Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church
Date: Wednesday, September 4, 2013; 5:45-9:00 pm
Due to travel I had been unable
to attend this project in July and August, but was able and willing to do so
this evening. I got a call from Thomas
at Chicago Cares who asked if I could lead this today. Looks like there wasn’t a regular leader for
this project and Thomas was filling in till they appointed someone. Furthermore, this project doesn't really
require the leader to play a big role since Keith and Marianne from 'Breaking Bread' do a good job of
coordinating the volunteers. All the
leader would need to do is take attendance for the Chicago Cares volunteers and
then submit it along with other project related statistics; besides answering
volunteers questions regarding Chicago Cares.
I agreed and so it was a hasty printing of the attendance sheet and
rushing to the location to try and show up a bit in advance of the other
volunteers.
I arrived to find that Keith was
chatting with some youngsters and he has an ability to engage a group in
conversation. I checked-in with him and
went over to look for my volunteers. One
of them was Daniela (Dani), whom I had met at ‘Deborah’s Place’ project and who has a bright personality. She greeted me like an old friend and we
immediately picked off from where we had left off more than 2 months ago. My other Chicago Cares volunteer was Galen,
who was another one with a friendly demeanor.
Looks like I was in luck with my staff!
There were no desserts this evening owing to lack of donations and so
there wasn’t much need for many volunteers inside the kitchen. Galen was thus sent to help out in the
clothing room, while Dani and I set out to make the salad. This involved chopping lettuce and tomatoes –
a lot of tomatoes. In fact, at one point
Dani said that she would be perfectly fine with not seeing tomatoes for a
long time after this evening. But this
gave us a chance to catch-up on what she had been up to over the summer and she
mentioned that her visit was coming to an end and that she would be returning back to Germany in a few weeks; but had a
wonderful time travelling and volunteering.
Galen joined us soon and started chopping cucumbers to add to the
salad. We had two huge bowls filled with
this combination and the next step was to add the dressing. Normally when one is making salad for
themselves, they are mindful of the type and amount of dressing being added. But this was for our guests, who could well do
with plenty of creamy goodness, so I told the ladies to go ahead and pour on
the dressing, guilt free!
Some of the youngsters who I had
seen earlier came over and asked if there was anything they could do to
help. I told them about the 21 bowls
concept and so asked if they could distribute our salad evenly in those 21
bowls, following which we would put them on a serving trolley and then the
refrigerator. Marianne was missing today
and I asked Keith about that. He said
that she was leaving for Italy the next day and so was busy packing. Well, nothing wrong with that, especially a
trip to Italy. Keith had requested
another regular volunteer Meredith to perform Marianne’s usual duties, including
the volunteering orientation that was about to commence. It started with Keith’s speech and he wanted
everyone to listen to him - especially the new volunteers - even if it meant
waiting for some of them to get back from the duties they were performing at that
time. He started by reminding us to
treat the guests as we would anyone coming into our home and then told us how
the place has evolved over last 10 years through all the volunteer help. He said that ‘Breaking Bread’ was now nationally renowned and had won 2 awards,
with different Church groups coming from all over the country to help out. He then told us how they were “Going Green” by eliminating disposable plates
and utensils. While it meant faster
clean-up, it also resulted in stuffed garbage bins and so they had moved to
real plates and silverware. The
scientist in me wondered about the amount of running water that they would be
consuming for that activity, but I did not bring it up. Meredith then performed Marianne’s role by reminding
the volunteers to not give the guests any money. Before she continued, she asked if I could
distribute the salads, since I was a regular and had heard the speech
before. I went and distributed the salad
and fruit over 21 tables and was back just in time for the prayer led by Meredith. Then, it was time for service.
.JPG) |
| Keith's Barbecue Chicken! |
The menu for tonight was Barbecue
Chicken, rice and veggies. Galen and
Dani would be plating, while I would be serving to the guests. Keith was raving about his bbq sauce, though
one gentleman asked for a vegetarian meal and thus missed out. Soon everyone had been served and then it was
time for seconds. Meredith gave me a paper
and asked if I could stand behind the counter and keep track of how many
seconds were being served. Everything
needs to be documented - including volunteer dinners - and this was an
important duty. People were coming at a
fair pace and I had to keep a rapid count of who was coming for seconds, how
many, and if they were using plates or disposables. Dani was doing an excellent job of not only serving
fast, but also with a smile. Plus, when we
were almost out of food, she even gave her dinner away. One lady came to thank us and referred to us through a passage in the Bible, though I couldn't catch
what she said. But it was clear that she
was being sincere.
While the food was over, we still
had plenty of bbq sauce left and Keith wanted to save it for a bbq that he was
hosting over the weekend. He asked
Dani and me to put it into a bottle using a funnel, but the thick sauce was
taking its time filtering down, so much so that Dani said it would be faster
for us to use the funnel as a ladle! I
laughed and asked if she was always this brilliant and she responded saying I
could ask her for solutions to any problem.
It was time to go and I took a picture with Dani and Galen. Even though I have only met her twice, I will
miss Dani once she returns home and we promised to stay in touch. I walked back a part of the way with Galen
and we talked about some of the other Chicago Cares programs, especially
children’s ones which she enjoys. It had
been a good leadership experience and we had served 60 people and over
122 meals tonight. I was already looking forward
to my return next month.
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