Make-A-Wish: Airport Greeter

Location: Midway Airport

Date: Wednesday, October 09, 2013; 6:30-8:15 am

Back in June, my ‘Wish Partner’ and I had received our first ‘Wish Child’ and we were delighted to have this opportunity.  What followed was a period of frustration, since for the longest time we were unable to reach the family.  Now, it would have been one thing if this was due to medical or other reasons – after all patience is the biggest virtue in these situations – but the reason had been a wrong telephone number!  I mean come on.  So finally with the right number, I managed to reach our kid and after a few tries and with some counselling from our ‘Wish Mentor’, got him to agree to meet us at a restaurant in downtown.  We had selected ‘Maggianos’, since he had indicated that he liked ‘Tiramisu’, and my partner had even called the restaurant and got them to waive the cost of the meal.  So my partner, our mentor and I assembled at the restaurant and were directed to a table to wait.  It was the first time all of us were meeting and so we got introduced to each other and our mentor shared some of her experiences.  After waiting for over 40 minutes I texted our kid and he responded that he couldn't make it due to some medical issue with his mother.  Whether that was accurate or not, we said we understood; though it was disappointing since my partner had even baked a cake. We dispersed, and my partner indicated that in one of her phone conversations with him, she had an impression that for his wish he wanted to travel, perhaps to Australia.  So I thought of an idea of sending him a small present to not only get him excited, but also have him warm-up to us.  I found a jigsaw puzzle of a world map where the pieces were in the shape of the respective countries and mailed it to him with a note, “If you could go anywhere in the world with your family, what would you choose?”  He acknowledged the receipt but went back into radio silence after that, despite our best efforts.  This meant that other than the Comer Summer Picnic, I had been unable to help Make-A-Wish and was looking for projects to contribute towards. I had enjoyed my previous interactions with the ‘Wish Families’ and so when this opportunity presented itself, I was quick to sign-up.

Jayden's wish

I was however confused by the way the opportunity description was phrased. It said that they needed a volunteer to see the family off, by helping them with check-in and then through security – similar to what I had done previously. However, it also said that the family would be coming into Chicago and that I should be ready to meet them at the airport in the morning.  Well, which was it?  Were they coming in or leaving?  I asked Dan at MAW and he clarified that they were indeed flying out from Chicago, but were residents of Springfield and were thus arriving the previous night.  That made a lot of sense.  I also learned they were flying to North Carolina because the ‘Wish Child’ was a huge Nascar fan and was going to meet his hero, Dale Earnhardt Jr.  I corresponded with Janie at MAW and she remembered me from the previous assignment.  I asked her for some information on the family in order to design enhancements, and learned that the ‘Wish Kid’ Jayden was 10 years old and loves Chocolate, the color Red and of course Nascar.  Besides that he was a ‘Cardinals’ fan – though I had to confirm that it was the Baseball team and not Football.  He also had a 12 year old sister and while I had ideas for him, I was stumped when it came to a teenage girl.  I asked my friends and they suggested everything ranging from a make-up kit to board games to jewelry.  None of this was something that I felt qualified to select.

The presents

I went to ‘Target’ the previous day and was looking around for inspiration, when I found a ‘People’ magazine ‘Celebrity Puzzle Book’.  I thought this would make for a good present for the girl and got it after checking through it to make sure it was appropriate i.e. no section on the Kardashians!  Next, I went to ‘Lids’ and looked for a ‘St. Louis Cardinals’ cap for Jayden.  The salesman found a kid sized one for me, and it was red colored as well.  Armed with these presents, I was ready for the family.  I called the ‘Wish Mom’ and told her that I would be there at the airport by 6:30 am and was looking forward to seeing them.  The next morning I called a cab and when I told the driver that I was headed to Midway airport, he was bit suspicious since I did not have any luggage.  I had to assure him that I was seeing someone off and did not get into the specifics for the rest of the ride.  I arrived at the airport on the dot at 6:30 and congratulated myself for being early, since the family was supposed to arrive by 6:50.  So imagine my surprise when I went inside and found a family of four wearing the blue MAW t-shirts.  So much for making a good first impression!

I apologized to the mom, though she said they were early and excited to get underway.  I asked a ‘Southwest’ agent if we could have the family go through a separate line, but there wasn’t any queue anyways, and so we just followed the normal route and reached the kiosk in no time.  The mom said that they would just follow my lead, which turned out to a bit embarrassing for me since I fumbled with the computer for some time before finally getting all four of them, as well as the two bags checked-in.  That done, I chatted with Jayden about Nascar and you could see on his face how much he loves the sport.  His smile just lit up as he talked about Dale Earnhardt Jr. and how he was hoping he does better than the 6^th place finish in the previous race.  I said that after seeing you, he would surely be inspired to do better.  Seeing him reminded me of my love of motor racing while in college, but for me it was 'Formula 1' and 'Ferrari'.  I used to watch each and every race, no matter what time of the day or night, just to see my favorite racer Michael Schumacher in action. People often asked me what fun there was in watching cars go round and round, but they will never understand.  I went to the 'Indianapolis Speedway' 5 years in a row to watch a Formula 1 race and can still hear the sound of 24 cars rev their engines up for one of the greatest moments in sport – the standing start of a Formula 1 race.  I knew exactly how Jayden felt.

I asked Jayden if there was anything special planned for the wish and he said perhaps a ride in the car.  While he was all excited, his sister was quiet and very shy.  I asked her if she liked racing and she shyly replied that she did.  It was time for them to go and I took pictures of the family for MAW.  I then told Jayden that a little birdie had mentioned that he was a ‘Cardinals’ fan and then gave him the cap, which made him even happier.  I asked his sister if she liked TV - she said yes.  What about puzzles – yes again.  I said that I had the perfect thing for her flight and gave her the puzzle book which she shyly accepted.  We then walked through security line and once again there was no crowd.  As I bid them goodbye, I told the mom that I would wait at the airport till 8:15, and asked her to call me in case they needed something.  In fact, I told her to call me after that as well if there was an emergency.  I waited at the baggage claim and after checking in with the mom at 8:15, I left.

Like the previous airport assignment this had definitely been worth my time.  Jayden’s smile and enthusiasm as he talked about meeting Dale Earnhardt Jr. was priceless.  This was a wish from the heart if there ever was one.  Seeing his enthusiasm made me want to be there to see his face when he met his hero.  So would that have been my wish…to experience this moment with Jayden and Dale?  Perhaps yes.  It is truly a privilege to be a ‘Wish Granter’ and I promised myself to try harder with my kid.  I owe it to him…even to myself.  A few days later I was filling out a Bio-sketch for a survey in my office.  One of the questions was “Favorite Activity”.  There was no doubt in my mind about this one as I wrote, “To grant wishes and smiles to those who need them the most.”

