Macy’s ‘Believe’ Campaign for Make-A-Wish® - Part 2

Location: Macy’s in Water Tower Place

Date: November & December 2012

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”

The letter

It all started with those 7 magical words.  In 1897 an eight-year old girl, Virginia O’Hanlon wrote to “The Sun’, a New York City newspaper, where she asked as only a child can, “Dear Editor, I am 8 years old.  Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.  Papa says ‘If you see it in ‘The Sun’, it is so’.  Please tell me the truth: Is there a Santa Claus? - Virginia O’Hanlon”.  What followed is stuff of legends that sometimes makes us rise above mortality. 

After receiving this letter, one of the papers editors, Francis Pharcellus Church, took it upon himself to write an editorial replying to Virginia’s plea.  Touching the hearts of millions since, to this day it remains the most reprinted editorial to ever run in an English language newspaper. 

“Your little friends are wrong.  They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age.  They do not believe except what they see.  They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds.  All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little.  In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.”

This editorial not only made both, Francis and Virginia, household names, its legacy has led to a Publishing Company, a children’s book, an Emmy award-winning television show, movie, holiday musical, holiday window display and numerous other events such as its annual reading at Columbia College of Columbia University, recounting of its story every year on television, and the establishment of the ‘Virginia O’Hanlon Scholarship’ at ‘The Studio School’ in New York City.  But above all, its most noble outcome is the Macy’s Believe Campaign for Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The editorial

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.  He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to our life its highest beauty and joy.  Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus!  It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.  There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight.  The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.”

In its first year, the campaign received 1.1 million letters, with Macy’s making a $1 million contribution to MAW.  Since then the campaign has been a nationwide phenomenon with celebrity endorsements, more network TV specials and Virginia receiving her own balloon at the 2010 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. 

“Not believe in Santa Claus?  You might as well not believe in fairies!  You might get your Papa to hire men to watch all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?  Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus.  The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.  Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn?  Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there.  Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders that are unseen and unseeable in the world.”

Today I collect hundreds of letters each week from Macy’s, count them and deliver to MAW.  Letters written by children - no, people of all ages - like Virginia who want to believe… maybe even need to believe.  Letters of kindness and hope which make one realize that irrespective of our race, religion, age or social status, we are all the same.  We are like Virginia, waiting for someone to tell us it’s  going to be alright.  And despite all of our outward skepticism, we all believe. 

“You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, or even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart.  Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond.  Is it all real?  Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else as real and abiding.”

Virginia

Every Monday I carry the letters with me to MAW offices.  There are days when I have over 500 letters and balancing my work bag, coffee, and letters can become tedious, especially when I am walking almost 1.5 miles in cold weather.  But these are someone’s wishes, their hearts deepest desire.  It is fitting that this benefits an institution devoted to fulfilling wishes of those who have very few smiles left.  And I get to help, every week.  I went to see a radio production of ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, a story made immortal by Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey.  It gets me each time at the end when his brother toasts him by saying, “To my brother George: The richest man in town”.  George may be the richest, but I consider myself the luckiest person in Chicago.  I recently filled out a bio-sketch where one of the questions was regarding your proudest achievement.  Without a second’s hesitation I put down, ‘Being Santa’s elf’.

“No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.” - The Sun, 1897

Library Maintenance

Location: Walt Disney Magnet School

Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2012; 6-8 pm

Was nice to see Minnie and Mickey again

Due to my Film Classes on Tuesdays, I had not done this project for a long time.  I arrived at the school and found that Laura was already there.  Once most of the volunteers had arrived, we proceeded to the library.  It looked like we were going to have a full house today and Laura divvied up the tasks for the evening.  Lo and behold, I found myself volunteering for the Non-Fiction again, and so caught up with my old friend Dewey.

 

I decided to employ a different tact today, where I would separate books by range of numbers and then take a bunch which belonged in a certain aisle.  Once that was done, I would come back for books in another aisle.  This way I would minimize my time walking from one aisle to another while trying to balance a stack of books.  This seemed to be working, till I started encountering aisles which already had volunteers in them.  This meant that if I had picked up books in the 600’s and there were more than 3 people in that aisle, I would keep those aside and go back for another set. The problem with this was that others were following a more freestyle approach and so there was always going to be some sort of adjustment that would be required because they would continue to change sections at random. 

White board cleaning lessons

I did the best that I could but after an hour, my fatigue started to catch up with me.  I tried to work faster, but did not want to mail it in either.  Once again I questioned my wisdom of doing this and perhaps Laura read my mind, because she asked if I would be willing to do a side project for the last 30 minutes.  I jumped at a chance of breaking the monotony and agreed without even asking what it was.  Laura handed me a cleaning solution and some tissue paper and asked if I could wipe down the two white boards.  I thought this would be an easy task, but little was I to know that the writing on the white boards was extremely stubborn and I had to put some effort into scrubbing it out.  Several sheets of tissue paper later, I finished one of the boards and then moved on to the next one.  This time I divided the board into 12 squares and attacked each square at a time.  No matter what the approach, it still required a lot of tissues and a lot of scrubbing.  Mr. Miyagi would have been proud.

