The Glass Slipper Project® – Boutique Set-Up

Location: McCorkle School

Date: Saturday, April 6, 2013; 12:30-2:00 pm

“Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom, peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition.  Here in a stately chateau, there lived a widowed gentleman and his little daughter, Cinderella “

With these words starts one of the most beloved fairy tales of all time.  The reason why people love fairy tales so much is the simplicity of its plot.  It usually starts with some innocence being lost and the obstacles that the character eventually overcomes to find the happiness that they deserve.  No matter what the cynics of the world may say, everyone loves a story with a happy ending, and I for one do not want to live in a world devoid of fairy tales.  One of the more charming things about the story of Cinderella, is that the term ‘Glass Slipper’ has been forever associated with magical fairy tales and it is the symbol of a hope that someday your dreams and wishes will come true.  Back in graduate school, besides the photo frames, a glass slipper was one of the two other things that I had on display in my apartment.  Every time I looked at it, was a reminder of the same and it never failed to bring a smile to my face.  So when I heard that there was a project bearing the same name, I just had to get involved. 

The glass slipper

I found out about this through a friend and the name alone won me over.  I went to the website to learn more.  It says, “The Glass Slipper Project® is a non-profit organization that gives away free prom dresses and accessories to high school juniors and seniors in the Chicagoland and surrounding areas.  The Glass Slipper Project collects new and almost-new formal dresses and accessories and provides them, free of charge, to students who are unable to purchase their own prom attire.  Students do not need to prove any type of financial hardship in order to get a dress from us.”  What an incredible idea.  Through my time with Chicago Cares and others, I have been involved with causes such as Hunger and Homelessness as well as Senior Citizens and Mentoring.  But this was so unique that the nobility of it all meant that if I could do something for them; it would be one of the proudest things of my life.  Volunteers should not just be needed during difficult and trying times.  There’s something special about being involved with a project whose outcome was to spread joy.  Kudos to those who came up with this concept and yes I will say it again, ‘Everywhere life is full of heroism’.

They were having three boutique days in April and May, during which time they would be distributing dresses and accessories to student girls; and also providing them individual assistance from a volunteer ‘personal shopper’.  Whatever the girl wanted was going to be given to her, provided it was in the boutique.  Now, obviously the organizers needed only female volunteers as personal shoppers, as well as women and girls with skills in sewing and alterations.  However, male volunteers were allowed to attend the boutique set-up and dismantling days, and today was the set-up day.  Hence I was allowed to sign-up.  My shift was supposed to run from 12:30 pm to 5 pm, but a couple of days prior, I received an email that they were starting at 8 am and were expecting to be done by 2 pm.  Because of my Chicago Cares commitment, I could not attend the morning session and due to the distance between the two locations, wasn't expecting to contribute much time before they closed.  But I wanted to do something, and so I told the organizers that I would try to get there as soon as possible.  Thanks to the early completion of my morning project and the ride from Sandy, I arrived at the location around noon. 

This school was in middle of nowhere on the South side, and I was thankful for the ride.  I walked in through the side entrance and saw a big dining room where people were having lunch.  Apparently, the volunteers were going to be provided lunch and I was famished.  But I was also late as per the new schedule and wanted to get to whatever task they had assigned to me.  I was sent upstairs and met one of the leaders, who asked me to go into one of the several rooms and start sorting dresses.  Each room contained dresses of a particular size and there were several racks in each of them, each rack carrying several dresses.  My job was to make sure each dress on the rack was facing the right direction and none of the hangers were entangled with the dresses.  Seemed straightforward enough and I started looking for a room which did not have a volunteer who was already doing the same thing.  I found one and walked in to see hundreds of dresses, all arranged in racks distinguished by shades of the same color.  There were reds and yellows and blues and greens and purples - every color of the spectrum.  Sorting through them was going to take much longer than I had initially anticipated. 

Rows and rows of dresses

As I started checking the dresses and correcting those which were not arranged as per the requirement, I realized how heavy some of these dresses could get.  While most of the dresses were lovely and were sure to make some girl really happy, it was a tedious job.  Fortunately they had a radio playing in each room and whether by design or coincidence, the song that kept repeating was the ‘Thrift Song’.  Talk about being inappropriately accurate!  As I moved from rack to rack, I couldn’t help but admire the quality of the dresses.  These were not your typical hand me downs, but something any girl could be proud of.  I guarantee that all the girls were going to look terrific at their prom.  Prom, a concept that is quite alien to me, not having grown up in this country.  But from everything I have heard and seen, it is a big deal for all the teenagers and I was really happy to help. 

That one room took me over an hour and once I was done, I walked out to see if there was any other task that I could do.  One of the other volunteers told me that I could help in restocking the dresses that were on the racks outside the rooms.  They needed to be sorted by size and stocked in the appropriate room and in the rack with similar shade.  By now it should be apparent that I was the only male volunteer in the school that day and so I had to get some help in making sure I was doing the right thing.  Soon that was done as well and we were ready to leave. The leader thanked us and said that they required a lot of help during the boutique days, especially for sewing projects.  They said that even I could come, as long as I stayed on the first floor and helped with registration and front desk – only women being allowed on the 2^nd floor.  I said that there were a lot of dresses and the leader said it wasn't nearly enough.  All of the dresses were donated by individuals and stores, but they still needed other accessories like make-up and shoes.  They were expecting to serve over 1,700 girls and needed a lot of help in doing that. 

And in each case they lived happily ever after...

As I took a bus back into town that day, I realized how even my minor contribution of arranging the dresses was going to help.  The girls who would be visiting had to feel as if they were in a real boutique, not a school classroom.  We owed it to them to not be sloppy.  I have been proud of all the projects that I have done and it had been a privilege to do this one.  Some of these girls may  come from difficult backgrounds, but this project - at least for a short while - allows them to be treated like the Princesses that they are.  There is a reason why all great stories start with the words ‘Once upon a time…’ before they get grim for a while.  That’s the path everyone has to take, because at the end, each of these stories also conclude with ‘…they lived happily ever after’.

''He took her hand, and he kissed it.  Then he swooped her up onto his horse. And the beautiful Princess and the handsome Prince rode off to his castle...where they lived happily ever after.''

Senior Breakfast Club

Location: Mary Hartwell Catherwood Apartments

Date: Saturday, April 6, 2013; 9:00 am-12:00 pm

This was the first stop of my 5-project weekend, including a ‘Super Sunday’ with three back-to-back-to-back projects, but more on that later.  I had been to this location twice before and on each occasion have had trouble getting here.  First time was me missing my CTA stop and last month it was me walking in the opposite direction.  This time I walked through the wrong entrance and had to retrace my steps to find the right one.  Now, this place is not exactly the ‘Room of Requirement’ and so there should really be no reason for me to get lost every time.  I guess some things never change.

