On Every Street - At 200

It seems like yesterday that I was writing my 100^th blog post and now here we are, at 200.  It was Spring back in May when I talked about my incredible experiences till then and now there is snow outside the window and the year is winding down; with only a few short days before it all starts again - new resolutions, new wishes, and a renewal of faith in the same hopes and dreams.  Perhaps it is apt that the 200^th article has coincided with this time of the year and it is an opportunity to look back at some of the remarkable projects that I have had the privilege of sharing over the last 100 posts.  While every project has been dear to me, I have selected 3 that I would like to recall again.  There is one each from the 3 main organizations that I have the honor of being associated with – Chicago Cares, Make-A-Wish Foundation and One Brick.  Any project owes its success to 3 main reasons – the volunteers, the organization that enables the interaction with the clients and of course, how effectively the clients are being served.  All of these selections exemplify these qualities and in doing so have made me a believer. 

Serve-A-Thon 2013

My wonderful team at Serve-A-Thon

Back in June I was the Primary Leader for one of the sites during Chicago’s single largest day of service.  I had managed to recruit two of Chicago Cares top leaders to be on my team and we were at a site that I was quite familiar with, having visited there several times for an ongoing project.  However, on the day of the event we started hitting several road bumps and it took not only the collective leadership of the three of us, but also incredible support from our 40+ corporate volunteers to achieve our goals for the day and provide the residents with a wonderful experience.  They had been brilliant in their work ethic, interactions with the seniors, as well as their general attitude towards the project.  Nothing drags a project down like disinterested volunteers and our team had done nothing of the sort.  The glowing praise that we had received from the residents as well as the site representatives was a testament to that and I couldn’t have been prouder of everyone.

Make-A-Wish Comer Children's Hospital Oncology Summer Picnic

The balloons at Children's Picnic

I had done Make-A-Wish Children’s Hospital project before - for UIC’s Thanksgiving Party last year.  So I knew what to expect when I attended the summer picnic at Comer Children’s Hospital.  But nothing had prepared me for what I saw there in terms of the generosity of spirit and the commitment exhibited by the doctors and nurses of the hospital.  Their efforts towards making this a day to remember for the children made me realize that while volunteers like us help a lot in bringing a smile to these children, these doctors and nurses are the real heroes.  They are the ones who are fighting every day to try and give these kids a chance at a normal life…any life.  And it isn’t just the children; it’s their families as well; the ones who look at these faces every day for empathy, for compassion and for hope.  The staff of Comer greeted each family as friends and based on what I saw, it is safe to assume that for them, none of these kids is just a patient or as the Hippocratic Oath says, a chart or a symptom. 

Meals From The Heart At Ronald McDonald’s House

The wall in the 'Healing Garden' at Ronald McDonald's House

Over the course of last 15 months, I have visited several Senior Centers, Nursing Homes, Shelters, Schools and even Hospitals.  And for most parts, they have looked like Senior Centers, Nursing Homes, Shelters, Schools and Hospitals.  Almost all of them serve a low-income community and rely on the generosity of others in their continuing efforts to fulfill their mission.  So as long as the clients are comfortable and their needs are being met, it is difficult to imagine anything more than basic amenities being available at these sites.  That’s why Ronald McDonald House was such a shock for me.  Right from its kitchen, to rest of this extraordinary facility, no efforts had been spared to make this one-of-a-kind haven for families dealing with a stressful situation involving treatment of their child at a neighboring hospital.  The living facilities and the recreation areas seemed appropriate for visiting political dignitaries, let alone people who may not even be able to afford the optional $10/night donation request.  While it would be easy for the sites such as these to make excuses for sloppiness, Ronald McDonald House dares to proclaim that, “No, we are not going to compromise on any comfort that our guests require.”  And it’s not just throwing money at the problem.  The people working there are genuine and they care for the well being of the kids and their families…and they grieve with them when something unfortunate happens. 

These three are just some of the examples of heroism that I have witnessed, or even come to expect.  "Come to expect"…I wonder if that is even fair for me to do so.  Just because I may feel differently, or want to do things in a certain way, does not mean that others have to follow.  And who’s to say my way is right.  For all the heroes that I have seen, there have been some disappointments, some self-made.  Yes, I have complained about some of the projects and how I would like to see things been done differently.  But is it really fair for me to do so?  After all, I am not there every day.  I do not know what those people have been through.  All I can do is go and try my best, lead by example and attempt to make a difference.  The rest is out of my hands. Very often people create misery for themselves by worrying about things which are not in their control, rather than focusing on things that they can change.  And what does that bring – bitterness, regrets and some amount of loneliness.  Volunteering is trying to do something good for the others and the last thing that it should result in, is discontentment  for the person themselves.  At the end all that matters is you tried.  Couple of such things happened in my Company recently. 

The cupcakes as consolation prize

The first was a contest where 30 people were to be selected for a breakfast at the Signature Lounge’ on the 96^th floor of Hancock Tower.  The way to win was for one of your colleagues to nominate you via email, giving a reason why the nominee deserved to go.  They were going to select nominees receiving most votes or a compelling argument, as well as a few of the nominators through a lucky draw.  I nominated one of my colleagues and was pleased to see his name show up on the invitee list, along with mine.  However, not everyone could go and it was a shame, because I felt that every nominee deserved to be recognized, and if I was going as a nominator, the others who had spent time writing a nice note also merited some applause.  So I asked the person who had organized this for a total number of people who had missed out and it was 30.  I thought it would be nice for them to receive a consolation prize and so placed an order with ‘More Cupcakes’ for 30 assorted cupcakes to be ready in individual boxes the next day.  After breakfast, I picked up the order and rode a cab back to the office and handed the cupcakes to my colleague who had initiated this outing.  She then inserted a thank you note for the remaining nominees, along with their actual nomination email, and hand delivered it to their desks.  We felt that we had done our job and so imagine my disappointment when I learned how much bitterness there was towards my colleague, whom everyone felt had manipulated the voting to select people who got to go.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  First of all, she had won this breakfast in a contest and was under no obligation to organize this event.  Secondly, she had been fair in her selections and if there was a way that she could have invited everyone, she would have done so.  Finally, both of us tried to do a good deed through these cupcakes and all that led to were snarly remarks like “All we get are these when the rest went for a fancy breakfast”.  But even then, I feel she did the right thing in conducting the contest.  I did the right thing in getting those cupcakes.  Yeah, we probably upset more people than we pleased, but I guarantee we made a difference to some people’s morale.  And as I have stated in the past, I would consider pleasing just one person a necessary good.