I was tired and hungry and promised myself that this would be it for me as far as the Library Maintenance project was concerned.  I was putting on my coat when a woman approached me and asked if I would like a cookie.  I looked at the delicious Chocolate Chip cookies in the box and said yes.  As soon as I started eating a cookie, my mood improved.  She introduced herself as Megan and said that she worked in the Illinois Institute Of Technology.  At one of their youth mentoring events, the kids had given her this box and she thought of sharing it with the rest of us.  Megan is one of those people whose enthusiasm can be infectious.  She was chatting and laughing a lot and insisted I take another cookie when I said how much I liked them.  Laura offered us both a ride to the train station and as she drove us, thanked me for taking on the Non-Fiction section each time.  She mentioned that it is the most tedious thing to do and appreciated me volunteering to tackle the Dewey system.  She said that’s why she thought a wipe down of the white boards may be something that I would like to do.  Hearing her, I felt slightly ashamed that I had been annoyed earlier in the evening.

Laura dropped us at the station and wished us for the Holidays.  On the train Megan told me about how she and her husband had recently moved to Chicago and she was looking for projects to do on the evenings when he was working late.  I recommended the Mock Interviews and Job Coaching programs to her since they would suit her skills and background.  As we said goodbye, I contemplated the people that I had met over my time with Chicago Cares and Make-A-Wish. Other than Irina and the Volunteer leaders, I had not seen anyone else again, let alone socialize with them outside of our projects.  Even then, the interactions that I have had with them, such as with Megan tonight or Kristen at the UIC last Saturday, have made me realize how wonderful people are and how lucky I have been that our paths have crossed, even though fleetingly. 

Cheers To Our Volunteers

Location: The Four Seasons Hotel

Date: Monday, November 26, 2012; 6:00-9:00 pm

The words say it all

As I stated in my first article, volunteers do things without any expectations of a reward.  They are committed to serving the community, be it activities for children from low income families, mentoring troubled youth, or companionship for our senior citizens.  However, what is usually lost is that volunteers are human too and while no one wants a parade, an occasional pat on the back can not only energize everyone, but also inspire them to continue with their efforts.  This was the annual Chicago Cares celebration for their volunteers.

I had met Irina when we had volunteered for the Mock Interviews at San Obrero Mission and had decided to go for the party together.  The party was to be held in the ‘The Four Seasons Hotel’, as swanky a place as can be found.  What I had learned was that Four Seasons was one of the sponsors and had kindly donated the use of their facilities for the evening.  I met Irina in the lobby and we rode up to the ballroom.  Right from the outset, I realized that this was going to be a fun night when at the check-in I saw one of the volunteers hug her friend, and ended up receiving one as well when I asked if this was the normal greeting protocol.  We saw some of the volunteer leaders that I had worked with, like Aly and Thomas, who thanked us for the work that we had done with their projects.  We got some food and chatted about our experiences with Chicago Cares.  A bit later we were asked to join everyone in the grand ballroom, where they were going to be handing out the awards.

The awards ceremony

 

We took our place at a table and listened to the speakers talk about the work Chicago Cares was able to accomplish this year and the volunteer’s contributions towards the overall mission.  Some of the awards handed out were for the Volunteer who embodies the spirit of the organization as well as for the Volunteer Leader of the year.  Since the people considered for these awards are nominated, I thought it would be great if I was in a position to nominate someone for next year’s honor, either a leader or a volunteer.  I even joked with Irina that it could be her.  As a matter of fact, any one of us could someday be worthy of it and the person winning the award was really accepting it on behalf of the thousands of people who work with Chicago Cares.

People were there to have fun

After the awards the DJ took over and many proceeded to the dance floor.  Irina and I had a better idea, since the desserts were not being served.  We got some pastries and continued to chat about our time in the city and what had led us to volunteering.  We chatted with Aly, who was the volunteer leader for the project where Irina and I had met, and so she knew both of us.  She told us about some of the other projects that she was involved with and we promised to check them out.  As we walked out, they handed us souvenir tee shirts and Thomas joked that I should get two since I had earned it; possibly referring to my last Mock Interviews session where none of the other volunteers had shown up on time and Thomas and I had to run the session by ourselves.  I smiled, but what I really wanted to tell him was that it was my privilege to be involved. 

Now this is a party

Irina and I said goodbye, promising to stay in touch.  I walked home thinking about all of the people in that room and the selfless deeds that they do every day.  This also includes ‘The Four Seasons’ as well as the corporate sponsors, who support Chicago Cares.  When I reached home I opened the shirt that I had received.  ‘People Are The Answer’ it says on the front.  From what I had seen this evening, we are in good hands. 

Make-A-Wish Children’s Hospital Festival Of Thanksgiving

Location: UIC Student Center

Date: Saturday, November 17, 2012; 10:30 am-2:30 pm

“Sometimes there is so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.” – American Beauty, Dreamworks, 1999

There was a time as I was growing up, when I used to keep track of some of the best days of my life.  I remember a day when I was around 7 and my parents I had had gone for lunch at one my favorite restaurants.  I can almost remember the taste of what I ate that day.  We then walked on the main street and my dad bought me a Walt Disney comic book.  We then did some shopping and the spent the afternoon visiting a ship that had docked at the local harbor and was open for public viewing.  Finally, we came home and saw a children’s movie on the television.  There have been other days since, and some I can still remember as if they happened just yesterday.  Today was another occasion that I will file under unforgettable experiences of my life. 