The Orange juice

I went inside and spotted the usual crew with Sandy, Toby, LaKeith, Sarah, Sonia and Andrew.  The cooking was already underway and I looked at what I could do.  One of the new volunteers was serving Orange Juice and I said I could help with that.  So I started my regular duty of walking around with a container of Orange Juice and cups.  I stopped by to chat with my old pal Barry, and asked him if he had been playing music recently.  He told me that he had recently purchased a piano for his apartment and while it had cost him $800, he was happy to be playing.  Having heard him talk about music before, I was happy that he had invested in this piano.  I am sure that it was one of the few bright spots that he had in his daily life, which was dictated by a dialysis schedule. 

Next I met a lady whom I hadn't seen before.  She introduced herself as Maria and said she was from Philippines.  She asked my name and when I told her, she  mentioned that it was very unique.  I said indeed it was and told her how Barry had once asked if it was Irish!  I wished Georgia,  who is always in great spirits, and as I made my way through the crowd, many were already asking for seconds on the juice.  By this time the coffee was ready and I started distributing cups amongst the residents.  Some of the ladies were a bit demanding today, insisting that I bring them the creamer immediately, when I told them it would be a minute.  While it’s easy to get annoyed, one must remember the reason why we were here – to serve them and give them a great experience this Saturday.  This means that even if they said the coffee was not as hot as it should be, it was my job to heat it up – no if’s or but’s. 

And the coffee

In terms of efficiency, everything was moving quite fast today and very soon we were ready to serve breakfast.  As is usually the case, we formed a line with plates and moved from station to station, while the servers put eggs, sausages, biscuits and potatoes in them.  I barely had to make a few trips and soon everyone had been served.  I started making rounds to see if anyone needed more juice and at one stage had to get around Sonia who was in the way.  As I waved my hands, she asked if I was gesturing to get a hug.  This led to me telling them the story of the ‘Professional Hugger’, whom I had met on Wednesday and someone mentioned that perhaps we should get him to come here for next month’s breakfast club!

While the resident’s ate, I had an opportunity to try some of the excellent chocolate chip and oatmeal resin cookies that Sandy had made.  One of the things she does without fail is get something for the residents – and volunteers – each month.  Since I had to immediately head to my next project after this, the cookies would have to suffice as lunch and I could really do much worse than that!  By this time the residents were done with eating, and we started taking the dishes away so that they could prepare for Bingo.  This also meant that time had come for me to start cleaning the serving and cooking vessels.  It is interesting, and somewhat flattering, that the rest are so used to me doing this task that they assume I will move toward the sink.  In a way it’s a sign that they consider me a part of their ‘monthly club’.  This time I was sharing the duties with another volunteer, Tad, who is also a regular at doing the dishes during the days when I’m missing.  He took over the rinsing duties while I started scrubbing the stubborn eggs and potatoes trays.  Every month it’s the same story with these ones, and I mentioned to Sandy that perhaps we could think of lining them with some sort of non-stick paper next time so as to avoid this scrubbing.  She pondered on that and may actually implement it. 

In the meanwhile Bingo was in full flow with LaKeith, and later Andrew, calling the games.  Perhaps they were going at a rapid rate or I was slow in washing, but they were almost down to final few games when I joined them in the main room.  I walked around to see how everyone was doing and asked Maria if she was winning.  Seeing that I had stopped to chat with her, Sonia told me that Maria had introduced the man sitting on the next seat as her son.  Now, this gentleman looked like he was as old as Maria and so Sonia had difficult time believing her.  I said he could be her stepson from a second marriage, at which we had a big laugh. 

Since the game was winding down, I told Sandy that I had to get way downtown for my next project and so may leave early.  She said that since she was headed to South suburbs, she could drop me off on her way home.  The Bingo game was over and we were ready to leave.  Barry said that he would see me next month and I replied that unfortunately, I would not be able to return for a couple of months.  His response was, “God bless you, wherever you are”.  With those words he left to play on his piano and sing, something that I hope I get to hear soon. 

I rode to my next project with Sandy and was surprised to learn that she worked for ComEd and was in the same industry as me.  We spoke about the Energy business and about volunteering and she told me that she has been coming to this program for the past six years.  I asked how she had started and she said that it was through a program with her then company and that she had never stopped.  I said it was remarkable that she came all the way uptown from her home in South suburbs, especially last month when she drove up to drop-off the pound cake and left since she was sick.  She said it was because of the friendships she had made.  She knows that someday her closest friends in the apartments will be gone, but she was too involved now.  We found the place I was supposed to go to next and as she dropped me off, I got a distinct feeling that as far as she was concerned, I was one of the ‘in-crowd’ for this project.  Last few months have reaffirmed many things.  One of them is the old adage that respect is never given easily, and needs to be earned.  But I had always known that.  What I hadn't known is that if you do things without actively seeking respect, it comes when you least expect it.  

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

Dinner At The Wells Street Cafe

Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church

Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2013; 5:45-9:00 pm

Of all the projects that Chicago Cares offers, this is one of the most difficult ones to get into.  Even a few days delay means that there are no openings left and so I was prepared this time.  As soon as the opportunity for April opened on February 1^st, I signed up.  The opportunity description on the website said, “Breaking Bread - a program of LaSalle Street Church - provides food, fellowship, and support to hungry individuals and families. Volunteers at the Wells Street Cafe prepare a hot meal and serve it cafe-style for up to 120 guests. Volunteers have the opportunity to eat and socialize with guests before cleaning up the dining area and kitchen.”  It sounded like a very good program to be a part of and by the end of the evening; it had become one of my favorite projects through Chicago Cares. 

I walked over from work and upon arriving at the location, found myself being directed to a big hall, which was going to serve as the dining area and which was already buzzing with activity.  All of them were volunteers and not everyone was with Chicago Cares.  It was then that I realized that Chicago Cares was just one of the organizations that was helping out this evening and all the volunteers would be working together to make this evening a success.  I found Miranda, our Chicago Cares leader, who in turn introduced me to Marianne, who was in charge of the entire program.  I was pleased to see Lisa, with whom I had done a couple of other projects, for it is always better to have someone you know around when there are so many people on a project. 