My 191 notes

The second was when the HR department came up with a plan for an ‘Employee Recognition Week’ and besides all sorts of splendid activities to build rapport and morale, there was one which caught my eye.  We were encouraged to write ‘Appreciation Notes’ for a specific employee and which would be posted on a ‘Wall’ for all to see, including the employee for whom the note was written.  It was a great way to show your fellow colleagues that you cared, and it would accomplish several things like building trust, improving culture and eventually, increased productivity. The initiative began on Monday, and by Wednesday the wall was starting to fill up.  But there are a lot of employees and I saw that less than half had actually received a note.  So I made a request for a list of names who hadn't received a note, because I felt that every single person deserves to have their name on the wall.  The response I got was that this information is confidential.  Let’s pause to examine the absurdity of this statement.  Our Company directory is available for all to see and if I really wanted to get the names, all I needed to do was stand in front of the wall and identify the people without a note through a simple process of elimination.  But I did not want to make a show of it.  So on Thursday evening after everyone had left, I sat down and hand-wrote 191 appreciation notes for all of my colleagues in Chicago and some in other parts of the country.  It took me over two hours and at the end of it my hand resembled a claw.  All the notes were anonymous and I left it on the front desk with the only expectation that they would make it either on the wall, or to the individuals, so that even the shyest person who sits by themselves in a corner knows that someone appreciates them.  The week ended a few months ago and to this day I do not know what happened to those notes since no one received them.  A year ago I would have been bitter, angry, felt betrayed.  Today I just smile and think to myself that I did what I could.  The rest is out of my hands and people have their reasons for doing things in a certain way.  And if that way is for them to tell every employee that they are appreciated in a different way, then it would have served the same purpose as my note. 

'The Employee Appreciation Wall' - none of these are mine

But there have been far more positives than disappointments for it to affect me. Plus if anything, last year has taught me the virtue of patience and how one should try seeing things from different points of view.  My good friend once told me that every person should try giving a bit of their “time, talent or treasures” to help the community.  Then she said that I did all three of those and it should make me proud.  Well, it’s been 200 blog posts worth of projects and yes, I am proud of everything that I have achieved so far.  But there’s still a long way to go and so many other dreams that I've yet to find.  In the meanwhile, I will continue to look for more heroism everywhere…on every street.

Staff Kids Area At Chicago's Most Elegant Block Party!

Location: Goudy Square Park

Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2013; 5:00-7:00 pm

I had lived in the Gold Coast for a year and the location of this One Brick event was literally a block or two away from my old apartment.  There was a block party, sorry, “Most Elegant Block Party” that was being held and while the adults would be indulging in everything that the evening had to offer, the children were going to have their own little event happening in the neighboring Goudy Square Park and which would be staffed by One Brick, amongst other supporters.  We would be helping out with various activities such as arts and crafts, some games and then finishing off with clean-up.  In doing so, we would be helping the ‘Gold Coast Neighborhood Association’ and according to the One Brick website, “Gold Coast Neighbors is an all-volunteer neighborhood organization whose mission is to serve as a forum for community issues, to foster a sense of belonging among neighbors, and to promote safety, preservation and beautification in the Gold Coast neighborhood.”  And to think of it that I lived there for a year and had never even been aware.  Well, better late than never I suppose.

It was an extremely hot day and the electricity grid was in emergency in several States. It meant that I had been busy and was in fact still responding to phone messages and emails when I took the bus to the Gold Coast and arrived at the intersection of Astor and Goethe streets to find that the block party had already commenced.  I asked at a tent where the children’s area was and they had no clue.  I was finally directed to the nearby park where we hoped that the kids’ program was being conducted.  Fortunately, I saw Wilson carrying chairs as I walked through the entrance and knew that I was in the right place.  I helped him with the their set-up and looked around to see what activities were going on.  There was an arts and crafts area that was staffed by One Brick, and where the kids would be making masks, caps and crowns, as well as designing brown paper bags.  The organizers also wanted us to staff a ball toss game in a sandlot, as well as a bag toss station.  It wasn’t a big park - more like a play area - and these activities, along with the usual slides and swings took up most of the park’s space.  However, at one end there was a group of girls from some other organization setting up a temporary performance area where they would be doing a skit to entertain the kids.  From the looks of it, we were sure to show the kids a splendid time.

Bag Toss

We had some of the One Brick regulars in attendance, including Heather, Michelle and my new buddy Charles Paul.  While most of our crew was at the arts and crafts station, I went over to the bags toss station, along with another volunteer who would be on a second board.  I had helped out Make-A-Wish at a bag toss competition earlier this year and people had taken that contest very seriously.  Today we were dealing with little kids and the idea was to give kids one ticket for each of the three bags that went into the hole.  Plus, if they got all three bags on the board, it would be worth another ticket.  The kids could then exchange these tickets for prizes.  The way I saw it, our main intention was to find ways to give tickets to the kids who attempted the game and ensure that no one was leaving empty-handed.  We placed the boards and then drew a box in which the kids were supposed to stand and toss, but as the kids started coming to play, nobody was following the box rule.  Also, some of them were so small that it would have been virtually impossible for them to find enough strength to reach the hole.  So, many kids were tossing from close and some were even walking up to the board and dropping the bags in; and I was more than happy to give them the tickets.  In fact, even for some who missed, I would give them the tickets and whisper, “Don’t tell anyone.” Many of the older kids were coming repeatedly and demanding tickets for sinking the bags in the hole.  Considering that I had a huge roll of tickets to begin with, I gave it out to most of them.  There was also a spunky little girl who came and proclaimed “I am good at this.”  “Prove it”, I responded.  And she did, looking at me haughtily as she collected her tickets.  Then she went and did the same at the other station.  Aah kids, it’s always fun.

