Valentine’s Day Special I: Produce Sorting At Lakeview Pantry West

Location: Lakeview Pantry West

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2013; 11 am-1 pm

Valentine’s Day; noun: A Day for the exchange of tokens of affection

Faithful readers of this blog would have noticed by now that my projects with Chicago Cares have consistently averaged between four and five times a week - on evenings and weekends.  Those with keen sense of deduction would have guessed through this that I am a single person, living in a city without any family or close friends.  Either that or I am a terrible boyfriend and someone who prefers company of strangers in his free time as opposed to spending time with loved ones.  Needless to say, I did not have any plans for this evening and was going to be doing a Chicago Cares project somewhere in the city.  But it was not any ordinary day.  As the dictionary quotes above, it is an occasion where small tokens of affection or gestures of kindness mean a lot more and are extra special.  I am unable to provide any scientific evidence to support this argument, but not everything can be justified through data.  In any case, I wanted to do something more, and thus had decided to take a day off from work and spend it doing as many Chicago Cares projects as I could.  If these travels did lead to something special for our clients, then it would be the best Valentine’s Day in a long time.

Bird's eye view, courtesy of Wilson

I studied the schedule and while there were a lot of projects on offer, timing and logistics would only permit me to participate in three.  As I made my selections, I realized that unknowingly I had picked the three main areas that Chicago Cares addresses – Hunger/Social Services, Youth Mentoring/Child Services and Senior Citizens Companionship.  First-up was ‘Produce Sorting at Lakeview Pantry’, a program headed by none other than Wilson.  I could not think of a better start than working side by side with Superman. 

The previous day we received an introductory email from Wilson where he provided the weather report for the next day, Google maps directions, along with satellite photographs of the area and street view pictures of the neighborhood.  Oh, and he had labeled them as well with colored arrows and text.  I still think he needs to work harder on his preparations! 

I took the train to Lakeview, but there was a significant walk to get to the location.  Fortunately I had the maps with clearly defined landscapes such as ‘Big Tall Church’, and thus managed to arrive well before 11 am.  The pantry is in a basement and I went in and met Carrie and Elizabeth, who work for Lakeview Pantry.  Carrie is the coordinator for this and some other facilities and chatted about the organization and the project.  We then talked about Wilson and his enthusiasm, for this and other projects.  He arrived soon thereafter, along with other volunteers, Catlin, Ellen, Steve and Ross.  Steve looked like he had been doing this for some time and immediately took charge behind the counter, setting things up and preparing for the arrival of the food van.  When it did arrive, all the food needed to be carried from the van to the basement and while Steve, Ross, myself and the driver took over the responsibility of getting the boxes from the van to the top of the stairs, Wilson would pull them down on the carts and take them inside the pantry.  Even with this arrangement, it took over 20 minutes to unload the van, which was carrying food from two stores. 

Once in the pantry, all the food needed to be weighed.  I volunteered to put the boxes and bags on the scale while Catlin noted the weight.  While one would expect meat, poultry and even fruits and vegetables to weigh a lot, it was amazing to note how heavy bags of bread were.  This was because bread was in abundance and Steve was working rapidly to stack it behind him on the shelves.  Once the numbers had been added, we learned that over 1,352 lbs. of food had been delivered.  Considering four of us unloaded it from the van; that is almost 350 lbs. per person, not counting my putting it up on the scale.  While I had enjoyed this task, I knew that in a few hours or even tomorrow, my body would complain. 

Stacking food the right way

Wilson and others were separating groceries and stacking them either on shelves, in the freezer or the refrigerator.  Wilson asked me to separate the meat into different boxes of chicken, fish, beef and pork.  Next was the box of prepared food, comprising of burritos, other dinners and even sushi!  The idea was to look for packages which had not gone past their expiration date and discard those that had.  Almost all of the prepared food was from Trader Joe’s, who are a big contributor to this and other pantries.  They donate food which is about to expire since they are unable to keep it on their shelves.  Now, I applaud them for their nobility, but looking at the amount they had given away, I was unsure if they were doing a good job in their estimations and procurement.  I mentioned this to Carrie, saying that if I were the CFO of Trader Joe’s and was in charge of costs, I would take a long hard look at my ordering system.  It is one thing to account for food that is to be given away, but another to be wasteful – even though it is going for a good cause.  However if it comes down to choosing between not doing anything to help feed people and taking a risk with costs, I would choose the later eleven times out of ten.

Apples: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Wilson then assigned me the task of sorting apples into the good and the bad.  Not being a fan of the fruit, certainly not enough to buy any, I was unsure how I would be able to do this.  What I thought would help me is deciding if it looked good enough for me to eat.  If I wouldn’t touch them, then nobody else should.  Even though the people who come to this pantry for food are living below the poverty line, they deserve to be treated with respect…and more importantly as humans.  I got the hang of it and started separating them into different buckets; the bad apples going into a bag which eventually was going to be compost.  Nothing in the place went to waste.

Ellen arranged the flowers

Ellen, who leads some nature conservation initiative,  carries the compost with her; and Ross and I helped carry three bags of it to her car.  She had also done a great job arranging flowers, which had also been a part of the delivery. The were now displayed at the entrance, making the people visiting the pantry feel welcome.  Speaking of which, it was time for Carrie to give us newcomers some information around the pantry and its mission.  According to their website, ‘Lakeview Pantry opened in 1970 with the mission of providing food to people living below the poverty level. Today we not only distribute groceries, but also help clients address the issues that often lead to food insecurity, such as unemployment and housing instability.  Lakeview Pantry is one of the longest-lived food pantries in Chicago. It originated from the efforts of a few dedicated neighbors who wanted to help people in their community who were struggling to secure the food they needed.’