The dessert cart

We went inside the kitchen, which resembled a real-life restaurant style one with steel equipment that was designed to cook for masses.  First task was to wash and suit up; meaning gloves, hair-net and apron.  These were disposable – and thus somewhat flimsy – accessories and I was having some trouble with the apron in particular.  Try as I may, I could not reach behind me to tie it, and was only thanks to Lisa that I managed to get it on right.  With that accomplished, I turned my attention to the next task, which was plating the desserts.  Tonight’s selection was brownies, homemade to be precise.  Some kind soul had made them specifically for this evening, and there were several different trays of chocolate and fudge and some really gooey ones with marshmallow chunks in them.  Our task was to cut in squares and distribute amongst 21 plates; that number corresponding to the number of tables in the main dining area.  Lisa and I started cutting and it was a challenge to maintain their integrity – especially the sticky ones – as we plated them.  There’s nothing like the smell of fresh homemade desserts and this was no exception.  I had to keep myself from licking the knife – yes you read it correctly – or my fingers as I lifted them into the plates.  Some of the other volunteers were putting the plates onto storage racks and soon we were done with this one. 

Next I went over to the salad station where two volunteers were transferring salad from a big container to 21 party-sized bowls, which were to be placed on each table.  The best way to do this was by using our hands and that’s what we did.  The trick was to guess the quantity that was to go in each of the bowls, so as to make 21 equal distributions.  Once we were done with our first pass, we adjusted each bowl so as to have some consistency and then stacked them on storage racks and moved into the refrigerator.  I followed a similar process for the fruit salad; though this time we used serving spoons instead of hands, which would have made things extremely sticky and messy.  Marianne was chatting with the volunteers a lot, ensuring that everyone was having a good time.  At one stage she said she had inserted wrong contact lens in each eye, since she wasn't sure which box was for which eye.  Having ordered lenses just a few days ago, I told her the difference between ‘OD’ and ‘OS’, at which she was delighted.  Such was the nature of this evening. 

After this, Lisa and I had some down time and seeing a tray with some leftover brownie bits, I ventured a taste and yes, it tasted as good as it had smelled.  During this time, I also noticed a guy who was wearing a tee shirt saying ‘Free Hugs’.  He was also carrying some books with him and I learned that it was a book on, well free hugs and he was a ‘Professional Free Hugger’.  I am usually intrigued by smallest of things and this was one of them.  I learned that this is what he does – going around giving people hugs.  He had written the book to promote his philosophy and also to educate people on hugging.  For example, he told us that there are multiple stages of hugging, such as ‘anticipation of the hug’ and ‘post-hug withdrawal’ as well as some others.  He told us that his goal was to give away 100,000 hugs in 90 days, meaning a lot of hugs per day.  I told him to start with a sporting arena, where he was sure to encounter the mass of people that he required.  Well, he got two hugs from Lisa and I and left to promote his book at a new location.  Now I know this looks very strange and even I was taken aback by the outrageousness of the whole idea.  But there is something so charming about this eccentricity.  There are people who do weird things like eat glass of walk backwards or something similar to prove a point.  But here was this guy, trying to spread some joy through a seemingly innocent act, and I for one hope he finds what he is looking for.  Before he left, I told him that if he really wanted to make a difference, he should go to a Senior Nursing Facility and give away hugs.  Nobody would appreciate it more than them. 

At this time the dinner service was about to begin and before that, Marianne got us all together in the kitchen to go over a few details.  She started by telling us a bit about the place we were at.  The mission of ‘Breaking Bread’ is to feed the hungry and homeless families in the neighborhood.  They do that by serving a meal every Wednesday evening to as many guests as possible.  Besides that, they also provide clothing and health services - through a nurse - should anyone require that.  Marianne was the chief volunteer coordinator and wile Chicago Cares comes in only once a month, they do this program every week with the help of other volunteers.  Marianne said that there were certain guidelines for new volunteers, such as not giving any money to the guests.  She said that they are good at spotting newcomers and may solicit help, which we were to politely refuse.  But despite these instructions, she wanted us to have fun.  She also said that if anyone asks for seconds, we were to do it only once everyone had been served.  This was because we had no idea how many guests would turn out each evening.  No one was ever turned away, they always found a way.  I have repeated this multiple times through this blog, but it has been some time since I've said it; and it never gets old: “Everywhere life is full of heroism”.

Marianne then assigned duties and Lisa and I were in charge of serving Orange Juice.  Before everyone went out, Marianne made us all hold hands and say a little prayer.  I am not a religious person by any means, but it was a wonderful gesture and a great way to start the evening.  Marianne started by making some announcements to the guests and then we were ready to go.  I picked up the jar of Orange Juice and started pouring.  Some asked for refills immediately while some refused.  When the jar was empty I brought it back and it was immediately replaced by a new one.  The food was being taken out as well and it all looked like a very well-oiled machine.  I was impressed by our efficiency and very soon all the residents had been served. 

The band getting ready

One of the more pleasant things about this dining area was the presence of a church band, which played music and sang while the guests had dinner.  This was fantastic because anybody seeing this from outside would have thought this to be some sort of a party in progress.  The people in the band were not mailing it in, but were really giving a good performance.  No sooner had we finished serving the main course then it was time to start clearing some of the empty salad bowls.  Many of the guests asked for me to keep it there while they filled some of the containers they had with them.  But since most of the tables had disproportionate number of guests, many bowls came back half full.  I wonder if there needs to be a better model where we either make sure each of the 21 tables has approximately the same number of guests or we need to think about this 21 portions thing.  In any case, we were serving the desserts now and I started taking the empty vessels to the kitchen for cleaning.  Inside the process was very streamlined as well and we were moving extremely well.

One of the volunteers Sarah, was walking amongst the guests asking if they wanted to see the nurse.  Whoever said they did, was escorted to the nurse’s room.  Soon the dinner service was almost over, and a line started forming for seconds.  Lisa, me and other volunteers started gathering the salt and pepper shakers from the tables.  Soon the guests were gone, and I started stacking the chairs in groups of 10.  Another volunteering was then rolling those stacks to the back of the room.  Once the chairs were done, I started rolls the tables and getting them out of the way.  Once again, we worked as a unit and got the things done efficiently.  While I was doing that, I passed a guest on her way out and she thanked us profusely. Never underestimate the significance of what we do and what we accomplish.

