Read–With-Me At HGS

Location: House Of The Good Shepherd

Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2015; 6:30-7:45 pm

On my way to the project, I had stopped at ‘Barnes and Noble’ to pick up a book, but ended up also getting 2 ‘Pink Floyd LPs’, meaning I arrived at HGS with some seriously trippy music! Our Volunteer leader Emily was there with a few other volunteers, but all of them were supposed to be with younger kids.  Soon some of our volunteers arrived and couple of them were first timers.  There was no sign of the regulars like Marvin and Wilson, though there was Chicago Cares representative on site.  We went down and the kids were hiding as usual, with general commotion ensuing once they saw us.  I took down the crates of books as Emily was gathering the kids for the introductions.  One of the kids decided that this would be a perfect time to come punch me.  Quite hard too!

There was a box of ‘Pringles’ chips in the closet and the kids were asking us to let them have it.  They said that Wilson had left it there and speaking of the devil, he arrived as well.  The “ice breaker” was our favorite game, and the kids were enthusiastic to play that.  One started by saying that it was “volleyball” and then proceeded to list so many that Emily had to stop her.  We had other choices such as “hide and seek”, “basketball”, even “monopoly”. I said that I liked games where everyone can participate, like “charades”.  Next, was time to pick partners and once again I was left behind.  Kids were picking newcomers or even pairing up with other kids.  Plus, they wanted Emily even though she said she was leading and told them that they should pair with me.  The led to one girl being so upset that she went and sulked in a corner.  I just hung back and decided not to force the issue with anyone.  The objective of the project is clear, give kids a good time while educating.  If that can be done by others so be it.

I was trying to find the hidden pictures

I went and sat with Wilson and his kid, who was reading a book - and quite well too - on “Deep Sea Creatures”.  It looked like a collection of some ugly and scary looking things, and I told Wilson that this did not seem age appropriate; but the kid seemed to enjoy it.  I said that if a meteor were to hit us, these creatures would probably take over the world!  In the meanwhile, I was trying to focus on one of those “3-D” books where you have to stare at a pattern for a long time in order to spot the image “underneath it”.  This is a definite way to get a headache, though I was able to spot a few things.  Two older girls, who usually read by themselves, were with a volunteer who was playing a spelling game with them.  I have never seen them interacting with anyone, so kudos to this volunteer for engaging these girls in something educational.

For today’s activity we were going outside since it was very pleasant.  Kids were running around, playing on the slides and swings and some of the older ones were playing with either a basketball or football.  Two girls were throwing a football and I joined them.  One of them said that she would catch and then give me the ball to throw.  For the next 20 minutes we did that and it was a lot of fun.  Some of the younger kids joined in and they were more intent on kicking the ball, and were doing a decent job of punting.  We enjoyed this so much that at the end when the time was up, we reluctantly went inside.  I mentioned to Wilson later that these kids need to trust the volunteers before they open up.  Playing outside was a good start.  Hey, maybe I’ll even get picked the next time.

American Cancer Society Making Strides ELT Meeting

Location: American Cancer Society Office

Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2015; 6:00-7:00 pm

As I arrived, Katherine said that we would be in a different room today, which was at the other end of the floor.  It was a corner office with a nice view of Michigan Avenue and over the last 3 years that I have been coming to this place, I had never been in this room.  It was the 102^nd birthday of ‘ACS’ and as such, there was a giant pink cake – made of cardboard cutout - leaning against the wall.  Allyson said that once everyone had arrived, we would be taking a picture with that in the background.  I asked Allyson if she knew about the background of cancer in general i.e. how many years before ‘ACS’ was formed was there knowledge of cancer.  And was it even called cancer back then.  These were discussions for another time I suppose since we had work to do today

The "Birthday Cake"

One other committee member arrived and my suspicion was that the others thought that the meeting was at 6:30 pm.  I was the culprit for the confusion since I had requested a later time, as I had thought that I have a commitment.  But since that hadn’t happened, I had told Allyson to change the meeting back to 6 pm.  While she had sent out an email, looks like people had not received the memo.  We took our “selfie” with me holding the phone, since I had the longest arms, and then got underway.  I showed Allyson my idea of posting our event on the ‘Meetup’ group and how I was planning to use the ‘ACS’ flyer as my main text.  Le’Loni arrived and sure enough, she had thought that the meeting was at 6:30 and she said that she blamed me for this!  That was it though, since no other committee members had shown up.  Something tells me it would be just us going forward.

Katherine started by discussing the numbers such as Funds raised so far, participants etc.  Next, Allyson got up on the whiteboard to brainstorm some of the ideas for our two "kickoffs’", one in downtown on August 15^th - when I would be out of town - and then one on August 29^th in the 'Southside'.  I said that we should have two very distinct themes, more corporate for downtown and more family friendly for the other.  I asked what the objective was for the "kickoffs’", since they wanted us to invite people and this would help us “sell” better.  I said that if the intention was to add teams, then there was no point in me inviting the same people I was going to ask to form teams anyways.  I once again reiterated that we should have either computers or ‘iPads’ or something else to sign up people at these events, or have each committee member be available with a smart phone so that they can sign up people.  As we started getting into the specifics of what we should and shouldn’t do at the 2 events, Allyson pointed out that some of it was for the “Event Sponsorship Team” to figure out.

While we were discussing this, we were also signing some hand written cards, which would be sent to "Survivors" on “National Survivor Day”.  During our stay there, I must have signed at least a hundred of these cards.  Allyson then went around the room asking for updates on how many teams we had signed up and our plans for that as well as securing sponsorship.  Le’Loni mentioned how she was networking with her sorority sisters and the other volunteer did the same.  My idea was to recruit in office, and of course the 'Meetup'.  When Allyson asked about Sponsorship, I said that all of my contacts were in non-profit and there really wasn’t much they could spare for this cause. 