The words say it all

One of their critical missions is, ‘Providing food to fill the basic needs of hungry people’.  Carrie said that they usually serve food in the evenings to families, with even a single individual being termed as ‘family’.  People are welcome to come and take as much as they want and they expect to distribute over two million pounds of food over the coming year.  Their other mission components are, ‘Increasing the interdependence of our clients through self-help initiatives and other innovative programs’ and ‘Raising awareness of hunger and poverty and working towards solutions to eliminate them’.  I have always believed in finding a permanent solution to a problem and while helping someone is good, sustaining that over a longer time-frame is critical.  Once again I am reminded of the Chinese proverb, “Once you save a life, you are responsible for it”.  According to their website, last year they launched an ‘Education and Advocacy Program’ through which they provide comprehensive statistics and information on anti-poverty research, as well as collaborations with local communities and organizations, policy center and media outreach – all efforts to eliminate hunger and poverty. 

Carrie said that besides Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Target are some of the other organizations that help out.  Having worked with Target on a project, I would not have expected anything less from them, but I salute Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods for taking active steps in our community.  Carrie took me on a tour to show some of the areas where they store other items such as canned food and even diapers.  She has been working with Lakeview Pantry for over ten years and joked that she started when she was four.  She has a great personality and a friendly demeanor.  Just the kind of person I would want leading this initiative.  We got along very well and I mentioned that I would like to participate more, besides just the Chicago Cares projects.  She showed me a calendar of events and volunteer opportunities, and there seemed to be plenty of areas where one could help.  Since there were so many volunteer needs, I asked if any of the clients had ever offered to help out.  Not that it was expected, but it would probably be a step towards their self-reliance and sustainability. 

Words of wisdom from Albus Dumbledore

Before leaving I noticed a note on the whiteboard quoting Albus Dumbledore, “We are only as strong as we are united; as weak as we are divided”.  I always say that everything I need to know in life, I have learned either from a song by Lennon & McCartney or through the words of Albus Dumbledore.  I agree wholeheartedly and we had done a great job this morning in helping out in a small, but united way.  People like Carrie are doing it everyday and are responsible through their efforts - both, operations and advocacy - for bringing people together.

My reward after a hard morning's work

Wilson told me that he was doing two other projects that day as well and I was not surprised to learn that he would in fact be present at my next stop. I bid him and Carrie farewell and walked out to explore the neighborhood before my next appointment.  I was intending to find a place to eat and reward myself with some fattening food since the smell of bread in the pantry had made me hungry, and I had after all lifted some heavy weights and deserved some pampering!  As I walked on Belmont, I saw a store called ‘Uncle Fun’s’.  I looked at the window display and it appeared to be a multi-purpose gift's and joke's shop.  I walked away, but couldn’t resist coming back for another look and finally walked in.  The girl behind the counter said she had been watching me and was wondering what took me so long. We laughed and I took my time exploring the store – for I am a huge fan of small gift's and vintage goods shops. Valentine’s Day theme was prevalent and I told her that I did not want to leave a place called ‘Uncle Fun’s’ without getting something at least.  I bought a souvenir which would make for fun reading later on in the day.  There is something about visiting a place like this which puts you in a good mood.  As I munched on my sandwich, I thought about this morning's priceless experience, even though it had left me a bit tired.  Now, after the fun shop and the cheesy goodness,  I was refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the challenges that this day would bring.

What’s the Word

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Wednesday, February 13, 2013; 6:30-8 pm

Valentine's Day cookies

This had been my very first project with Chicago Cares and so I do have some fondness for the residents who participate in this activity.  Since it was Valentine Day’s eve, I took some cookies with me for sharing during our session.  Plus, having seen everyone’s fondness for cookies, I knew that they would be greatly appreciated.  This was exactly the case as Jack, Jim and Larry took a cookie each and we chatted till Gwyn got there.  Besides them, there was another member of the newsletter editorial committee, Mary. This evening we were going to be working on the March/April issue of ‘As We See It’.  For the previous three issues, I had been present at its final presentation.  For the first time, I was actually going to be able to see it being created.

Gwyn's Paczki

I have never seen Gwyn arrive empty handed and today she was carrying with her two boxes of Paczki.  She told about how last year she had gone looking for the perfect Paczki in Chicago only to realize after bringing them home that the stuffing was missing.  This year she had foregone any special store and had picked these up from the usual grocery aisle of a store, with strawberry and raspberry filling.  Quite honestly, I had never heard of the term Paczki and had always been referring to these as stuffed donuts, without the holes.  She offered these to us and Larry, who is a big fan of anything sweet, immediately got started on one. 

It was not all fun with Gwyn though, since she was upset that despite requesting 80 copies of the previous month's issue, the staff had only made 24.  Larry, who is in charge of distribution, and Gwyn discussed what they should do if such a situation were to arise again and Gwyn was adamant that the staff be cut from the distribution list.  She said emphatically that there was no point in doing this project anymore if the staff was not going to cooperate in making copies.  To add another twist to this tale, we learnt that there was a rival newsletter which was also being printed and Jim claimed that he saw some stuff from ‘As We See It’ being plagiarized.  This may be a nursing home, but there is no shortage of competitive juices.

A valuable resource

Enough time had been spent on this discussion and Gwyn wanted to put us to work.  She had managed to get her hands on a laptop computer and assigned two volunteers, Beth and Kate to work on the machine.  She paired me and another volunteer, Jane, with Jack.  One of my favorite sections in the newsletter is the trivia around some of the days of the month.  Jack is in charge of that and relies on a book, ‘Chase’s Calendar Of Events’.  The one Gwyn had provided was from 2007, but it would have to do.  Jane and I decided that we both would take turns in jotting down notes.  Initially Jack and I would read through some of the events and she would note down the interesting ones.  Then she and I would switch.  Jack claimed to have read the book cover-to-cover and had already made some headway for March and April events.  He and I continued from where he had left off, starting with ‘Helen Keller Miracle Day’.  I would read through some of the events that I thought were interesting, but the final say was Jack’s.  It was quite apparent that Jack is a huge sports fan and thus wanted to include days such as ‘Major League Baseball Strike Anniversary’. 

