about escape plans in case of emergency.  My family did this when we were younger.  I remember when my brother was in kindergarten and he actually went out his escape route—right out his second floor bedroom window!  He was unharmed, which he credited with the pillow he threw out first–to break his fall.

October Cluster Events

A "first" for many au pairs-they had never carved a pumpkin in their home country

A "first" for many au pairs-they had never carved a pumpkin in their home country

Heather’s cluster (CHE) will visit Goebbert’s Pumpkin Farm for her annual Host Family Workshop.  The US Department of State requires all host families to attend an annual Host Family Workshop.

Angela (CHA) and Ginny (CHL) will meet their au pairs downtown for a performance of the Midnight Circus in Franken Plaza-aka Daley Plaza

Kathy K. (CHG) is hosting a costume party for her au pairs.  The cluster will vote and decide the winner!

Sandee (CHF) is having a pumpkin carving party and her au pairs will be in costume.

Maria (CHR) is hosting a costume party with ghoulish snacks and games at her house.  They will top off the evening with a hay ride and trip to the haunted forest.

Community Counselors

Au Pair in America has a field network of 180 community counselors?  Au Pair in America community counselors provide daily, ongoing, local support to both host families and au pairs. Counselors are steeped in the love of cultural exchange, and their job is to provide the best guidance they can. They have no quotas and do not work on commission, so when you need their help, there are no strings attached!

Project Linus

Over 90 Chicagoland au pairs and their community counselors volunteered their time to make over 100 blankets for Project Linus- an organization that distributes handmade blankets to children in hospitals.
 
Chicagoland au pair "blanketeers" pose by their completed blankets at the end of a long, but fulfilling afternoon

Chicagoland au pair "blanketeers" pose by their completed blankets at the end of a long, but fulfilling afternoon

 
Chicagoland au pairs with their completed blankets-sure to put a smile on a child's face!

Chicagoland au pairs with their completed blankets-sure to put a smile on a child's face!