Craft Beer & Wine Tasting To Support Hunger Relief

Location: Ravenswood Event Center

Date: Friday, October 25, 2013; 6:15-11:10 pm

When we were at Ravenswood pantry on Tuesday we had learned about this fund raiser and when Anna the coordinator, said that she could use some help, Wilson immediately set it up via Meetup. It started off with tremendous interest from folks but as the day progressed, many started dropping off.  Furthermore, Wilson said that he had to help out with ‘Red Cross’ and so asked me to lead the Meetup volunteers.  Well, by the time of the event, besides me there were only two others left that had signed through the Meetup.  I was most definitely hoping that they had recruited other volunteers as backup. 

The fire

As I took a train ride to Ravenswood Event Center, we passed a big fire right next to the tracks.  I wondered if this was what was keeping Wilson away, but learned that he was in fact on another site.  I got to the venue but had some difficulty in getting inside, having to wait for someone to show up and open the door.  I met with Anna and told her that many of our volunteers had cancelled and now it was just three of us.  She said it would be fine since there were a bunch of other folks and she had even recruited her roommates.  My two volunteers arrived as did the others, and she was able to start the orientation.  There were two main areas where help was required, one was at the registration and then at the silent auction tables, especially during the auction closing time.  We looked around the main room where the auction would be held and there were several tables with items on them.  Anna split everyone in pairs and told us that when time came to close the auctions, we were to make sure the paperwork was tucked away so that we could then identify the winners and prepare for the check-out.  But that was still some time away since the guests had not started arriving yet.

I went over to the registration tables and over there were two tasks.  First was to check if people had paid, and if not then charging their credit card through iPad swipe; and second was to assign them bid numbers through the software system.  Some of the volunteers had already been trained in credit card swiping and they trained the others who would be in charge of assigning bid numbers.  My task with a couple of other volunteers was to greet the people and direct them towards the right line.  Soon the guests started arriving and  I would check their names against a list and since most had pre-paid, sent them over to collect their bid number.  The crowd was growing fast and it seems like ‘Ravenswood Community Services (RCS)’ had done a terrific job in recruiting.  Plus, the Director of RCS was personally on hand to greet people and she knew everyone who came by name.  No wonder people had come out to support RCS. Soon the rush slowed down and I was able to chat with some of my fellow volunteers.  The servers were bringing out some of the hors d’oeuvres for us to sample and I thought that it was nice of the organizers to let us have the same food as the guests.

Our silent auction table

Around 8:30 pm I went inside and found my partner who was going to help me to close-out our table.  We were in position but seeing the popularity of the silent auction, the organizers decided to extent the bid period to 9 pm.  There was nothing wrong with that since it would enable more money being raised.  What was wrong, was the two volunteers from Meetup drinking while on duty.  While this was not a One Brick event and so there wasn’t a strict “no drinking” policy, I had talked to them beforehand and mentioned that we should be adhering to a similar code.  But obviously they had chosen to ignore that in favor of the open bar.  Since Anna didn't seem to have a problem with that either, there was nothing I could do to enforce the rule and I decided to focus on the auction instead.

The ‘Master Of Ceremonies’ had taken to the mike and was now urging people to donate.  He mentioned how $1000 would feed 300 people for a year whereas $500 would feed a family of 4 for a year and $200 would feed one entire group on a Tuesday evening.  It was an eye-opening statistic and I was glad to see many people step up and donate.  The silent auction closed soon and after collecting the paperwork, I went back to the registration to await further instructions.  Anna said that I should wait by the “Express Checkout” station, should people want to leave earlier.  Since the checkout wasn’t open yet, I was to take down their contact information so that their winning items could be delivered to them in due course.  I did that for a couple of people, but since the party was in full swing, not many were leaving.

I stood there for a long time with clipboard in hand while other volunteers - including the Meetup guys – enjoyed themselves inside.  I mentioned that to Anna and while she is an extremely sweet girl, I noticed that she lacks the experience and confidence to lead people; especially someone like the guys who had come through Meetup.  She asked if I could request them to come help and when I got them, they showed up with drinks in hand.  I couldn't say much since other volunteers were doing it as well and maybe it was me who had this all wrong.  Maybe I was the misfit.  However, if the volunteer leader did not want to take ownership and discipline people, then I had no business being there anymore.  Anna is really a kind soul and from what I’ve observed, a truly wonderful person.  But she needs to work on her confidence.  I hung around for some time and then asked Anna if she needed me.  She said no and so I left with a bad taste in my mouth, which was a shame since this was a good cause and there were a lot of decent people in there.  In any case, I had a big day coming up.

Pumpkin Carving: Meet The Pequeños From NPH El Salvador!

Location: Old St. Mary’s School

Date: Thursday, October 24, 2013; 6:00-7:00 pm

My first letter from Brenda

I had volunteered through One Brick for a NPH event and during then, not only had I learned more about the organization, but had seen the photograph of a little girl with twin ponytails and she had won my heart.  I found out that her name was Brenda; she was 20 months old and resided in El Salvador.  The following week I had written to NPH saying that I wanted to sponsor Brenda every month and while mine was going to be a nominal amount, it was sure to make a difference in her life.  A few days after the paperwork went through, I received a welcome package which included her picture and what looked like a handwritten letter in Spanish.  In that she – or rather someone else writing on her behalf – said that she had 4 sisters, liked to dance and color as well as eat pizza and sing.  She said that she liked to play with her friends and really liked ‘Dora The Explorer’.  Looked like little Brenda was certainly an interesting person and not a bad 'Goddaughter' to have.  Thus, my formal association with NPH had started and because of that, I was on their mailing list and kept informed of everything that was going on with them.  I received an email saying that a children’s musical performing group from El Salvador, called ‘Pequeños’, was visiting Chicago and the neighboring suburbs and there was an evening scheduled to meet with them and do some pumpkin carving while we were at it.  Not an opportunity that I would have missed under any circumstance. 

