Above is our office and to the left is the EAA office staff.

Celebrating 15 Years of Excellent Service 

(Click for more pictures)

     The space I envisioned as our office had been neglected for years and was in complete disarray.  Thanks to the hard work of great volunteers like Alexandru Bistrian, Daniel Lela, Daniel Hanches, Ioan Curescu and others it was transformed into the headquarters of European American Association.  THANK YOU!

     As I look back it’s hard to believe that February 7, 2006, marked the 15^th year of our incorporation, yet in some ways it seems like a life time has passed since my good friend, Lillian Quiles, and I were working so hard to compose just the right by-laws for EAA to follow.  We wrote letters, proposals and complete applications in which we applied to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, LIHEAP, HUD, The Illinois Department on Aging Homemaker Program and our precious 501(c)(3) Federal Tax Exempt status.  I only wonder where EAA would be today without the dedication and expertise of such dedicated friends.  THANK YOU! 

     As we neared incorporation I searched for a Board of Directors, and found a wonderful group of people.  One of our first President, Florian Buchiu as well as his brother Jean Bukiu have been long time friends of EAA and have never failed to rise to whatever challenge they were given, from holding office on our volunteer Board of Directors, to running the food pantry.  THANK YOU! 

     Soon after we were approved for the LIHEAP program a wonderful lady and one of our first volunteers, Luminita (Cosma) Spencer had heard about EAA through her church and came to help, so we set up a desk and she began taking LIHEAP applications.  THANK YOU! 

     As EAA grew, I ask another good friend Marcella Wittinger to help me with some bookkeeping activities.  I am happy to say that some time later Marcella became an Employee and still does our bookkeeping and the bi-monthly payroll for our more than 300 employees.  THANK YOU!  Marcella Also created our website and the motto of:

       “Helping People Survive Today and Prepare for Tomorrow” THANK YOU AGAIN

     In our early years before we could employ someone to administer the office there were a number of generous volunteers who kept our office running.  At various times Marva Hemphil, Shirley Baker, Consuelo Torres, Lorraine Fritze and others were here to answered phones, write letters, take LIHEAP applications and distributed food from the Food Pantry.  Then of course there was Maurice Long with his big heart, and gruff manner, who was almost a fixture at our front desk for many years and now at our front desk, our employee Luz Peinado .  THANK YOU!

     We held our festivals and thanks to Zelda Robinson, Carl L Amin and Lillian Quiles working tirelessly before the activities we had our first brochure completed and they were distributed at the festival.  THANK YOU!

     Our Homemaker Program started in 1993 and over the years we have had numerous Homemaker Supervisors such as Stanca (Lili) Olaru, Veronica Vlad, Silvia Borcean, Yevheniya Busko, Christina Zaragoza, Homemaker Managers, Marcella Wittinger  and Regina Svinkun and others who have all helped this program grow to more than 600 clients and over 300 homemakers.  THANK YOU!

     The Homemaker quarterly training wouldn’t be complete without the tasty stuffed cabbage rolls (sarmale) of a long time friend and volunteer Ana Sopt.  THANK YOU!

     This is only a sampling of the wonderful stories and names of extraordinary individuals who have devoted their time and knowledge to our development.  I sincerely wish I could share more, but there are too many to list.  To all those who I have not mentioned here, please know that I remember you and you should be very proud of the roll that you played in the history and growth of European American Association. THANK YOU, THANK YOU

AND AGAIN THANK YOU

     May God Bless You all and God Bless America 

Our Mission: 

To provide programs that will assist those in need

while encouraging an independent vision.

To promote neighborhood pride

through renovation and community involvement.

To offer encouragement for all those in the community

through a positive presence.

Contact Information

Telephone
       773-342-5868
FAX
       773-342-5533
Postal address
       2827 W. Division St. Chicago, Illinois 60622
Email:
      webmail@eaachicago.org