Yeah...that's me

I was relieved from my position after some time and so had the opportunity to go and watch the performance that was happening at the other end of the park.  It was a group of girls with several hats and they were performing a short story, changing hats as they enacted different characters.  All of the kids were sitting in the front row and seemed completely enthralled in the story.  I was joined by Charles Paul and I told him that we should do this performance next year and in his usual inimitable style, he agreed.  I had asked Heather for a crown and she had made one for me.  Wearing it, I went over to help out at the arts and crafts table and all the kids there were engrossed in decorating their own crowns.  Everyone wanted to spell their names on it and the difficulty was in locating all the alphabets.  We were running out of ‘A’s’ and when I tried to use an inverted ‘V’ on one girls crown, she called me out.  So much for trying to get one past these kids! 

Our One Brick volunteers were getting into the spirit of this event and were now wearing masks and crowns themselves.  Michelle made a mask for me and upon wearing it, I had zero peripheral vision.  I spent the remainder of the evening trying to guess what was happening around me since I could only see the people who were directly in front.  In any case, it was loads of fun and we were slightly disappointed when it was time to end.  The kids had been very creative and we even sent some kids home with supplies that they could use to make things on their own.  After packing up we were given some coupons to use at the block party and a few of us got pizza and sat down to chat.  Well, with Charles Paul and Wilson around, we weren't short on topics to discuss.  It was the anniversary of 9/11 and so we toasted the heroes from that day and ever since.  We stayed for some time and later, as Michelle and I walked back together part of the way, she made me wear my crown and mask. That drew a lot of smiles from the people on the street and why not  It had been a hot day alright.  But we had just come back from the coolest kids’ party. No harm in showing off a bit! 

Read –With-Me At HGS

Location: House Of The Good Shepherd

Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2013; 6:30-7:45 pm

It had been several months since I had been to this project, but it had been one that I was meaning to return to.  As mentioned previously, Chicago Cares takes the privacy of this establishment very seriously; owing to it being a shelter for women seeking a haven from domestic violence.  While this is a residence for the women - where they also get counseling and other advice pertaining to rebuilding their lives - our job was to spend an evening with the children.  I arrived to see that there were several volunteers already there, some working with the younger kids, while I would be with the older ones.  I checked-in with our Volunteer leader Jocelyn and then we waited in silence. None of the volunteers were talking with each other and it was almost as if we were waiting to hear back the results of a delicate surgery in progress!  Whatever happened to spending the first 10 minutes learning about the project's mission?  Well, Jocelyn has been leading this for 3 years and is certainly an accomplished leader, and so it is far from it for me to pass any judgment.

Back to school supplies

We went downstairs to the playroom and removed 5 crates of books from the closet, all of them brought in by Chicago Cares.  Well, we were certainly not going to lack for reading material.  Kids came in like a hurricane and ran over to hug the volunteers that they knew, and there were several present. Jocelyn then got all of us in a circle for an icebreaker and this time it was stating what was our favorite thing about school.  Jocelyn started by stating her’s was shopping for the school supplies.  How true.  I remember all those lists from summer’s long ago, when I used to look forward to getting the new books for the school year – and how I used to regret studying them for the rest of the school year – or even getting a simple thing like a new eraser or pen and showing off to my mates the next day.  It is strange how one can remember things from long ago through a minor trigger like this innocuous icebreaker.  Many kids said that their favorite thing about school was the dismissal bell signifying the end of the school day!   Some others started naming subjects and many said “Math” while one even referred to lunch.  I said that my favorite thing was book’s, hoping that it would tie in with our activity for this evening.  But the best response by far was one volunteer stating that their favorite thing about school was “Making Friends”.

Our book

Jocelyn then asked the kids to pick 3 books and an adult to read with.  As usual no one picked me and while others departed, I spotted a little girl struggling to reach the crate because she wasn’t tall enough.  I asked if she wanted to read with me and when she nodded, I helped her get three books and then walked over to the big table and we settled down.  She said that she was here with 2 of her sisters and that she was the youngest of them all.  I could easily spot them because all three were wearing similar trinkets in their hair and resembled each other.  We started reading a book where a pig was the main character and she referred to him as “Porky”.  The book was set in Fall season with beautiful scenery, but she seemed disinterested and so we moved on to the next book.  This one was about a boy with blue skin.  In fact, everything about the book was blue.  She pointed out that the mountains were blue and seemed to lose interest after that.  Perhaps she lost touch with reality when she saw those blue mountains and it was amazing to see that in someone so young.  She was however asking me a lot of questions such as “Are there any adults in the story” and who had gotten the boy his things in the book.  It was great that while she may not have liked the books we had picked so far, she was interested enough to be inquisitive; and I took that as a positive sign. 

Next, we went to pick some other books and she selected a book about a ghost. I asked if she was afraid of ghosts and she emphatically said "No!”  After this she wanted to read a book with cars and we went back to the crates.  While I couldn't see any book with cars, I found one which had a sled and she said that it was okay with her.  It was called “Snow” and she was definitely interested in this one.  I asked if she liked snow and she replied in the affirmative, though she doesn't like getting cold.  Well, she could have spoken for me there.  We looked at pictures of kids playing in snow and waving and once again she was asking questions like “Why are they waving”, meaning I had to respond with creative answers.  The story had a snowman that was melting gradually with the advent of sun and she wanted to turn back the pages so that the sun disappeared and the snowman was whole again.  What a sweet thought and if it hadn't already happened before, at this moment she won me over completely.

Yeah...I was playing with dolls!

Next was game time and while everyone picked either board games or other crafts, she picked out a box of dolls and now wanted me to help her clothe them.  Well, I guess there is a first time for everything! She would give me clothes and ask to put on a doll.  As I struggled to do that, I joked with another volunteer that if anyone took a video of me doing this and then played it in reverse, friends and foes alike would have a field day with my reputation.  In the meanwhile my kid kept feeding me more dolls and clothes, till she eventually got bored and we went to pick out a new game.  We selected ‘Ring Toss’ and I was encouraging her to stand back and throw rings on the sticks.  However, her main goal was to get the rings in by hook or crook and so she would just come near and drop a ring on the stick, followed by giving me a high-five.  Who cares about the game anyways?  This was all about having fun. 