Read–With-Me At HGS

Location: House Of The Good Shepherd

Date: Tuesday, October 08, 2013; 6:30-7:45 pm

On my way to HGS I passed a building and through the window I saw a couple of kitties lazing around as they are prone to do.  I stopped to take a closer look and seeing me, they both perked up and I could swear that they started showing off for my benefit.  This included different poses, expressions and tricks that would make seasoned performers proud.  In any case, I had to keep moving and arrived at the HGS to see that the volunteers were assembled in the lobby, including our Volunteer Leader Jocelyn.  Also present was Galen, a regular over here, and we discussed some of Chicago Cares’ children’s projects.  The younger kids came in and all of them threw themselves at Galen as soon as they saw her.  Holding her hands, the younger kids and other volunteers left for their program. She is by far the most popular person that I have seen at any of the Chicago Cares projects.  Hey, at least I had impressed the kitties!

Our choice of books

Jocelyn led us down to the  reading area for the older kids and I noticed that Marc was present along with 5 other volunteers.  The kids came in and all but two of them were girls. But those two boys were extremely active and what they lacked in numbers, they made up in energy.  For our icebreaker, we stood in circle and Jocelyn said that we should introduce ourselves and state either what our favorite thing was about Fall, or what we would be dressing up as for Halloween. The kids mentioned everything from their favorite thing to eat, to what they liked to do.  But the most fun they had was talking about their Halloween Costumes, which ranged from Vampires to Ghosts.  One of the boys was standing next to me and he said that he was going to dress up as the ‘Incredible Hulk’.  Next it was my turn and I looked at this boy and said that since he was going to be in costume, I would dress up as him so that nobody would recognize us.  Perhaps it was because of this, but he seemed to take a liking to me and so picked me to be his partner for the evening.  Woohoo!  I finally had a fan.

We liked this one

We selected two books, ‘Bear On A Bike’ and ‘5 True Dog Stories’.  He started with the Bear book and liked the fact that the prose rhymed, as the bear traveled to various places and utilizing all sorts of transportation, including a hot air balloon. We soon started predicting where the Bear was gong to go next, as well as trying to spot some of the things in the pictures. It was clear that he was enjoying this game as well as our improvisation of the story.  But even with this playing, he was quite diligent in his reading and was making a complete effort with the book.  Next we moved to the Dog Stories book and selected a story, ‘Dog As A Thief’.  The name of the dog was ‘Grip’ and his owner was a guy called ‘Gerrard’.  The kid had trouble with the name, but to his credit he stuck with it.  Next we started a story called, ‘Dog As A Detective’, where the dog was called ‘Dox’ and the owner was ‘Giovanni Mernoni’’.  I pronounced the owners name in Italian, something that the kid found extremely amusing.  Once again, he was having difficulty in pronouncing it, but persisted nevertheless – a quality which I found extremely encouraging.

Looks like we both had something in common

I asked what grade he was in and he said 3^rd.  I asked about his favorite subjects at school and he said that it was Math and Geography.   I asked if he could name all the states and he said yes.  So for the remainder of the reading session we played a game where I would quiz him on various states on the map and he managed to answer a few.  I told him about a game I used to play in school where me and my classmates would look over a map and one of us would pick a place on it.  The rest had to ask questions and identify which place had been selected within 5 guesses.  I believe that my love of maps was developed during those days of playing this game, discovering new places and wanting to travel there. 

Next we were all going to play a ‘Halloween Bingo’ game, where we each got a 4x4 card with Halloween themed pictures like a Mummy, a Witch, a Ghost, or something similar.  One of the older girls joined Jocelyn to call the game and some of the clues were phrases like “Anything with two eyes”, at which the kid and I would cover everything on our card that had eyes.  The rule was that you could win only once and a girl on my other side won twice.  She could have given her second prize to anyone, but she chose my kid.  Well, he was cute after all and by all means a nice boy.  Then he won and since he already had a prize, chose the other boy to get the prize. With all the girls in there, he picked his buddy.  I guess boys will be boys. 

Soon all the kids had a prize and so it was time to wrap-up.  Jocelyn asked all the kids to come and pick another prize, and my kid picked florescent green glowing fingers, which would be perfect with his Hulk costume.  Then each child got to pick two pieces of candy and my kid got to pick two additional ones for his little sister who was sick.  Armed with all of his presents and candy he prepared to leave.  And he didn't have to travel far since this is after all a shelter and he lived upstairs with his mom and sister.  Looking at his attitude and enthusiasm you would not have known that he was escaping a domestic violence situation.  I gave him a  high-five as they left, for it had been the best Read-With-Me session to date.

Lakeview Seniors Bingo

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, October 07, 2013; 6:15pm-7:45 pm

Darcy

I had signed up for the ‘Pet Therapy’ session and arrived to find that some pets and owners had already assembled.  I checked in with Maria, our Volunteer Leader, and turned to play with the two dogs that we had in attendance – Carline, an extremely enthusiastic 2 year old; and Darcy, a 3 month old Retriever mix.  Darcy in particular was all over us, as you can expect from a puppy, and gave me small puppy bites.  I was hoping to be paired with her for the evening.  But we still had some time to go before the commencement and I went over to chat with Jack, Larry and Jim, who asked if I was here for Bingo.  I said that I was here with the pets, at which he did a mock wave. The Volunteer Leader for Bingo, Maureen, came over and said that many volunteers had cancelled on her this evening.  She was definitely short-handed, while the Maria seemed to have more than enough Non-Pet Owners.  So I asked Maria if I could shift to Bingo and since she did not have a problem with that, I told Maureen that I could join her team.  Looks like I was here for Bingo after all.

One of the benefits of moving over to Bingo was that I could be with my buddy Emma.  I took a seat next to her and she seemed to be in good spirits, and quite chatty as well.  She was wearing sparkly pink nail paint and mentioned that her daughter was supposed to visit.  I asked how her daughter was and she said that she had just adopted two kittens.  Well, I hope that she gets them for pet therapy someday.  Emma then talked about how her dad used to put her siblings and her in a truck and take them all to the zoo.  I asked if she liked big or small animals and she said all types.  She was excited to talk about those visits to the zoo and apparently it was a splendid outing, complete with popcorn and ice cream.  I’m glad that she can still remember those days and still has those memories to cherish.

I could have sat and heard Emma talk about her childhood for hours, but Bingo was about to commence.  As usual I handed her a few chips, which she clutched in her hand and we were ready to go.  Right off the bat tonight was unique in terms of the numbers going our way.  And we won!  Maureen usually hands out dollar bills instead of prizes and Emma took that $1 and stowed it away safely.  We cleared the board and started the next round… and we won again.  Back-to-back, what do you know.  Emma said that it was great to have some money since she was always broke.  As Maureen handed Emma another dollar, she said to her, “This is what a good looking young man does.  Bring you luck.”  I guess she was referring to me.

The “Good looking man’s” luck brought Emma a third win, but since the rules allow for only two prizes, we had to give the prize away.  I said to Emma that they did not trust her with all of this money!  In fact, Maureen was ensuring that the wealth was being spread evenly and everyone had a chance to get something.  This was very important, and nowhere was it more evident when one gentleman won a dollar and the joy on his face and his squeal of delight was both, heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.  Of all the times I have been coming here for various projects, I had never heard this man speak.  And now this….for a dollar.  It drove home the point of how sometimes it can be more precious than all the riches in the world.