I also wanted to include some funny trivia and hence suggested that we include the week for the annual ‘National Whistling Conference’.  Other things we noted were ‘National Volunteer Week’, which seemed appropriate, and the William Shakespeare’s birth and death day, which happen to be the same. And I thought my birthdays were uneventful!  I also learned that April celebrates the ‘First License Plate Anniversary’, dating back to 1901 in New York.  I joked that it was a pity that New Yorker's still had not learned how to drive safely and Jack found that amusing.  We finally closed with ‘Children Of The World School Spirit Season’, which runs from April to September.  While we had been doing this, Beth and Kate were using Gwyn’s notes from the previous session to scour the internet for more information and pictures.  Gwyn was working on the restaurant review, for which she had picked ‘Jimmy John’s’, primarily because they delivered to Lakeview Nursing. There was even talk of getting some sandwiches delivered for our next session, a motion passed without much hesitation.

Since I had this book available to me, I wanted to see what was special about my birthday and learned that it had…absolutely nothing worth noting.  Jack’s birthday on the other hand falls on August 7^th, which is also the ‘Out All Night Day’.  Jane and I teased Jack about it and he wistfully said that there were no longer any ‘night’s out’ for him, especially after three strokes that had left his left hand  and side paralyzed. This has not prevented him from being active, for while the body may have slowed down, the mind is still sharp.

Decoration's everywhere

Larry picked another Paczki as I packed up to leave, once again my knowledge enhanced through working on this newsletter. I gave the rest of my cookies to Larry and he asked twice if I was sure. I walked out admiring some of the Valentine's Day decorations and with Jim's words in my ears  that he hoped to see me again soon.  I hope that they manage to sort out this printing mess, for the newsletter is a valuable resource for the residents.  I certainly liked each of my copies from the past several months and am looking forward to the next one.  And I had enjoyed ‘Chase’s Calendar Of Events’, for it asks us to cherish each and every day of the year…find something special to celebrate.  Speaking of which, tomorrow was going to be a long one for me.

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

Bingo Fun With Seniors At Sheridan Leland Apartments

Location: Sheridan/Leland Apartments

Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2013; 6:45 -8:00 pm

The opportunity description on Chicago Cares website said, “Volunteers visit with senior residents and help build English language skills through a rousing game of bingo!”  In terms of helping build the English skills, they may have overestimated our capabilities. 

Bingo!

I had taken the Red line CTA uptown and after a short walk, found myself in the facility and being directed towards the activities room.  I met up with our Volunteer leader Cheryl, who told me that this was exclusively a Korean speaking community and none of them spoke or even understood English.  She said that our job was to help them if they did not understand a particular number that was being called and if they did not converse with us, it was not because they were rude, but due to the language barrier.  I must admit that I was a bit disappointed, partly because the charm of this entire exercise for me has been getting to know people and learning more about them.  That was not going to happen this evening, and all I could do was help them participate and watch the proceedings.

Cupcakes to keep the resident's 'calm'

I looked at the prizes Cheryl had on display and they were mostly hand soap or detergent.  She did have some Valentine’s Day cupcakes and the story she told as to why she did have them made me realize that there could be some excitement after all.  It seems that the game was known to get rowdy every now and then and a couple of ladies have already been banned, not only from Bingo, but other activities as well.  Apparently there were reports of them using their walking strollers as bumper cars.  Now, last evening notwithstanding, I have seen some competitive games of Bingo, but this was taking it to another level.  Cheryl had realized that having food there calmed them down, and hence the cupcakes.  Cheryl also showed me some posters she had made to explain the rules and said that everyone was allowed to win only one prize, until the final ‘Coverall' game.  She warned me to be on the lookout since they could spot a new visitor and try to take advantage by claiming multiple prizes.  This was a crash course in being a ‘street smart volunteer’!

Cheryl's Bingo 101 posters

One very enthusiastic lady came and started waving her arms about, in what appeared to be a friendly gesture.  She went and sat across a gentleman, who promptly started yelling at her.  I had no idea what was going on, but other residents did not find this strange and another volunteer Neal, who was probably used to such behavior just shrugged his shoulders and went sat next to her.  Cheryl asked me to go and help one lady and when I went and sat across from her, it put me right next to the gentleman with the bad mood.  My intention was to stay under the radar and just focus on helping the lady.

One of the things which caught my attention was that none of the residents were using the chips that I have seen at Bingo games, but had their own tiny and quite trendy looking coins.  As Cheryl started calling the numbers, I noticed that most of them, not least the gentleman next to me, would repeat in Korean.  The lady across from me would look at me for confirmation each time the number was called and based on me either shaking my head or pointing towards the card, would put her coin in the right place.  Slowly but surely, some of the numbers being called again and again, began sounding familiar when repeated in Korean.  In fact, I had also taken to repeating them phonetically.  “Thirteen”, said Cheryl.  “Sipsam”, said everyone.  “Sipsam”, I repeated. 

As people started winning, they would get up and walk over to the head table and Cheryl would point towards the prizes.  They would select one and the game would continue.  “Thirty”, said Cheryl.  “Samsip”, said everyone.  “Samsip”, said I.  The lady in front of me won and I repeated her numbers back to Cheryl to confirm.  She walked over and picked up a detergent.  After some time the gentleman next to me won and I gave him a thumbs-up.  He nodded in appreciation and went to get his prize.  People were winning all over the room and Cheryl true to her word did not let them get a second prize.  The lady in front won again and looked expectantly at me.  I used hand gestures to try and explain that she could not win another prize, at which point she thanked me by bowing and decided to leave.  I frantically tried to get her to stay for the ‘Coverall' game where she could win again, but to no avail.  She had made up her mind and departed in a hurry.  "Nineteen”, said Cheryl. “Sipgu, said everyone.  “Sipgu”, said I.

English speaking or not,
everyone can do with Valentine's Day decorations

Soon it was time for the final game and Cheryl walked around the room pointing towards her poster showing the concept of ‘Coverall Bingo”.  Everyone nodded in agreement and we began.  The gentleman next to me and I had bonded by now and we were both looking at his board intently as Cheryl called the numbers.  He was doing quite well and soon had only one number to go.  He got so nervous that he stood up and started playing with the coins in his hand.  But he was not to be denied and ended up winning the game.  I clapped as he collected his prize, though the game continued as we were going to have multiple winners.  There was another winner on my other side and that gentleman asked me to go choose a prize for him.  I selected hand soap and gestured by rubbing my hands together, trying explain its function.  I do hope that he got it and does not treat it like a lotion! 