Soon this too lost interest for her and she went to do other things, leaving me to look around at what else was going on.  One group was playing the game ‘Life’ and other was learning about currency through the use of a cash register; while another volunteer and a girl were playing ‘Tic Tac Toe’.  I saw a little girl trying to make the U.S. flag and while she had the stripes down, she was putting spots as the stars.  I said that I could show her a better way and when she looked at me curiously, I cut tiny paper pieces, put glue on the top corner of the flag where stars go, and then sprinkled the paper pieces onto it.  When finished, to the surprise of us both, it looked pretty decent.  I walked over to another volunteer and her kid and they were playing a game of ‘Guess Who’, where through the process of elimination you guess the other person’s card and this one was with a Disney theme.  I watched it for some time till Jocelyn said that the time was up.  The kids formed a line, thanked us and then left as the rest of the volunteers helped put the books back into the closet.  It had been a tough few days and I had been mentally, physically and emotionally drained.  But for a brief time today as I read with that little girl, all the worries of the world had disappeared, just like that poor snowman with the advent of the sun.

New Life For Old Bags

Location: United Lutheran Church

Date: Saturday, September 7, 2013; 10:00 am-1:00 pm

I had heard from Amy and Wilson how much fun this project is and so was looking forward to attending.  Wilson picked me up at 9 am, which meant that we arrived at the Church at 9:20, way in advance of the 10 am start.  We met Ruth, our site coordinator, who told us to check-in on the computer.  The activity was going to be in a grand hall next to the church and lot of tables and chairs had been set up.  This was because besides Chicago Cares there were other groups that would be participating in the project, one of them being ‘Acacia Park Lutheran Church’, who had several senior ladies attending and who needed help in checking-in on the computer and Wilson was ever the gentleman in helping them do that.  I looked around the room and there was a table with some get-well soon cards on it, and I learned that those were for Toni, a 90 year old regular volunteer who was recovering from a broken arm.  There were several nice messages on them and even though I did not know the lady, I added my good wishes as well.  There was also a table with coffee and lot of breakfast items on it, including homemade cookies.  Looks like I had chosen a right project to attend!

Can you believe this is made out of bags!

It was getting close to the start time and I carried a bucket of scissors and ensured that each seat had one. Some other groups came in, such as ‘Capital One’, ‘Mathers’, ‘Dedicated Diva’s’ and of course Chicago Cares. The room was now full and it was time for me to learn what we would be doing.  The task was to take used plastic grocery bags, and convert them into sleeping mats.  Now, as improbable as that sounded, there were actual examples of mats and they looked fantastic, almost as if they were made out of fabric.  The process starts with folding the bags and cutting into squares.  The squares open up into loops, which are tied together as yarn.  This yarn is rolled into a ball, which when large enough, is crocheted into the mats.  This meant that there were 3 main groups of people; one cutting the squares, a larger group making the yarn and then a few skilled ladies were crocheting.  I knew that crocheting would be beyond my wildest dreams and there were enough people already cutting the bags.  So I decided how to learn to tie a yarn and there were lot of mistakes.  This meant that I ruined a lot of bags, but eventually, I figured it out and was ready to begin my career as a “yarn maker”. 

My ball of yarn

While I was with Chicago Cares, I was settled on a table with the Acacia group, which included 3 generations of women, with mom, daughter and grandma team.  Also present was a lady, Liz, who kept asking why I was standing up instead of sitting down.  The truth was that I found it more manageable to work with the long yarn while standing.  It did not stop her from needling me, especially when I told her that I had a Doctorate in plastics!  I was rolling now and my ball was growing, though not at the rate of some of the others.  I was beginning to realize that the quality of the bags made a huge difference on whether the loop worked or not, like a weak link.  This led to many rips in the bags, meaning that I had to carefully untie the knots.  The family at my table was working together extremely well and the mom was now crocheting very skillfully.  In fact, there were a lot of families that were working together and it seemed like a nice project for everyone to get involved on a Saturday morning.

Wilson was helping with the food services as well as carrying the garbage out when it accumulated.  At one time I took a break to go to the kitchen and Wilson mentioned that it takes a really long time to make a mat.  He thought that the labor that went into making a mat for one person did not justify the purpose.  Although he had a point, I disagreed.  Ruth had told us earlier how these mats are distributed to the homeless who put this on top of the cardboard's that they usually use to sleep on.  The difference being, that now even if the cardboard got wet – which it invariably did – the plastic bags would keep them from getting wet and cold.  For me, one life changed makes a difference, no matter how many people it takes.  Remember, “It made a difference to that Starfish.”

Look at all of those mats!

My yarn was growing and I was trying to use different colored bags in order to infuse it with some character…well whatever character can exist within a yarn made of plastic bags!  It was amazing how the time had flown by and we were almost at an end.  Others on my table had huge balls of yarn, and mine was nowhere close to theirs – a point that Wilson reminded me of.  However, considering it was my first time, I thought that I had done a decent job.  All the balls of yarn were collected in a box, and some women even took a ball home to work on it in their spare time. Wilson was determined to leave the facility spic and span, meaning we spent the next 30 minutes cleaning floors and arranging the tables and chairs.  I washed all of the plates and mugs that had accumulated in the sink and then took out the garbage.  The post project cleanup had been exhausting and I was ticked off that other groups had not helped us in this endeavor.  But then not everyone is Wilson.  Later that week I received an email from Ruth with the statistics from our project and we had collected 10 mats today – most bought by people who had taken yarn home. Besides this the collection pot had yielded money for buying supplies such as crochet hook and scissors. And she also thanked the “cleaning crew”, saying, “And I have to give a SUPER HUGE shout out to the clean up crew.  There is none better anywhere.  They are sooooooo dedicated to leaving the space looking better than when we came. THANK YOU!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!”  So our efforts at the end had been appreciated.  The mats were going to be delivered to ‘Morningstar Mission’ in Joliet, where they would be handed to the homeless.  Over the duration of this program, a total 651,000 bags had been converted to 930 mats over 74,400 volunteer hours.  So is Wilson right about the labor exceeding the outcome?  Perhaps yes.  But try telling that to a homeless person sleeping on a soaked piece of cardboard.