The red chips were helping us

Since Emma was enjoying herself, I asked her more about her zoo trips from all those years ago.  She said that back in her teenage years, she used to walk to the zoo, which was just 3 blocks away from her house in St. Louis.  I asked if she had been to the ‘Lincoln Park Zoo’ and she said in her own inimitable style, “Oh yes.”  As we continued to chat I learned that Emma used to play tennis.  Considering how great her attitude is, it was not surprising that she was so active in her youth.  As the game went on, Emma kept saying that the red Bingo chips were good.  She said it was her favorite color and I said I liked it too.  Well, her favorite color was helping us a lot as we won for the 4^th time.  Once again we gave it to another resident who thanked Emma.  For her part Emma kept saying how nice it was that people were helping each other.  What a doll! 

The game ended soon and I spotted Elmer at a nearby table.  I asked if he had fun at ‘Get Crafty’ project yesterday and he said yes, having made a ‘Suncatcher’ with Fran.  She was standing right there and I asked him if she had made him work like a “rented mule”.  He said that she had, at which Fran burst out laughing.  She said that he had not called her interesting words like he had with me!  Emma had thought that her daughter was going to visit, but since she had not shown up, I went to drop Emma to her room.  I asked her how she was going to spend her winnings.  She said she does not have much money and so would like to save it.  Her room was closed, so I dropped her at a table in the empty community room on the 2^nd floor.  She said that she really wanted to go in, but this was fine as well. Such a nice soul, and I knew she would wait without complaining.  I had come for one project but was leaving after having attended another.  I had hoped to be paired with the puppy Darcy, but had spent the evening with Emma instead.  It was the best thing that had happened to me today.

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

Corporate Volunteer Program: Sabrina Morris Bat Mitzvah

Location: Belmont-Cragin Elementary School

Date: Saturday, October 5, 2013; 8:15 am-3:00 pm

With this Chicago Cares, ‘Corporate Volunteer Program (CVP)’ on Saturday, I accomplished two unique things for the very first time.  Ever since I have started volunteering, I had never done projects 7 days in a row.  Today was my 7^th day, starting with the ‘Alzheimer’s Walk’ last Sunday.  Secondly, I had done the Chicago Cares’ ongoing programs dealing with ‘Hunger and Homelessness’, ‘Child Services’, ‘Human Services’ and ‘Environmental’.  I had done the Annual events such as ‘Celebration Of Service’ and ‘Serve-A-Thon’, as well as ‘Youth In Services’ project. Today with the ‘CVP’, I had done what very few volunteers get to do - attend all the types of projects Chicago Cares has to offer.  In terms of volunteering with Chicago Cares, I had hit for a cycle!

I was on the mailing list for CVP, but most of the projects were during the daytime.  That made sense since many Companies organize these corporate outings as a part of their workweek. Chicago Cares helps in the project management by identifying a site based on the Company needs, designing the project, arranging for supplies, delivering them at the site, and then sending over volunteer project leaders to manage the projects.  When I saw an opportunity for a project on a Saturday, I wrote to Tracey at Chicago Cares to inquire.  I talked with her on the phone and she said that this was unique since instead of a corporate team, we were dealing with a group of kids attending a ‘Bat Mitzvah.’  Thirteen-year-old Sabrina Morris had chosen this as her ‘Bat Mitzvah’ present and had recruited 150 of her friends to do a day of service at Belmont-Cragin Elementary School.  My first thought was, wow.  What a novel idea.  Another one followed this though – Wait, she has 150 friends! 

Welcome Sign

I signed up as one of the 6 leaders and later received an email from Claire, our Primary Chicago Cares leader, that I had been assigned to a landscaping project.  No, not after some of the other landscaping type projects that I had done. I told her that I was not interested in landscaping and she said no problem, and put me in charge of making 'Planter Boxes'. This was another issue since I am poor in carpentry.  In fact, one may go as far as saying that I have not done much of it, not counting the woodworking course for engineering.  She said that not to worry, since plenty of help would be present on site.  Beside this and the landscaping project, some of the other ones were, making murals, making plywood murals, mosaic tiles and making cubbies and other benches.  Well, other tasks had already been assigned and so I guess I would be doing carpentry.

The staging area

Claire has asked us to arrive at the school by 8:15 in the morning and I had decided to take a cab.  However there were some road closures and with delays, it was 8:30 by the time I reached the school.  I arrived to see one of Chicago Cares’ staff members, Andrew, unloading a van.  He told me that all the supplies had been assembled in the gymnasium and that’s where I would find Claire as well.  He tried to give me directions to where the gymnasium was, but the school is massive and I got lost a couple of times before finally locating the place.  Claire showed me where all of my supplies were located on the stage, and the station on the big floor where I would be working.  The first task was to carry all of the wooden planks and tools down to my station and arrange everything by groups.  I laid down blankets, so as not to spoil the wooden floor, and then after several trips had managed to put my supplies on there, separated by the types of wood, tools required at each stage and general supplies like gloves etc.  I read the instructions and tried to visualize what we would be building.  In any case, there were other Chicago Cares staff members leading carpentry projects nearby, and I told them that I may need their help should things go wrong.

The supplies

The Principal of the school had brought in some 'Dunking Donuts' and cold coffee as breakfast, and it was better than nothing.  I had some coffee as I studied the instructions again and it looked like a lot of hammering was going to be involved. This could potentially prove to be a problem since my fingers were extremely sore from the burns that I had suffered at last evening’s project.  But, I was hoping that the kids would do most of the work and I could just supervise.  I went downstairs at 10 am, where the kick-off would happen in a room that looked like an assembly area.  This was also the place where the Mosaic and Plywood Mural projects were being staged.  I saw Meredith who does the Chicago Cares ‘Youth In Services’ projects and I told her about my accident from yesterday. She seemed alarmed, especially since safety is of vital importance at these projects, and I assured her that none of the youth were ever at risk, and that I should have been more careful. Also present as one of the leaders was Christine, my Primary Leader from the ‘Celebration Of Service’ project.  We were catching up when the group arrived.  When I say group, it was mostly 13-year old girls, with a few boys here and there.  Uh oh, hopefully I wasn’t going to embarrass myself in front of them!

The wooden planks

As is the norm with Chicago Cares project, the speeches started with Claire thanking everyone for coming for this day of service. The Principal talked after her and really got the crowd excited with her energy and enthusiasm. Then Sabrina’s mom spoke and we saw a video montage of Sabrina’s life thus far, starting from her birth. The 2^nd of three sisters, there were several pictures of her with her family and her friends. She was what any teenage girl her age would be, carefree and excited. Her friends cheered loudly at each picture and it really looked like they all wanted to be here. Time had come to allocate resources and Claire said that half the people were required to stay downstairs and half were to come upstairs for the carpentry and a murals project. Surprisingly, many got up for the project upstairs and we all made our way to the gymnasium.  As I walked upstairs, there was a little girl with me with her arm in a sling.  I chatted with her and she seemed to have a lot of energy for someone who was injured.  I learned that she was Sabrina’s little sister and if she was going to participate, then I shouldn't really complain about my burnt fingers.

