<div>Good morning, </div><div> </div><div>My name is Carlos Velazquez, I am with the Illinois Humanities Council. </div><div> </div><div>Our Odyssey Project program is now accepting applications for its next year of classes beginning September 1, both in Chicago and Urbana-Champaign. Attached and below is the press release. </div>
<div> </div><div>Earl Shorris, the founder of the program (who just passed away, May 27), stressed the importance the humanities played in elevating those with lower means. "The study of the humanities, he said, is “in itself a redistribution of wealth.” </div>
<div> </div><div>The deadline to apply is August 1.</div><div> </div><div>With classes in Chicago in Rogers Park, Pilsen (in Spanish), and Woodlawn, including in Urbana-Champaign, we are asking for your support to pass on this opportunity to your audiences. I can connect you to current and past students of the program, who can speak eloquently on the classes' impact on their lives. </div>
<div> </div><div>Thank you, </div><div> </div><div>-- <br></div><p><i style="font-size:13px"><span style="font-size:10pt"><font face="'Book Antiqua'">Carlos Velázquez</font><font face="Arial"><br>
</font></span></i><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px">~~~~~<br></span><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px">Communications Manager<br>
</span><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px">Illinois Humanities Council<br></span><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px">Suite 1400<br></span><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px">17 North State St.<br>
</span><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px">Chicago, IL 60602.3296<br></span><a style="color:rgb(0,0,204);font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px" value="+13124225580">312.422.5585</a><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px"> ext 233<br>
</span><a style="color:rgb(0,0,204);font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px" value="+13124225588">312.422.5588</a><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px"> </span><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px">Fax<br>
</span><a style="color:rgb(0,0,204);font-family:"Book Antiqua";font-size:13px" title="http://www.prairie.org/" href="http://www.prairie.org/" target="_blank">http://www.prairie.org</a><br><a style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13px" href="mailto:cav@prairie.org" target="_blank">cav@prairie.org</a><font style="font-size:13px" face="Arial"> <br>
</font><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span><font face="arial, sans-serif">~~~~~<br></font><a style="color:rgb(0,0,204);font-family:Arial;font-size:11px" href="http://twitter.com/ilhumanities" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(42,93,176)">Follow</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:11px"> us on Twitter - @ILhumanities<br>
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</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
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</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">Free College-Level
Courses in the Humanities Begin This Fall<br>
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</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">Odyssey Project offers classes on literature,
philosophy, history and art<u></u></span></i></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:8pt"> </span></i></b></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">CHICAGO</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">, IL-<b> June 12,
2012</b>—</span><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">Illinoisans in the areas of Chicago
and Urbana-Champaign are invited to apply to be part of a unique program
offering a free college liberal arts course to adults living on low-incomes,
complete with college credit.<span> </span><span> </span><b></b></span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:8pt"> </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt" lang="EN">The Odyssey Project, a program
of the Illinois Humanities Council in partnership with the Clemente Course in
the Humanities, </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt" lang="EN">is a free </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt" lang="EN">college-level introduction to the humanities,
founded on the conviction that engagement with the humanities can offer
individuals a way out of poverty by fostering habits of sustained reflection,
critical thinking, and skilled communication.</span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:8pt" lang="EN"> </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt" lang="EN">Classes are offered in literature, philosophy,
history, art history, and writing, taught by faculty members from top
institutions including the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, and DePaul University. In partnership with the Bard College
Clemente® Course in the Humanities, students may receive up to six units of
college credit. </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:8pt" lang="EN"> </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt" lang="EN">Courses are taught at AKArama Community Service
Center in Woodlawn on Chicago’s South Side, the Howard Area Community Center in
Rogers Park on the North Side, and Spanish-speaking students meet at the Gads
Hill Center in Pilsen. The course in Champaign is held at the Illinois Program
for Research in the Humanities on the UIUC campus. <b>Since its inception, more
than 500 students have graduated from the program.<span> </span></b></span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:8pt" lang="EN"> </span></b></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt" lang="EN">Earl Shorris, the late founder of the Clemente
Course in the Humanities, of which the Odyssey Project course is a part, said
that, “If one has been ‘trained’ in the ways of poverty … what is needed is a
beginning, not a repetition. The humanities teach us to think reflectively, to
begin, to deal with the new as it occurs to us, to dare. If the
multigenerational poor are to make the leap out of poverty, it will require a
new kind of thinking—reflection.”</span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:8pt" lang="EN"> </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">The
Odyssey Project is now accepting applications for its 2012-2013 school year.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old and live in a household with income no
more than 150 % of the Federal poverty level.<span>
</span>Classes are free of charge and books, on-site babysitting and transit
cards are also provided. <b><span> </span></b>Classes
are held mid-September through May at all locations. <b>The application
deadline is August 1, 2012. </b>Applications and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">information about the Odyssey Project are available on the Odyssey
Project page at </span><a href="http://www.prairie.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt"><font color="#0000ff">www.prairie.org</font></span></a><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt"> or
by contacting Amy Thomas Elder at <a href="tel:312.422.5580" target="_blank" value="+13124225580">312.422.5580</a>. </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:8pt" lang="EN"> </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">About the Illinois
Humanities Council </span></u></b></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:8pt;layout-grid-mode:line"> </span></i></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt;layout-grid-mode:line">The Illinois Humanities Council is an independent,
nonprofit state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, </span></i><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt;layout-grid-mode:line" lang="EN">dedicated to fostering a culture in which the
humanities are a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities. The
IHC creates programs and funds organizations that promote greater understanding
of, appreciation for, and involvement in the humanities by all Illinoisans,
regardless of their economic resources, cultural background, or geographic
location. The IHC is supported by state, federal, and private funds. </span></i><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt;layout-grid-mode:line" lang="EN"></span></i></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:8pt"> </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">Media
Contact: </span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">Carlos
Velázquez</span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt">(312)
422-5580, x233</span></p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:cav@prairie.org" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt"><font color="#0000ff">cav@prairie.org</font></span></a><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt"><span> </span></span></p>
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</font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt" lang="EN">D A R E T O K N O W</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-size:11pt" lang="EN"><br>
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