Windy City Wine Festival

Location: Buckingham Fountain

Date: Friday, September 6, 2013; 6:00-9:30 pm

I had heard about this event from many One Brick volunteers, who had flagged it as one of the must-attend projects.  That was because it was a two day event and by working one of those shifts, one could gain entry and sample most of the 250 wines that were on offer, from all around the world.  This meant that by doing the project on Friday, I could return back on Saturday and go around the festival.  Now, One Brick projects are usually to benefit some cause and I was wondering what we were enabling, till I saw on the One Brick website that it was for benefiting ‘The Grant Park Conservancy’, a non-profit dedicated to maintaining and enhancing Grant Park.  The description said, “The Grant Park Conservancy's mission is to provide a permanent body that enables Grant Park to respond and adapt to the changing needs of its users, as the park passes from generation to generation. Some of these needs relate to landscaping, infrastructure, design, cultural activities, and environmental issues.”  Well, they had me at wine anyways.

Wine by the fountain at twilight

It was a nice summer’s evening as I walked over to Grant Park from work and upon arrival saw a long queue to get in.  I saw Wilson who was sent near the entrance to be on the lookout for volunteers and he told me go check-in with Laura and Michelle, who were on the event leadership team, and also pick-up my t-shirt.  That done I came back to join Wilson and he said that I should go and check with the people in the queue if they knew that there were separate lines for pre-paid tickets, cash and credit cards. This simple announcement worked wonders and soon we were down to manageable numbers.  Our shift was about to commence and Michelle called us all together to allocate duties, which were Wrist banding, Handling tickets and Allocating glasses.  They also needed someone at the VIP tent to check people coming into that area and I offered to do that duty.  Michelle walked me over there and I got to see the festival, with multiple booths from different vineyards, as well as other entertainment activities.  As the twilight began to set in, the festival looked primed for a successful evening. 

The "VIP" corporate area

Along with me was another volunteer Anne, and she and I did not exchange a single word while we were there.  The task was very simple and did not require much from us. Corporate sponsors had been allocated VIP tents where they could host their private tastings and parties for invited guests.  These people had been given a white wristband as opposed to the colored ones for General Admission visitors.  Our job was to check if the people entering the tent were wearing said wristbands, politely turn away the other riffraff, and if we could do it subtly, so much the better.  While this sounded like something volunteers would be required for, we also had a security guard posted next to us who was doing the same thing, as were two women from the sponsors at the entrance to the tent.  I really did not see the point to this triple check point since it wasn’t as if we were protecting the ‘Hope Diamond’ were we?  Furthermore, I saw a couple come with only one wearing a wristband and as I tried to stop them, I was told by the corporate ladies that +1 was allowed.  Well, now there wasn’t really a point to so many people being there for 3 hours and when Michelle came to give us water, I told her so.  She agreed and so we left Anne – who was settled comfortably – with the guard and I went with Michelle for my new assignment.

I came back to the entrance to help put on the wristbands on people coming in, which were ‘Yellow’ for visitors and ‘Orange’ for “Designated Drivers”, who were people without drink tickets. As I have mentioned before, putting wristbands on is a high-pressure task for me and I have to concentrate hard in order to not do a terrible job.  Fortunately for me, there were plenty of other people doing this task, so I was not as busy as otherwise.  Perhaps sensing that, Michelle dispatched me to distribute water to some of our volunteers that were spread out in the festival area.  I picked up some bottles and walked about seeing if anyone wanted water. I saw a volunteer whom I had met during a Chicago Cares project and we chatted briefly.  I was handing out water to whoever was wearing the red volunteer t-shirt, whether they were with One Brick or not.  Some of the guests attending the event saw me walking about with bottles and asked if they could have one.  I obliged of course, much to the chagrin of Laura who said that the water bottles were limited in number and thus only for the One Brick volunteers.  I have learned not to argue during some of these projects and so shrugged and moved on to hand water to one of our volunteers who was lucky enough to have been recruited to pour. 

Stuffing tickets inside the wine glass

I was then dispatched to another tent where people coming in picked up their wine glass and tickets. Everyone got 12 wine tickets - entitling them to 12 pours – and one beer ticket which they could redeem in the beer garden.  My job was to remove the wine glasses from the box, stuff them with the tickets and place them on the table for our other volunteers to hand out.  The crowd was growing, so they soon asked me to join the distributors up front to hand out the glasses.  It seemed like today had been all about me working my way up through the ranks and being finally promoted to this duty – though it was still one level lower than be at the booth pouring!

It seemed like a relatively easy job, though I could not believe the number of people who were complaining about the wine glass.  Earlier in the evening we were handing out Stemmed glasses, but when we ran out, we moved to Stemless ones. Many people complained about this during the pick-up saying that the previous year that had got one type and now they wanted the other. These were made of plastic, not crystal glass, so them being a collectors item was a stretch!  Others who had come earlier had seen new people walking with the other type and so came over asking for an exchange.  Now, it is the same wine and while Oenophiles might argue the merits of one type of glass versus the other, the people coming to this festival had only one thing on their mind – get as much wine as possible in least amount of time.  Thus, whenever I encountered people who were looking to change, I would just direct them to one of the organizers Mary Beth, and she either turned them away, or granted them a new glass.  One of my other tasks was to make sure that people did stop and picked up their glass and tickets since some were walking away and realizing later that they needed these things.  This meant that if they came later and asked for tickets, we had no way of telling if they had picked up some before.  We also located some additional boxes of Stemmed glasses which we displayed next to the Stemless ones.  Now, all bets were off.  People would come and we would ask them which ones they preferred.  The amount of time they spent debating this question with an agonized look on their faces would make one think that we had presented them with ‘Sophie’s Choice’!  Once again, it’s the same wine people.  I told my fellow volunteers to just hand them a glass and not give them a choice.  It is true that people get spoilt when presented with choices and those for whom decisions are made, are sometimes more content.

A wine glass by any other name...

Some folks were coming back saying they had lost their tickets or forgotten their glass at one of the booths.  These people were in various stages of sobriety and as before, I was sending them straight to Mary Beth.  It is funny how people manage to lose tickets at events like these when they never lose tickets to a movie or a show or even their boarding pass on airlines or their phone.  All in all, Mary Beth knew how to deal with these drunken people and we were pleased to have her by our side.  Even with dealing with these interesting folks, I had fun handing glasses and saying “Have fun”, because I knew that they would.  This was a popular event and people were coming in even with just 30 minutes to closing, hoping for a few shots of wine before hitting the pubs.  Our shift was at an end and some of us stopped at the enclosed beer garden for a drink before it shut down for the night.  Unlike the wine glasses, these were real glass chalices that many were sneaking home inside their bags.  Armed with my set of tickets and wristband, I walked home intending to come back the next day for exploring the festival.