The group having their private concert at the end

Our job for the evening was done and Lisa and I chatted about some of the other Chicago Cares projects.  I told her to come for Sunday’s ‘Get Crafty’ since she would be terrific at it.  I picked up my stuff and before saying goodbye to Miranda, asked her to join my leadership team for Serve-A-Thon.  I think she would be great at it, having seen her in action.  Marianne thanked me, not only for my service, but for my tutorial on contact lenses.  Before I walked out, I looked at the dining area and saw a big group of people assembled around a piano, which one of the volunteers was playing, while the rest were singing.  Miranda told me that while many families volunteered together, some of the younger volunteers were travelling young men and women who visited various places and helped out different organizations.  My lasting image from that night was this group, completely at peace, after a job well done.  Without a doubt, I had enjoyed this project and now I knew why it was so popular.  One of the reasons why I like ‘Paint The Town Red’ is because of the coziness of Pat Crowley House.  I think the presence of the band, the music and the singing made a huge difference.  It was a welcoming environment and one which I guarantee that I will return to, again and again.  

CFE Mailing Party-A-Go-Go

Location: Chicago Foundation For Education

Date: Tuesday, April 2, 2013; 5:45-8:00 pm

First of all, let me start by saying that the title of this project is cheesier than a Chicago Deep Dish pizza.  For that reason alone I was inclined to skip this One Brick event, but it was for a good cause and so I showed up at the location with Irina, whom I had convinced to join.  Speaking of location, the CFE had recently moved offices and so there was some confusion, since One Brick was showing me one address and Google Maps another.  I decided to follow the one provided by One Brick and thankfully, that turned out to be the correct one. 

CFE Flyer that we were labeling

Irina and I went upstairs to be met by Laura, our Event Manager for the evening.  Along with her was Amy, another One Brick regular, but who was representing CFE tonight.  Apparently, Amy had landed a job with the CFE while volunteering through One Brick; a model example of networking at its best.  She explained our job for the evening, which was basically labeling their information flyers, that were going to be mailed to schools all across the city.  According to the Event Description on One Brick website, “CFE offers Chicago Public School teachers all sorts of professional development opportunities - and this mailing will get the word out on the Teachers Workshop in September, Small Grants Program and CFE's calendar of events. By getting the word out, CFE can help inspire more teachers to improve their skills!”  Besides this, some other information available to us was, “The Chicago Foundation for Education (CFE) promotes educational quality, curricular innovation, and academic and social integrity throughout the Chicago Public School Community. By directing resources towards the teacher level (through four unique grant- and fellowship-based programs), they encourage teachers to develop and share innovative approaches to meeting the needs of their students. Since 1985, CFE has awarded more than 5.5 million dollars in grants to teachers, directly benefiting nearly 1,000,000 students in 30,000 classrooms across Chicago.” 

Before we began, Amy told us a bit more about the types of grants, which included: (1) Small Grants, which were $500 and funded the implementation of classroom or school wide curricular projects for PreK to 8^th grade teachers; (2) Fund for Teachers Fellowships, which were a $5,000 and $10,000 fund for teachers from PreK to 12^th grade to explore the world through professional learning experiences; (3) Study Group Coach Grants, which were $1,000 to offer leadership opportunities to PreK to 8^th grade teachers; (4) Study Group Grants, which were $300 to help PreK to 8^th grade teachers learn new teaching strategies as well as provide them resources to implement those strategies and (5) Action Research Fellowships, which were $1,250 and awarded to PreK to 8^th grade teachers interested in conducting action research for the purpose of improving instruction and enhancing student achievement, with their classroom, school or even the district.  With all these grants, information material needed to be mailed and it was this mailing that we were labeling.  Furthermore, this was to be sorted according to the ‘Mailing Run’ numbers. 

Laura recruited couple of volunteers and took them to another room for labeling postcards, while Irina and I sat around a long table with other volunteers, Kelly, Vince – who was also tonight’s Event Coordinator - and three others.  Initially, everyone was quiet and totally focused on the job at hand, which was peeling the labels, affixing them to the flyer, and sorting by ‘Mailing Run’ number.  Not exactly developing the next generation of iPhone!  On a white board in the room, someone had written, ‘Men’s Room – Blue Key; Women’s Room – Pink Key’.  To break the silence I said, “Glad they specified the color code”, and this seemed to open the floodgates.  Soon we were chatting away to glory. 

Since the ladies outnumbered the guys, books rather than sports, was the topic of conversation; with Laura leading the charge.  After talking about the ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy and the movie – both of which I have enjoyed, Laura turned to a series called ‘Divergent’, which is also being made into a movie.  While Laura loved the book series, her main lament was the fact that the books were written by a mere 22 year old Chicago native. Laura was bemoaning that while the author was now rich and famous, she was just the opposite.  One other volunteer mentioned another book called ‘The Giver’ and the similarities between the two.  Having not read these books, I was keeping my ears on the conversation, but my eyes were firmly set on ensuring I was sticking the labels in a right manner.  Some of the ladies commented on how the kids have lost the desire to read and are relying on Cliff Notes.  My views on this are a bit different.  I would much rather the kids learn about the classic through cliff notes or audio books than not at all.  As long as it gets them curious and possibly excited about the stories, then it has fulfilled its purpose.

Since we were on the topic of writing, Laura mentioned about a blog that she had come across.  It was a guy writing about all of his worst dates.  It seems like the blog has quite a following and he has been on plenty of bad dates.  This mystified me since (a) either this guy was the biggest jerk and considered all of his dates beneath him or (b) he was a big buffoon who somehow managed to turn every date into a disaster.  And how was he getting so many dates in the first place?  If he was so popular through his blog, why would any woman want to go out with him, knowing that the story is going to end up on a blog?  Perhaps that’s what they were hoping for, in which case they deserved each other.  We agreed that this guy’s blogging career may be short-lived if this keeps up, since he may not have enough new material to write about.

The inhabitant of Lower Wacker Drive

While this conversation was going on, none of us stopped working and the flyers with labels were piling up. I told them about my volunteering experience and once again we discussed the Chicago Cares vs. One Brick model.  Tonight was a perfect example.  We were sticking labels for God’s sake.  It is something that would never happen on a Chicago Cares project.  Even so, it was helping a good cause and that means I should consider it a privilege to help.  When it comes to volunteering, one of the major concerns people have is travel and transportation.  It is a valid point, and also something that I had trepidation's about in the beginning.  However, once you get used to the public transport, it becomes second nature.  I told everyone that I had traveled far and wide for Chicago Cares projects and used all sorts of transportation.  Speaking of which, I often use cabs to get around and if I am going anywhere near the loop from my place, the cab drivers ask me if I would prefer to use the upper or the lower Wacker Drive – made famous by the ‘Batman’ movies.  I have found that question amusing since I could care less what route they take.  It’s not as if the Joker is waiting for me down there is it?