I was corresponding with a NPH staff member Betsy and told her that although the program was supposed to start at 5 pm, I would only be able to make it there after work, around 6 pm.  She said it would be fine, just that I should expect a lot of pumpkin mess when I arrived.  The venue was in a school on South Michigan Avenue and as I walked up to the address, I first entered the church that was affiliated with the school.  It was completely empty barring one person who directed me to the school across the parking lot.  I checked in with the security and they called someone to come downstairs to get me.  I was escorted to the party room by one of the teachers of the school, who told me that the kids were having a lot of fun and I was just in time to see their creations with the pumpkins.  That was absolutely true as I entered the room to see lots of kids gathered around the table carving pumpkins and some were decorating masks.  I met Betsy, who introduced me a group of kids and their chaperon.  All of them spoke Spanish and so Betsy was interpreting for me.  Since these kids were from El Salvador, I wondered if they knew Brenda and so I showed them her photograph.  Well, not only did they did know her, based on their reaction they seemed to be quite fond of her as well. 

Pumpkin carving supplies

I walked about and saw some kids carving with some sharp looking knives and hoped that they knew what they were doing.  Some of the other NPH staff members whom I had met during the One Brick event, such as Melissa and Gaby, were also in attendance and I chatted with them for a bit.  Seeing that the pumpkin carving was almost done, Betsy asked if I wanted to sit with the group decorating the masks.  I was more than happy to and joined a group at a table which also had one of NPH’s  ‘Young Professional’s’ board member, Megan.  We chatted about NPH while the kids around us were making masks.  Since no one spoke much English, Betsy had to come over frequently to translate what they were saying and what I was trying to say; though I did tell them that their English was far superior to my Spanish, and I would even struggle to tell the language apart from Italian!  One of the girls had made a lovely mask with purple feathers and considering that she was wearing a purple striped shirt and purple makeup, it wasn’t too difficult to tell what her favorite color was.  The kids then moved on to play ‘Twister’ and it looked like they were enjoying themselves.  Megan said that it was a pity that she was too old for that, though I told her that there’s shouldn't be any age limit to having fun. 

I met a lady with whom I had chatted during the gala setup and she recognized me.  When she learned that I was now sponsoring a child, she thanked me profusely and even gave me a hug. She said that I should perhaps look into becoming a board member since there were lot of ways I could get involved in the program.   The time was almost over and the kids were now taking a group picture and they looked genuinely happy.  Over the weekend they were attending a Halloween party and everyone would be in a costume, one duo going as a cow and a cowboy!  Wonder if they had recruited someone else to be a horse as well.  Before leaving, Betsy introduced me to the “baby” of the group, a young man who would be turning 14 over the weekend.  I told her that he was going to have the birthday of a lifetime.  Looking at these kids, it was easy to forget that all of them were living in an orphanage.  They had so much joy to give and as far as they were concerned, their real family was each other.  I was proud to be involved with them and especially Brenda. I was now invested in the organization and I told this to Gaby and Betsy.  

Another letter

A few weeks later I came home after a tough day and was emotionally drained.  As I looked through my mail, I found another letter from Brenda. This one had a hand drawn picture of what looked like a family of four in a field with a tree and the sun and a blue cloud in the sky.   At that moment, with everything that was going on, I felt like I had a family of my own.  With tears in my eyes I looked at those stick figures and Brenda’s latest photograph accompanying the letter, I knew that while one may not get what they want in life, there are other ways to seek those things out.  Yeah sure money can’t buy you love or other things people crave the most.  But it sure goes a long way in making things easier, while doing some good as well.  This letter was the proof of that. 

American Cancer Society Making Strides Steering Committee Meeting

Location: American Cancer Society Office

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2013; 6:30-8:00 pm

I had volunteered for the ‘Susan Komen’ walk earlier in the year and as such was on their mailing list for social gatherings, having in fact attended a party to celebrate their event a few months ago. This evening they were offering complimentary tickets for a ‘Bon Jovi’ concert this evening and I had requested a pair for me and a friend.  ‘Bon Jovi’ was the first concert that I had ever attended years ago, having won a ticket in a slogan contest for ‘Pepsi’.  I was looking forward to going, but my friend had to cancel and I didn't feel like going by myself.  So I informed ‘Komen’ that I would not be utilizing the tickets and instead decided to go for the final ACS meeting of the year - just before our walk on Saturday - and they definitely needed help since tonight was going to be a working session.  So the reason I was going to help an organization supporting breast cancer research was because I turned down a gift from another organization doing the same.  I am always amazed by life’s little ironies. 

I arrived at the ACS building to hear lot of alarms going off.  The badge the security gave me did not work and they had to eventually let me in.  I went upstairs and saw that the room where we have our meetings had been rearranged and people were busy working.  Ted, who is now running the show, has tremendous energy and greeted me with great gusto.  He then introduced me to Carrie, who is the “new Adam” and will be the main point person with the Strides Committee moving forward.  Ted said that Carrie had hit the ground running and had arrived from Indianapolis to take up this job.  Her enthusiasm could be gauged from the fact that she had landed at the airport at 4:30 am, and had gone straight to the ‘Shedd Aquarium’ for a promotional show.  She thanked me for coming and then it was time to get to work.