Time was up and while others were chatting, I was distracted with some work emails.  We took one more "selfie" with Le’Loni in it, and once again I was responsible for extending my arm and taking it.  Allyson posted it on ‘Facebook’ and was tagging everyone, and asked if I was on it.  I said no and she replied, “of course”…not sure if that implied that I was anti-social or inept in using technology, but whatever.  Le’Loni said that she thought that I looked like someone who “tweeted”; to which I answered in the negative as well.  Allyson and Katherine asked if anyone could stay and call people to recruit them for the walk, saying that since it was the 102^nd birthday on Saturday, we wanted to reach 102 teams by then, being at 80 currently.  I said that I had to go and the others said that they could come later this week. With that, we all beat a hasty retreat before they could convince us otherwise!

Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, May 18, 2015; 6:00-8:30 pm

Welcome from Bodie

I arrived to see that my favorite ‘Westie’, Bodie was here and very soon he was all over me.  His excitement knew no bounds and I was happy to pet him away to glory.  I went over to the main room and saw Jim and Kenny, who waved to me. I asked Jim if he was still enjoying his independence, and he said absolutely. I shook hands with Kenny and said hello to Josie and Holly, both of whom were playing “word search” puzzle.  I went upstairs to see Pearl, but her door was closed.  I came down to see that the dogs had arrived, including several tiny little things and a lovely ‘Pitbull’ mix called Haley.  Robyn, who was our Volunteer leader this evening, came over with Bruce and June, and I held June's leash while Robyn went to put a permit on her car.  While they both were well behaved, there was definitely a lot of curiosity with so many dogs around and Bruce was twitching.  Dogs went inside to visit with the Bingo players, while I chatted with other volunteers. 

We were paired and I was going to be with Haley and her owner Kevin.  We started on the 2^nd floor and our first stop was David and his massage, which Haley received with glee.  We then stopped at some of the regulars, though Polly was sleeping.  We went to see the lady whom I had met last time and the tiny little pup on her bed was so protective of her territory, that she started growling when we came inside.  Haley could have blown her away with a puff, but Haley is a kind hearted girl with soulful eyes and she was probably more amused than anything else.  Once again, the lady talked about her dogs including one called "Cool".  She said that he just looked at you nonchalantly before walking away; hence the name. 

Haley: Look at her kind eyes!

We went to 3^rd floor, where we stopped to Jerry and Haley got on the bed for treats.  She was chewing every bite thoroughly, which would have made a doctor proud.  We then went over to a room and the tiny protective dog was there as well.  I had never met the resident before and this gentleman was a colorful character if there ever was one.  He was a gossip with no filter, mentioning how he doesn’t like nurses touching him…well where he shouldn’t be touched and about how someone in Lakeview has had a sex change operation!  This was all guns blazing and I said that I should definitely stop by each time for a gossip update.  We then stopped by a gentleman who was very subdued compared to the last one.  He talked about a ‘German Shepherd’, whom he had till he was a “teeny weeny boy”, to when he was 19.  The dog’s name was Frank, and according to this gentleman, Frank was very clever.  He kept repeating that again and again, as well as how he had the dog till he was 19.  Then he said that he had not had a dog since last year, making me wonder if his current memory was stuck at when he was 19.  As sad as that sounds, is it really such a bad thing?  To always think that you are at the age where the world was there to conquer and your promising life was ahead of you.

We stopped by to see Hannah and she said that now they were looking to get her book published privately, but in reality she was losing hope.  She said that she was getting more exercise nowadays because she wanted to get out of here, adopt two street cats, sit in a rocking chair and eat Oatmeal.  I said that it was a great plan and I could understand everything, but what’s up with Oatmeal!  She wished me luck with my endeavor and I was flabbergasted that she remembered my “51 in 51” quest, something that I had just mentioned a few visits ago.  Amazing.  We went to the community room on the 3^rd floor and saw a woman who had her bed wheeled in here and was holding court!  I said that she had the best view, since she was next to a window, had magazines, music and TV.  It was perfect!  She seemed like a charming woman and someone who would enjoy a conversation.  She asked Kevin to get Haley’s picture for her next time and Kevin said that he would.

We came down to the 1^st floor and stopped by to see the Polish lady that I had met a couple of visits ago.  She once again reminisced about her life in Poland with her ‘German Shepherd’ and told us how she had lived in Poland during ‘WWII’ and had moved to the US in the 90s.  She said that she had come on a 90 day visa and was still here.  She seemed to have a great outgoing personality and I told her that she should come for Bingo and she said that she was busy with her mail, which mostly comprised of people asking for money.  She said that she used to donate 10% of her salary to veterans and other causes, and now people still thought that she had money.  I said that she was truly noble and added that with a spirit like hers she would do well, not just in here, but outside as well.

Time was up and Kevin and Haley left, just as Bingo was concluding.  I dropped off Jack to his room and then went to meet with Pearl.  She had some visitors and said that they were some distant relatives.  After they had left, she talked about how one of them was a victim of abuse, just as she had been.  Pearl truly is a guiding light and help for many.  We talked for a long time about her degenerative eye disease, and I told her that she was an optimist and a problem solver.  Plus she really wanted to help the people in here, which not many are willing to do. I said that she had to find a solution and it starts with her eye doctor appointment tomorrow.  We talked about her study in Western Punjab in the 70s, and how she had studied “genealogy” back then.  She said that she would love to continue that study today, and I said that she should find someone who could help.  She said that she truly appreciated my support on everything, not matter how much or how little.  After admiring her jewelry I left, but not before promising her that I would be back soon. 