Our table 

Nancy and Gina are ready to go

After I signed up for this, I made travel plans to fly to Texas straight from this event.  So I was lugging around a suitcase that Saturday morning, as I took the Pink Line CTA to UIC.  After walking around, trying to locate the right building, I finally made it to the student center and found the ballroom where this event was being held.  I was under the impression that Make-A-Wish was throwing a party for a few children who had been through the program, but I had no idea around the scale of this event.  As I walked into the ballroom, I saw dozens of volunteers making preparations.  It was then that I realized that MAW was one amongst many organizations that were participating.  I was directed to a table which had box from MAW, with instructions.  Since I was the first of the MAW team to arrive, I set the table cloth, put up the banners, and started emptying the contents of the box onto the table.  We were going to do Thanksgiving themed arts and crafts by making ‘Fingerprint Turkey’, ‘Finger Pilgrims’ and ‘Turkey Headdress’.  I read the instructions and hoped that my colleagues would be skilled enough to handle the crafts portion of it, while I handed out the goodies bags.  I had laid out all the colorful craft paper, crayons, colors and other decorative items by the time Gina, Nancy and Kristen – other MAW volunteers – arrived. 

The room filled up soon

Kristen had done this event the previous year and told us how it would go.  Children and parents would do the rounds and when they arrived at our table, we would pretty much let the kids do what they wanted.  She said that some of them might be weak and we were to support them in any way we can.  In fact, a few days ago we had received an email from MAW saying that if any of the volunteers woke up that morning with symptoms of illness, we were to refrain from showing up, due to reduced immune system of some of the children.  Fearing this, I had even postponed my flu shot, were I to develop a fever.  One of the other announcers also requested some of us to help with the lunch service by either helping out with serving or in carrying the food to the tables.  Since there were several volunteers to help out with that, I stayed with my team. 

Steven: The most well-dressed
man in the room

Olivia and Kristen starting
their masterpiece

After a slow start, we started children started visiting our table.  The first of that was a little 18 month old girl, Olivia.  Kristen took charge of her and Olivia was so comfortable, that her grandmother left her with us and went on to look after Olivia’s siblings.  Sitting on Kristen’s lap, Olivia started playing with colors, using her little fingers to make a brilliant, colorful mess on the paper.  The look on Olivia’s face was intense, as she reveled in creating her masterpiece.  After she was done playing on two sheets of paper I put them off on the wall behind our table, displaying what this day was all about.  Kristen took Olivia to the next table where they were making colored bulbs.  In the brief time that she spent with us, Olivia had won our hearts.  Olivia’s mother and her 6 month old brother Jerry stopped by to pick her up.  We asked her mom what had brought them here and learned that besides her three other siblings, Olivia once had an older brother who was taken from them at the age of five.  Every child who was attending that day had been affected in some way.  But today was all about celebration.  You could see it on the faces of the children, their parents and all of the volunteers.

We had a lot of visitors

Others followed, including Steven, a most well-dressed young man and then several girls, all of whom participated in the arts and craft activities.  Many of them had their wishes granted through MAW and their parents were very thankful for what we were doing.  As most of the children were having lunch, I decided to walk around the room and visit the tables of other institutions that were participating. 

Other participating institutions

My first stop was at Stephanie Joseph Memorial Fund, an organization dedicated to helping people with limitations achieve their life’s dream.  This fund has been developed in the memory of Stephanie Joseph, who was a competitive figure skater and lost her battle with cancer while in college.  The volunteers there were helping children make Thanksgiving cards.  They asked me if I wanted to make a card for something that was thankful for and I said that while I would not make a card, I was thankful for all of the wonderful people in the room.

Donation was made to UIC

Some of the other institutions that I stopped by were:

• Gilda’s Club, Cancer In The Classroom: Helps with the understanding of cancer diagnosis and its impact on the classroom.
• St. Baldrick’s Foundation: They are committed to funding the research to find cures for childhood cancers.  They handed UIC a big check and afterwards I spoke with their representative who told me that they were having a fund raiser early next year, which would include shaving your head.  After my last haircut, that would not be a stretch and something that I may be interested in.
• StarlightChildren’s Foundation: To quote them, they are, ‘Improving the quality of life for children with serious medical conditions by providing entertainment, education and family activities which help them cope with pain, fear and isolation of a prolonged illness’
• Children’s Oncology Services Inc.: They offer ‘One Step At A Time’ programs that offer children facing cancer a chance to bond with other pediatric cancer patients and survivors in a non-hospital setting.  This is through activities like summer camp where they can experience a week or two of carefree fun.
• Bear Necessities: A pediatric cancer foundation, who had their table right next to ours.  They had empty glass bulbs and children were filling them with multiple colors and swirling them around to create patterns.  After drying, these are labeled with the child’s name and sold in order to raise money.