So bad that they are great

Next, the topic moved to movies and Vince and I talked about the upcoming ‘Fast And The Furious’ movie.  Now, I am a huge fan of so-bad-its-great acting and Vin Diesel and The Rock are superstars in that category.  Also, considering the rumors that Jason Statham – one of the greatest bad actors around – is going to be in the next one of this franchise, is reason alone for me to show up on opening day.  Even with the movie chatter, we had a lull in conversation and whenever that happens, there’s only one thing left to do – bring up the topic of Wilson!  That kept us going for the rest of the evening, exchanging stories and all our humorous anecdotes associated with him. 

The Icebreaker keys

Soon, the last flyer had been labeled and we were ready to depart.  Before we left I spotted the famous blue and pink keys for the washrooms and took a picture of that.  It was my comment of those keys that had started this wonderful evening of conversation.  Sometimes all that people need to break the ice is a nudge and these keys had certainly provided that.  Amy thanked us for coming and said that it would have taken them hours otherwise.  I asked what the review process was for these grant applications.  I was surprised to learn that applications were going to be reviewed by volunteers and all applications were going to be accepted for some sort of an award.  They reckoned that if the applicants felt it important enough to invest time in drafting a proposal, they deserved to get rewarded.  I could live with that philosophy.  

Job Coaching

Location: Open Door Shelter

Date: Monday, April 1, 2013; 6:45-8:30 pm

Back in my college days, I used to get on a lot of public transport trains.  Often you would run into the same group of people, whose schedules were governed by the train time.  Some had spent years – decades – travelling on the same train and people knew about each other lives, their families and often shared in the laughter and the tears.  On many occasions, you would see a game of cards being played amidst stories of mischievous kids and hard-nosed bosses.  For people of my generation, sports were the number one topic followed by entertainment or how we were going to get all of our assignments done on time.  The point is that traveling by trains was a social outing, something that brought people together.  As I rode the Blue Line CTA this evening, headed to the ODS, I looked around me.  There were 13 people in the area where I was and 12 of them were using their mobile devices for a variety of applications ranging from texting to music to general browsing.  The 13^th person was reading a book.  Nobody made eye contact and everyone looked as if they were rather somewhere else.  It is indeed ironic that a device that was invented to bring the people of this world closer, is today the biggest instrument of our isolation.  When people say one shouldn't live in the past, they’re right.  But there’s no harm in a bit of nostalgia every now and then.

I arrived at ODS to find Claire was already there as were few other volunteers, Phil, Laura and Kathryn.  The previous time that I was here, Claire had made people do a real mock interview by rotating the candidates amongst various volunteers, who asked each of them the same question.  We had then ranked them based on their response, and at the end of the evening, Claire had given prizes for the top three candidates.  Today we were following a different format where we would be coaching the young men and women on three critical aspects of the interview process – Resume Preparation; Filling out a Job Application and Conflict Resolution; the last one being a question that usually comes up during the interviews. 

As an ice breaker, Claire had devised a Bingo game which had 16 squares with things such as ‘Likes to cook’ and ‘Likes to paint/draw’.  The idea was for all of us to find someone to sign the square which applied to them.  This way we would converse with everyone and also learn a bit about them.  I was actually in demand due to my qualification to sign squares such as ‘Has traveled outside the US’, ‘Speaks another language’ and ‘Has lived outside the state of Illinois’.  I was doing well with my squares and had managed to get signatures on all except one, ‘Has the same favorite color as you’.  One of the girls attending this evening’s session had brought her 9 month old baby girl.  She was sitting on the table playing and I asked her Mom what the little girl’s favorite color was.  She said it was purple and I said I would take it.  So we held the infants hand as she scribbled on my square and the game was over.  Of all the ice breaker games that I have been a part of through Chicago Cares, this one was probably the best since everyone had really enjoyed it and it had achieved its stated purpose of getting people comfortable with each other.  I thought it had been a brilliant idea and kudos to Claire for that.  Right then I decided that I was going to ask Claire to join my team for Serve-A-Thon.

My 'Icebreaker' form: All signed

My task was to work with the candidates on Resume Preparation, something which I consider an important first step in any interview.  I started with a girl called Naomi who told me that she had never had any job and thus no experience to speak of.  This also meant that she had never prepared a resume.  I told her that now was as good a time as any and started taking her through the basics of a resume.  Claire had given me a printout of resume tips, but I was also going by my experience.  I told her there are four main things that one should follow while preparing a resume: (1) Tailoring the resume for the job one is applying for, by using the proper keywords that the employers are looking for; (2) Make achievements quantifiable, by using as many numbers as possible; (3) Using action words such as ‘led’, ‘managed’ etc. and (4) Proof-reading to ensure that there are no mistakes.  Naomi was listening closely, but I knew there was going to be a challenge for her to make a resume with no background to speak of.  I asked Naomi what kind of job she was looking for and she said she was good in typing and wanted to be an office administrator.  She also said she would like taking care of kids.  We drilled further into her skill set and learned that she did have some experience with MS Office and was good in organization and managing children.  I gave her a blank resume template to fill out and since we were almost out of time, fed her some tips on how to fill it out.  She kept nodding the whole time and I hope it was registering with her.

Maurice's Day Out

Next up was Maurice, whom I had ranked quite high during my last session.  Maurice looked as if he was not interested at all.  I asked if he had a job and he said yes, working with patients having serious brain injuries.  Of all the things, I had not expected that.  I went through the resume drill with him and said that his work with the patients provided him with a lot of credibility as a care provider.  I also told him that in his line of work, he was sure to come across several frustrated families and that he should use that experience while discussing ‘Conflict Resolution’.  While it seemed like he was listening, his mind was distracted and he was constantly texting someone.    I asked what his ideal job would be and he said he wanted to be in the music industry.  I asked if he meant as an artist and he said no, as a producer.  I complimented him on his watch and that brought a smile to his face.  I told him that I admired the work he currently did and he should be proud of that.  Maurice’s phone was buzzing all the time and I asked whom he was texting.  He said that it was his girlfriend and today was in fact their one year anniversary.  I asked him why he was here when they should be celebrating and he said that they would be doing that the next day, since it was her birthday.  That got me interested and we kept the resume templates aside.  I asked what the plan was and he said they were going to take a trip to the Navy Pier and go on one of the boat rides.  I told him to take her up on the Ferris wheel as well and he liked that suggestion.  Claire had told us that even if some of the candidates were not keen on coaching, we could still chat with them about other things and Maurice and I were doing better than that, we were planning his date!