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

Wish Ball 2015 – Part 2

Location: Navy Pier

Date: Saturday, May 16, 2015; 3:30-10:30 pm

"Shark Dance" anyone?

As I was waiting for the bus, a gentleman started telling me how he was 73 years old, never married and doing well.  As fascinating as the story was, I did not have the time for it, and so called a cab and arrived at ‘Navy Pier’ 15 minutes prior to my check-in time.  Went up to the Volunteer Break room and already there were quite a few people who had arrived early.  I signed the check-in sheet and picked my t-shirt.  They had gone with a colorful theme this year and from amongst the 6 colors that were available, I went with Red.  Couple of the volunteers had been assigned the task of watching over things in the volunteer room and Emily, who was in charge, told them to watch over the “Shark costumes” in the back, since they were going to be part of a performance called “shark dance”.  What!  I went and looked and sure enough, there were two foam shark things.  I guess that would be an interesting performance.

I met Allison, who like me had been a “Wish Ambassador escort” last year, and was on registration today.  We walked over to registration downstairs and saw that several tables had been set up with a “surface tablet” on each.  We had decided to team up and so took the table at the end with ‘V-Z’ last names.  First order of business was training, and there were couple of guys who showed us how to check guests in, enter their address and phone number, and then swipe their credit card using a swipe machine.  This would make their checkout at the end of the evening easier.  The “VIP’s” would start coming at 5:30 and the rest of the guests at 6.  It was still early though and since we had some time, I went over to look at the “Silent Auction” floor.  There were the usual goodies, including something called “Date night package”, which included dinner at different restaurants.  But the main attraction was a 100 piece wine bottle display, which came with its own wine cooler. Now that's something I could live with.

The Wine Package which would have worked for me

I came back to my table just as first of our guests arrived.  As I went through the process that was shown to us, the swipe machine wasn’t working.  After several futile tries we had to resort to manual entry, while the poor guest waited patiently.  They took away our swipe machine as they did other ones.  So much for testing and preparation then.  In the meanwhile, our guests had started to arrive and while Allison was finding their ticket, I would check their “bid number”, mark them “checked-in”, and enter their address and phone number.  Allison would then read me their credit card number and expiration date.  If guests came to the wrong line, rather than asking them to go somewhere else, I would check them in while Allison went and found their ticket. 

Everyone was dressed elegantly, with the men in a tuxedo and women were of course in lovely dresses.  I was complimenting a few of them and also engaging the guests in conversation.  When I saw that one of the ladies had an address near my old apartment, I told her so. Then when I asked her phone number in order to enter into the system, she said, “My, you are getting fresh”.  Everyone’s’ a hoot nowadays!  Some people did not give their credit card, saying that they would think about it later.  One guy said that his credit card was with his girlfriend, when the registration screen said “Mr. and Mrs.” Hey, who am I to judge how rich people lead their lives!

It was a perfect evening

We saw some of the ‘Wish kids’ including the youngest girl who is 4 years old and was looking adorable in her evening gown.  Her wish was to have a “splash pad” and I am sure she must have had a grand time!  We were getting through the registrations fast and with only 5 tickets remaining; Allison and I were excused.  We went back to the volunteer break room for dinner and chatted with the other volunteers who had been busy with their duties.  Now that I was done for the rest of the evening, I could go explore and see the rest of the program.  I went to the terrace where the tent had been setup for the afterparty and it was a perfect evening for a rooftop party.  Next, I went over to the balcony overlooking the grand hall where the dinner was being held, and the “Live Auction” was in progress.  The “Auctioneer” was doing a terrific job and a lot of people were bidding.  But then came what turned out to be the highlight of the evening – the speech by the ‘Wish Mom’, which is a tradition at this event.

It was a story about her daughter Leah’s visit to Paris.  Leah was a young teenager, full of life and had always wanted to visit Paris; even having a picture of the ‘Eiffel Tower’ in her room.  When she was diagnosed with cancer, life took a terrible turn with doctors and treatments.  But Leah’s enthusiasm never dampened and neither did her love for Paris.  So it was an easy choice for her wish.  When it looked like the treatments were working and Leah was getting better, she and her family were on their way to Paris.  As is always the case, MAW did a terrific job in giving Leah the best experience possible, including a dinner while watching the sunset from a restaurant on the ‘Eiffel Tower’.  Leah was having a perfect visit, but there was one thing that she wanted to do above everything – visit the famous “Love Lock Bridge”.

Standing applause after the story

As Leah visited the world-renowned spot, she wanted to put a lock on the bridge as a mark of her visit, but the family did not have a lock with them.  So, with only this one wish unfulfilled, Leah returned back home.  For the next few months things were fine, but then the cancer returned and this time, it was too much to overcome.  Leah was lost.  As the mom finished the story, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house and the entire room gave her a standing applause.  The mom started walking away, but the host rushed to stop her.  The story wasn’t over yet.  We then saw a video from MAW-France.  A woman was standing on the “Love Lock Bridge” and she mentioned that she had heard about this one unfulfilled wish that Leah had.  Next, we saw her put a lock on the bridge and it had Leah’s face on it.  Then as is the custom, she threw the key into the river, memorializing the moment for eternity.  As the mom watched with disbelief, she was handed a matching lock as a keepsake.  Every single person in the audience, including myself was at that moment speechless.  There was nothing to say, really.