Back the gymnasium we divided the people into various groups and I had 6 boys and 2 girls in my team.  I started with introductions and for an icebreaker, used my go-to question, “What’s your favorite thing of Fall?”  All the boys immediately said that they disliked Fall.  I could tell that there was an Alpha-male who seemed to be the leader of the pack and the rest of the boys were taking their lead from him.  I knew that he would be trouble and I had to keep my eye on him.  I said that since all the boys disliked Fall today’s project would be to their liking, since we were making ‘Planter Pots’ and gardening is usually a summer activity.  I told everyone that I wanted to see them with safety gloves on their hands all the time, since safety was the Number 1 priority and that I would be reminding them over and over again. Well, I should know with my mishap!

The 'Planter's Boxes'

I started by showing them how to put two pieces of the bigger rectangular blocks together by bolting longer strips on top and bottom.  As soon as the guys learned that they would get to use hammer and nails, their enthusiasm went up.  Many boys started hammering from high up, so as to make maximum noise.  It was clear that they weren’t really serious and were not paying attention to detail.  I appointed one of the girls to monitor the group and she yelled at the boys.  They actually seemed to listen to her and I knew that I could rely on her to ensure that the group worked well.  The second girl had paired with a boy and they were actually doing a terrific job.  While the others were here to have fun, these two were doing the task meticulously.  I joined them to start putting a box together and realized that they did not need any supervision or help.  The girl was very wise for her age and was thinking about the task at hand, as opposed to some of the other kids.  I chatted with her and learned that she was Sabrina’s older sister, and the boy was Sabrina’s friend. I congratulated her on her sister’s ‘Bat Mitzvah’ and asked what she had done for hers.  She said that she had chosen to go to London!  Well, looks like Sabrina was really doing something unique here.  We put the box together and everything did not fit as it should, and that was because the initial building blocks weren’t made properly.  We told the boys that it was important that they were careful with the prep work; else we would have problems later on.

The boxes, painted and potted

We started work on the 2^nd box and I watched in wonder how the two kids worked well together to make a perfect box.  It was time for the kids to go for lunch and so Claire helped me put together a 3^rd box, with me trying to clumsily hammer nails with numb fingers.  We were supposed to make 4 boxes, but due to some mistakes, had run out of supplies for the 4^th box. I started cleaning the carpentry supplies since the next task was painting.  Before that, plastic bags had to be placed inside and Claire showed me how to cut trash bags into the right size.  The kids came back and I asked them to wear painting gloves and line up with plastic cups so that I could pour the paint into them.  Everyone was keen on painting and the Alpha-boy was causing trouble.  I had reached the end of my patience and told him that if he did not behave, I would send him out.  After this he mellowed, perhaps a bit embarrassed that I had berated him in front of he group; but he did follow instructions from now on.  As the painting proceeded, Claire asked me to go get lunch while she supervised the group.  I went downstairs where there was pizza, hot dogs and other things that teenage kids like, including ice cream and a tower of cupcakes! 

The other projects - Murals and Mosaic

I came back to see that  the 3 boxes had been painted blue and all the kids except the two girls had left.  I helped get the heavy bags of soil using a wheelbarrow and then Claire and I put soil in the pots.  The two girls’ then planted flowers and we were done.  Next was wrap-up and while our station was relatively clean, some of the other areas of the gymnasium floor required attention. Claire and other staff members were literally on their knees scrubbing the floor, trying to remove minor paint marks.  I went down to see the kids off and as a thank you, Sabrina’s parents had brought pullovers for everyone.  Once they left, I went back to help clean the murals station and then helped carry the supplies to the Chicago Cares van.  I went and checked the beautiful Mosaic’s and the Plywood Murals in the auditorium and then after taking the trash out, it was time to leave.  I was tired and dirty, having worked harder than a typical Chicago Cares project.  But the staff had worked harder, with Claire being at the forefront.  It was nice to have been a part of Sabrina’s big day.  And what a memorable occasion it was for her.  The best part is that not only will she remember it forever, the kids of the school we helped would also appreciate the things we had left behind.  A win-win-win if there ever was one.

Youth In Services

Location: Ruth Shriman Christopher House

Date: Friday, October 4, 2013; 4:00-7:00 pm

I had already shadowed two ‘Youth In Services’ projects and so was well versed in what it took to lead one of these.  However Joyce from Chicago Cares sent me an opportunity to shadow a project this afternoon, at the same place where I had done my first one.  Later I received an email from one of her associates, Kevin, who mentioned that my leader for this project would be Wilson, and said that he had extensive experience leading Senior Projects and could be a great resource for me.  I replied saying that I had heard about Wilson from other volunteers and looked forward to working with him.  I had copied Wilson on the message and he responded to me saying that he denied everything being said about him! 

The dining area

Wilson picked me up from my office and said that unlike last time, when we served hot dogs, today would be something a bit more complicated – tacos!  He also said that he would take a backseat today and let me lead.  He wasn’t kidding on this, as he dropped me off at the site and went off to get some supplies for his other project.  I went inside and met Bruce, who is the site representative for this facility. I told him that I was going to be in charge till Wilson got there.  He showed me to the dining area where all of the supplies had been gathered and the food was in the refrigerator.  However, what were missing were the volunteers.  I started taking inventory based on the list that Wilson had given me, and started organizing in groups as per the menu. Wilson arrived and even though it was 15 minutes past the scheduled start of the project, there were still no volunteers.  But that was not our only concern.  We were missing the Bingo prizes.  We went and looked everywhere and even called Kevin at Chicago Cares. He told me that the prizes had been dropped off, but we couldn't find them.  Wilson said that he would go and get some from a nearby store and I should get started on the cooking, especially the meat for the taco’s.  I saw that based on the size of the pot that we had, I would have to cook it in 3 batches.  I put the pot over 2 burners, and added a third of the meat into it. I seasoned with salt and pepper, and after browning for a bit, added a pack of taco seasoning.  Halfway through that batch, the youth finally arrived.

Taco supplies!

I took a pause from the cooking and asked them to sign in and for any newcomer, asked them to fill out a waiver form.  As an ice breaker game, I asked everyone to introduce themselves and state what was their favorite thing to do in Fall.  I said that for me it was the leaves.  Many went for “eating”, whereas one even said “Black Friday!” I then divided the group into three, sending one team for taco prep, the second one to make ‘Mexican Rice’ and the third for fruit salad.  Since I had just one set of instructions, I tore the pages into three parts and handed to each team.  The rice team needed to occupy a burner as well, meaning we would have to adjust with the meat station.   The taco team was comprised of two sub-groups, one warming the tortillas and chopping vegetables, and a girl who had joined me for cooking the meat.  She was a very thoughtful person with a mature head on her shoulders for someone so young.  She looked like a chef in the making and took over the cooking completely.  She tasted constantly and kept saying that we needed more flavor.  Unfortunately, all we had were a few packs of taco seasoning and while they did not go a long way, it was still better than just salt and pepper.  We were on our way and that’s when it happened.