The 'Survivors' bag

Our first task was preparing a gift bag for the ‘Survivors Tent’ and this included the usual assembly line where we would go around the table, stuffing the bag with goodies such as ‘Post-It’ booklet, a pink sash and some stencil like thing.  The bags were actually quite good and would make for an excellent take-home present.  We went around in circles and after filling each bag, put them in a box.  After some time we ran out of ‘Post-It’ and so had to stop since we did not want some bags to have lesser things.  There were several boxes with shirts in them – no doubt to be distributed to the walkers – and Ted asked if I could close them and stack on a cart.  When it came to closing, I wondered if I would be using tape, but Ted showed me a way in which you could fold the flaps onto themselves.  I struggled with it initially, but eventually managed to get all the boxes done. 

Photo frames with the flyers

Some of the ladies were cutting tiny strips of flyers for the event and these were eventually going to go inside photo frames.  I worked with another volunteer Jess, to get all of these photo frames out of the plastic bags and then started inserting flyers in them back-to-back.  These frames were then going back into the bags that we had assembled earlier.  So I set about inserting the frames into bags, zipping them up and putting them in back in the boxes.  While this was going on I chatted with Andrea, who is a leading volunteer with ACS and had delivered a heartfelt speech at the launch breakfast – something I complimented her on.  I learned that she was a Marathon runner and had just run the ‘Chicago Marathon’ and was targeting to run the ‘World 7’.  While we continued to work Ted started giving us our assignments for the day of the event.  He said that he wanted at least one committee member per station to manage general volunteers. There were stations such as the ‘Survivors Tent’, which is always popular, kids area, raffle, food and other activities such as temporary tattoos etc.  I was initially assigned to the food station, but then Ted said that they needed someone authoritative looking at the photo booth, to ensure that people did not take off with the props such as the pink wigs.  Besides this I was also to keep the other volunteers, which were mostly teenagers, in check. I said that I would get my dark sunglasses so as to look as authoritative as possible! 

We were almost done and I moved the stuffed boxes to one end and inserted the last of the photo frames inside the bags.  Ted said that while our evening was done, he had to next go to the two ends of the city to deliver shirts.  It would be a long time before he would be done for the night, but such was usually the case just days before the event.  I left feeling thankful that I had been able to come instead of going to the concert.  They had definitely needed help and it just goes to show that something good always comes out of a seemingly unfortunate situation.  Next stop was Saturday, and the walk for which we had been preparing for the past 8 months.

Come Help Feed The Homeless And Neighbors In Need At North Side Ravenswood

Location: All Saints' Episcopal Church

Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2013; 6:00-8:00 pm

I found this opportunity on the Volunteer Meetup group and upon closer inspection saw that none other than Wilson had posted it.  I asked him about it and he said that initially he had approached One Brick to put this event on their calendar, but they had been reluctant and so he had “gone rogue”.  He had been talking about getting more involved through Meetup and this seemed to be his first foray into that realm.  A lot of people had signed up and there was in fact a waiting list. Seeing this makes me wonder why One Brick sometimes has difficulty in filling up their spots.  I did not know anyone else on the roster except Amanda, who had also signed up.  The information on Ravenswood Community Services said, “Ravenswood Community Services provides hunger and poverty relief, health services, and life skills education in the Ravenswood and Uptown neighborhoods. In 1993, they began handing out bags of groceries to about 20 neighbors through the front doors of All Saints' Chicago. Today, this vibrant non-profit serves hundreds of hungry neighbors each week and implements strategic neighborhood change through their feeding programs and through their partnership with Ravenswood School.”  Definitely looked like an ideal organization to support.

The 'Haven'

I arrived at 6 pm and it was good that instructions had been provided on how to get inside since the entrance was hidden between two buildings. Many volunteers were assembled and some of them asked what One Brick was all about. Since there was no official EC for this project, I gave a short overview and some folks said that they would like to participate. We were still waiting to be called in and so I looked around the waiting area; and was delighted to see that behind me was what appeared to be an office, and inside were 3 dogs. They were the site manager’s pets and seemed pretty exited to get some attention.  I was taking their pictures, and one of the volunteers Katarina asked if I liked dogs so much, perhaps I could walk hers!  Anna, the volunteer coordinator for the pantry, came in and welcomed us.  She told us about the pantry and how besides food distribution, they also did a dinner service, where tonight we would be serving around 125 guests.  She then took us to a place that she called “Haven”, where various pantry items were on display, and people were browsing.  We then went down to the kitchen, where a team of volunteers who had arrived earlier in the evening, had finished cooking the meal. Our task was to carry the trays of food upstairs and serve the various tables.  The menu for tonight was ‘Ham & Veggies’ and ‘Mashed Potatoes & Gravy’.  It looked good and it seemed like the cooking team had done a great job.