This emotionally charged moment was followed by the “auctioneer” asking people to donate, starting from $15,000, all the way down to $100.  At one stage, one lady walked up to the stage and said that she would match any donations, up to $100K.  Wow, that was generous.  After almost everyone in the room had donated, Jay Leno – who was the chief guest - took over and it was hilarious.  One of the “Wish Ambassadors” in attendance had gone to visit Leno’s garage – which has a huge collection of vintage automobiles - and Jay said that he could come back whenever he wanted.  They he auctioned off a visit to his garage and it was fantastic to see him work the room.  When the bid reached $25K, he said that he would give away 4 trips to his garage so as to make it a $100K donation to MAW. 

Once he was done, the evening was over and people moved to the terrace for the afterparty.  After my walk this morning and all of this, I was tired and so decided to go home instead.  As I walked past the registration tables, I saw the poor volunteers who were on closeout and would be there till late.  I had to go through the entire length of ‘Navy Pier’ to the entrance and some more till I could get a cab.  Although I had missed the "Shark Dance", it had still been a great evening, and the “Wish Mom’s” story was the icing on the cake.  Over the past 3 years I have seen and heard incredible things.  But nothing….nothing comes close to what I witnessed with her today.  And I don’t think anything ever will.

Walk Now for Autism Speaks!

Location: Soldier Field

Date: Saturday, May 16, 2015; 10:30 am-12:30 pm

I had volunteered for them 2 years ago, but decided to walk this year.  I also signed up to volunteer, thinking that I could do both, where I do some work before the walk commences.  But then, they asked me to come over at 5:30 am and that made things easier for me.  Hey, walking is better than waking…get it...nevermind  It was overcast when I left for ‘Soldier Field’ and had started drizzling by the time I arrived.  My first challenge was locating the registration area and I navigated through the crowd looking for the tent; noticing that many were in fact private team tents. Not finding anything on the outside green, I went inside the stadium, this being one of the few events which lets people have access to the playing field.  The last time I was inside the stadium was for ‘Wish Ball’ a year ago.

People were getting ready

I still couldn’t find the registration, but heard the countdown for the walkers to set off.  So I just decided to join them, with or without checking in.  Well, that was easier said than done, since lots of folks were setting off and the exit from the field was crowded.  Around me, as usual, there were many who were walking as teams with customized t-shirts and carrying banners.  I made my way through the crowd and exited the stadium amongst cheers from people sitting in the stands.  Some folks were also tossing packs of gummy bears, though the significance of that was lost on me.

The big crowd set off

We left the stadium and I stopped to tie my shoelaces.  As I was doing that, a group of girls stood in front of me and posed for a picture.  I am pretty sure that I made that picture and it was a photobomb if there ever was one!  I re-joined the crowd as we walked around the stadium and proceeded towards the lake.  I liked the fact that this route would take us North along the lake, unlike the ‘Hunger Walk’ which goes South.  There were some interesting team uniforms, including a group that was wearing green crown like objects that looked like things that people wear to prevent alien abduction!  Besides that, there were other people dressed as “Superheroes”, “Star Wars” theme etc.  One of the best things about these walks is people who walk as a team and truly celebrate this occasion.  While they were doing that, I had my earphones on and not being very social.  In fact, I kept slowing or picking up speed else it looked like I was amongst a group.  Yeah, really anti-social.

It was for a great cause

We continued Northwards along the lakefront and it was getting hot, making me take off the jacket that I had worn as rain protection.  We turned around near the ‘Daly Park’ and headed back to the stadium, once again, sticking alongside the lakefront.  While everything was going well, I was disappointed that there weren’t any water stations along the way.  But, the end was in sight as we walked past the ‘Shedd Aquarium’ and then towards the other side of the stadium.  As I walked past the “Finish line”, I saw a group wearing a shirt called “Brady’s team”.  I initially thought this had something to do with my beloved ‘New England Patriots’, and this was to support the team after the recent controversy; but then I saw that there was a kid’s picture.  This was a different Brady and probably a worthier cause to support. The party was on both, inside and outside the stadium, but I was tired and had another project later in the day.  The walk had been 3 miles and combined with another 3 miles to and fro to my apartment, I was exhausted.  But it had been a fun time and for a group that I like to support. 

Read–With-Me At HGS

Location: House Of The Good Shepherd

Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2015; 6:30-7:45 pm

I was rushing to get there on an unusually cold day, meaning that we wouldn’t be going outside today.  I saw that some of the regulars like Wesley and Marc were already here and we were soon joined by Marvin as well.  Emily, who was our Volunteer leader, took us downstairs where the kids had already assembled and I recognized most of them from when I was here last time.  Emily called everyone together for introductions and as an ice breaker; we had to say what our favorite thing about summer was.  Based on my experience, I knew that this group of kids is always enthusiastic to play along with this.  I heard several things like “going to the beach”, “swimming”, “riding my bike”, “ice cream” etc.   One girl said that she had 4 things and that included everything that we had just listed.  I said that I liked the warm weather and after a day like today, it was the truth!

Our book for the evening

Next, the kids had to pick partners and as is the norm, no one choose me.  In fact, kids preferred to be partnered with 2 other adults or with other kids or with even with Emily than choose me.  I guess after a lifetime, I should be prepared for rejection.  Marvin tried his best to get kids to partner with me, but to no avail.  Finally, he was able to convince his kid girl to let me tag along.  Everyone had laid mats down on the floor and were sitting on them.  However, our little girl wanted Marvin and me to sit in kids chairs.  The book we had was called “Angelina Ballerina: The Best Sleepover Ever”.  It was about a “girl mouse” who was hosting a sleepover with her best friend, and how she was planning for it with her mother.  Our girl did not seem particularly interested in reading, meaning that Marvin and I would be reading alternate pages.  However, I noticed that while she was paying attention to Marvin, she was doing her own thing when it was my turn. 