The first batch of meat had been cooked and we needed to take the pot off the stove to empty it, so as to start the second batch.  However, we did not have any oven mitts and so I bundled up a few paper towels and lifted up the pot.  But in those brief seconds, the paper towels caught fire, and by the time I had turned around to put this on the table behind, my knuckles were on fire as well.  I stamped out the paper fire by foot, but the damage to my fingers had been done.  Wilson had returned with the Bingo prizes and said that his perfect record of no accidents had been tarnished because of me.  Despite my mishap, the cooking had to go on and the aspiring chef started with the next batch as Wilson found her some mitts.  The fruit salad team was done and the salad had been placed inside the refrigerator to chill.  So I asked that group to start placing bowls of 'Salsa' and 'Sour Cream' for each table.  The meat was still cooking, but the residents had already gathered in the room.  We decided to flip the usual schedule by playing Bingo before the meal, and some of the youth moved to calling the numbers and socializing with the seniors as they played.

My savior

By this time my fingers were turning sore and I was in reasonable amount of pain.  Wilson got me some aloe cream from his car and I slathered it on.  It also meant that I could not participate any further in the cooking.  But that was fine since the girl on the meat station was already underway with the third batch and had it covered.  Since the seasoning was not to her liking, Wilson added some leftover 'Mexican Rice' mix and other vegetables into it and she was happy with the outcome.  We announced that the meal was ready, which meant that the taco assembly line was now operational.  I told the group to not put cheese on the taco’s but serve it separately in bowls, since some may not want to have any dairy.  I looked around the room and saw some of the folks I had met during my previous visit, including Jerry, the sketch artist.  It had been just a few months, but he looked like he had aged in years since I had seen him last.  I mentioned that to Wilson and he said that it usually happens and age catches up with seniors faster than others, especially ones in a home like this one.  But Jerry was still as sharp as ever and sketching a man who was sitting across him.  His girlfriend was sitting next to him and said that even with a notepad on him; Jerry still prefers to sketch on a tissue paper.  Whatever the medium, he was doing a fantastic job.

The service was over soon and seniors started to head back to their residences.  Our biggest problem as we started the clean-up was lack of garbage bags.  While we looked for that, I told the youth that they had to clean the dishes.  Many were not enthusiastic about it but I told them that it wasn’t an option and they just had to do it.  The girl who had helped cook the meat was now at the sink cleaning, displaying a truly committed effort.  However, during the washing session, the sink had gotten clogged and now it was impossible to use this one.  If the youth thought that it let them off the hook, they were wrong since we moved them to another sink.  Wilson found some garbage bags and I got some boys to help fill them up.  Some of the residents were still around and Wilson asked them all to take the leftovers with them.  They were more than willing and so we packed it in Aluminum foil.  Things were moving along.

While there was lot of work yet to be done, it was also time for the group to leave.  Their youth chaperon Shanna asked for a reflection session, which is one of the highlights of this program. Wilson stood back as I assembled everyone in a circle and asked the newcomers what they had liked about tonight.  Some said that it was the seniors and the interactions that they had with them. One guy said that he liked the tattoos on a resident!  I guess it showed him that seniors are not some strange species. I asked for suggested improvements and almost everyone had something to say.  Some said that we should try a different game, other than Bingo; more time to cook; more decorations etc.  It was encouraging to hear that they were involved and wanted to make this program a better experience for the seniors.  They wanted to do well.  I told them that they had been fantastic and that they should not underestimate their contributions today.

Everyone left as Wilson and I cleaned the remaining dishes.  Jerry’s girlfriend was still around and she stayed back to chat with us.  She said that the food was spicy and had really liked the fruit salad.  Wilson asked if there was anything in particular that we should make next time, and she said that maybe a different cuisine.  She then asked if I had a wife!  Whoa, from different cuisines to this?  Wilson said that I did not have a wife, but I had many girlfriends – definitely news to me!  He then said no, I was single.  She asked what kind of girl I was looking for and once again Wilson responded, saying she should be kind and have empathy.  Well, those are certainly desirable qualities, but  isn't the right  girl one with whom you have a connection?  Why does it need to be complicated? 

Wilson and I then went for dinner, but not before stopping over at ‘CVS’ for some more aloe cream. Wilson had kept his tube on the table next to the exit and it had disappeared, our suspicion being that one of the seniors had picked it up on their way out.  This led to us discussing what may have happened to the Bingo prizes.  Kevin from Chicago Cares was adamant that he had dropped them off.  We wondered if someone had seen a bunch of stuff lying around and taken it home.  In any case, Wilson said that he would file a report like missing Bingo prizes, no garbage bags, no oven mitts etc.  And perhaps also an accident report with my burnt fingers.  But despite all of this, it had been a productive session, and a difference making one at that.

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

Assembling Lanterns With Leukemia And Lymphoma Society

Location: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Date: Thursday, October 3, 2013; 6:00-8:00 pm

I was tired.  I really was.  When I had seen this project as full, I had emailed the EM Laura asking to be put on the wait list.  Earlier in the afternoon she emailed saying that a spot was open and that I should come.  Against my better judgment I agreed and if there should have been a time for me to go home and relax, it should have been today.  But facing both, mental and physical exhaustion, I walked over to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society offices.  Now, this building has the most draconian security policy where the guard doesn't let someone in unless accompanied by the host.  So far so good – a practice followed by many buildings in the city.  However, where they differ is by asking you to call the office upstairs.  Not only do they not call themselves, they refuse to give you the phone number of the office.  I mean, its not as if we are here to ask the office out for a date are we! 

As I walked up to the guard, I knew this was going to get a bit irritable.  As expected, he asked me to call someone upstairs.  I said that I did not have a number and if he could let me know what it was.  He said that he did not have it, to which I responded that it was the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard.  I said that every building in Chicago has a number for each of the business’ in there and he responded that it was not his job to have the numbers of those offices, to which I replied that it absolutely should be.  My fatigue was making me angrier and I was ready to go all evening if I had to.  Fortunately for both of us a staff member had come down, and she took me upstairs as I glared at the security guard and gave the staff member a earful about the building policies. 

We had lots of batteries

This continued when I entered the main room where we usually assemble and I vented in front of Laura and her EC Eric and they both either appeared, or pretended, to be sympathetic.  With that out of my system, I looked around and saw that there were several AAA batteries on the table.  I asked Laura about it and she said that this month the LLS was having their ‘Light The Night Walks’ in Chicago, the suburbs and Northwest Indiana.  To prepare for the walks, we were going to help LLS assemble 8,000 lanterns, which the walkers would be carrying. Our job was to open the pile of boxes that were in the room, take out all of the 36 lanterns, remove from plastic bag, insert 3 AAA batteries in it and then put the lanterns back inside while throwing away the plastic.  This was as easy an assignment that I have ever done.