The dining area - all cleared

We formed a line and picked up the trays and walked up two flights of stairs to the dining area.  Once there we looked at Anna for instructions and served the tables as per her directions.  The room was buzzing with people and I made several trips, as did other servers, but we were done quite soon – all of us getting a decent workout with the climbing. Even with our speed, with so many guests, by the time the last plate had been served, the empty trays had started piling up and were on their way down to the kitchen for washing.  I went about collecting the empty trays and delivered them to the waiting volunteers, many of who had formed an assembly line of dryers, since there were many hands that were already washing.  As I wasn’t needed in the kitchen, I went back upstairs to help clean the dining area, which had now emptied out.  We folded the tables and stored them, following which I grabbed a vacuum cleaner and went around the room.  I came back down to see that cleaning, drying and storing were in full flow.  There was a lot of excess food that had not been served and most of it was being thrown in garbage.  This is a pet hate of mine and I mentioned to Anna that they should have take-home containers – similar to what many other places do.  She said that it might not be allowed, though she would look into it.  

I chatted with one of the cooks from the earlier shift and he has been volunteering here for a long time.  He told us that once a year during the holidays the place transforms itself into a restaurant and they do a gourmet dinner with Tablecloths, printed menu’s and the volunteer’s even dress up.  The idea is to make the guests feel important and more festive than usual.  It is a brilliant idea and I made a note to try and come for that.  As I took out the garbage and came back in, I saw a flyer for a fundraiser event that they were having on Friday.  I asked Anna if she required volunteers and she said that in fact they did.  I said I could come, as did many others.  She seemed delighted at this and it looked like we were already booked for our next assignment.  Although this wasn’t a One Brick event, we still went out afterwards and I chatted with Katarina about other projects where she could get her dogs, like ‘Pet Therapy’ at Lakeview Nursing.  It had been a good evening, meeting some new folks who typically would not have signed with One Brick, because they didn't know about it.  Well, now they did, as did I about Ravenswood Community Services.  And I would be seeing them again very soon. 

Esperanza Junior Board Halloween Fundraiser

Location: Grossinger City Autoplex

Date: Saturday, October 19, 2013; 7:00 pm-12:00 am

My third stop today was at an Esperanza event.  It is an organization that I had done a project for previously and today was their Halloween Fundraiser, meaning that people were expected to show up in costumes.  I was in the loop after the CAF project and Wilson picked me up followed by a stop to get Irina.  We arrived at the venue, which was actually a Toyota Car Dealership.  Having done a Make-A-Wish project at a car dealership, I knew that it was actually a nice venue for hosting parties and other group activities.  Well, it looked like someone else besides us had the same idea because another event was in progress on the 1^st level.  It was a scrabble tournament and from the looks of it, people seemed to be enjoying themselves and having a good time.  Our event was on the 2^nd level and we got on a really long escalator to go up there.

It was after all a Halloween Party

We saw that most of our crew had already assembled, including Kinga, who was the EM, Dave, Rich, Peter, Tiffany and another volunteer that I had not met before, Will.  It was truly an all-star One Brick crew and I was in fact the EC, responsible for ensuring they were having a good experience.  Our first task was to help arrange some of the furniture, which included a circular table that was deceptively heavy.  Wilson and I huffed and puffed as we rolled one into place, and then it was time for Stephanie of Esperanza to give us instructions.  The first place that they required help was at registration, where Tiffany would be stationed to greet the guests and then check their tickets.  If they did not have pre-purchased tickets, they could buy them for $60 at the gate.  Furthermore, if they announced themselves as being “fans of the band”, they were eligible to get a discount.  I asked what band was playing and it was someone called ‘Cloud 9’, and obviously I had never heard of them.  But for getting a discount, I would be willing to embrace them as 21^st century ‘Beatles’!  Stephanie said that the guests were coming for a good cause and rather than carry out an interrogation on ‘Cloud 9’ greatest hits, we were to let them through with a discount should they request one.

Next task was coat check, which is usually a dull job and Peter, who was under the weather, said he would do it for the duration of the evening.  Knowing Peter, even if he wouldn't have been sick, he would have still done it without complaint.  Rich and Dave were going to be at the bar where most of the help was needed.  Tonight they would be pouring, and since there were no tools available for measuring, their guidelines were to use two fingers for liquor and 4 for wine.  Plus there were no recipe’s available, meaning they would be making things up on the fly. What could possibly go wrong!  The food station had mini dessert treats and pizza, and someone was needed to replenish the food when supplies ran low.  Irina said that she would do that while Wilson was going to be the photographer.  Will was going to staff the ‘Fall Fest’ booth, selling advanced tickets to Esperanza’s November event as well as answering general questions regarding the organization. Finally, I was going to be at the Silent Auction and Raffle tables, to ensure that no one "took" the raffle prizes.  Wow, things you have to monitor at a fund-raiser!

Silent auction and raffle prizes

I went to my station and looked at what we had to work with.  There were 3 silent auction items – ‘Blackhawks’ tickets, signed ‘Blackhawks’ jersey and ‘Cubs’ tickets.  Besides that there were 7 raffle prizes, 5 of which were either iPhone, iPad or Galaxy cases, and one was a 'Trader Joe’s' food bag with various goodies and finally a care package.  Around 7:30 pm the guests started arriving and many were in costume.  I was at my station and many guests were stopping by to ask how they could get the raffle tickets, at which I would point at a girl who was walking around wearing wings.  Well, thankfully they had not asked one of our volunteers to do that.  The crowd was getting larger, meaning the bar was getting busier.  Tiffany and Will were now pulled into the bar and that meant that besides my tables, I had to cover Will’s ‘Fall Fest’ table as well.  I would move between the stations depending on the crowd and at one stage I saw a woman looking at the exhibits at the ‘Fall Fest’ table.  I went over and tried to sell her a ticket, only to learn that she was a board member and of course knew everything about Esperanza.  Actually, very few folks were stopping at this table, while a number of them were now trying to outbid one another at the silent auction.  This kind of competitive behavior is always good at fund raisers since it is all for a good cause. 