Epilogue

I did return the next day around closing time for One Brick’s next shift.  I waited till they were done and even managed to get into their group photograph!  Then a few of us walked about the festival sampling wine and over the next couple of hours, I was able to sample quite a few wines and also enjoyed chatting with my fellow volunteers.  And I could have cared less if I was using a Stemmed or a Stemless glass!

Dinner At The Wells Street Cafe

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.

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.  

CFE Mailing Party-A-Go-Go

Location: Chicago Foundation For Education

Date: Tuesday, September 3, 2013; 5:45-8:15 pm

I had signed up to volunteer for this One Brick project, but the scheduled EC Jake asked me if I could take over for him.  I agreed since the only things I would have to differently was arrive with a clipboard having the sign-in sheet and name tags, and pick a place for the after party.  With the place decided and the paperwork in my bag, I arrived at the CFE building, where the guard asked me good-naturedly if I was in trouble since I was headed in the wrong direction at this time of the evening.  I went upstairs to check-in with Dave, who was the EM, and Julie, the site rep.  Once most of the volunteers had assembled, she gave us a rundown on the Foundations mission and our task for the evening. We would be stuffing 4 pieces of program materials into an envelope along with a cover sheet.  Once that was done, we were to seal the envelopes and label them.  Sounded easy enough but as we learned soon...oh boy!

The Supplies

We had plenty of volunteers tonight and there was more than enough work for us to need that many.  What we were struggling with was finding enough room for everyone.  Besides the main conference room where we had worked the last time, we also took over two other offices as well as the cubicles outside.  I went over to one of the offices along with 2 other volunteers and no sooner had we started, when we were joined by the one and only Charles Paul!  Now, Charles Paul is one of the most entertaining volunteers that I have worked with and I told the others that they were in for a fun evening.  I asked Charles Paul how his training was progressing for the artic marathon and he said that it was going to be his first marathon and that too in bitter cold.  With this, Charles Paul had established a launching pad for a rollicking discussion and as much as I would have loved to stay there, another volunteer had arrived and the room was now getting crowded.  So I moved to another task, telling everyone that I will be back to listen to the entertainment.

The Machine

The envelopes were piling up and they needed someone to seal them.  Julie joked that it would be by licking and I said the glue would either make someone extremely happy by the end of the evening; or dead if George Costanza was the supplier!  Fortunately they had a machine to do the sealing, which rapidly took in a stack of envelopes, sealed them, and delivered on the other side.  Julie showed me how to use it and I started feeding it some envelopes.  I noticed that besides sealing, the envelopes were also emerging out with postage stamped and I mentioned that to Julie.  She said that it should not be that way and that the machine was in the wrong setting.  The mailing run that CFE uses is either free or subsidized, so by putting stamps on the envelopes, the machine was costing them money.  Fortunately we had caught it early before any damage was done, though I realized later that the machine would periodically reset to the stamping mode and so I had to be careful to note what the settings were before feeding in a fresh stack.  The last thing I wanted to do was end up making a non-profit spend money!

The machine while quite efficient, was also making a lot of noise, something that I had to endure for most of the next two hours.  For all of its speed, people were making the packets at a rapid rate and so it was relentless in terms of the amount of envelopes passing through the sealer.  I was going into the different rooms to collect the stacks and once sealed, dropping them off with Dave, who alongside Julie had started the labeling process.  The group in the main room had music going whereas the other group had Charles Paul holding court.  Once when I walked in to collect their stack for sealing, I heard him asking them the most interesting place that they had visited.  Next time it was chatting about everyone’s favorite Michelle Pfeiffer movie.  On my next visit I heard them talk about “Zen” and then it was about him learning French.  I asked him if there was an equation for doing tonight's task in a more efficient way and of course he said that there was. Whether people were being enthralled or tolerating him, there was no mistaking that he was the life of the room. 

The Stacks

A first time volunteer was working in one of the cubicles and thus isolated from the groups in the different rooms.  I told her that it wasn’t always like this and she should definitely consider coming back!  Since I was busy carrying stacks upon stacks of sealed envelopes for labeling – which were now piling up on cabinets – another volunteer Tony, had joined me in the sealing room to help out.  He was also a newcomer and a chef specializing in French cuisine. Stuffing and sealing envelopes seemed like a waste of his talents and I told him to look at some of the cooking projects that One Brick has. Dave and Julie were making a valiant attempt at labeling everything, but there was no way we were going to finish it this evening.  All the envelopes had been stuffed and sealed, and I asked Julie what she would do if she realized after all of this that one of the key documents had been left out of each of the envelopes! Dave said that for her sanity and my personal safety, I should withdraw this question and looking at the big stacks, he was right.  We left for the night after she had profusely thanked us for our help, saying that it would have taken their staff hours to do it without our help. I was proud of our volunteers who had worked really hard.  Well, at least they had Charles Paul for company. As for me, I think that  noise of the machine sealing the envelopes is going to be permanently etched on my brain!

Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy…And Bingo

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, September 2, 2013; 6:15-7:45 pm

It had been over a week since I had done a project and almost 3 months since I had done this one. I arrived at Lakeview Nursing on this ‘Labor Day’ to see that people had already started gathering for the Bingo.  I was welcomed by Mary who said that she had not seen me for a long time and asked how to pronounce my name.  There were some of the other usual suspects present and everyone was settling into their favorite spots.  I went outside into the small waiting room where the dogs and their owners usually assemble and there were a few there, looking excitable as usual.  Leading the pack was a white fluffy thing that was quite adept at sanding on his two hind legs.  It was a Maltese named Oscar, and he jumped up raising both of his front paws in greeting.  Well, looks like humans and pets alike were pleased to see me.

Oscar greeting me!