The colored bulbs of 'Bear Necessities'

I finished my walk and stopped by at a final table where two ladies were helping kids with temporary print tattoo’s.  Finding me looking at the various designs, they asked if I would like one.  At first I said no, but then thought why not.  I picked a koala bear print and had them put it on the back of my hand.  While I would never compare my life with anything these children may have been through, at that particular moment I felt as if I was one of them.

My koala tatoo

After 2 pm we started wrapping up and putting our arts supplies back in the box.  Many children, who had left their fingerprint turkeys to dry, came and picked them up.  Many were walking around with the turkey headdress and one brave soul had even attempted to make the finger pilgrims.  I took down our banners and Olivia’s artwork genuinely sorry that the party was over.  I said goodbye to my colleagues and when Kristen learned that I was looking for the Blue Line stop in order to go to the airport, she offered to walk me there.  We both were in great spirits and joked around as we went towards the train station.  I wished her for thanksgiving and said goodbye, promising to stay in touch.  I stood on the platform with my bag, now containing brochures for the various organizations whose tables I had visited, along with one precious commodity.  I had kept one of Olivia’s paintings and it now occupies a proud place on my office wall.  I thought about the privilege of being a part of something so special today.  I thought about all the insignificant things in my life that have worried me or have made me angry, when all pales in comparison to everything that I had seen that morning.  And I thought about another quote from American Beauty, which sums up everything, as well as the futility of me trying to explain in words what this day had been – a highlight of my week, my month, my year.

Olivia's artwork: The one on the right is
now on a wall in my office

“…but it’s hard to stay mad, when there’s so much beauty in the world.  Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much.my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst…And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life…you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure.  But don’t worry…you will someday.” – American Beauty, Dreamworks, 1999

Mock Interviews

Location: San Jose Obrero Mission

Date: Thursday, November 15, 2012; 5:45-7 pm

The colors of Pilsen

A month after my previous visit, I found myself visiting Pilsen for another round of Mock Interviews.  Pilsen is a Mexican-American neighborhood and is wonderfully colorful due to its murals, restaurants and the general community.  I made my way to the Mission and met up with Thomas, who was going to be leading this session.  Rather than the lobby area we would be meeting in the computer room this time, a place where the residents are encouraged to develop their technical skills, as well as use the equipment to look for a job.  Thomas and I waited for the other volunteers to show up, but none that had signed up actually did.  Finally we got underway and I was introduced to my charge for the evening, Peter.

As I met him, something about Peter did not feel right.  He seemed to be suffering from some sort of compulsive behavior and throughout the evening I felt like he was making an effort to keep himself in check.  His physical appearance gave an impression that he was going through tough times.  Before we could get started, he told me that he was looking for a part-time position in order to be eligible to collect disability benefits.  I was finding it tough to get a word in and this led to him being scolded by Mary, the lady in charge of the mission.  To his credit, Peter used that criticism and was very respectful for rest of the session. 

If there is one thing that my time with Chicago Cares has taught me, it is how not to be judgmental of people.  Quite often I had been quick to label people based on appearance or first impressions.  Over the past two months I had truly been humbled and tonight was no exception when I learned that Peter was a double graduate, with degrees from UIC and The Moody Bible Institute. 

Let me repeat.  A person who appeared to be a misfit in society was a double graduate from two reputable institutions. 

Our new meeting room

Peter had chosen to go into janitorial profession because that’s what his family had been doing and was previously employed in variety of places, including a long stint at Potash Markets.  Thus, when I presented him with the sample job options, he choose a janitorial position as the one he wanted to interview for.  I told him that even though he was looking for a part-time position, we would treat this as if it were full-time.  I wanted to see how he would respond to situations which required greater commitment.  As we went through the various questions, two things became apparent: Peter was a stand-up guy and he expected very high standards from his co-workers.  This was even reflected in his answers to the behavioral questions where it was quite evident that if Peter were to be employed, he would be someone who would hold his colleagues accountable.  At one stage I told Peter that his answer was something I would have been happy to have received from some of the people I had interviewed for positions in my Company.

At the end we each wrote down our feedback and then discussed it.  Peter had graded himself higher for some of the questions and I explained why my ranking was lower.  He did not argue, but rather listened carefully to what I had to say.  I liked his confidence and I mentioned that I would expect him to rise above his current desire for a part-time job and seek a full-time employment with no dependency.  I asked if he ever envisioned himself in a supervisory role and was pleased to hear him respond affirmatively, albeit after a few years.  We concluded the interview at 7 pm, since that was the dinner time at the mission.  Peter thanked me and asked me for my card, which I gladly gave.  It had been a tough night for the program since one other volunteer showed up late and Thomas had to scramble to cover as many interviewees as possible.  Even then we could not cover everyone, something I felt bad about.  These men deserved another chance and our help to get back to the workforce. I mentioned to Thomas possibility of starting earlier so that we could cover two men per volunteer at each session.  Thomas said that he will discuss this and thanked me for my time. 