Soon all the prizes were given out and the residents collected their coins, put them in the cases and picked up cupcakes before departing.  The gentleman with whom I had bonded sought me out and shook my hand.  An hour ago, having seen him yell at the poor woman, I had been apprehensive.  Now, I was leaving having enjoyed myself.  As I looked at some of the Valentine’s Day decorations on the wall, I realized that even though it had been a very different experience, with us not talking with the residents, it had definitely not stopped us from communicating - for those are two very different things.

Bingo Fun At Britton Budd

Location: Britton/Budd Apartments

Date: Monday, February 11, 2013; 6:15 -7:30 pm

This was another new program for me, which meant that I tried to arrive early, should I get lost on the way.  Fortunately that did not happen and I was generally impressed by the neighborhood and overall décor of the place.  There was even a fireplace in the lobby!  I went in to the activities room and found Tyler, our Volunteer leader for the program.  He told me that Bingo at this place would be very laid back and relaxed because the residents were friendly and enjoyed their Bingo rather than compete fiercely.  We would see about that.

The prizes

Soon, one of the residents arrived, took a look at the prizes that Tyler had laid out on the table and started complaining about some room fragrance spray that she had won from their last game and how it was not functioning well.  Tyler had come with a good selection this time and there was sure to be something that she would like.  By this time the place was as full as it was going to get and while there weren’t many, we had enough residents to begin.

I walked to a table with 3 ladies, including the one who was talking with Tyler earlier, and asked if I could join them.  Another lady from an adjacent table looked towards us and said, “Spend time with a good looking man, who would say no?  Not sure what will happen after.”  We all laughed and I introduced myself to the three women.  The lady from earlier was Georgia and the others were Elisa and Elvina.  Georgia asked me if I was Russian.  Irish a few weeks ago… Russian now.  What is it about my looks that make people think that?  When I said that I was not but I did know a few words, she said that she was about to say “Dasvidania”.  This is actually one of the words I do know and I said it means “Till we meet again”.  At this Elisa said that she does not use such fancy language and would have said “Adios”.  Not to be left behind, Elvina looked at me and said she would have waved and said a good old fashioned American “Goodbye”.  This was going to be a fun evening. 

Since there were so few of us, everyone had a chance to win.  Elvina won three times, Elisa won four and Georgia won five times.  Both, Elisa and Georgia gave one of their prizes away Even I had the numbers on one occasion, but managed to hide my card before anyone could see them.  Typically I could have picked something and given it away, but seeing that everyone was winning big, I was afraid that they would insist on me keeping it.  Speaking of prizes, there was a run on lotions and soaps over cookies and sweets - even the notorious spray went before them!

Georgia was a delightful companion.  She was constantly giggling and at times spoke in French, something which drove Elvina mad, since she kept saying people should speak a language everyone understands and believes in “Good old American”.  Elvina was also fun to talk with and told me that growing up she was in a music class and there were four other girls with her name, meaning it was interesting when the teacher called for one and five girls stood up.

Such conversation continued throughout the evening and Bingo was just an excuse for people to socialize.  At the end Georgia asked me twice if I would return, everyone did.  Apparently I was a hit with the women over there, something that I have noticed in most of the places that I have visited.  It may have taken several years, but it seems that my time to be popular with women has finally arrived…even if all of them have been collecting social security for some time!

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

Young Science Sleuths

Location: Young (Ella Flagg) Elementary School

Date: Saturday, February 09, 2013; 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Epilogue As Prologue

Once again, I had not only had an enriching experience spending time doing science activities with children, I had also learned a valuable lesson on having faith in the inherent goodness of people.

Saturday Morning

Having been to this neighborhood the previous weekend, I had realized that train was not the most convenient way for me to get there.  Hence I decided to sit through a really long bus ride, that still left me with a bit of a walk.  Now, while the sidewalks had been wet and slushy the previous Saturday, today they were icy and almost impossible to walk upon.  I decided to talk a less busy road and walk on the street, rather than the sidewalks and after some time, found myself at the school.

Art in the basketball court

I was directed towards the basketball court where all the kids and volunteers were eventually going to assemble.  Besides the science project, there was also a reading session, a cooking class, as well as sports activity.  I found my volunteer leader Ajith and joined him, just as other volunteers Mark, Hari and Janice arrived.  I had met Mark at a project at the HGS and we caught up.  I also saw Marika, whom I had met during the Celebration of Service project and was not surprised to learn that she was participating in the sports program.  The kids started arriving with their breakfast trays and one boy offered me his cupcake.  Although I did not take him up on his offer, he still wanted to converse. He asked me my heritage, and said that he detected an accent.  I asked him his name and he pointed to his name tag which read Jake.  There was another little girl hovering around and she was his younger sister Laurie.  He told me that they had 5 other sisters and one brother, with Jake and Laurie being the youngest.  Soon all of our party had assembled and Ajith led us to a second floor playroom. 

We pulled some tables together and Jake insisted that Hari and I sit on either side of him.  Amongst the other kids was a chirpy girl Carmen and a boy Arthur, along with three other kids.  Before Ajith could get the session started, Laurie had a tantrum and would not listen to anyone.  A teacher from the school heard this and came in to escort her outside the classroom.  Saturday or not, discipline is always going to be important.  Ajith called the session to order and said that the first thing was for all of us to introduce ourselves and as a game, we were to say two things which were true and one lie about us.  The group would then guess which amongst the three things was a lie.  This was a fantastic ice breaker and all the kids were on board. Carmen was sitting next to me and kept repeating that she did not want to tell a lie.  Almost all the kids said that they liked ‘Math’ as a lie.  Carmen said she likes to sing, play violin and has a pink one – all of which we learnt were true.  Carmen was one of those who played by her own rules, while still being respectful.  When my turn came, I said I was a doctor, had gotten a ride to the school and I was a doctor.  It was obvious that one of the doctor comments was a lie and Carmen said so.  I asked which one and she said the first.  I asked how could she be so sure and then she said it was the second one.  Once again I challenged her and after some good natured ribbing, I said that while I have a PhD, I was not a medical doctor.  Ajith explained that a PhD meant that I was studying for a really long time.  Boy, don’t I know that!