They weren't as good

One group of guests walked in and all of them were dressed like ‘Disney’ characters.  I saw 'Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Snow White’ and what looked like a very liberal interpretation of ‘Mulan’.  The band was in good form and everyone was dancing, including the ‘Beauty’ and her ‘Beast’, though I prefer their dance from the movie, rather than what was on show here. During a break in the proceedings, the girl in the ‘Snow White’ costume walked over to look at the raffle prizes and I asked her where her apple was.  She said she didn't have one, though she did have her iPhone out in her hand…which ironically is the new age ‘Apple’.  I pointed it out and she seemed to enjoy this one and mentioned to her friends....though I sincerely hoped she didn't get too intoxicated and think it was a good idea to bite into it!

The party continued till 10:30 pm, during which all the silent auction and raffle prizes had been handed out, as well as prizes for the ‘Best Costume’.  Now it was time for an extensive clean-up session, which comprised of taking the garbage out to the back, consolidating the food, and taking out all the alcohol to the Esperanza van in the garage – and it was a lot of alcohol.  I was amazed at the number of bottles they had used up and the amount they had not.  The entire clean-up took us a long time and it was well past midnight before we left, thus ending a long day for me.  I was exhausted and this ‘Sweetest Day’ had taken its toll, both mentally and physically.  And while there are been no “showering of gifts and sweets”, it had been a useful day for me, having done three very different activities.  I had finally been trained in ‘Youth-In-Services’ program, visited the top of the ‘Jeweler’s Building’ and had helped out an organization that deserves a lot of credit for what they do.  Maybe I just need a different perspective to recognize the true meaning of gifts and sweets. 

Open House Chicago

Location: JAHN (Jeweler's Building)

Date: Saturday, October 19, 2013; 12:45-5:00 pm

I had been to Chicago several times before finally moving here.  It had always been one of my favorite cities and part of the reason had been the architecture.  I have been always impressed by skyscrapers and had imagined myself living in one such high rise in a major metropolis.  Even when I had visited Chicago in the past, I had made it a point to spend time marveling at the architecture and after becoming a resident here, had taken membership with ‘The Chicago Architecture Foundation’. This had led to me going on several walking tours of the city, as well as the fantastic river cruises.  What I did not know was that every year for one weekend, the CAF opens the doors to over 150 buildings across Chicago, and allows people access to certain areas that they normally would not have.  But with crowds lining up outside all of these buildings, CAF required a lot of help in managing this process and that’s where One Brick came in. 

The great Chicago Skyline

I walked over after my Chicago Cares training and arrived at the Jeweler’s Building, which was one of the locations that we would be helping out in.  As I got there, I realized that it was in fact the same building, which housed the Starbucks that I frequently visit on my way to office.  I went inside to check in with the EM Laura, and found some other regulars there as well.  Besides this building, they also wanted some folks in ‘The House Of Blues’ building and so some of the volunteers left for that location while I stayed.  There were 3 tours of architecture firms being offered in our building – Clayco and Arup for general public and Jahn for members and those with priority access pass. There were two tables in the lobby, which were staffed by 3 volunteers each. One of the tables was checking-in general admission and the other was for members.  At each table one volunteer had to count the number of people, while the other noted down the zip code where they were from.  It sounded redundant to me since the zip codes should point towards number of people visiting, but that’s just me.  I had no idea what the third volunteer was supposed to do.

The earlier shift left and now it was up to us.  I was dispatched outside to manage the long lines that had formed on the sidewalks.  There were two lines, for general and priority access, and were on either side of the entrance.  The interesting thing was that the priority access line was much larger than the general admission, which was counter-intuitive.  I was trying to figure out my exact role outside, when one of the organizers realized that there was a person who was already doing this duty and so I was sent back in.  My job was to stand near the revolving door – that again – and manage the entry of people in the member’s section.  At any point there were to be only 16 people inside, where 8 went upstairs for the tour.  The other 8 then stepped forward and I was to let in the next 8 in the line outside.  This seemed easy enough and I positioned myself next to the security guard.  He asked me not to let people exit from the revolving door, but rather from the one on the side.  Now, this was not as easy as it sounds and I had some difficulty controlling the crowd.  I asked another of our volunteers to ensure that people were exiting correctly, but many still found a way to slip through our “net”. 

While I was responsible for letting people in, another volunteer Monika, was managing the process of letting them on to the elevators.  Sometimes a family would come in, skewing up the 8+8 count and she kept reminding me to just let 8 in.  Every now and then I had to make some adjustments by letting some single visitors in before a couple in order to keep the number at 8.  While I could understand the reasons why we wanted the numbers consistent, it was a cold day and people were shivering as they waited.  I would much rather let more people in than less, but had to follow the guidelines that had been established.  The general admission folks were using the entrance as well and it got chaotic when both groups of people came in at the same time.  Since I had to shuttle in and out, many times the people coming in were confused and went to the wrong check-in.  Plus a new security guard had started his shift and could care less what was happening.  But, we more or less were able to “herd the cats” in a systematic manner. 