The book was interesting, especially a page where the little mouse is planning activities, such as having pizza, peanut butter ice cream, pillow fight etc.  We asked the girl if she knew what the mice liked and she said cheese.  I asked why, and she said because of the smell.  So I asked that if I like cheese, am I a mouse and she said “yes”!  She also bought another book for us to read, called “The Tigger Movie”, but we were not going to get through this one during our session.  Sure enough, very soon Emily put a halt to this and we were on to games. 

The girl chose a game called “Lite Brite Travel”, which consisted of a bunch of multi-colored pins which one arranged in a grid, and there was a back-light which when turned on would form a pattern.  I personally thought that it was an extravagant marketing ploy.  Our girl asked us to take turns choosing colors and we were putting the pins in order.  Once we had utilized all the colors, she took it to show to our staff contact who was observing the activities.  In the meanwhile, I was looking at a game being played next to me called, “Guess Who”, which looked interesting. It was for 2 players with 24 characters cards in front of them and you had to guess other person’s character by asking questions and eliminating based on the answers.  It looked like a hybrid of “Battleship” and "20 Questions".  The boy, who was playing it, was looking for a partner and so I joined him to play 2 games, which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Time was up and after a couple of High-5’s with the kids we left.  I was sitting with Marvin on the train and we discussed Chicago Cares and how they should do more by getting their member organizations connected.  I guess the “Auxiliary Board” could be doing this, but that would just get in the way of their so called “happy hour fundraisers”.  I asked Marvin why he volunteers; I mean he has a family.  He mentioned how he had met a kid here a long time ago.   The kid was being brash and while he was turned off initially, later he learnt that the kid was like that because he did not want people to leave and this was a defense mechanism.  That put everything in perspective and suddenly I did not feel bad for never being picked…almost.

Wish Ball 2015 - Part 1: The Walkthrough

Location: Navy Pier

Date: Monday, May 11, 2015; 5:30-6:30 pm

It was time for another ‘Wish Ball’, and this time it was at the ‘Navy Pier’.  As per the assignments that had been sent out earlier, I was to be on “Registration”, “VIP Escort” and then “Close Out”.  It was a “demotion” from last years 'Wish Ambassador Escort' for sure, though the “VIP Escort” seemed to have potential!  As usual, there were 3 “walkthroughs” and I had chosen to attend the second of the three.  It was at the very end of ‘Navy Pier’, so when the cab dropped me at the front entrance, it took me a good 10 minutes to get there.

I arrived to see Dan – a ‘MAW’ staff member - amongst others waiting by the check-in table.  Also present were other volunteers, including some that I had met at last year’s ‘Festival of Thanksgiving’.  There were documents with my name-tag on it, though putting the name-tag was a challenge by itself, since try as I may, I could not tear it off.  Well I guess if they want to know who I was, they were just going to have to ask me!  Looking through the package I realized that I was now only on “Registration” and not “Closeout”, meaning I would be done sooner – though it also meant that I was off the “VIP Escort” list as well.  I also noticed that Jay Leno was the “Chief Guest” and since I would be done earlier, I would have a chance to see his performance. 

We went over the “Event Timeline” and how the guests should be treated and where they needed to be and at what time.  The guests had bought tickets for $600 a plate and so needed to be treated with “white gloves”.  We were told about some of the “Live Auction” items such as a visit to Leno’s garage, dinner with Stephanie Izzard – a celebrity chef - and cocktails by Charles Joly – a celebrity mixologist.  We were also told about “Silent Auction” bids and how we would also be able to offer our own bids if we so chose.  It seems that a couple of years ago a volunteer actually won.  Next we learnt about the 6 ‘Wish Kids’ that were “ambassadors” and how each of them had been allocated a color.  The volunteer t-shirts were also going to be one of these 6 colors and it certainly looked like it would be a colorful evening.  Finally, we were told not to drink, which seems like a no-brainer, though someone had been seen drinking at last year’s event.

The 'Grand Ballroom' where the main event would be held

We went on a tour and this year we were on multiple levels, meaning there was a lot of climbing stairs and going up and down.  The main point that they emphasized was bathrooms everywhere, so much so that it felt like a guided tour of the “Restrooms of Navy Pier”!  As usual, nothing was ready and I look forward to seeing the finished rooms, especially the 'Grand Ballroom'.  I had been there once before, for “Chicago Lobster Festival” last year.  The views from all of the rooms, including volunteer break-room were spectacular.  Final stop was the rooftop, where the after party and dancing would be held and that for sure would be the best views of the city.  I hope the weather is nice that evening and I can’t wait to be here on Saturday.  

Dress For Success

Location: Dress For Success Offices

Date: Saturday, May 09, 2015; 10:00 am-2:00 pm

My plans for this morning had been cancelled and so when I looked at the Chicago Cares calendar, this was one of the few projects that had an opening.  Plus, it turned out to be in downtown, which was perfect; though I had no clear idea on what the project entailed.  I was running late and so took a cab, but still ended up arriving 10 minutes late.  The orientation had already begun and yes, I was the only male there.  After signing in, Doris - the lady in charge - tried to say my name several times and failed.  In the meanwhile I was beginning to think this had been a massive mistake as the tasks were sorting women’s clothing into “work appropriate”, “after 5” and “donation”.  No wonder there were no guys here.  Doris said that she would eventually get my name right, and also get me a job more “suited for my skills”. 