Jake's house with me and Hari mounted on the top

For our first activity, we were going to be using gummy candy, marshmallows and toothpicks to make structures.  Ajith challenged everyone to make the tallest standing structure and all the kids dove right into it.  All except Carmen, who started thinking about what she wanted to make.  Carmen is one of those people who will always be the life of the party.  She and I got along very well and chatted non-stop.  She said that she was going to see ‘Disney On Ice’ that evening; and I asked who her favorite Disney princess was.  She thought about this for some time and said ‘Sleeping Beauty’.  I said that mine was not exactly a princess, but would always be ‘Belle’ from “Beauty And The Beast’.  Next she said that she was in girl scouts and asked me to buy some cookies; after all she was saving for college.  I said that I had already placed an order for four through one of my colleagues and she pouted.  Then she said that I should buy her a birthday present, since it was coming up in March.  I said that what would she get me for mine and she said that while she wouldn’t, I should, since I was older.  Man, she was a handful!  

Laurie's tower with roses on top

While Carmen was unsure about her design, others had done a great job.  Jake had made a house and put two human figures on top - me and Hari!  Laurie, who had calmed down and was now participating, had made a tall structure with roses on top.  Arthur had also made a house and even though she had changed her mind several times, Carmen had now settled on a flat structure which she called a house with bouncy balls, represented by marshmallows and gummy bears as people.   She had done so while singing throughout, proving that she was truthful about that. While many were structures were creative, the best part was watching the kids share supplies.  Many were lending gummy bears and toothpicks to each other and that was heartening to see.  Amongst all of this, the thing that made me laugh the most was a structure that one girl called ‘Peter Griffin’.  I told her that she could possibly display that in The Museum Of Contemporary Art and make a lot of money.

Next experiment was everyone’s favorite, 'Slime'.  While Ajith and others had never done this before, I had considerable experience with this one.  While they worked with the kids, I made a batch solution of Borax and went about adding it to everyone’s cup.  As soon as the magic of Chemistry happened, there was a lot of yelling screaming and the different colors only added to their experience.  After several minutes of playing with their slime, it was time to clean up and leave.  All the children collected their slime and Carmen asked me if I would come back the next time, in two weeks.  I have another project lined up, but did not have the heart to tell her that. I said I would be seeing her soon and while I do not know when, it is a promise that I intend to keep.

Peter Griffin: Abstract thinking

Prologue As Epilogue

As I arrived for the project by the bus, to avoid the icy sidewalks I had taken to the smaller streets and was walking on them, looking over my shoulder to avoid oncoming cars.  At one of the intersections I was making my way around the icy conditions when a car driver got impatient and honked a few times to get my out of the way. Through some difficulty I did manage to let them through, but at that instance a selfish thought went through my head. “I am here on a freezing Saturday morning to help your children and this community.  The least you can do is show me some courtesy”, said the voice in my head.  Barely had I finished that thought when a truck pulled up next to me and an elderly gentleman asked if I was from Chicago Cares and going to Ella Flagg School.  I nodded and he asked me to hop in.  He was going there to drop of his grand-daughter and while it was just a couple of blocks, this gesture was a resounding slap on my face for doubting what this entire thing was about.  It’s not that we are here to help a community, but as a society we are helping each other in small ways, though it may not always be obvious. We would all do well to never lose sight of that. 

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

Lakeview Seniors Bingo

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, February 04, 2013; 6:30-7:45 pm

A bevy of dogs welcomed me to Lakeview Nursing when I arrived for the Bingo session.  They were of course in attendance for the ‘Pet Therapy’ project and as is the case on Monday’s, the place was crowded.  The Bingo group started coming in and as soon as I saw Emma, I made my way to her table.  Maureen, our Volunteer leader may have had other plans for me, but I told her that I wanted to work with Emma and that was that.  Besides her, our table had a full house with Kadence, Pam and Jack, from ‘What’s The Word’.  I squeezed in next to Emma and asked her if she remembered the cards that we had made the previous day.  She said that someone had given her three cards and I said that it was me.  Well, even if she did not remember me, I was glad that she was aware of the cards.

The regular caller was late coming in, and Maureen was looking for volunteers.  She even asked me if I would do it, but there was no way I wanted to leave Emma, especially since I was determined to win with her.  Due to the late start the room was quite chatty and Pam, who was wearing bright pink and  is quite feisty, kept complaining that no one was playing.  I said it’s because the caller was missing, but she said that the residents just loved talking.  If it were up to her, she would tape everyone’s mouth and only open for them to yell “Bingo!”  I knew were going to have an entertaining evening with her around. 

Bingo Time

Finally, we began and everyone put on their ‘game face’.  Emma was intense as ever, Jack was quite relaxed, Kadence looked like she wanted to be left along and Pam was mumbling.  She kept calling Emma ‘Grandma’, something which Emma either did not hear or was ignoring.  Put a Bingo card in front of her and all bets are off.  I kept looking at Emma’s cards and helped in pointing out the numbers that were being called.  Emma likes to keep her chips in hand and every time she ran out, she would ask me to pass her a few.  She was quite alert and on several occasions corrected me when I had either missed a number or heard incorrectly.  However, as the night went on, everyone was winning but us.

I was beginning to think that I was cursed and pairing up with me may not be in Emma’s best interest.  Thandie, who was with us the last time and had failed to win, was at another table and had won twice.  I thought the others at my table would go empty handed this time, but then Jack won, followed by Kadence.  I was desperate to get Emma a win and lo and behold, there it was.  I yelled ‘Bingo’, and as I called the numbers, to my horror I realized that I had made a mistake.  Now, there is no greater shame than a false alarm at Bingo and I immediately lost all credibility with the room.  While I continued to watch, I did shrink back a bit in my chair, though Emma was focused.  My error was not going to deter her.