Since it was cold outside, many people coming in were asking if there was a bathroom that they could use and unfortunately that was not an option.  Furthermore, the guards had told us not to let anyone do photography inside the lobby, which was a challenge to manage with everyone carrying smart phones.  But the people coming in were great about everything and quite friendly as well.  Two extremely enthusiastic girls arrived and I mentioned that they looked delighted to be visiting. One had a camera and I told her that photography was not allowed; though for the life of me I did not know what national secrets the lobby was hiding.  At this she said, “Don’t even get me started!”.  Another gentleman asked if we were paid as volunteers and I said that we weren't.  He could not understand how that was possible and I mentioned that volunteers weren't paid, not because “they are worthless, but because they are priceless”.  I thought it was poetic enough but he clearly wasn’t impressed.  I don’t think he will be signing up for any One Brick events anytime soon!

Some people bypassed the lines and walked straight inside and when I pointed out that they had to wait, they would pull out their priority access card.  I had to explain that it still did not mean they could walk in and unfortunately there was a line for them as well.  But, they were nice and as we got closer to 4 pm, it was obvious that many would not be able to come inside, despite waiting in the line for so long.  It was shame since they were braving the cold wind and it looked like it would be to no avail, at least for today.  The organizers then told us to only let 6 people in, since two of the volunteers were now going to be allowed upstairs – plus we were getting the priority access. As I stood in the line, there was a couple in front of me and the girl kept looking at the elevator nervously.  She mentioned that she was claustrophobic and I said to her that everything would be fine and if she wanted, I could show her pictures of puppies on my phone.  She laughed at this but when time came to board, she couldn't go through with it and preferred to wait downstairs while her boyfriend went with us.  Personally, I think he could have come up with a better solution, such as getting her to lean against him as the went up, but then I am known to have delusions of romantic notions every now and then. 

View from the Jeweler's building

We were going to tour the Jahn offices and their staff member showed us designs of many projects that they have done all over the world.  One such project was the ‘O’Hare Airport’, and having a managed an energy project there, I know what kind of messy design they have there.  I tried to ask him some questions on that, but after having conducted dozen’s of tours today, he clearly was in no mood to engage.  The best part of the tour was when he took us to a very unique looking circular elevator, which deposited us on an observation deck with spectacular views of the city.  It had been worth every single minute of my shift and I suddenly felt bad that the couple with the girl waiting downstairs could not share this together.  I could have stayed there for a long time, but that wasn’t going to happen and we came down to prepare to leave.  One of the perks of doing this project – besides the tour – was the awesome swag, including walking tour passes and discount coupons for the CAF store.  I went with our team for a drink at the ‘Emerald Loop’, but couldn't wait long since there was still another chapter to be written on this Sweetest Day. 

Chicago Cares Youth In Services Leadership Training

Location: Chicago Cares Offices

Date: Saturday, October 19, 2013; 10:45 am-12:30 pm

Sweeeet

Faithful readers will recall my triple-header on ‘Valentine’s Day’ earlier in the year.  I had three things on my calendar for today and it also happened to be the ‘Sweetest Day’, Valentine’s Day counterpart in the Fall.  I had been unaware of this one and after a quick search on the trusted ‘Wikipedia’, I learned that this was in fact a “holiday” celebrated primarily in the Great Lakes region and one where “females shower men with gifts and sweets”.  Well then, sign me up!  My first stop was at the Chicago Care’s offices, which happen to be near the ‘French Market’.  On a beautiful October morning, I walked over there and treated myself to a nice Italian Chocolate drink for breakfast. I wasn’t going to wait around for any woman to shower me with sweets when chocolate is at stake.

I had already shadowed Youth In Services (YIS) projects thrice, even taking an active role the previous time.  However, Joyce at Chicago Cares wanted to make it official and asked me to come in for a leadership training session.  Actually, this was Chicago Cares’ quarterly Leadership Training and YIS was a breakout group.  She told me that since I had already done it, I did not have to be there for the common training.  So while the session had begun at 9 am, I showed up at 10:45, just in time for YIS training.  I was directed to a room with two other trainees, Keisha and Veronica.  Since all of us had previously shadowed at YIS, we started by discussing some of our experiences and I talked about my time at the Ruth Shriman apartments and they shared their stories as well.  One of the points I made was that YIS was unique because you get to train the next generation of volunteers and leaders, while serving the community.  As we were having this discussion, another trainee Tom joined us. 

Joyce then handed us small cheat sheets with different scenarios to discuss – an exercise I have done at all of the other training sessions.  I read the first scenario which was, “What would you do if the youth are running late”.  Well, I said that it was funny you should ask since this is exactly what had happened at my previous YIS project.  I told the group how we had switched things up a bit by having Bingo first while we cooked.  Everyone agreed that this was the right approach, though I did caution that since the youth have to leave at a certain time, by leaving the dinner for later, you may not get a chance to complete the clean-up; also something that we had encountered.  Next scenario was a one where the youth are not interested in the activity and have been coerced into attending.  We discussed how it is important to communicate to them why we were doing this project; how it impacts the community and the people directly.  But the main thing is to deliver this message in a way that gets them excited.  Finally, there was a scenario where the chaperon was not being helpful.  Hmm, this was interesting one.  The youth usually take their lead from the adults and if the chaperon with them was being difficult, it would make our job as leaders more tedious.  But the worst thing we could do was get into an argument with the chaperon in front of the youth.  I said that everyone has a bad day and it could be the same for the chaperon.  The right thing would be to take them aside and ask “How can I help you?”  Showing that courtesy may get them to help out and it would also help to give them actual tasks to do. 