My time with Maurice was up and I moved on to the next person, Walter; whom I had given the highest marks during my last visit.  He told me that he was a junior in college and was really looking for some help on making a professional resume.  Finally, someone who was willing to work with me!  I asked him what he wanted to be and he said he wanted to work as a web designer.  When asked why, he replied that he wanted to create better websites for all industries.  As we started working on his resume template, I learned that Walter had been the recipient of several awards in high school, including ‘Perfect attendance’ and the Dean’s award for ‘Most likely to succeed’.  I told him that these awards were quite an accomplishment and he should check if the Dean could give him a letter of recommendation.  We went over the resume drill and I gave him my email address in case he wanted me to look over his resume. 

Walter was my last ‘student’ and I chatted with Kathryn and we joked that Phil, who was doing ‘Conflict Resolution’, looked as if he was holding court; with him sitting comfortably in an armchair and all others gathered around him.  Soon our time was up and before we walked out, I once again found Maurice and I wished him luck on his date.  I took a cab back into downtown with Phil and he told me how much he had enjoyed doing this and so had I.  As stated before, this program always starts of on a difficult note, because most of the young folk are not keen at the beginning; but ends with all of us getting along well and them actually learning from us.  I hope tonight was no different and people like Naomi and Walter benefit from my counsel.  Above all, I hope Maurice and his girlfriend have a splendid time tomorrow.  After all the troubles that have landed him in ODS, Maurice deserves that.  

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

March Madness! Rock-Paper-Scissors Tourney

Location: Old Town Pour House

Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2013; 7:00-9:00 pm

The first time I heard about One Brick was when Wilson asked Amanda if she was going to come participate in the Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament.  That night as I checked out the website, I noticed this event and immediately sent Wilson an email saying that he had to get me in, well in for the Happy Hour, not necessarily the tournament.  With a few One Brick events under my belt, I was looking forward to attending and socializing with the other volunteers.  Plus, Wilson had told me that these people took their Rock-Paper-Scissors very seriously and I wanted to see that first-hand. 

March Madness!

Not having grown up in the US, this American institution of Rock-Paper-Scissors was quite unfamiliar to me.  Not only is it one of the peaceful ways for people to resolve their differences and reach a decision – we used to flip a coin – but it has also evolved into an International Competition.  I remember seeing an article in one of the in-flight magazines about the strategies that people employ for this game, though I had failed to memorize them.  Thus, I arrived at the venue with no knowledge or intention of playing.  I saw some of the usual members from One Brick and upon introductions; many recognized me as the ‘newsletter writer’.  I do not remember accepting that position, but apparently others had already assigned me to that role.  Soon we were joined by Irina and Wilson. 

In one corner of the room, a bracket had been mounted for people to sign-up for the tournament.  Seeing the people rush to put their name down, one would have thought this was some sort of a lucky draw for concert tickets.  I was happy to stand aside and watch them, but soon they realized that they were two people short, and Wilson tried to recruit me and Irina into playing.  Reluctantly I agreed and the first round of the tournament began.  I was playing against Irina and the winner would be determined by a best of three.  I proceeded to lose in two and thought I was eliminated.  But for some reason they had another round with all the same participants and I proceeded to lose in two again.  Wilson, who was supposed to be taking pictures for the One Brick photo gallery, had been caught up in the tournament and only realized after most of the tournament had been played that he had forgotten to  take pictures.  He asked me and Irina to pose for a few pictures and as we played a ‘mock game’, I lost each round of that as well.  I had managed to lose each and every round, not just game, but each round of the event tonight!

Tonight’s event was not just a opportunity to socialize and play a tournament, it was also a fund raiser for One Brick.  We had all pitched in for entry and all that money was going to pay in parts for all of the activities that One Brick does.  This is a Volunteer-Run Volunteer Organization, and as such, does not have a physical office or even a telephone number.  According to their website, “On a National level, we only have a single part-time employee who works from home and is responsible for paying the bills, dealing with legal and regulatory filings and ensuring the whole thing stays together. Everything else we do is facilitated by a team of volunteers working together to make a difference. Their efforts are returned exponentially with the impact we have on our communities.”  It started back in December 2001 in San Francisco and now has more than 10 chapters, including the one in Chicago.  The websites goes on to elaborate on the principles under which One Brick operates: “Every One Brick project we arrange is treated as a stand-alone event. Our 'commitment-free volunteering' allows people to choose when they volunteer, rather than having to make commitments for a certain number of volunteer hours, or agree to be available every week at a specific time. This flexibility makes volunteering convenient and provides opportunities to help when time and schedule commitments allow. This keeps volunteering from being a chore, but rather makes it an easy and enjoyable choice.”  This model has to date, led to One Brick completing 12,861 events, delivering 465,910 hours of community service!`

Of those 12,861 events, one of the Volunteers, Gary, has attended 300.  He was honored tonight for his 300^th event and was presented with a certificate.  It was not in an expensive frame, neither was it signed by a Governor.  But all in the room understood its significance.  I asked Wilson how many One Brick events he had attended and he said only a 100 or so.  Considering he does lots of other things, we can perhaps give him a pass on this one. 

I left with Irina and we were having a light supper at a nearby restaurant and discussing One Brick and volunteering in general.  I told Irina about the wall in my cubicle and how I have filled it with pictures and souvenirs from my volunteering events.  She asked me what my colleagues think of that and I said that they maybe consider me to be an eccentric and probably do not bother to notice or even care.  She shook her head and said that whether I knew or even realized this or not, I was noticed and people would definitely know about what I was doing.  In either case, it has never been my intention to be noticed, though at every opportunity, I try to promote some of the causes. 

My Wall

The next day I was filling out a survey for a student who had requested help with a thesis on volunteering.  She wanted to know why people volunteer.  Quite honestly, I volunteer because I can.  I have said it before, I volunteer because I have time and because the more I do it; the more I realize how much help is needed by people in our community.  Somebody has to do it, and just as One Brick say’s in its charter, volunteering should not be a chore.  It never has been for me.  I looked at the wall in my cubicle, now full of color and one of Wilson’s question's came back to me.  He had once asked me how much Arts and Crafts I had done prior to Chicago Cares and I had said none since early school.  Now I cannot wait for those projects.  My colleagues had always said that my workspace often looked dull and without color.  Now its looks like a child’s play room.  And I am proud of it. 

People often say how much they admire my work and how sorry they are for being unable to give so much time to these causes.  I tell them there is nothing to be sorry about.  Everyone does what they can and it doesn’t matter whether you do it for an hour or for 100 hours, it is the thought that counts.  I repeat, I do it because I can.  I will never think anything less of someone who has never volunteered, though they are missing out on an enriching experience.  Then when they ask me why I volunteer so much, I smile and I respond; “I volunteer so that you don’t have to”.

