The Rally and Sleep Out Saturday is THIS Saturday, November 3rd. It’s here!!
Rally Location: 505 Crescent Blvd in downtown Glen Ellyn
Schedule of Events
6:30pm The Plural of Sheep band starts rockin’
· Sleepers can pick up their T-shirt, as well as purchase warm cozy ski caps
· Sleepers turn in pledge envelopes and cash/checks
· Coffee and Hot Cocoa will be served
7:10pm Program Kicks-off with Channel 2 News anchor Rob Johnson
· Learn how families become homeless
· Listen to Jessica, who found herself homeless
· See the benefits of sleeping out
8:00 pm DuPage County treasure - Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
8:10pm Closing remarks
Don’t forget: The group who raises the most money will win a party at Lucky Strikes Bowling.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
What Really is the Minimum Wage in DuPage County?
$7.75 an hour doesn’t go far
The truth of the matter is that a person with a family can’t survive on minimum wage. In Illinois, the minimum wage was just bumped up to $7.75 an hour. At that rate, someone would have to work 20 hours a day, five days a week to be able to barely afford the basic needs in DuPage County for a family of four. We pretty much know that working that much is impossible.
Living below the poverty line in DuPage
Last year in Naperville alone, there were 4,292 people living in poverty. The poverty line is defined as a family of four making $20,000 or less. Though not officially poor, families with low incomes ($40,000 a year or less) often still find it difficult to meet their basic needs.
Hard Choices
Low–income residents in DuPage County are forced to choose between paying their rent or going to the doctor, living in a safe home or having child care, keeping the phone on or having enough food. An estimated 45,000 to 63,000 people in DuPage have no health insurance. Last year, between the months of January and March, an average of 8,424 DuPage County households needed to go to food pantries each month.
Think about transportation alone. Living in the suburbs, a car becomes a necessity. Owning a car can be very expensive. Workers making $12 an hour spend about 20 percent of their income on transportation; in contrast minimum wage earners spend about 45 percent.
Going Beyond Minimum Wage
One way Bridge Communities helps the clients they serve is to take time out to train or educate the person for a specific job so they can begin to earn a higher hourly rate or salary. They must be able to earn more than minimum wage to survive in DuPage County.
Bridge Communities wants to thank you for making a difference. By sleeping out on November 3rd and finding sponsors, you are telling everyone that you acknowledge this to be a problem and you are doing something toward solving it.
The truth of the matter is that a person with a family can’t survive on minimum wage. In Illinois, the minimum wage was just bumped up to $7.75 an hour. At that rate, someone would have to work 20 hours a day, five days a week to be able to barely afford the basic needs in DuPage County for a family of four. We pretty much know that working that much is impossible.
Living below the poverty line in DuPage
Last year in Naperville alone, there were 4,292 people living in poverty. The poverty line is defined as a family of four making $20,000 or less. Though not officially poor, families with low incomes ($40,000 a year or less) often still find it difficult to meet their basic needs.
Hard Choices
Low–income residents in DuPage County are forced to choose between paying their rent or going to the doctor, living in a safe home or having child care, keeping the phone on or having enough food. An estimated 45,000 to 63,000 people in DuPage have no health insurance. Last year, between the months of January and March, an average of 8,424 DuPage County households needed to go to food pantries each month.
Think about transportation alone. Living in the suburbs, a car becomes a necessity. Owning a car can be very expensive. Workers making $12 an hour spend about 20 percent of their income on transportation; in contrast minimum wage earners spend about 45 percent.
Going Beyond Minimum Wage
One way Bridge Communities helps the clients they serve is to take time out to train or educate the person for a specific job so they can begin to earn a higher hourly rate or salary. They must be able to earn more than minimum wage to survive in DuPage County.
Bridge Communities wants to thank you for making a difference. By sleeping out on November 3rd and finding sponsors, you are telling everyone that you acknowledge this to be a problem and you are doing something toward solving it.
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