The box of lanterns

Other volunteers showed up, including some familiar faces like Irina, Dianna and Gary as well as 4 others.  Despite this, many others on the list had not shown up and just looking at the number of boxes around, I knew that we were going to be short.  I went to pick a box of red lanterns and started working, too tired to converse with the others who were discussing some TV shows. One volunteer came over to work next to me and introduced herself as Sheila. It was her first One Brick event, having just moved to the city from Oregon.  She wanted to know about volunteering, and so I told her about One Brick, Chicago Cares and Make-A-Wish.  Even though I was feeling like I had hit the wall, there is no escaping socializing during these events.

How it will look

Eric and I chatted about the ‘Bears’ games One Brick projects, which he EC’s and he told me about the Taylor Swift concert that One Brick had worked and the fiasco that had kept them at ‘Soldier Field’ well past midnight.  Wilson has been asking me to do these projects, but I love watching football on Sunday’s and working a ‘Bears’ game does not allow you to watch anything, even if you are just yards away from the action.  Laura told me that the next ‘Jumpstart’ project had been scheduled for November 6^th and having found it to be one of my favorite projects, I had been looking forward to it. However, I had my monthly ‘Wells Street Café’ project with Chicago Cares that day and requested Laura to move it back a week to the 13^th. She said that she would do it in exchange for something and I said that post project that day, I would buy her a “Spiked Milkshake” at ’25 Degrees’.  We shook on that and before the end of this project; Laura had managed to move ‘Jumpstart’  by a week! 

We continued working on our boxes and picked others when done with one. Sheila found White and Gold lanterns besides the Red ones and so I switched it up by working on different colors.  I asked the staff member if I could keep one and when she said yes, I took a white lantern for myself.  Time was almost up and we had managed to finish less than half.  We apologized to the staff of LLS for some of our volunteers not showing up, though they were more than thankful for whatever we had accomplished.  As we went down the elevator, I asked Laura to keep me away from the security guard, since I was still fuming from my earlier experience.  The others persuaded me to join them for a drink at ‘Haymarket’, though all I wanted to do was go home.  I chatted with Eric for a bit on Fantasy Football, but left after a drink.  It had been nice to work with everyone, but tonight was a reminder that sometimes one has to take a break if they are not up for it.  However we had definitely needed all the hands we could find and I was happy to contribute whatever I could. Plus I like supporting this organization.  Now if they could only figure out the security arrangement…

Dinner At The Wells Street Cafe

Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church

Date: Wednesday, October 02, 2013; 5:45-9:00 pm

One Brick was having its Quarterly Leadership meeting this evening, but missing this project was never an option for me.  I asked Thomas from Chicago Cares if he wanted me to lead, just like I had the previous month.  He said that he already had a back-up leader for this evening – Melissa, whom I had met at other projects.  I walked over after work and arrived to find that Melissa was already there and chopping some fruit for the salad.  There was another non-Chicago Cares volunteer with her and while both of them were making the salad, it was their first time volunteering at this site.  Having been here many times, I knew about the 21-concept and told them that the salad had to be equally distributed in the 21 bowls.  Melissa said it was nice to have an “experienced person” there to guide them.  Well, I guess that’s what I had become.

Back again

I saw that Marianne was there, back from her Italian vacation and I asked her about it. She said that she wished that she was Italian and stayed there. Well, her and me both. In the meanwhile other volunteers had started arriving, including Galen, who I am starting to see very often at Chicago Cares projects.  Marianne immediately put all of us to work by asking to help in the main dining room, where dinner bowls needed to be placed at each table setting.  After finishing with that I came back to see that Melissa had finished chopping all the fruit. I helped her distribute it evenly and then load it on the food cart and push it inside the big refrigerator.  Another group was doing the vegetable salad and they also needed help figuring out the protocol.  We divided that salad evenly and put the cart in the fridge as well.  Looks like the “experienced guy” was taking charge of the operations!

We were done with the kitchen work and now it was just waiting for the service to commence.  As is customary, Marianne gathered us around and gave the usual speech on how we were not to give any money to the guests etc.  Then she asked for a volunteer to take down names for the nurse and Meredith – who had performed Marianne’s duties last month - raised her hand. The task essentially is to write down names of the guests who want to see the Nurse and then when their turn arrives, to take them to the right place.  Having a nurse visit every time there’s dinner is an excellent service for the guests, some of whom do not have easy access to medical facilities.  Before concluding her part, Marianne assigned duties for the evening and pointing at me said that I always have a smile on my face and if anyone ever needed advice on contact lenses, they should ask me!  Then Keith came in and gave his speech on the history of the ministry, which is now over 10 years old.  He usually likes to repeat the same questions each time and so asked what the two words were with which to treat the guests.  I said “respect” and he added “dignity”.  Then he reiterated the policy Breaking Bread Ministries has of “loving-caring-giving-sharing”.  Marianne then asked Keith to wear his Chef’s Hat, a present that she had brought for him from Italy.  It looked two sizes too big and so was fun to see Keith struggle with that.  Finally he stuffed it with some plastic bags and put it on, prompting Marianne to insist that he take a picture. 

We had finished early and there was still some time to go before service.  So I went out and started refilling the water jars on the table.  Almost all of them also needed ice and the ice machine inside the kitchen is blocked behind a door, making it a ridiculous arrangement since every time you have to close the door, open the ice machine to take out the ice, close the ice machine lid and the open the door again.  As I was refilling the water, I noticed that the tables were missing salt and pepper shakers and I pointed it out to Marianne.  She said that I had a “good eye” and asked if I could go around putting the shakers on the 21 tables.  As I did that, one little girl – who was a guest – decided that she wanted to be my guide, and started walking with me pointing out tables which needed the salt and pepper shakers.  Together we made good progress, though I ran out of pepper shakers.  Keith gave me some empty ones from the closet and after refilling with pepper from a jar, I was all set and it was time for dinner. 

Tonight's menu

Tonight’s menu was ‘roast chicken and gravy’ and ‘rice and greens’. Keith said that this was the 6^th week in a row that he was serving chicken, though it had been all different recipes. He said that it was outstanding and I asked what was in it; and he said cheese sauce and chicken soup. I helped serve plates and kept refilling water, while struggling with the ice machine. As I did the rounds, one gentleman asked me if he could see the nurse and I said that I would pass along the information to the person taking down names.  I went over to Meredith and she asked me his name, which of course I did not have.  So I ended up referring to him as “Guy in blue checkered shirt” and she actually made a note of that!

The band was in top form tonight and it really adds to the character of this place.  I chatted with Melissa – or Missy as she likes to be called – and she had to go for another engagement and thus left me in charge.  People had started lining up for seconds and Keith asked me to keep track of the seconds served.  As I stood with paper and pen and started marking off, the line was getting longer and very soon we ran out of containers.  But we had plenty of Aluminum foil and we used that to pack the meals.  Soon the guests left and I moved over to help clear the main dining area by stacking the chairs.  Marianne usually asks the male volunteers to do this activity and had mentioned about one volunteer who was a short person, but never let any of the women lift the chairs.  He had been sick recently and hence not come for some of the sessions, but definitely a person after my own beliefs.  Now, before all the women start reading me the riot act about gender equality, all I mean is there are some gestures gentlemen should always do. Not letting women lift heavy objects, if you can do so, is one of them, similar to opening car and other doors, as well as letting them exit and enter an elevator first. 