Real Talk

Location: St. Leonard’s Ministries

Date: Tuesday, March 26, 2013; 5:45-7:00 pm

I had heard about this program through Aly when I was at ‘The Great Debate’.  Having enjoyed that one, I was keen to attend and found myself in a new part of town, trying to locate ‘St. Leonard’s House’.  Once I found the place, the next challenge was getting inside since there was a gate which needed some effort to open.  Once I managed to do that, I found some men and was directed to an activity room. I met Alex, our Volunteer leader and Wilson, who had come here based on my recommendation of ‘The Great Debate’.   Alex, who has been doing this program for over 5 years, told us about the place we were at. 

Gun Control: Is it possible?

According to Chicago Cares and St. Leonard’s Ministries website, ‘St. Leonard’s House provides residential and case management services to men who have recently been released from prison and are looking to make a fresh start towards rebuilding their lives.’  We also learned that ‘the residents are helped to reassess value systems, to reorder priorities and to develop socially and legally acceptable patterns of behavior’.  Through all of that, the recidivism rates for former residents were an impressive 20% as compared to the state average of over 50%.  Alex told us that the discussion topic for today was going to be ‘Concealed Weapons’ and we would debate with the residents the pros and cons of carrying guns.  Having debated this exact topic with the women at ‘Rebecca Johnson Apartments’, I felt ready, though this was going to be interesting due to the men’s past and all that they had been through.

I sat at a table and the other volunteers did the same, picking a table and waiting for residents to join in.  A gentleman named Ernie sat down at my table and the rest of the room was getting full as well.  For an icebreaker, Alex asked all of us to name our favorite food.  Lot of the men picked pasta and some even said Puerto Rican rice.  When my turn came, I said that I loved chocolate and yes, that is a food group.  At this, I saw a lot of men nodding their heads in approval.  We were ready to begin and while we had been handed a sheet with discussion points, there really wasn't any need for it.  I asked Ernie about his opinion and he said he was against all forms of guns.  He said that the Government should ban everything, not just automatic or semi-automatic guns.  I said that while it was the outcome, how we should go about doing that.  What was the process going to look like? 

Before we could get into that, we were joined by another gentleman named Winston.  I posed the same question to him and he was the complete opposite of Ernie, and totally for the guns.  I asked him why and he looked at me unflinchingly and said, “To kill people.  To protect my family from break-in and the gangs on the street”.  Okay, this was not going to be easy.  I learned that Winston owned several guns.  I asked if he was worried about someone finding them and he said some of them were hidden, though he always kept one nearby.  Winston talked about the 2^nd amendment, which I personally have not read, but gets mentioned a lot in discussions such as these.  I asked Winston how he had started with guns and he said that he had always been curious – about guns and drugs – and that’s what led him to the guns…and the drugs as well. 

Ernie seemed to be getting influenced by Winston and talked about gangs as well.  He said that it’s getting worse than before and it would be inaccurate to assume that over time we would eliminate gangs.  I said gangs are not the only reason people are drawn towards guns.  What about mental illness, something that we had discussed during the ‘Great Debate’ program. Winston said that it was not the main reason and kept directing the topic towards gangs.  I told them that if this was what they wanted to discuss, we shall do so.  I said that I believe in eliminating a problem by first identifying the root cause.  So why shouldn't we spend some time doing the same thing for gangs.  So let’s start by asking, why are there gangs?  Winston and Ernie both said that it was because kids were facing a lot of peer pressure to be the part of a gang and also had families that they could protect if they had the backing of a gang.  There was nothing that could be done to prevent gangs. 

I said let's continue asking the ‘Why’ question to reach the root cause.  So why do we feel that kids look at gangs as an outlet.  They said it’s because of poverty and lack of education.  I asked why the kids drop out of school and they said it is because there are no jobs for them after high school, and they just give up.  I asked why there are no jobs and the answer was that all the jobs were being outsourced.  Now we were getting somewhere in terms of identifying the root cause - perhaps it was unemployment.  I said could we do something to change this trend of outsourcing so that the jobs stayed in this country?  I asked them, “What if I promised every kid that they would have an opportunity for a job after high school, would they finish their education?”  Winston said it was never going to happen and my point was that it absolutely could and all we needed to do as a society was to come up with a solution.  For example, could we work with all the industrialists of this county to try and eliminate outsourcing?  I told them that the reason companies outsource is to save operating costs.  Could we as a society bear the higher cost of manufacturing in order to eliminate outsourcing; especially if we knew it was going to fix the problem for future generations?  As an example, would anyone at this table be willing to buy a pen which typically costs $1 for $5, in order to keep those jobs in the U.S.?  How many in the room, the neighborhood, the city?  I argued that just as the environmentalists ask us to save the planet for future generations, why we couldn't do the same through jobs? 

At this time we were joined by another resident, who sided with the other two in talking about the problem with the gangs and guns not going anywhere.  I said I was not interested in gun control anymore.  I was trying to go to the root cause of the problem here.  I said let’s keep a long term goal here, a 50 – maybe 100 years target.  Elimination of guns is not happening overnight.  It was like getting off drugs.  You do it slowly and then after a period of time, a difficult period of time, it goes away.  I told them that I firmly believed if we implemented a process to eliminate guns, we would get there in a 50 year span.  Winston said that the kids would still get illegal guns.  I said, “Would you give up your legal guns if I eliminate illegal ones?”  Winston did not have an answer to that.

With all this talk about outsourcing, I was prepared for a question, and it finally came.  Winston said that it looked like I was an immigrant and why was it that I came over to the US.  I said I came for education.  He asked why I never left.  His intention was to get me to admit that I was in some ways escaping the poverty of a developing nation.  I said that the reason I never left is because this place is my home and just like you take care of your home, I was prepared to give back to the nation and do everything I can to improve it.  I said that 6 years ago I helped create 18 jobs in this country and they all exist today.  To this Winston counter argued that even though the jobs exist, people like him will never get there.  Bingo.  I finally had him.  I said that’s the exact point I was trying to make.  Develop those skills, stay in school, and get the education - so that people like him could be eligible for these jobs which people like me create.  Winston said that they do not have these opportunities since even if the jobs stay in this country, smart people like me are always going to take them away.  I said I make no apologies for smart people, because they are as important for the development of this nation as is its blue-collar workforce.  I said I was instrumental in an invention of a medical device which some day is going to save countless lives.  I worked hard at it and I succeeded, because I was good.  If he wanted to get there, be prepared to work hard in a honest way, not stay with gangs.