One of the funny parts of playing Bingo at Lakeview on Monday is when No. 50 is called.  There is a gentleman named Kenny, who seems to be a big fan of the TV show ‘Hawaii Five-O’.  Each time 50 is called, he will say aloud, “CBS Channel 2 at 9 pm”.  This never got old and made me chuckle every time.  In fact, if he did not say it, people would look at him till he repeated his line.  He is one guy who truly enjoys the game.  Not so much at our table, where winning is all that matters.  Besides Emma, Pam was empty-handed as well.  She looked at me and said that she would be better off going out and getting drunk.  “That way at least I will see the numbers better”, she said as I laughed.  But the night was coming to a close and we had only three games left when it happened.  Emma won.  I was scared to call the numbers, but this time there were no mistakes. It had taken us almost two visits, but we had won together.  Her prize was a dollar bill and Emma clutched it in her hands as if it was the most precious thing ever.  She told me that she likes to have money in her purse and at that moment, I remembered an incident from decades ago.  When I was a boy, I remember my Great-Grandmother, who looked a bit like Emma, handing out money from her purse.  I often used to wonder where it all came from, but she never let us leave empty handed.  Looking at Emma clenching her fist around the dollar bill was a sight that had made the wait worthwhile.  And that wasn’t the end.  We won again on the next game.

The curse had been broken and now it was time to go.  Emma said that she wanted to keep the money safe, because there had been some thefts.  I was perplexed, but Jack confirmed that he too had some money unaccounted for.  I hope for their sake that they had just misplaced it and it's a misunderstanding.  I was not going to be back for Bingo next week and I wanted to give Emma something.  I asked her last name and before I walked out, inquired with the receptionist if I could send some flowers for Emma.  They had no issues with it and that night I ordered flowers for Emma, to be delivered on Valentine’s Day.  I don’t know if she will notice or even remember; but even if it brings a moment's joy to her - just as that dollar bill had - it would be the best Valentine’s day present I have ever given out. 


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

Get Crafty!

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Sunday, February 03, 2013; 2:30-4:00 pm

I had started with Chicago Cares by doing the occasional weekday project and then had moved to Saturday morning activities.  Now that the football season was over, I had free time on Sunday’s as well.  So I decided to sign up for this project for two reasons.  Wilson was going to be the Volunteer leader, which meant everyone was sure to have a good time and secondly, the title of the project ended with an exclamation mark, setting the bar of expectation very high for me!

Wilson had mentioned that we would be making Valentine’s Day cards and I for one was excited.  I like cards, and while I don’t spend hours at stores or gift shops reading every card, I appreciate a well written card.  There was a time when I used to buy cards with either a great picture on the front or a poignant or sweet message inside.  In fact, given a chance I would have liked to have worked in that industry, writing creative messages and designing cards for all occasions.  Giving cards is an expression of someone’s love and affection for the recipient; and there is something to be said about being a part of the process that enables that.  Well, this was going to be my opportunity.

I arrived to find that as usual, Wilson was well prepared and carrying loads of supplies that would have produced enough cards to serve the entire neighborhood.  There were different colored craft paper, punches and stamps, glitter glue and colored markers, stickers and other accessories – you name it and Wilson had it in his briefcase.  He said that besides the traditional cards, we would be making pop-up cards and asked if anyone wanted to attempt those.  Having taken a look at the instructions, there was no way that I would have finished on time and so I declined.  Fortunately, another volunteer Amanda took up that challenge. 

My Cards

As I was gathering some supplies, I was delighted to see my buddy Emma come into the room.  I immediately asked her to join me and she said that she was just going to watch.  She said that she rarely participates hands-on in any activities, but they always bring her out when something exciting is going on.  I said she was in the right place and told her I was going to make some great cards for her.  My first card was made out of yellow paper and after trimming the edges with a punch; I started putting some stickers in the front and used a stamp which said ‘Smile Like You Mean It’.  In the inside I stamped ‘My World Is Brighter Because Of You’ and another sticker and a stamped pattern on the top.  I noticed that Emma likes gems, so stuck a giant orange gem in the interior and presented the card for her approval.  She loved it and I said we were not done yet.  I asked what her favorite color was and she said it was Pink.  I took a pink paper and once again punched the edges into a curvy design.  Next I put some red stickers in the front and stamped ‘From The Heart’.  In the interior I put another gem and stamped ‘Because You Matter To Me’.  Finally I finished with  a rose pattern on the edges.  I gave this one to Emma and now she was totally won over.  My career as a card designer was off to a great start.

The best part of working with Emma is the stories.  I learned that Emma was one of six children, being the 4^th in the group.  She mentioned her two older brothers Jim and Ray, who were in Florida and she told me about her youngest sister Mary, who was unfortunately killed by an errant driver.  I asked if she was close to Mary while growing up and she said yes, that she used to take care of her when Mary was little.  She once again mentioned that Mary was hit by a car and I said that we should make a card for Mary.  I selected red this time, with a green insert and using a variety of punches, gems, stickers and stamps, we got this one finished as well.

Amanda and Carlos' pop-up cards

Amanda, who was sitting at the same table as us, was working with another resident, Faye.  She had been joined by one of the Lakeview Staff members, Carlos, and they had made great progress on the pop-up cards.  We asked Emma about her favorite Valentine’s Day stories and when she hesitated, I teased her that she probably did not want us to know some private details.  She did talk about going for walks by the lake, though we were not sure if she meant Chicago or St. Louis.  Wherever it was, we should all be lucky to spend Valentine’s day like that.  I asked what she was going to do with her cards and she was surprised that I was going to let her keep them.  “Of course, they are all for you”, I said.  She mentioned that her daughter Sharon hangs cards and artifacts on a wall in her place and she would give these to her to do the same.  I said that she should keep at least one of the cards for herself, preferably the pink one.  I told Emma that I would be back tomorrow for Bingo night and after what had happened the last time, we were going to win for sure.  I also said that I wanted to hear more stories and she said that Sharon had a family book where she recorded all of their history and I said I wanted to see it someday.

The best cards that I have ever given out

Before saying goodbye to Emma, Wilson took a picture of the two of us with the cards.  Faye called me over and asked my name and made sure she got it right.  Both the ladies had enjoyed our company and Emma in particular was very happy with her three cards, still confirming with me that it was okay to keep them.  Before leaving Wilson asked if either Amanda or me wanted to accompany him to another project that evening.  The man has no limits.  I walked back with Amanda and we both were very happy with the joy that we had bought the residents. 