I walked out in the lobby and saw Peter having his dinner with other men, perhaps the only meal they would have had that day.  It is a strange world we live in, one where people complain about small things regarding their job.  I myself have been guilty during water cooler chatter about trivial things.  Nowadays we hear about how the economy is bad and how people need to hang on to their jobs.  I do not think the poor economy has anything to do with how people should behave.  Having a job, any job, is a privilege, not a right.  My blog title has a quote from ‘Desiderata’ by Max Ehrmann.  I was reminded of another line from the poem as I sat in the train that evening. 

“Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.”


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

What’s the Word

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2012; 6:30-8 pm

The room was looking festive

It had been two months since my previous visit to the Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and I was looking forward to reacquainting myself with the folk whom I had met earlier.  I arrived there to find that Gwen and I were the only two volunteers who had shown up, though we were eventually joined by a woman and her daughter.  The last time we had read-through the newsletter for September and October.  Today’s task was to do the same for November and December.

From amongst the gentlemen who constitute this editorial team, Jim was missing, though Jack and Larry showed up.  Larry’s birthday was coming up and so Gwen had baked cookies for him.  He was going to turn 87 years old, but considering how sharp his mind is, I should say 87 years young.  We started by reviewing the current issue, which had a distinct holiday theme.  We talked about the upcoming events in Chicago such as the Christkindlmarket, Lincoln Park Zoo Lights and the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival Parade.

 

We also discussed Chicago Bears season, a subject Larry is very passionate about.  I was surprised to hear him recite the remaining schedule for the Bears and even analyze some of the games.  87 years young indeed!

The book review was for another thriller and everyone, other than me, had read it.  There was staff interview section, followed by ‘Did you know’ section which listed unique days in November and December.  For example, who knew that November 1 is ‘National men make dinner day’ and December 4 is ‘Wear brown shoes day’.  I told Gwen that I was amazed at her ability to find these things, especially since she has been doing these issues for several years and every time she wants something new.  Finally, we had arrived at the word puzzle and just as before, we all got into it with gusto.  Larry was competitive as ever and even Jack, who hardly spoke, was participating.  I enjoyed this a lot and Jack, who was next to me, kept asking me to point out where the words were hidden.  We finished the puzzle and sat back to enjoy our work.  It had been another successful issue and another great evening. 

Gwen left Larry’s birthday cookies with them and we all wished Larry a happy birthday.  If anyone would have said to me three months ago that I would enjoy spending time at a senior nursing facility to the same extent that I enjoy some other things, I would have laughed at that notion.  But it was the case.  I do not know why or how.  But I do know people like Gwen and Larry and Jack make me a better man.


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

Macy’s ‘Believe’ Campaign for Make-A-Wish® - Part 1

Location: Macy’s in Water Tower Place

Date: November & December 2012

Dear Santa indeed

For the past four years, Macy’s has been running a ‘Believe’ campaign in its department stores throughout the country.  Through this, kids (and other believers) drop letters to Santa at a local Macy’s Santa Mail letterbox.  For each letter, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million.  This funding helps grant wishes for children with life-threatening diseases.  For the current season,  Make-A-Wish was looking for, was volunteers to pick up the letters from a certain Macy’s location, count them and deliver to Make-A-Wish.  When I found this opportunity on their website, I saw that the Macy’s in Water Tower Place still required a volunteer.  While it would have been an ideal thing for me to do, I was concerned about signing up for something which was a weekly commitment for two months.  Based on what has happened since, saying ‘yes’ was the best decision I ever made. 

I was contacted by Jeanne, who was coordinating this program for Make-A-Wish.  She sent me a schedule for pick-up, which was usually over the weekends.  Following the pick-up, I was required to count the letters, mail those which were stamped, and then deliver to Make-A-Wish the rest through special boxes that she would send.  When I realized that their office was near my company’s location, I told Jeanne that I would just stop by each week to drop off the letters.

I went to Macy’s the first week of November and was directed to the Human Resources office.  There I met Amy, my contact at Macy’s.  She told me that they would gather letters each week and put them in a bag for me.  All I had to do was come over once a week and collect them.  I took that week’s haul, which wasn't a lot since it was the first week, and left.  At home I sorted through the postcards and the letters.  Some of the envelopes were stamped and I could mail them directly.  They were addressed to ‘Santa, The North Pole’ and believe it or not, every letter addressed this way gets to a Post-office in New York City.  There were other envelopes that were sealed, but not stamped and we had been instructed not to open any letters.  However, there were several postcards that I couldn't help but look at as I sorted through the mail.  Some of the messages were for toys while some were for more expensive things.   But there was no denying that most of the children, and some adults, who had written this truly believed in Santa or at least the power of a wish.

 

Make-A-Wish Office

I sent my email report to Jeanne and the following week went to their offices to deliver the letter.  Jeanne met me and even gave me a brief tour.  I got a sense that none who worked there were doing it as a job.  We walked past a wall which had pictures of hundreds of children getting their wish granted.  I paused and after apologizing for what was probably going to be insensitive, asked Jeanne what the survival rate was.  She said that ever since Make-A-Wish started in the 80s, it has been going up.  With advances in medicine, a child now has a realistic chance of getting cured and living a normal life.  Remember it is ‘life threatening’, not ‘terminal’.