It was time to start summarizing our discussions and Alex went around the room and asked each table to nominate someone to speak.  The groups touched upon all the relevant arguments ranging from lawful ownership to complete ban and many talked about the importance of education.  When our turn came, I said we spent all of five minutes discussing gun issues and the rest was trying to get to the root cause of the problem.  I said we are looking at 50-100 years before there is any meaningful impact, but if we start addressing the root cause right now, we can make it a better place for the future generations. 

A line that can certainly be bridged

Before we left, Winston shook my hand and said it had been a good debate.  I said likewise and it seemed like he understood what I was trying to say; and to some extent respected that. It was interesting that during the summary session Winston was drawing a line on the paper which had the discussion points.  He said he was trying to invent a new game where we were to find a path between the words such that the line was as straight as possible.  Perhaps it was poetic that a line of sorts had been drawn between Winston and I on this topic, but it was not insurmountable, and towards the end we had managed to bridge the gap.

Wilson dropped me home and I told him about the rough time that I had with the guys initially, but how we had managed to discuss the issue for an hour rather than just dismissing the other person’s views.  Wilson told me that we had to consider the background of most of these men and in fact the neighborhood we were in.  He pointed to a corner and said that this was the ‘most dangerous spot in the US’, based on the amount of killings that happen there – a corner which I would have passed on foot if I were headed to the train station.  Wilson said that I had an open mind and thus was making a difference through my interactions with people during these projects.  Then late at night he sent me a long email where he talked about all the difficulties that he sometimes faces on his projects, and only through empathy could we make the people understand us... understand our mission.  Wilson had started the email with a quote from ‘Star Trek’, which summarizes debates such as these and which I have reproduced below.  He went on to say that I had become a better volunteer that night because I had encountered a difficult task, and l had left the project with all in the room a little more enlightened  He concluded by saying, “I believe you have passed that test my friend.”

"I am pleased to see that we have differences.

May we together become greater than the sum of both of us."

- Sarek of Vulcan

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

Keep The Kids Running

Location: Girls On The Run

Date: Monday, March 25, 2013; 6:00-8:00 pm

In my illustrious career of getting lost en route to a project, never would I have thought a day would come when I would walk past the entrance to my designated CTA subway stop, a place which I have entered many times in the past. Well, today was that day.  I was lost in my own thoughts and walked straight past the entrance and only when I was a few blocks down, did I realize what I had done.  Then it was the usual rush to get back to the station and then to my final destination.  I arrived at the offices of ‘Girls On The Run’ and saw that Wilson was already there, along with several other volunteers.  Amanda, whom I had met on the ‘Get Crafty’ projects with Chicago Cares, arrived soon thereafter.  As mentioned before, she has a terrific taste in jewelry, and today she was wearing a brilliant ring.  Soon we were all called to order and the project was ready to begin.

Resident of Girls On The Run office

According to the description on One Brick’s website, ‘Girls on the Run is a life-changing, experiential learning program for girls age eight to thirteen years old. The programs combine training for a 3.1 mile running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the programs are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development.’  Our job this evening was to help organize some of the shirts that were going to be sent to various schools.  These were to be worn at the race that is being held on June 1^st.  One of the employees who worked for the organization was assigning tasks and required some volunteers to do a small project in the basement.  There were boxes that contained Tiaras, that were going to be handed to the girls at the race and they needed to be counted.  I said that I’d do it and so along with four other girls, including Amanda, I went down to the dungeons.  When I had woken up that morning, I had never thought that I would be counting tiaras in a basement. 

Tiaras everywhere

I started on a box and counted 99 tiaras.  I mentioned to everyone who was bothering to listen, which was nobody, that one was missing for an even 100.  On second count I realized that I had in fact missed one earlier, and there were indeed 100 tiaras.  With that sorted, we came upstairs to receive our next assignment.  We were waiting for the shipment of shirts to arrive, and which needed to be folded and put in boxes.  There were about 8000 shirts that were expected, and that would require all of us to divide and conquer.  However, there was no sign of the shipment yet and in the meanwhile, Amanda and I were assigned the task of cutting the paper with various school addresses into strips.  Besides the school address, the strips also contained information on number of shirts per school and the sizes that were to be sent.  We had to be careful to ensure that we had all the right information for each school on a strip and were not cutting wrongly, so as to include address of one school and quantities and sizes from another. 

Amanda and I chatted about other projects while this was going on and soon had gone through all the pages that were given to us.  Still there was no sign of shirts, and an announcement was made sheepishly that the shirts had been sent to a wrong address and they were not going to get to the offices that evening.  There was nothing much we could do without the shirts and thus keeping with One Brick tradition, we headed to a pub.  Tonight’s selection was a place called ‘Silver Cloud’. 

I sat between Amanda and Jeff, who was the coordinator for this event.  He said that One Brick was looking for someone to write their newsletter and I said that I may be able to do that.  Amanda and I were discussing some other projects, particularly the difference between Chicago Cares and One Brick.  I said that Chicago Cares had a completely different model and was definitely more ‘hands on’ with the client.  Wilson was listening in and asked what I had learned since I started to volunteer.  This was an interesting question and something I had not thought about.  I said that it was probably increased empathy, more patience and most importantly, knowing more about me, my likes and dislikes.  Someone asked Wilson who, besides him, was the most regular volunteer and he pointed at me.  Wilson then went on to say that he spent more time on  Valentine’s Day with me, than any other woman!  I shudder to think what others who heard this statement, without any context, may have thought. 

Wilson, who is an active volunteer and first responder with Red Cross, showed us pictures of some of the disaster and fire sites that he has been on.  He told us that one of his aims was to introduce One Brick to Red Cross training and culture, so as to prepare all of us for any eventuality in Chicago.  He told us about some simulation center they have on the outskirts of downtown, where they train people in case of fire emergencies, rescuing people from an overturned train and also driving simulators for a disaster site.  He said that one of his ambitions was to become a storm chaser!

We don't need no stinkin badges to serve

Amanda and I also talked about some other things such as our liking of tater tots and more importantly Humphrey Bogart.  This led to us discussing some of Bogie’s classics such as ‘The Big Sleep’ and ‘To Have And Have Not’.  I am yet to see a more dominating screen presence that Bogie and a more electrifying screen duo than Bogie and Bacall in some of their movies.  But I digress.  I asked Amanda about her volunteering schedule and was delighted to see her pull out an old-fashioned appointment book.  Not a smart-phone calendar, but an appointment book.  How cool is that!  We left after a wonderful evening, and with Wilson’s newest idea ringing in our ears – getting an exotic animal like a Monkey for one of Lakeview Nursing’s ‘Pet Therapy’ sessions.  Knowing him, that’s probably going  to happen soon.