After the chairs were stacked it was time to put away the tables and they folded in half.  This is one activity that I have never been able to master and I had to ask Marianne to help me.  She said that I wasn’t the only one and that it’s always amusing to see people try this.  Soon the room was clear and we had been as efficient as usual.  It had been another satisfying evening, one where I had seen Marianne comfort some of the guests as they cried over her shoulder.  I know life is tough for them, but how lucky are they...to have a shoulder to cry on.  No amount of money in world can buy anyone that and there have been times when I would have given anything to be in that guest shoes.  The project truly feels like a homecoming each week for many of these guests and slowly but surely, it is also becoming one for me. 

Senior Birthday Club

Location: Judge Fisher Apartments

Date: Tuesday, October 01, 2013; 6:30-8:00 pm

I had not signed up in advance for any projects, and so was looking at options on the Chicago Cares calendar in the afternoon.  Every project this evening was full barring this one, which I had never heard of.  I signed up anyways, and took a long train ride up North.  Not being in a familiar neighborhood, I once again reverted to my old habit of walking in the wrong direction Luckily, I corrected just in time to arrive at a building, which had a small fountain on the exterior.  I was impressed by this and walked in to find that Rosie from Chicago Cares was there with some volunteers.  She said that today was the very first session of this project, meaning I was one of the very few to be present at the inception of a new Chicago Cares program.  Well, it was something I could brag to Wilson about.

One of the volunteers looked familiar and he was Jason, with whom I had worked at Lakeview Pantry.  Well, it had been a busy time for us that day, as we had to sort and stack plenty of cans in the back room of the pantry.  He mentioned that he was in fact the new leader for this program and the reason Rosie was here, was to get him set in his ways.  Besides him there were two other volunteers, Alissa and Tiffany and one other gentleman who was bagging candy.  We joined him and Jason asked if he worked for Rosie.  He replied in the affirmative and then added, “I am her father”.  First time I had met Rosie at 'Game Night At Pomeroy’,  she had brought along her two brothers.  Now it was her father.  If nothing else, Rosie was extremely skilled at recruiting family members for the projects!

The gentleman, whose name was Emmett, told us to pick assorted candy from the pile, and bag about 11 pieces in each of them.  These bags were to be handed to the guests as party favors when they left and we were making them as festive as possible, with colored tie wraps tied around the open ends.  While we did this, the other volunteers were blowing balloons and putting them all over the room.  This was after all a birthday party!  As we finished the bags, Emmett realized that we had forgotten to open one entire bag of candy.  So the three of us reopened all the bags, poured the candy back into the pile and integrated the new stuff into this mixture.  Then we started bagging 10 candies per bag.  Hold on.  Something doesn't add up.  We had found a bag of extra candy and were subtracting one candy from the original count.  Am I missing something here? Emmett said that the idea was to make additional bags. With this new count and repeating the earlier process, we soon finished with the candy bags and were ready to move on to the next task.

Birthday treat

Jason and I went inside the kitchen to prepare the birthday cake – butter pound cake to be precise.  This was a boxed cake from the grocery store, but with some fresh bananas and whipped cream on top, Voila!  It was a whole new dessert. Emmett showed us a sample plate and it was quite straightforward. While Jason cut the cake, I chopped the bananas and started arranging them in a nice pattern on the cake.  Emmett looked at it and said that there was no need for a design and I should just pour it on top.  Well, it would be a dessert all right, but without ‘Michelin’ quality presentation!  With this raw technique we were churning out cakes rapidly as the women served them and very soon all the residents had received a plate of the cake.  We went outside just as the evening’s main activity was about to commence.  Rosie asked if anyone in the room was celebrating a birthday in October and one of the gentlemen raised his hand.  Well, that was enough for us and so we sang him a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ and some of the residents joined in as well.  After that, it was Bingo time. 

Our Bingo Board

Being the first ever project at this site we had some difficulty in locating things, but managed to find the Bingo balls and the rotating drum.  However we were missing the board on which the balls are placed once they come out of the drum.  That would be a problem since we needed to see which numbers had been called.  Emmett had an easy solution to this.  He took a piece of paper, made 5 columns and wrote B-I-N-G-O on top, with one letter in each.  Now as the numbers came out, all one had to do was write them down in the appropriate column. Brilliant!  With Bingo set to go, Rosie and Emmett left and now it was up to us.  Tiffany was going to call the numbers and I was going to write them down on the paper.  Tiffany was putting the balls on the table as they came out and soon the inevitable happened with them going flying all over the place.  I got her an empty box and all she had to do was drop them in there once they were out.  It was fun to improvise.

As the game proceeded, I noticed that one gentleman was missing a lot of numbers.  I indicated to Alissa that she should sit with him and help point out, and soon he was on his way.  Another gentleman who was sitting across from me was not winning.  He kept waving his card as a hand-fan and said that with his luck, this was what the card was good for.  I told him that he should not give up and I guaranteed that he would not leave empty-handed.  Alissa was now calling the numbers and the gentleman in front had a new card, and neither changed his luck!  Then I realized why he wasn’t winning.  He was dozing off periodically and missing some of the numbers.  He would then wake up and start complaining.  

There were the usual Bingo prizes, with dishwasher soap and laundry detergent being hot commodities, whereas kitchen and bathroom roll were left for the end. Time was running out and so we did a lighting round for 8 prizes, all of them these paper rolls.  Even then it was taking a long time and so we just gave out the prizes to those who had not won.  The gentleman in front seemed to have a lot of friends in this place since many gave him their extra prizes.  Before he left I handed him the goody bag with the candy and said that as promised earlier, I was ensuring that he would leave with something.  Then I went in the kitchen to wash-up and clean the dishes.  I wished Jason luck for this program and said that he should make a permanent Bingo board and use chips to put on the numbers.  This way he would not require more paper.  It had been a wonderful evening that had taken away my stress from the day.  Birthday’s for me are special and need to be celebrated. My mom always ensured that mine was memorable, and later I have been fortunate to have had friends who have done the same.  Our seniors deserve the same treatment, if not more. Wilson once told me that we never know if any birthday celebration may be the last one for some of these seniors. We owed it to them, and to ourselves, to throw them a fantastic party. So what if the boxed cake wasn't real. Our intentions and efforts most certainly were. 