I nodded and left after thanking Jeanne.  As I walked back to work I realized that the next few weeks were going to be an experience like never before.  Yes, some of the letters would be heart-breaking to read, but there would also be hope and love.  More importantly, I knew that by the end of this, I would be a believer. 

Job Coaching

Location: Open Door Shelter

Date: Monday, November 12, 2012; 6:45-8:30 pm

The banner says it all

Having done the Mock Interview project and enjoyed the experience, I was eager to do this one as well.  Chicago Cares website has the following description regarding the program: ‘OpenDoor Shelter, a program of The Night Ministry, is a temporary shelter for youth who may have been exposed to serious life circumstances.  While staying at the shelter, youth work with staff to secure permanent housing, employment and medical care.  Chicago Cares runs a mandatory job coaching program for the youth every other week.  Volunteers work with youth in small groups or with one-on-one activities focused on finding and applying for jobs, interviewing skills, appropriate on-the-job behavior, and more.’ 

I arrived there and met Bridgette, our volunteer leader.  We discussed my volunteer session with the Mock Interviews and she mentioned that I would find this to be a very different experience.  While my earlier event was for men who wanted to get back to work, this is a mandatory program for young boys and girls who may not want to do this in the first place.  The Open Door Shelter provides temporary housing for the troubled and impoverished youth, but there are certain expectations placed upon them.  Not only are they required to perform daily chores, but they also have to make an effort toward pursuing some education of finding a job.  Their room and board is meant to be temporary and every effort is made to get these kids to be independent.  This job coaching program was a part of this requirement and a thing which some viewed as a task to be done.  So to get them excited, even involved, was going to be a challenge.

Once all of us had gathered, we were taken up to the community area on the first floor, where a dozen or so boys and girls had assembled.  All of them were African-American teenagers.  Their body language suggested that they were not looking forward to this, and hardly anyone responded when Bridgette asked them to come and sit around a table so that we could get underway.  An admonishment from one of the workers at ODS send them our way and all of us sat down. 

First up was introductions and what we did, or wished to do.  While some kids had vague answers, I was pleasantly surprised to hear some answers, where the kids seemed to have a plan.  Especially heartening was to listen to a boy named Dion, who wanted to become a writer.  I would have never expected someone in this situation to say that, but something about Dion made me believe him.  We then split into groups where each volunteer was paired with one or two of the kids.  I was going to work with Shawn, a young man who had said that he wanted to work in an area which would allow him to learn how to fix things, particularly electronics following which he wanted to go into game designing.  I started counseling him and asked him to draw his career path on a timeline.  We discussed where he wanted to be in 5 years and started putting some interim objectives on paper.  The best part of all of this was his engagement in this process.  He was listening to me and asking the right questions.  I was very impressed by his attitude and as we finished our session, I wished him all the success and asked him to continue working towards his goal.

One of the volunteers next to me was working with a girl and spotted another one who was sitting by herself in the corner.  She had been aloof all evening and has refused to participate in any activity, right from the beginning.  Not only had my fellow volunteer managed to get her to come join his session, but towards the end, this girl was actively discussing her career goals with him.  A doctor in training, I told him that what he had managed to accomplish that evening would have made a counselor proud.

We left that evening hoping that the kids would have gained some insight from our experience and advice.  I certainly hope Shawn goes on to become a game designer.  I hope Dion goes on to become a famous writer.  But more than anything, I hope they enjoy the process of getting to their goals and this journey makes them wiser.  These are supposed to be the best days of their lives and I wish for them to have a chance at happiness, a chance at success.  Circumstances have led them to ODS, but it is up to them to leave this life behind.  And its up to us to nudge them in the right direction.  


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

Hot Chocolate Run

Location: Lakefront Trail

Date: Sunday, November 4, 2012; 5:30-10:30 am

Everything that I have written about so far, either volunteering or the walks, have been for a cause or an effort that I wanted to be a part of.  This was an event that I wanted to do for selfish reasons – to get hot chocolate at the end.  What I did get, was a reminder of what this is all about. 

Hot Chocolate Run is a 5 or a 15K run and has been called ‘America’s Sweetest Race’.  Racers pay a steep registration fee for some really swanky gear and more importantly, a party platter at the end comprising of hot chocolate and other treats to dip in a chocolate fondue.  The racing series is however also affiliated with Ronald McDonald House Charities and there is also a 1.6 mile walk to benefit Little City Foundation, an organization supporting individuals with developmental disabilities such as autism.  I did not know about the walk and since I had no intention of running, I signed up as a volunteer – a Course Marshal to be precise.