Our Volunteer Leader Maria had her dog Bailey, and there was also a little Yorkie called Ernie, who was busy playing with his stuffed toy.  The dogs went to socialize with the residents in the Bingo room and I chatted with Fran and Wilson.  Maria then pulled us all out into the hallway and we were ready to pair up.  I was going to be with Ernie and his owner Juliana, and I knew that I was going to get along with the little fellow.  In fact, Ernie looked like a friendly dog that would be quite popular with the residents.  We started on the 3^rd floor and visited some of the residents who enjoyed his company.  As usual, whenever we went into a room the residents wanted to know everything about Ernie.  I learned that he is 2 year old Yorkie pure bred and Juliana has had him since he was a pup resembling a tiny fur ball.  He was wearing a tiny bow and Juliana said that he had plenty of others at home.  His real name is Ernest, but she calls him that only when he has done something wrong and she has to reprimand him!  She also had another 19 year old dog at home but Ernie, being younger was the more active one.  Juliana is a filmmaker, with Ernie having been in many of her films.  I was in presence of a star, one who also had his own Instagram account with over 400 followers!

Ernie

Next we went over to see Hannah and she is always enthusiastic to receive visitors.  As usual, she asked me to open her drawer and pull out the picture of her cat Johnny B.  Then she told us the story of his kidnapping again and said that he is waiting for her to get back home.  I asked her how long she had been at Lakeview Nursing and she said 4 years.  She mentioned that she was now thinking of going to one of those faith healers to see if that would make her better so that she could leave.  She wondered if that would be free and I said that I highly doubted that.  When Hannah heard that Ernie is in Juliana’s movies, she mentioned that she herself had been an ‘Extra’ in movies as well – following in the footsteps of her mother.  Wow, I had been visiting with Hannah through this project for some time, but this was the first instance when I was hearing of it.  She said that even an ‘Extra’ makes decent money and encouraged me and Juliana to register with some talent agency and while we were at it, get an agent for Ernie as well!  The thought of me recruiting a talent agent for a movie was both hilarious and scary at the same time. 

Speaking of talent, Ernie is training to do tricks and other than jumping around excitedly, was very well behaved.  Juliana told me that he doesn't eat real people food and so does not stare at anyone when eating.  We said goodbye to Hannah and went to see Jerry, who is probably the most popular with dogs and Ernie took an instant liking to him.  He enjoyed that visit and our next stop was with a resident who was under a blanket which had monkeys printed on it.  I told her that I wanted one of those for myself, as Ernie allowed himself to be petted.  By now he was getting tired and so after a visit with Loritta, Juliana thought that it would be best for him if they left.  I saw them off at the front entrance and since Bingo was still on, stopped to see what my buddy Emma was up to.  Wilson was sitting with her, but told me that he had a ‘Red Cross’ emergency and so had to leave to deal with a fire.  I was more than happy to take his place since it is always a pleasure to play with her.  We instantly won a round which meant that she got a precious dollar, which she clutched in her hands tightly for the remainder of the game.  I went to drop her off in her room and met Kenny of the ‘Hawaii Five-O’ fame in the elevator.  He told me that the show had now moved to Friday’s from Monday’s and so he could now take his time leaving the Bingo room.  I left after that and it had been a pleasant conclusion to my evening, seeing Emma win.  Plus I had spent it with a movie star. Not bad for a lazy Labor Day!

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy

Meals From The Heart

Location: Ronald McDonald House Near Lurie Children's

Date: Saturday, August 24, 2013; 4:00-8:00 pm

When a man's an empty kettle

He should be on his mettle

There are projects that I like because of what we do and there are projects that I like because of the clients and the people involved.  Then there are projects like this one, which I loved because of the organization, the location and just the overall experience.  First of all, let’s start with the organization itself.  According to the description on One Brick website, “The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities is to care for families of children with complex medical needs by providing comfort, compassion and community.”  Furthermore, the ‘Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana’ website states, “Our four current Houses provide a ‘home away from home’ to keep families together. Located near Advocate Children’s Hospital, Loyola University Medical Center, University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, and the new Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, the Houses allow families to eat, sleep and find the emotional support they need - just blocks from where their child is being treated. This year we provided over 30,000 nights to families, offering them care and comfort during their hours of greatest need. While we suggest a donation of $10 per night, no family is ever turned away if they are unable to pay.”  Well then, if that wasn’t enough to get me excited, nothing else would. 

And yet I'm torn apart

The outstanding kitchen

Each member of the One Brick team that was participating in the project was required to contribute $16, which would be used to purchase groceries that would help us cook a meal for the families and which would allow then to relax and unwind from the stress of caring for their child undergoing treatment.  We would be preparing a meal for 75-100 people, serving them, and then putting away the leftovers for late arriving families to reheat and enjoy later.  This meant that someone had to go and get the groceries and that’s what Wilson the EM, and Michelle the EC, went and did earlier in the afternoon.  The place is literally couple of blocks away from my apartment and so I was intending to leave with 15 minutes to spare.  However, Wilson called and asked if I could come earlier to help unload.  I arrived at the location and was told that some of our volunteers had already been escorted upstairs to the kitchen.  Wilson arrived soon with a car full of groceries. and it was a lot of food.  It took me and some of the other volunteers who had assembled 3 luggage carts to take it up to the 3^rd floor.  But nothing had prepared us for the sight that we saw there.  The doors of the elevator opened to let us into the best kitchen and dining area I have ever seen. No this is not I typo, I did not forget to insert “that I have volunteered in”.  It was the best kitchen and dining area that I have ever seen. 

Just because I'm presumin'

That I could be a human

Pilaf

The entire kitchen and all of its spectacular appliances – I have never seen so many cooking ranges and ovens – as well as the fabulous counter tops and two islands were at our disposal; as were the pots, pans and any utensils that we desired. We had a big group and it seemed that everyone knew what they were doing.  One of the islands was being used for meat preparation while the other one had lot of fruit on it.  The menu was chicken skewers on rice pilaf and fruit skewers with mint sauce for dessert.  There were a lot of people on both stations, so Wilson assigned me and another volunteer, Crystal to rice duties.  He said that the main staple was in our hands and were we to screw up, lot of people would go hungry.  No pressure!  The process included frying some pasta in butter followed by addition of rice and butter and a few cubes of chicken and vegetable stock and simmering.  Now, I have made pasta in the past – well, if opening a box and boiling constitutes making – but never this way, frying in butter.  This was a strange recipe and I said as much to Wilson.  He said that it was similar to making ‘Rice Roni’, as if I knew what that meant.  Now, I was really feeling the heat.