I have given several cards to people, friends and family, even signed on group cards for colleagues at work.  I believe that every card matters to its recipient and there is no wrong way of doing it.  Today was more special because while she may forget about it by the time we meet tomorrow, that moment when Emma's face had lit up had been priceless.  I really hope that the wonderful people who make greeting cards have an opportunity to experience some of the reactions that their work generates; or at least have someone tell them that they are making a difference.  


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

Art Smart At Brunson

Location: Brunson (Milton) Math & Science Specialty Elementary School

Date: Saturday, February 02, 2013; 9:50-11:30 am

The wet and slushy sidewalks

It was wet and slushy out on the streets as I walked to the train station in the morning.  In fact, it was so challenging that I barely made it in time for the Green Line CTA out to Central.  It was  a good mile to the Brunson School and while I could have taken a bus, I decided to walk.  Immediately I realized it was going to be a mistake when I saw the sidewalks covered with wet snow.  I had just returned from a few days in San Diego; which has sun, bright skies and nothing resembling a snowy sidewalk.  I kept going and after a few slips and slides found myself outside the school.  I went in and reported myself as a Chicago Cares volunteer, after which I was directed towards a room.  There were two other volunteers, Jason and Oscar who were already there and we chatted about some of the Chicago Cares programs before they asked me if I had done other ‘Read-With-Me’ projects.  I said I had, but them saying ‘other’ got me thinking.  “This is the Art project, correct”, I asked and of course I was in the wrong room.  My project was just across the hall, not as bad last summer when I had signed up for a walking tour and spent 30 minutes with a group before realizing I was on the wrong tour!

Our first attempt

I crossed the hallway and found Emily, our Volunteer leader for this project and some other volunteers, including Sara and Melissa.  Emily is a staff member at Chicago Cares and was temporarily leading the project till a permanent leader could be found.  She told us that we would be doing Paper Marbling using shaving cream.  She gave us a handout explaining the history and development of Paper Marbling, starting with its origin in 12^th century Japan.  It went on to discuss its growth throughout Europe and its introduction to America.  It was interesting read, but I thought would be too much for the kids to grasp.  On the back was the procedure to make our shaving cream marble patterns, which included layering an inch of shaving cream on paper plate, leveling it with a piece of cardboard, using watercolors and toothpicks etc. to make patterns, transferring to another paper and finally removing excess cream with poster board.  As a practice, we decided to make one before the kids arrived and while it was nothing that would sell on the streets; we at least got the concept down.  

The kids came in and I found myself paired with a girl named Jada.  She turned out to be well mannered and inquisitive girl who was ready to participate.  Emily wanted the volunteer and child to read the history document and we both started doing it.  However, it was a very long document with complex words such as ‘Suminagashi’, something I'm sure I saw on a sushi menu somewhere.  After reading halfway through the document, Jada and I looked at each other and decided that we should just get down to it and make some marble posters.  She put some of the shaving cream on the paper plate and looked at me for guidance as regards the quantity and the leveling step.  After a few tries we got the right amount and then I told her to go with her imagination and use whichever colors she wanted.  She chose purple and told me that it was her favorite color.  When asked why, she said because it was her late grandmother’s favorite color as well.  What a precious thing to say!

While she was doing it, the boys on our table were having fun with the shaving cream and some were even calling it whipped cream.  It took considerable patience on the volunteer's part to make sure they did not put it in their mouths.  At one stage Jada got irritated and yelled at them saying it was shaving cream and not whipped cream.  But she continued to work with her colors and then using toothpicks, we created a pattern.  We transferred it on paper and after scraping off the shaving cream, it looked pretty decent.  She then started on another pattern, this time intending to draw a landscape picture.  I asked about her family and she mentioned that her older brother was sitting next to me and she had a younger sister, at home.  But what I found interesting was that she had a twin brother Kenneth, who was sitting at the other table.  I have always found twins fascinating and I walked over to see what he was doing.  Lo and behold, more than 20 feet away, Kenneth was also creating a landscape image.  This was either an amazing piece of coincidence, or there really is something called 'Twin’s Intuition'. 

While Jada is very talkative and assertive, Kenneth is quite and attentive.  However, both of them were quite engrossed in their work and I started to create my own picture.  I decided to do concentric circles in different colors and then using a toothpick, create web like patterns.  While doing that, I asked Jada what she wanted to be when she grew up.  She said she wanted to be a nurse because she wanted to help people.  Why not a doctor I asked.  She said because doctor’s open people up and nurses are more involved with patients.  I said that she could become a children’s doctor and she actually stopped what she was doing to consider this point.  She said that this might be something she would like to do. I asked her older brother what he wanted to be and he said he was going to become an inventor.  I told him that I was a scientist by training and that seemed to fascinate him, though I said I have not invented anything of note recently. 

My pattern: Left on shaving cream, right after transfer

We were nearing the end of our session and while I was focused on finishing my picture, the kids had ended up doing several colorful and good looking patterns.  Some had gone to the bathrooms to dry them using the hand dryers.  The volunteers cleaned up while Emily handed out books for the kids to read.  I noticed that all the books were new and asked Emily if she had purchased them.  She said that Target donates most of the books and after what I had experience with the Company just two weeks ago, I was not surprised.  The children left and Emily gave me and Oscar, from ‘Read-With-Me’, a ride back to the train station.  We chatted on the train and I learned that he was doing somewhat similar work as me and we exchanged cards.  Afterwards I looked at my marble poster and was amazed at how decent it looked and how much better it would have been if I had been more diligent.  Nevertheless, I put it up on the soft board in my workarea at the office, which is starting to resemble one giant collage.  Just 4 months ago some of my colleagues use to complain that I had the most boring office.  Thanks to my work with Chicago Cares, there is a lot more color…and not just on the walls. 