Before we left, we had a reflection game where Joyce would throw a foam piece that was shaped like a brain at someone, and the person holding that was allowed to speak.  Everyone spoke about what they liked about the program, and many echoed what I had said earlier.  When my turn came to speak on what were our main concerns, I mentioned safety – with the burn marks still fresh on my fingers.  We discussed how it was important to fill out accident reports and mention everything. Also, in case of a cooking project where knives were involved, it was our duty to ask everyone if they were comfortable handling knives and if they said no, move them to another task.  Our training was done and we discussed some of the other Chicago Cares programs before leaving.  I told them about my hilarious experience at Caroline Hedger Apartments and while I meant it as a humorous anecdote, I saw Joyce taking notes.  Uh Oh.  But it had been a useful session and I felt like I was prepared to lead a YIS project.  Now it was just waiting for the right opportunity.  Well, there had been no “showering of sweets” here, but I had certainly enjoyed it a lot.  Onward to the next project.  

Bingo Fun with Seniors

Location: Caroline Hedger Apartments

Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2013; 6:00-7:00 pm

This was a program I had never done before, or even come close to doing.  But I was free this Wednesday evening and decided to make the trip.  And boy, it was a long trip - way up north near Loyola.  The commute meant that I was rushing to make it in time.  I arrived a couple of minutes late, meaning that the Bingo session had already commenced.  Melissa, or Missy, was leading this one and she asked me grab a Bingo card and go over to a table.  I saw a table with a lady and a gentleman and went over to sit with them.  What followed was the most hilarious Bingo episode of my career.

Here we go again

One of the volunteers was at a whiteboard, writing down the numbers that had been called.  This, in my opinion was a great idea, since it allowed everyone to fill out the numbers that they may have missed, and also let me catch-up despite being late. I noticed that the gentleman at my table was constantly giggling.  Well, I have been to several Bingo sessions, but have never seen any resident find it to be an amusing game.  I asked him what was so funny and he replied that he was just in a good mood.  I could appreciate that since it is definitely better than the alternative.  I looked around me and saw that Missy had brought some cupcakes for the residents and they were some of the most colorful ones that I had seen.  I also noticed that the gentleman on my table had a bottle of hot sauce with him and I asked if he planned to use it on the cakes.  At this he burst into a new set of giggles and I was happy to have contributed to his good mood.

The lady, who introduced herself as Romi, asked me if I was from the Philippines.  I said no; I was Indian.  This did not seem to convince her and she asked me if I was from any other oriental country.  I said no; I was originally from India.  She asked if I had a different ancestry.  I said not that I’m aware of.  “No, really”, she asked suspiciously.  I said yes, I was sure!  Man, she was difficult to convince.  This exchange added further fuel to the giggling man’s humorous fit and he continued with his silent laughter.  Missy, on the other hand, was as serious a Bingo caller as I have ever seen.  Well, at least someone was having fun.

Romi won and selected a word search book.  She told me that now she couldn't win another prize till everyone else had won; which I found to be a practice consistent with other places.  Next, the giggling gentleman won and to my immense surprise, he handed his board to Romi, who chose another lady to get the prize.  I was confused and asked the gentleman why he had given his prize away and he said that he was not allowed to win.  This was strange since he had not won before and I was wondering if he had somehow managed to get himself banned from winning prizes over here.  I was about to ask that when he said that volunteers were not allowed to win.  Wait.  What????  A volunteer!!! This gentleman - Tom, who I had been mistaking for a resident, was actually a volunteer.  Man, what a faux pas.

In the meanwhile the game continued and a lady at another table won and as she got up to choose a prize, Romi went on a tirade where she claimed that the lady had already won before and was hiding her earlier prize.  Tom started giggling as Romi took it up a notch by claiming that the lady who had supposedly cheated was drunk last Saturday.  Now, what did that have to do with anything?  In my opinion what the other lady did in her free time was her business, but apparently not according to Romi!  I looked at Tom and he said, “Now do you understand why I’m giggling?”  Yeah, now I understood and I was having a blast.  Another lady won and Romi resumed her tirade, saying that this was her 4^th win.  I was quite sure it was an exaggeration, but did not correct her.  Instead I looked at Tom and both of us burst out laughing. 

Next, Romi won and even though she had a prize, she got up with an innocent look on her face and claimed one more – garbage bags this time.  She then brought them back and hid them underneath the table.  The she removed them and kept on top.  Then she hid them again and finally when Missy announced that everyone had a prize, she displayed them proudly.  “Make up your mind”, I said.  Tom giggled.  Romi was now warmed up and said that everyone over there cheats and if I looked under all the tables, I would find lot of hidden prizes.  I said that perhaps she should get a bag next time so as to hide hers and Tom called me a troublemaker, at which I started laughing and he joined in.

Missy was looking at our table suspiciously and seemed generally irritated at our behavior.  Amidst her glares, Romi continued her complaining and when someone called Bingo, she accused them of cheating, though how can you cheat at something which is as transparent as Bingo numbers was beyond me.  Just as Romi was complaining that someone had won for the 5^th time, she won herself and went to claim her 3^rd prize, another puzzle book.  Missy asked how many prizes she had and Romi said only 2 – as she hid the garbage bags again.  Then she continued muttering how others were claiming multiple prizes and Tom asked her if she would jump off a bridge just because others were doing so.  Romi hit Tom playfully as he started giggling again and Missy glared once more. 