I'd be tender, I'd be gentle

And awful sentimental

Crystal and I made one pot each and while that was simmering, we moved to a second pot.  By the time we were done, we had used 20 lbs of rice, many bags of pasta, lots of sticks of butter and innumerable cubes of the stock.   As far as the staple was concerned, we were well covered!  Ever the one to enhance something, Wilson asked me to chop some parsley to sprinkle on top of the pilaf. We also had a bag of shredded carrots that he asked me chop even finer and then mix into the rice.  Talk about expecting perfection!  All four pots of rice were soon done and we spread it on the pans and placed into some of the several warming ovens. I made sure I mixed in the carrots and parsley and hoped that they would pass the muster.

Regarding love and art

The spread

I had not previously met some of the volunteers that we had today, including a family of three which had Mom, Dad and a son in college.  I washed some of the pans that we had used and then walked about to see what the rest of the team was doing. We were well ahead of the curve, with the skewers cooking in the oven and the leftover chicken being stir-fried with soy by some of the more adventurous chefs amongst us. Soon our guests started arriving and we set the food on the counter tops as a buffet line for them to come and help themselves.  Wilson made a sample plate for the guests to follow and we were ready to roll.  I watched the guests pick up their plates and go settle down to eat with their families.  It was a very quiet gathering, with not a lot of noise, as can be expected from people who are facing some of the more stressful times of their lives.  Once the guests had settled down, the volunteers got their plates and went and sat down to eat.  Unlike some of the other places that I have been to, where the volunteers join the guests at their table, everyone was respecting the privacy that the guests probably wanted. 

I'd be friends with the sparrows

And the boy that shoots the arrows

'The Healing Garden'

As the families ate, I explored the area around our kitchen and discovered another kitchen on the other side of the big room, which the families used if they wanted to do their own cooking.  Between the two areas there was a play space where the floor was rigged with spots which made different percussion sounds depending on which spot one stepped on.  What followed was a group of volunteers – including me – dancing on the floor as we aimed to create some harmony through the beats, at a very rapid pace!  Soon the guests were done and we started cleaning up and packing the excess food – of which there was a lot.  Kelly, our site representative from Ronald McDonald was there as we wrapped up and told us how for the last 30 years she has tried one new food on her birthday.  Now that’s a unique birthday tradition.  She was there to take a group of us for a tour of the facility and from what I had heard from the earlier group, it was not to be missed.  What followed was an experience that I will never forget. 

Picture me a balcony

Above a voice sings low

Wherefore art thou, Romeo?

She reiterated their mission, which was to ensure that the families of kids being treated at the hospital stayed together during these tough times.  She said that the treatment could last anywhere from 2 days to 2 months and no family is turned away if there is room – even if they are unable to pay the nominal fee of $10/night.  And what a facility this is.  We were blown away by the décor and the layout which would have made a high-end hotel proud, let alone a charitable institution.  We saw a rooftop ‘Healing Garden’ which with its tranquil surroundings, flowing water and mosaic setting was a true sanctuary for the families.  There were areas in the building donated by the ‘White Sox’ and ‘Blackhawks’ and we are not talking about some jersey’s hanging on the wall.  These were tastefully done spaces with a lot of thought being put in. 

I hear a beat, how sweet!

The rooms

We went down to see the residence areas and each of the floors has “Heart of Chicago” as a theme.  The rooms itself were extremely comfortable and every detail had been covered, including high-end mattresses so that families get a comfortable night’s sleep.  Furthermore, none of the rooms had a TV so as to encourage more family time.  We saw the recreational rooms, libraries, playrooms with wall to wall toys, and all around us there was beauty and outstanding décor, including sculptures and paintings.  There was a piano in one of the rooms and Kelly told us a story about a girl who was visiting for treatments from China and who loved to play the piano.  One day a piano tuner came to fix the old piano and heard her play.  This led to him and his buddies donating a piano so that she and others like her would have something decent to play on.  It is impossible to come to this place and not be inspired.  All of this before we had even set foot inside the most priceless room in the building. 

Just to register emotion, jealousy, devotion

And really feel the part

'The Meditation Room'

For our final stop on the tour, Kelly took us to a room that looked different right off the bat. One wall was made of a back lit design on glass which made the ambiance in the room very serene and peaceful. This was the 'Meditation Room'. She said that this was a place where every person in the building, irrespective of faith, could come and offer a prayer in their own way.  Then she showed us the ‘Eternal Lamp’.  With all of our beautiful surroundings that we had seen this evening, it was easy to forget that many families were undergoing an extremely stressful time and very often, families would lose a child.  Any time a child of the Ronald McDonald house lost their battle, this lamp would stay on for 24 hours.  Kelly said that she was responsible for the lamp and had lit it last night.  Tonight, as the 24 hours were to elapse, she was about to come over and turn it off, when news came that another one of the brave souls had been lost and the lamp would stay on for another night.  There was pin-drop silence in the room and all of us were looking at her through misty eyes as she said, “It is my privilege to be a guardian of this lamp and work in this house.  This is what all of you volunteers enable.  Never forget that”.

I could stay young and chipper

And I'd lock it with a zipper

Why we fight

It was a solemn troupe that went back to the kitchen to pick up our belongings.  Kelly had told us earlier that she had found this position a year ago after being laid off from a long-term job.  I helped her take the garbage out in the back and asked her if getting laid off was the best thing to have happened to her, since it gave her this incredible opportunity.  She thought about it for a moment and said no, the greatest thing to have happened to her was meeting her husband.  She smiled and said that there were a lot of good men I Chicago and based on some that I have seen, I agree with her.  We went home that day after an unforgettable experience and Wilson said later that all the volunteers had mentioned that it had been a privilege to serve and they wanted to return.  Such is the popularity of the place that the volunteer spots had been booked till the end of this year, but Wilson promised us all that we would return.  The title of the project had said “Meals From The Heart” and heart was all that the visitors at the House need from others and from what I saw, there is an abundance of it over there. 

If I only had a heart 

Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg: From the Motion Picture Soundtrack, ‘The Wizard Of Oz’