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

Young Scientists At McCormick

Location: McCormick Elementary School

Date: Saturday, January 26, 2013; 9:50 am-12:00 pm

On Friday evening our Volunteer Leader Maureen, sent an email asking if anyone needed a ride the next morning.  Considering it was a new location for me and I would probably be on the CTA for a long time, I said that if possible I would like to take her up on this offer.  She called to confirm the time and pick-up place and said that she could only take me there, and the return would be my responsibility.  I muttered something like “Perhaps Wilson will drop me”, and was not surprised to hear her say that Wilson would indeed be in attendance.  We seriously need to run a test to check if he has cloned himself to be able to do multiple projects at the same time!

Maureen picked me up the next morning and we chatted about many things on the way there, including the school, the project, her job, and the fact that her sister had delivered a baby a few days ago while stuck in traffic on the interstate!  People really have the most interesting stories, and it made my week seem mundane and boring.  We arrived to find that we were early and the school was still locked.  Maureen was carrying some supplies for our activities, including some sweet potatoes and lemons for a battery experiment.  While we waited, another volunteer Ron, joined us.  Soon thereafter Wilson arrived with a fellow volunteer, Vien.  There were some other projects that were being conducted by Chicago Cares that morning, one of them being Eco-Art from recycled materials.  The Volunteer Leader for that project was waiting outside with us and mentioned that they were going to be making photo frames.  This led to Wilson quizzing him on the specifics for the next 5 minutes.  If he could survive Wilson, kids would be a piece of cake. 

Probability with M&Ms:
Those blue ones are the best

Soon the doors opened and we went inside.  We had a big room available to us and started setting up the tables and looking through the supplies to find what we needed.  Soon the two other volunteers, Jesus and JJ arrived and our team was complete.  The first experiment that we were going to be doing that morning was one to teach the kids probability.  Maureen had bought packs of M&M, and the idea was to count exactly 100 in 4-5 cups, distribute them amongst various groups, and then have the kids count each color and measure the probability of finding M&M of a particular color.  Our first task was to measure 100 M&M’s, and trust me when I say so: it is very easy to get distracted and make mistakes. When the kids arrived, I was still double and triple counting to make sure I had counted correctly.

Maureen had disciplined the kids well enough that everyone took their spots on the benches.  It was still loud, but at least we had managed to sit them down without much difficulty.  Each volunteer was assigned a table and I got three boys, Edmond, Danny and Marcel  There was also a spunky girl called Andrea in my group.  The first thing Maureen did was taking a roll call and while she prepared for the experiments, handed all the kids a ‘Winter Worksheet’ activity.  The task was to spot 7 differences in two pictures puzzles and I challenged the boys to find them before me.  Little did I realize that the smartest person by far on our table was Andrea, and yes that includes me.  Not only did she finish before us, she was the only one to spot all seven.  She looked at me as if I was foolish to have doubted her and I knew then that I was going to grow extremely fond of this little girl. 

Since all of us had finished this activity in record time, Maureen gave us another one.  This was a picture of various people engaged in Winter activities and based on that picture, we had to answer about 20 questions.  The boys were doing quite well, but Andrea was way ahead and once again, finished first and also pointed out that there were five additional questions on the back side.  By this time she had warmed up to me and was consulting with me to make sure her answers were right.  I started talking with her and learned that she was nine years old, liked art and reading, had a younger sister and an even younger brother who was two; and a Pitbull dog called Blue, because of his blue fur.  The boys, who knew her very well, joined in by telling me that she loved scary movies and ghosts.  This fact was confirmed by Andrea and to prove that, she did a voice impression of the girl in ‘The Exorcist’, which would have scared the wits out of me if I wasn't prepared. 

Maureen then got us started on the M&M probability experiment and my biggest challenge was to prevent the boys from...well, eating their homework.  Apparently blue M&M’s are the most popular, and Marcel being the oldest and thus the leader, claimed them.  Everyone counted their respective colors and then we divided them by hundred to come-up with the percentages.  We also did basic fractions with them and I explained how they would be able to know the probability of picking a particular color from a bag in certain number of attempts.  All good advice, but they really wanted to eat the M&Ms.  Finally Maureen consented and before anyone could say ‘Probability’, all of them were gone! 

I noticed that Wilson was having trouble with the next experiment which was to use lemon and sweet potatoes to make a ‘Food Battery’.  Wilson was trying to light a small bulb but it did not work.  I said that a small LED, such as the one on Christmas lights, would help and he went to look for it in his car.  Now, Wilson’s car had enough stuff to fill a garage sale and so I was not surprised to see him come back with the said LED light.  Unfortunately that did not work as well and so we moved to the next experiment which was called ‘Balloon Power’.

We managed to get three cups on our balloon

The idea was for one person to blow a balloon and when it is half full, others would attach small cups to it.  Then the balloon would be filled with air and the suction due to expansion would cause the cups to stick to the surface.  The team having the maximum cups would win.  Danny was our balloon blower and the rest of us tried to stick the cups on.  After multiple attempts, lot of yelling and a lot of mess, we managed to stick around 3 cups.  This was the standard for other teams as well and the boys were happy to have finished on top.  During this activity I learned that Edmond was ten years old and loved soccer, Danny was eleven and likes football and Marcel was twelve and liked boxing and wrestling.  While the boys were busy, I asked Andrea who her friends were and she shrugged and pointed to the three of them.  The she looked at me and whispered, “But I don’t like them sometimes”.  Something told me that the four of them may fight like crazy, but were probably real good friends and each of those boys would protect Andrea if need be. 

After the balloon experiment the boys took a bathroom break.  Since they had not returned for some time, I went to check and found the three of them having used the hand soap to create foam and bubbles in the sink and were playing with it.  Ooh to be of that age!  We finally came in and Maureen finished our session with a Science Quiz.  I was pleased that all four of them got several answers right and saw that Andrea is really a smart girl.  Soon the time was up and the kids left in a single file.  Andrea waved to me and I knew I was going to miss her and the boys.  The volunteers debriefed with Maureen and then it was a question of checking if anyone could give me a ride to the train station.  JJ was going into the city and he gave me and Ron a lift.  I learned that JJ was in the same company where one of my old collaborators from a previous job worked.   It is indeed a small world.  He dropped me off in the West Loop and I took a cab into downtown.  Once again, it had been a fantastic Saturday and besides having met lovely kids, I had realized how much more fun Math would have been at my school if we had used M&M’s, and blue ones at that. 


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