Handy reference for this activity

There was a lot of “learning” on what we were supposed to be doing and not just for me as some of the other volunteers seemed a bit unsure as well.  We were emptying out bags of clothes and then checking to see if they were damaged or had any stains or cat hair.  If so, then those were to be in black bags for donation to ‘Goodwill’.  The ones which did not make the bag were to be examined for seasonality and if they weren’t winter coats or sweaters, they would be either be on the rack as work clothes or on the other rack for after work.  I was consulting with the ladies around me to check if they would make the cut or not.  Even a slight hint of cat’s hair would mean that the dress was rejected.  After a bit of trial and error I was getting a hang of it.  Some of the dresses were quite nice and colorful and if I thought that they could be worn in the office, I would classify them accordingly.  One volunteer next to me said that in her job, everything was “work appropriate”…whatever that meant!

In another room, one volunteer was sorting through shoes and Doris mentioned that she was also a boxer who had won many fights.  Well, I knew who not to cross!  Doris asked me if I could help fix the curtain holder, which required some maintenance work.  I said that I was sorely lacking in any skills related to that and so she sent me back to sorting.  I found a bag with scarves and that was easier for me than dresses.  In fact, one of the volunteers said that I had “lucked out”.   The scarves were indeed beautiful and many were violet, which is of course my favorite.  I discarded a few which had stains or holes, but most of them were in decent condition.  As we did this, I told my fellow volunteers that we should be advocates for colorful clothes “making it” instead of being discarded, since everyone could use a bit of color in their lives.  Not sure how that was received though.

I had not spotted the Chicago Cares Volunteer leader for the day and she finally showed up, saying that she had been upstairs directing traffic.  Well, that’s a new one.  Not all of the volunteers were through Chicago Cares, and a few of them had come via a 'Meetup'.  There was also some networking going on, with some job prospects being discussed.  One of the staff member’s came over to tell us about the organization.  ‘Dress For Success’ was started in 1996 with $5000 seed money in NYC and is now a global institution.  Their model is to help women who are looking for a job.  They will not help them in preparing resumes, but rather look over one and provide feedback.  Then they would set them up with a dress for the interview and if they were to get a job, then provide them with enough clothes for one week.  Plus, the women going through this program would also be a part of the network.  I said that was great, since many organizations do not follow through with their clients once they have provided the services.  I said that I could see a huge networking opportunity facilitated by Chicago Cares, where they could get organizations like these to work with some of their other members like ‘Open Door Shelter’ and ‘House Of The Good Shepherd’.  The staff member was wearing a t-shirt called “Bold and Beautiful Project” and she told us about it, where women were invited for a makeover session as well as a tutorial on how to do their own makeup; and I thought that it was terrific for their self-esteem.  I asked if this was affiliated with the ‘Glass Slipper Project’ and she mentioned that it was a different organization, though similar in concept. 

It had been a good orientation and we continued with our sorting.  Some dresses had no tag for sizes and we had to then look at others in the same bag and create a new tag accordingly.  Also, some were in numerical sizes and others as ‘S’, ‘M’, ‘L’ etc.  I would ask someone for help in interpreting, but later learnt that there is a “cheat sheet” for this.  Doris had finally got my name right and stopped to give us a suitcase which had clothes and yes, even more scarves.  The suitcase was to be donated to ‘Goodwill’ and soon enough their guys arrived with a truck.  There was a massive pile of bags to take upstairs and it took them a long time to do it.  In the meanwhile, we were almost done with the sorting and Doris said that it had been the fastest shift that she had seen.  I helped take some broken down boxes to the recycle dumpster and then it was time to go.  Before leaving, Doris gave us some “health mix powder” as a token of appreciation, along with… a scarf!  It had been more fun than what I had thought was possible.  I had met these lovely ladies and had learned more about women’s clothing that I would have otherwise.

Dinner At The Wells Street Cafe

Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church

Date: Wednesday, May 06, 2015; 5:45-8:15 pm

I arrived to see that little Hannah was already there, along with some of the regulars.  I was especially pleased to see Marianne, who had been missing the last couple of times that I was here and she welcomed me warmly.  My first task was to help out with some buns that were being toasted.  There was a volunteer who was buttering buns and she said that she could use some help in opening and laying them on the baking pans.  I started doing that and there were 20 buns that were to be placed per pan.  The pans that were ready then went into the oven for 3 minutes.  This cycle continued till we had used all pans for the 220 odd buns, meaning we were good for 100 sandwiches.  As we did that, the volunteer asked me how long I had been doing this and I said 2 years. Wow.  It has been a long time.

I had asked Marianne if I could participate in the "Spirit Feeding" that happens here and she had said yes.  They were about to get started and so I went out and joined some of the regular ‘Moody Bible’ students as well as some of our guests.  We started by holding a candle and saying aloud what had been bothering us recently and why we were here this evening.  Most of the students mentioned that they were worried about their studies.  I said that I was thinking about “short term vs long term” and whether we should sacrifice something in the short term for a long term thing that may or may not happen.  We each had a Bible and were studying ‘Mark 5:1-20’; a story about a man who is possessed by a demon and Jesus helps him by sending the demons to the pigs.  The town people, who had previously shunned the man, now tell Jesus to leave.  The man wants to follow Jesus, is now told by him to go back to his town and tell the people what had happened.

The folks at our table now took turns reading and then we had some questions for discussing, especially our interpretation of the story.  I had interpreted the story as a person who had “demons in his mind” and that why he was hurting himself.  People had shunned him without trying to understand him.  The pigs were symbolic of the differences between humans, who have a choice, and animals, which do not.  Jesus helped the man make that choice; and even after he did that, the town people had a prejudice.  The others were agreeing with my assessment and it was a great conversation.  We talked about compassion and our facilitator asked if we have seen people with compassion, who help others.  I said there are many with compassion but not everyone helps.  This place was an example of people doing something to help.  This discussion got one of our guests to open up about problems with her mom and how she had never understood her when she was alive.  She was pretty torn up about that and the other guest said that she should not let that affect her and use that knowledge to be better with her own kids.  For the second time is 3 days I repeated, “Remember the past but don’t let it be a burden”.