Finally the hour was up and it was hard to believe that we had managed to pack so much action in such a short time.  By action I mean the hilarity which had ensued and I told Missy that this was the most fun I have had, without getting into the specifics as to why.  Before I left we chatted about the Chicago Cares ‘Christmas Caroling’ project that she is leading in December, and I told her that we should have spiked ‘Eggnog with Rum’ on the bus as we went from one site to another.  This seemed to relax her and she let go of her irritation with us.  I left that day as I usually leave after a Chicago Cares project, happy that I had come.  The only difference was that instead of smiling, I was laughing.  What an evening!

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

Meow! Cat Ears And Goody Bags For The Black Cat Ball

Location: Chicago Party Animals

Date: Monday, October 14, 2013; 6:00-9:00 pm

First of all, contemplate the title.  It starts with a "Meow" for God’s sake.  So it was obvious that we would be helping an organization that had something to do with kitties.  This was indeed the case, since we were helping ‘Tree House Humane Society’ prepare for their annual ‘The Black Cat Ball’. According to the description on the One Brick website, “The Black Cat Ball is the Tree House Humane Society's biggest, most well-attended event of the year and helps raise funds to help the neediest cats in Chicago.  Nearly 400 attendees enjoy great food, drinks, auction prizes, and dancing. This year, they will also learn about updates on the progress of a new Adoption Center and Low-cost Veterinary Clinic.”  It went on to say that, “Tree House is a humane organization that promotes the inherent value of every animal and strives to educate the public about proper and responsible animal care, with a focus on the care and placement of stray cats with special physical and emotional needs. They are committed to finding every healthy and treatable animal a home and to helping lead the way to a No-Kill nation.”  We should support any organization that helps those who are unable to speak for themselves and animals are on top of that list. Our job this evening was to stuff goody bags and make cat ears for gala guests. Now, I had no idea what making of “cat ears” would entail, though Wilson - who was the manager - assured us that instructions would be provided.  We were also told that while no cats were expected to be present at the project, there was a chance that the owner’s dog may be present.  Well, I could live with that.

"Get off my couch"

I convinced my colleague Elizabeth to come with me and since the place was just a mile away from our office, we decided to walk.  What we had not counted on was that it would take us through the old meatpacking district, which still reeked.  We finally arrived at the venue and I saw Wilson along with some of the other One Brick regulars. One group had gotten started on making the ears, which involved tracing the shape on black and grey foam, and then cutting into the proper shape.  Besides making cats ears, we were also going to assemble goody bags to hand out at the ball.  However, the supplies for the bags were still not on site and so we were just waiting for instructions while nibbling on some cheese snacks.  As advertised there were a couple of dogs were indeed in attendance and I went over to play with them.  One of them was a Pug named Mr. Big and the other was Frankie, the Beagle.  Mr. Big has a favorite corner on one of the couches in the area and does not like anyone else sitting there.  I learned from his owner that if anyone has occupied that spot, he stares at them and then guilt’s them into getting up.  Today no one was there and so he had settled nicely into his space.

Treat for the kitties

As we were still waiting, we picked up boxes full of some glasses and started putting them into bubble wrap pockets.  These were eventually going to be a part of the goody bags and one of the ‘Treehouse’ volunteers told us that she had moved apartments plenty of times to know how to tuck bubble wrap inside glasses so as to not break them – certainly a useful skill to know.  Rich and Gary were in attendance and I introduced them to Elizabeth as “beer snobs”, well Gary more than Rich.  It was fun catching up with some of the other volunteers, including Michelle, who reminded me of the crown that she had made for me at the last project that we did together.  Amidst all of this, the goody bag supplies had finally arrived and we laid it out as an assembly line and started our usual method of walking around the table putting it inside the bags. First up was a CD, followed by a chewy toy for a cat.  Then we had a choice of either putting in a post-it pad or a colorful bracelet.  I told the others that I refused to put the post-it inside till we ran out of the bracelets.  I mean, come on.  There isn't even a choice here.  There were several flyers, which were supposed to go inside as well as some cat food – chicken, turkey or salmon variety.  Once again, I decided to choose salmon variety, knowing that cats preferred fish to anything else. Then there was something called a “lickety stix” treat and finally the wrapped glasses.  I picked a bag and then went down the line grabbing one of each.  While some like Elizabeth were doing two bags at a time, I stuck to one.  As I collected all of the flyers to put into the bag, the lady who had shown us how to wrap the glasses said that obviously I had never learned to collate.  I said that while I had heard and seen that word on many a photocopying machines, I had no idea what that even meant!  Soon we started running out of some of the items and Erin, who worked for ‘Treehouse’, said that we should continue with whatever we had.  This meant that as the things ran out, the bags became lighter and after a while there were so few things going in, that we stopped. 

The cat's ears

I went over to play with the dogs, including a new shaggy black one called Fritz.  In the meanwhile the group making the ears was going strong and I went over to join them.  They required help in tracing and cutting, and I started with the grey foam, which was being cut in a hexagonal pattern.  I joked that it looked like ‘graphene sheet’ that was being cut into individual ‘cyclohexane’ molecules and Gary, who is a chemist, got the joke.  I wasn’t doing a very clean job of tracing and even a worst job of cutting, when one of my ears got chipped. While we were doing the cat ears, Wilson was making Mickey Mouse ones.  Soon it was time to leave and we started cleaning up, including carrying tables to the basement, which resembled a lounge.  I mentioned that it was good enough for One Brick to have some parties over there.  It had been a fun evening and some of us went out in the evening.  I for one couldn't help but imagine how everyone coming to the ball would look when they all wear these ears that we had made.  Why, someone would even have a chipped one!