 

5:30 am check-in

Many gathered inside the heated tent

We were asked to report to Grant Park at 5:30 am.  As I arrived there, hundreds of volunteers were already present and picking up their sweatshirts.  I checked in, was handed a bright orange hoodie, and directed towards a tent for breakfast.  The organizers kept announcing that there was no hot chocolate, but people were still trying to squeeze inside – and for good reason.  While it was quite cold outside, the tent was heated.  I got some coffee and looked around me.  Young men and women were out in groups.  Most of them were either volunteering at the runner check-in booths or for the post-race party.  Around 6:15 am I heard an announcement for the course marshals to gather.  There were very few of us, only half of the 42 had shown up.  They asked us to select either the 5K or the 15K course and I choose the longer route.  The volunteer groups were split based on the route, and myself and the other 15K course marshals were taken by a van down the South Lake Shore Drive.  The van entered the lake front drive and the driver asked if there was anyone who would not mind to be on a post by themselves.  Since I was the only solo person, I raised my hand and so around 6:30 am, I was dropped off on the trail at marker 10 (signifying 10K) and given an orange flag.  My directions were simple.  When the runners came, point them towards the right direction of the trail, especially since there was a small side road where I was stationed.  Since the race was scheduled to start at 8 am, I knew it would be a long time before anyone showed up.  I pulled up the zipper on my jacket, put my hands in the pocket and waited.

For a long time this was my view

The first of the runners arrived around 7:40 am.  He was on a blistering pace and hardly noticed me as I pointed him towards the right path.  After a brief pause there were others and pretty soon the floodgates opened.  For the next two and half hours, I was waving runners by without respite.  But it was not as bad as it sounds.  Many runners smiled at me, many waved, many thanked me, some joked about taking a short cut by the side road and some even gave me high-fives.  For most parts it was a fun morning, though it did get tiring towards the end.  Even then, it was inspiring to see people doing this old, young and some with disabilities.  Plus, as cold and stiff that I was, I had hot chocolate to look forward to.

What I did not get

Around 10:30 am, the lady with the van, came by and picked me up.  We gathered the other marshals and then all of us were dropped off at the post-race party area.  The lawn was full of thousands of runners whose mouths were covered in chocolate.  People were dipping their fruits, biscuits and other goodies into the chocolate fondue and generally licking their fingers and their lips.  It was a huge mess and nobody seemed to care.  It was a brilliant sight.  There were huge lines outside the chocolate tents and I waited in one of them, finally arriving to the table.  When I told the girl over there that I was a volunteer, she looked sheepish and said that chocolate was only for the runners.  When I asked why, she apologized and genuinely looked sorry.  I walked back onto the lawn cold, tired, angry and thinking that after that I had been through, the morning had yielded nothing.  I thought about finding an organizer and giving them a piece of my mind, when one of the runners saw my volunteer jersey and yelled out “Thank You for all that you do”.  I looked at his chocolate covered face and smiled.  That acknowledgement made me realize something very important that day, something that I had lost track of despite my time with Chicago Cares.  As I have said in my opening article, most of the volunteers that I have met do not do things to get noticed or appreciated and definitely not in expectation of any reward.  Why should today be different?  I had received many smiles and thanks while on the course.  One of my favorite movies is the 1981 Academy Award winning ‘Chariots Of Fire’.  There is a race at the end, where the runner runs with so much joy, that it is almost as a celebration of the human spirit.  There were many who were doing the same this morning, and I had been a part of it. That will do for now.

Mad Scientists

Location: Henderson Elementary School

Date: Saturday, November 3, 2012; 9:50 am-12:00 pm

Henderson Elementary School, based in the south-side of Chicago, is a school for low-income African-American kids.  Chicago Cares has been conducting programs in the school for years, especially on Saturdays where different groups from Chicago Cares work with one of the grades through programs like arts, science or history.  The opportunity that I signed up for was working with Fourth graders on variety of science experiments.

Getting there proved to be a considerable challenge.  With my aversion for taking buses,  I preferred to go via the Orange Line CTA route, which meant there was over a mile walk from the train station.  What I did not realize was that unlike walking on Michigan Avenue, this was a walk by the side of a street frequented by heavy vehicles.  I did however manage to arrive on time and was directed to a class room where I met Molly, our volunteer leader.  She explained the experiments that we would be doing that day and asked if I had any Chemistry background, since that was the theme of the day.  I said “You can say that”, but my smile was wiped out when she told me that none of the other volunteers did and so I could take the lead if I wanted to.  I hastily added that it was a long time ago, but the damage had already been done.  Plus, when they found out that I have a doctorate in Polymer Science, I was looked upon as the key contributor. 

The kids arrived like a hurricane and there was lot of noise and running around.  Molly and two of the other regular volunteers, Pat and Brenna had seen all of this before and thus did a splendid job of restoring order.  The volunteers were introduced as either Mr. or Miss and I said I was a Doctor, though not the kind to whom you go when you are sick.  I thought it may be a good idea for the kids to know what kind of education opportunities and paths exist after school.  As we introduced ourselves, Molly wanted both, the kids and the volunteers, to state their favorite thing to do in Fall.  There were many things such as drinking hot chocolate, playing in the leaves, watching football etc.  We had made a good start. 