Our menu for the evening

Time was up and we concluded with a prayer and our facilitator asked everyone for something to include in the prayer.  When it was my turn, I remembered what my “psychic” had said to me in New Orleans and mentioned my “missing soul piece”, which made it into the prayer.  Dinner service was about to begin and Marianne wanted me on juice, though I started with salads.  I was pleased to see that finally, after two years of my complaining, we had moved to smaller bowls; meaning less waste. The menu was “pulled pork sandwiches” with “refried beans”, “hot sauce” and a side of “corn and beans”.  Plus, for dessert there was “bread pudding” and I asked Chef Dani if that would have a topping of rum! 

We started by following Marianne’s directions on which tables to serve and once the first round was done, she asked me to count the seconds.  People lined up soon and started picking up the takeout boxes and I was telling them to wait.  I knew that Marianne usually wants to make an announcement, but Chef Dani doesn’t believe in waiting for that and so permitted them to start getting seconds.  I wish I had known the process before turning people away.  But we got things going and soon had everything running well.  Once all the takeout and seconds were done, I went and helped with the dining room clean-up.  Before leaving, Marianne asked if I could come on June 17^th for their summer party.  She wanted experienced volunteers that night and I gladly signed up.  It had been a good evening, especially with the “Spirit Feeding”.

Senior Birthday Club

Location: Judge Fisher Apartments

Date: Tuesday, May 05, 2015; 6:30-8:00 pm

Last month’s project over here had been cancelled since they were using the apartment common room as a polling station.  That must have been something, because I’m sure the seniors did not appreciate the government interfering in their Bingo fun.  I arrived to see that Jason was already there with 3 other volunteers as were the 2 fun ladies who are always the life of any party.  The gentleman with whom I had sung Sinatra songs arrived and he recognized me, saying that he was still pleased about seeing "My Way" on ‘Youtube’ and added that he had a great memory.  I was pleased to see that he had managed to secure some earphones and a music player, something that he was longing for the last time we had met.  I looked at the prizes Jason had bought, and there was everything ranging from the usual soap etc. to a bag of potpourri and even stuffed animals.  But we had a problem.

There would be no Bingo this evening

The guard with the key to storage closet had taken the night off to celebrate his birthday – an irony if there ever was one - and so we did not have any Bingo supplies.  While I found a phone app which could generate random Bingo numbers, it still did not help us, since we were missing the cards.  With no other option, someone said that we could go to the nearby ‘Dollar Store’ and see if there were any games.  I told Jason to stay here while I and another regular volunteer went to the store.  We looked around but there was nothing that could be used as a game...unless you counted ‘Legos’.  We came back and told Jason that the only option now was “trivia”, though some of the residents were not pleased regarding that.

Jason had bought some milk and cookies for snacks, but there were no cups or plates, meaning another trip to the ‘Dollar Store’ for me.  I came back to see that Jason was already conducting the quiz and when he went to get the snacks ready, I took over.  I put in "Trivia for seniors" as a search term on my phone and chose a link that had both, easy and difficult questions. I started with the easy and the first one was “Which is the largest state in the USA?”  Many said “Texas”, which was not the right answer, though some did say “Alaska”, which was of course correct.  Our problem though was that people were yelling out answers without raising their hands and so it wasn't always easy to point out who was right and who should go get a prize.  Fortunately people were not being too feisty today.

I had my choice of questions and did some like "Oldest US President to take office”, the answer to which was “Ronald Reagan at the age of 69”.  Other questions were "The year 'Titanic' sank", "The largest freshwater lake", "Who invented airplanes" etc.  I saw a difficult question and said that whoever comes close without going over would win.  The question was "What is the height of Mount Everest" and even I did not know that.  People started at 25,000 feet and went up to 52,000 feet.  The correct answer is 29,029 feet and so I gave it to closest answer at 28,000 feet. There weren't many questions remaining on this site, and so I was looking for other webpages.  I found one which did not have any answers, but I knew some of those for few of the questions and plus we had only a few prizes remaining.  Speaking of prizes, one lady took a bag of Oranges as a prize, till we realized that they were actually meant as snacks for everyone!  There were some questions on movies, like "What song did Doris Day sing in ‘Man who knew too much’" – “Que Sera Sera” - and "Who won academy award for 'To Kill A Mockingbird'" – “Gregory Peck”.  Finally there was one prize remaining and so I just had to ask, "Which band came to the U.S. in 1962!!"

The prizes were done, but the residents seemed to be enjoying themselves - though we had lost a few.  So we said that we could continue the trivia for fun and they agreed.  Another volunteer took over and I sat next to my “Sinatra friend”.  There were several questions on Astronomy and I was able to get them because...well, because as an ‘Adler’ volunteer I should!  As an answer to number of planets I said I will count ‘Pluto’ since I studied that in school.  Then for something where ‘Uranus’ was the answer, I asked if anyone could name one of its satellites. I said that that I would give them a hint – They are all named after female characters from ‘Shakespeare’.  It was another useless fact that I had picked up at ‘Adler”.  I also learned that there is a difference between a ‘Hog’ and a ‘Pig’.  Someone said ‘Pig’s’ are females, though I am sure that women would disagree with that!!  It was a lot of fun and all of the remaining residents were enjoying themselves – including my buddy.  At one stage there was a question related to the ‘pH scale’ and he remembered that I had studied ‘Chemistry’. Wow, he really does have good memory!  We were getting close to the end and one of the funnier things about the evening was that the residents knew all the answers when it came to questions related to medicine or diseases.  That was amusing and poignant at the same time.