Job Coaching

Location: Open Door Shelter

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

Claire has asked if I would be willing to lead a few sessions of this project since she had other commitments.  I had agreed but had to go on a business trip at the end of August, meaning I had to drop out then.  But I was determined to fulfill my commitment this month and was in fact looking forward to it.  However, leading this project means that one has to come prepared and so I spent a few hours on Saturday designing an agenda for the session.  The first thing would be to meet with the volunteers in the lobby, answer any questions regarding the Open Door Shelter and Chicago Cares Mission, and then assign Roles & Responsibilities for the evening.  For the icebreaker, I thought of a game where small groups would get together and discuss what their “Dream Job” and their “Nightmare Job” would be.  The idea was to choose a nightmare job based on perceived lack of fit due to skill sets or something that one dislikes.  After discussion, each group would introduce each other’s Dream and Nightmare job.  This would mean that they had collaborated and also built each other’s confidence by stating why they would be a fit for their dream job.  For the actual session, I wanted to split the volunteers into groups of two, where each duo would represent one “Company” and interview candidates as the ‘Hiring Manager’ and ‘HR Manager’.  I then wrote down some sample questions for either scenario, such as behavioral questions for the HR person and some technical questions for the Hiring manager, wherein I considered a few jobs such as a sales person in an electronics store, a server in a restaurant, a personal shopping assistant, a Barista etc. Then I was going to ask the volunteer duo to rate the candidates on a scale of 1 to 5, with the higher score being “Excellent” and the reward the top 3 “candidates”.  I had a solid two pages of notes with more than 2 days to go for the project.  No one could accuse me of not being prepared.

What is your dream job?

I sent my notes to Claire and Connie, the Chicago Cares coordinator, and they both approved of the agenda.  I then sent it to the volunteers on Monday morning and promptly received notification that one of the volunteers had taken themselves off the list.  I hope it wasn’t something that I said!  When Wilson heard that I would be leading this evening, he decided to come and picked me up from my office way in advance.  We arrived at the ODS with plenty of time to spare and waited.  Soon the rest of my team arrived and it included Dave, who is a Chicago Cares leader at Young Elementary School and was returning back to this program after 2 years; Erica from Lidia Pucinska; Sonya, a HR recruiter; Fahad, who is a regular; and Dreama, who said that she was a past resident at the Night Ministry.  That was an uplifting and encouraging sign that someone who had been at the receiving end had now returned to give back.  Erica had recently come back from Pittsburgh, and brought cookies for me from one of my favorite places over there.  I went over the agenda with everyone and to compliment the material that I had already sent them, also showed them the 6 job descriptions that I had printed out – Sales person at ‘Best Buy’; Barista at ‘Starbucks’; Cashier at ‘Whole Foods’; Server at ‘Maggiano’s’; Bookseller at ‘Barnes & Nobel’; and Sales Assistant at ‘Macy’s’.  Then I formed the teams of two with Fahad and Erica, Dreama and Sonya and Wilson and Dave. 

We went upstairs and as is usually the case, all of the residents were lounging around and very reluctantly joined us at the table when I invited them.  One of the girls, Bianca, was adamant that we were wasting time and I insisted that she come anyways.  I told her that we would make this a fun session and have a game as well as some prizes at the end.  Another girl did not want to leave the couch and I said that once the introductions were over, she could return back to the couch for the interview session.  We started with everyone introducing themselves and saying what their current status was in terms of a job.  I then explained the Dream and Nightmare job game and once again Bianca said that she did not want to participate.  I asked her what she wanted to do and she said that rather than interviewing, we should coach them on things such as how to dress in a professional setting as well as about personal hygiene.  I thought that it was a great idea, and something that I would pass on to Chicago Cares.  Dreama told me that she would work with Bianca, perhaps having recognized something in her.  I paired everyone for the game and we were ready to go.  I was paired with a young man Emmanuel, and a young woman Rosie.  I said that my nightmare job was being a surgeon and a dream job would be as a writer.  Rosie said that her dream job was also to be a writer, since she is a poet.  Her nightmare job would be working in a fast food restaurant.  Emmanuel said that his dream job was to be an actor whereas nightmare job was working at an airport.  I found that strange and asked him about it.  He said he was afraid of getting hit by a plane.  I told him those things are big and one usually sees them coming.  I then learned that Emmanuel works in a fast food restaurant whereas Rosie works at the airport, and hence they had picked each other’s jobs as nightmare scenarios.  Aah well.  When time came to introduce each other’s jobs to the wider group, I talked about Rosie whereas Emmanuel introduced me.  Many in the other groups said that their nightmare job was working in a fast food restaurant.  I wonder what so many have against fast food!  Some said that their nightmare was being an Accountant, whereas Wilson said that his nightmare job was none since he liked working.  For his dream job he picked flipping burgers, since he did that at ‘Soldier Field’ for a project.  But I guess he also wanted to show everyone who did not want to work at fast food that it wasn’t beneath him to do that job. 

Next, we split into the three groups as per the volunteer pairings that we had created.  Wilson and Dave were meeting with everyone in their group together and seemed quite engaged, as were Sonya and Dreama, who had Bianca in their group.  Fahad and Erica preferred meeting one-on-one, meaning someone had to wait.  While Erica interviewed a girl, Deanna, I chatted with Thomas, who was waiting for his turn.  He told me that he had just been hired as a wheelchair pusher at the airport and could care less about this session.  Then when Erica switched to him, I went over to chat with Deanna, who seemed more engaged.  She works as a cashier in ‘Limited’ and ‘Sam’s Club’, but wants to be a pediatric nurse.  I asked her why, and she said it was so that her 16-month old son could have a better future.  Her face lit up as she spoke about him and it was evident that she at least knew what this was all about.  I later went to Fahad’s group and chatted with the two people who were with him, Benjamin and Rosie.  Benjamin and I discussed how to prepare a resume and I told him the same thing that I have repeated several times over here; the attributes of a successful resume – quantify everything, make it job specific, not lie and most importantly, pay attention to formatting. Benjamin listened attentively and said that he would implement.  Thomas on the other hand had now moved to Fahad’s group and was giving him a hard time.  Fahad to his credit did not give up on him.  Thomas said that he wanted to go outside and play basketball.  We said that this activity was just one hour of his week, even if he had NBA ambitions! He said that he already had a job and we challenged him to grow out of it, into something more challenging.  I told him about some of my interview mistakes from the past and how they may have even cost me a chance at a job.  That was because nobody had done with me what we were doing right now – Coaching. 

Time was almost up and so all of the volunteers and the residents came together for debriefing. Each of the groups gave their reflections on how the session had gone and the lessons learned.  I had told the residents that the top performers would get a prize, which was candy.  But I was intending for everyone to get some of it and so had brought enough. We distributed the candy and the volunteers went downstairs. I got everyone together for our reflection and asked for feedback. Everyone was on board with Bianca’s suggestion of having a ‘Dress For Success’ session and Erica even offered to get some clothes for the women.  I told the volunteers that they had been fantastic. what this place needs in order to be successful is a little more structure, and regular volunteers to build that trust with the residents. I know that we needed variations in the sessions, but if a typical cycle of a resident is 6-8 weeks, we could have 4 lessons and then repeat the topics for the next batch.  I was pleased with my first effort at a leader for this program and the time spent in preparation had been worth it.  I felt that even though we get a Bianca or a Thomas who resist participation, some amount of information has to have filtered through.  Plus, at some stage of their career they will look back at these sessions and appreciate it.  For every small gesture, every infinitesimally small random act of kindness matters.  Erica and I have met only 3 or 4 times through these projects.  But when she heard that I liked cookies from this bakery in Pittsburgh, she remembered to get a couple for me.  Of all presents that I have received this year, this may be one of the most precious gifts ever. I hope some day, the residents of this place feel the same way about us.

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