Hand of Frankenstein

Molly had prepared printouts for each of the two experiments and each adult was paired with a group of kids.  The first experiment was called ‘Hand Of Frankenstein’ and involved covering a cup containing vinegar with a latex glove containing baking soda.  As the soda drizzled down in to the vinegar, it would release carbon dioxide through an acid-base reaction, thus leading to expansion of the glove - like a hand of Frankenstein.  The kids loved it and almost all of them ended up painting their hand after it had expanded to its fullest extent.  Molly was very good in getting the kids to understand the principles behind the experiment, as well as soliciting answers from them.  The next experiment was to make colored goop from corn starch.  This is always a kid favorite activity and something we used to do in my previous job on ‘Bring-your-child-to-work-day’.  Since the experiment is based on principles related to polymers, I got to explain to the kids what the polymers are and their applications.  The goop experiment was extremely messy, but a huge success.  Kids thoroughly enjoyed it and although there were a few trouble makers who tried to get it all over their friends, we got through the exercise without much damage. 

After the experiment Molly handed each kid a snack and then we played games till it was time to leave.  It had been a terrific morning and despite all the noise and some mayhem, I had loved every minute of it.  As is the case in any class, there was a kid David, who was the primary trouble maker.  But he was also engaged in the experiments, unlike another kid Justin.  He spent most of the morning sitting by himself in a corner, drawing in a notebook.  When I walked over and looked at his work, I was impressed.  I hope that someone in his life encourages this passion or at least tries to understand him better through his drawings. 

We left the school at noon and this time I took the bus to the Red Line stop at Garfield.  I thought about the time we had spent and hoped that we had shown the children that science could be fun.  These are great kids and all they need is the right encouragement and support.  Molly, Pat and Brenna are doing exactly that; and in doing so are re-living those magical days of childhood. 


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

Arts and Eats

Location: Flannery Apartments

Date: Wednesday, October 31, 2012; 6:15-7:30 pm

“Let your creativity flow with CHA seniors living in a Chicago Housing Authority building”, said the description of this opportunity on the Chicago Cares website.  Having made my crafts teacher extremely happy that she would not be seeing me after my last class in the 7^th grade, I was not too confident about signing for something that said ‘Arts’.  I wrote to Alice, the volunteer leader and she assured me that I would be fine. 

This Jack-o-lantern knows how to party!

Flannery Apartments is a senior housing community and once a month Chicago Cares volunteers get together with the residents for an evening of arts and crafts (Eats part is cookies).  This time we were doing holiday wreaths using colorful craft paper, decorative gems, buttons and other such accessories.  Alice had already made a sample wreath and the rest of the volunteers took their cue from that.  Two of the regular attendees who knew Alice very well, came down and started creating their wreaths.  Initially I was quite content trying to provide the senior residents whatever they required in terms of passing them the scissors or glue or other accessories, but soon realized that the point of this exercise was not to create a masterpiece but to participate.

Some of the leaves that went on the wreath

 

“It’s not the thing you fling. It’s the fling itself.”

I started by cutting the craft paper in the shape of colorful leaves, something that was being used a lot on the wreaths.  Since it was Halloween night, one of the volunteers decided to make a ‘Jack-o-lantern’ from an orange colored paper.  I asked if I could decorate that and upon receiving approval, stuck whatever accessories I could find on its face to make a truly garish looking thing.  At the end it looked so gaudy that all of us had a big laugh and one of the ladies put it up as a headpiece on her wreath.  

Another volunteer, Jenny, was using colorful fuzzy sticks to make a girl.  I told her that we should accessorize her and by the time we were done, she was carrying a bag, wearing earrings and a pendant and had a flower in her hair.  It was amazing how much fun we had that evening, creating things that may not have looked pretty, but were precious due to the joy that went into making them.

 

She's ready for her night out

As we prepared to leave, I noticed another resident who had joined us late and was working by herself at one end of the table.  The previous month, Alice and other volunteers had helped paint tiny jewelry boxes and this lady was putting finishing touches on hers, by decorating it in a wonderful manner.  It looked beautiful and something many artisans would be proud to display.  The wreaths we made were hung in the lobby including the one with the Jack-o-lantern. 

“Volunteers will assist the seniors with creating something beautiful and bring some good cheer to the residents”, the opportunity description had concluded.  I hope we succeeded in at least one of those initiatives.

Epilogue:

I walked to the train station with another volunteer, Serin, who had just moved to Chicago and was working as a gemologist.  As we were waiting for the train, a guy dressed in black approached us and asked if we could take his picture against the backdrop of an  Apple products advertisement.  I thought this was a strange request, especially after he posed with his back to me and facing the opposite platform.  In any case, I complied and he gave us both a candy box.  It was after all Halloween and he was perhaps going to a party dressed as Steve Jobs.  I put that candy in my office desk drawer and days later I noticed that on the box there was a website address. Curiosity led me to check it out.  His website is a tribute to Steve Jobs, whom he calls one of his ‘design icons’.  It was indeed ironic that on the day where we ‘designed’ our own version of holiday wreaths, I came across someone whose hero was one of the pioneers of design and creativity.  Heroes can come from anywhere, any field, any background.  Something tells me that those seniors in Flannery Apartments would take Alice’s design team over Steve Jobs’ every single time.