All good things come to an end and so did our “Trivia Night”.  I thought we had a great time, but before leaving, the residents said that Jason should ensure that we play Bingo next time. Ouch, you can’t win them all.  As we wrapped up my buddy asked what religion I believed in. I said that I believe in science, to which he replied that science cannot explain everything.  "True", I said.  But I had spent a lot more time studying science and none whatsoever on religion.  So while I was not disparaging religion, all I was saying was that I do not understand it as much as I do science.  He asked if I had been to the ‘Moody Bible Institute’. I said that it was funny that he should ask that, since I was going to attend a session with them at my project tomorrow.  I left after a nice evening and even though the Bingo had not gone our way, it had still been a lot of fun. 

Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, May 04, 2015; 6:15-8:15 pm

Our team for this evening

I arrived to see that Jim, Larry and Jack had already assembled at their usual table.  It was especially pleasing to see Larry since he had recently been in a hospital.  Jim said that they had missed me at the game night last Wednesday, something that I wanted to come for, but had been delayed at work.  Veronica, who was the leader for tonight, came over to and asked us all to assemble in the hallway.  There were a lot of dogs tonight, including an outrageously cute ‘Westie’ named Bodie, who seemed excited to see me.  Despite his enthusiasm, I was paired with a volunteer named Mel and a lovely ‘Corgi-Black Lab’ mix named Shiena.  Though she was 4, Shiena had the spirit of a puppy. 

We started on 3^rd floor and our first stop was with a gentleman who I had not met before.  He had been a dog owner in the past and was keen on talking about them.  Next, we moved to the adjoining room and another lady whom I had not met.   She had also been a dog owner and when I asked what kind of dogs, she replied, "What didn't I have".  We learnt that at one time she had as many as 7 dogs, including a ‘Doberman’, a ‘German Shepherd’, a ‘Poodle’ etc.  She also had a ‘Black Lab’ who was named Jack Black, but she called him “Blackie”.  I asked if they all had separate bowls for eating and she said that they usually came in one at a time.  She said that they did so because there was one big ‘German Shepherd’ who would have otherwise eaten everyone's food.  I asked if she had cats as well and she said no since her sister was afraid of cats.  It was a nice visit and reminiscing about the old days seemed to please her.  I am sure that it also helps in their constant battle against something like ‘Alzheimer’s’.

We moved on and stopped to say hi to Pearl.  She told me that she was going blind and had been diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease due to lack of proper nutrition.  She once again reiterated the poor diet here and I said that she needs to get that issue to the forefront amongst everything else that she was doing.  I introduced her to Mel and Pearl called herself a "provocateur"; but in a good way I added.  Pearl said that she has a “doctorate degree” and so she should at least know a bit of what she was saying.  She showed us some of the jewelry that she had been working on and I said that I wanted to get some, but did not know who to give it to. Pearl said that she makes jewelry for men and that I could wear it, which would be stretch since I don't even wear a watch.  I told Pearl that we had to continue on, but I would be back at the end of the night.  Before leaving, she told Mel that I was a “ray of light”, which was the sweetest thing that I had heard in a long time.

Shiena

Next stop was with Polly and Dena.  Polly told us that she liked her time here and having just come from visiting Pearl, I said that this was the first time I had heard anyone say that about this place!  She talked about possibly going to ‘Northwestern Hospital’ after this.  That’s not bad, but she said that she preferred staying here than with doctors around.  I could understand that.  We went over to see Hannah and as soon as I had introduced her to Mel, Hannah told her the story of Johnny B and his kidnapping.  I asked about her book and she said that her lawyers are looking for an agent.  I said that perhaps she could do “crowd source funding”, because I’m sure there are many cat lovers out there who may want to help out.  Before we left, Hannah told Mel and Shiena to sign up for talent agency!  We went to see Jerry and as usual, Shiena loved him and his treats.  After giving him plenty of licks, we left to go down to the 2^nd floor and see David, who rubbed Shiena down and she enjoyed every minute of it.

Our final stop was to see Loritta and she was in top form today.  I asked if her son was going to wish her for ‘Mother’s Day’ and she said he’d better.  We talked about her two grandsons, one who has a “doctorate” and the other who is high school dropout.  She said that the educated guy does not visit as much as the other one does.  I said it goes to show that education alone doesn’t define anyone.  I asked why she wasn’t moving to Georgia to be with her son and she mentioned she would never go to a “Southern State” after what happened in the past, leading us to discuss segregation and prejudice.  She asked if I had faced it at any point and I said never.  She mentioned how people were treated in Chicago, as recent as 1987, like not being allowed into certain establishments.  I said “remember the history, but don’t let it be a burden” and she said that it was easy for me to say that.  She said that she would rather live in South Africa amongst the lions rather than the South…and lions eat us she added!  I laughed at that as well as when she mentioned how people have prejudice against dark skin people, and yet spray tan themselves to look like them.  That was a hilarious observation.

Time was up and I dropped off Mel and Shiena downstairs and thanked them for coming.    I went back up to see Pearl and she was with some other volunteers and dogs.  I went in after they had left and she told me that a girl had said that she never knew compassion till her conversations with Pearl.  I said that it’s because despite all of her issues, Pearl has compassion towards her fellow residents.  She told me about an “Alzheimer’s” patient down the hall and how Pearl showed her a video of a comedian musician called Tim Hawkins.  Then she went on to show me the video and it was rather funny.  Music and humor, that’s what people need I told her.  I left soon but not before she encouraged me to think about wearing jewelry.  She also told me that she read this blog and “it gave further clarity to the person that she knew I was”.

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