American Cancer Society Making Strides Steering Committee Meeting

Location: American Cancer Society Office

Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2014; 6:00-7:00 pm

I had been trying to get ‘One Brick’ volunteers for our event, but it had not materialized due to lack of initiative on all sides.  Then I heard that there had been significant interest from many organizations who wanted to volunteer and so ‘ACS’ required everyone to fill out a “Volunteer Application” and send it in by August 31^st.  Once they evaluated those, there would assign people to their roles.  I felt that it would be a challenge to get ‘One Brick’ to do this and so I informed them that we were all set as far as volunteers were concerned.  I arrived this evening and chatted with Jesse who said that if there was a need to fill spots once all assignments had been made, then perhaps they could request help from ‘One Brick’.  I said that that would probably be too late and we should just do with what we have. So much for me trying to get two organizations that I volunteer with to work together!

The conference room where we usually meet was arranged differently this evening owing to an earlier meeting and so we were all sitting at 3 separate tables.  Carrie started by posing a question, saying that now that the ‘Kick-off Breakfast’ was done, what excited us the most.  I was the first to go and said that while the actual walk was something to look forward to; I was interested in seeing how this team would work together over the next couple of months and make this event better than last years…which had been pretty awesome.  Others talked about how someone in their family or a loved one was either diagnosed with breast cancer or was a “survivor” and so they were really looking forward to the event itself.  Definitely nothing wrong with that.

Even dogs need protection from the sun!

Next was the “Mission Moment” with Katie, who reiterated the importance of skin protection during summer months with 3 important things – wearing appropriate clothing, putting on sunscreen and finally, wearing a hat.  Speaking of sunscreens, we learned that there are sunscreens designed for dogs and why not.  They are as exposed as the rest of us.  Le’Loni then gave us the “Advocacy Moment” update regarding a “National Action Plan” to avoid Skin Cancer.  We learned that on July 25^th, the “House” passed a “Sunscreen Innovation Act”, which would allow the ‘FDA’ to evaluate new sun screen products.  Looks like things were moving in the right direction.

Carrie gave us the update on numbers and as compared to 61 teams and 150 participants at this time last year; we had 68 teams and 251 participants.  She then talked about “Stride Sessions”, which are 4 workshops for “Team Leaders” and even individual participants, to come in and learn more about fundraising.  Next a couple of ladies talked about a fundraiser that they are a part of – “You've come a long way survivor”, which was a 20s themed party in the suburbs.  There were going to be acknowledgements for “Caregivers” as well, where you could nominate someone and they would be “surprised” at the gathering with someone giving them a plaque.  That was a fantastic idea since its easy to forget that besides the patients, the toll on people who support them is sometimes equal to the suffering that they go through.

Next up were committee reports and first up were the same ladies who were organizing the party and they talked about “Survivors & Caregivers” committee.  They said that they had secured the massage and manicure services as well as “hors devours”.  They said they were also going to make “Hope-Faith-Love” rocks to be handed to the “Survivor" and "Caregiver” visitors to the tent.  Next was “Entertainment & Activities” and Katie had been busy planning the “Scavenger Hunt”.  She was going to have a word search puzzle, where you had to go find key words by visiting all the tents.  I said how about taking photographs of various things at the event.  Someone added, “How about a photo with a survivor” and that sounded like a great idea.  Jesse said that there was still no word on the “Flash Mob”, though Carrie and her brother were designing a “Pink Jenga” game, where each block that was pulled out would have an inspirational message.  Some of the other activities planned were “hair extensions”, “face painting”, “tattoos”, “Photo booth” and potentially a “costume contest”. 

Next update was from “Advocacy” and Le’Loni told us that the “Happy Hour” event in July had led to 9 sign-ups, which wasn’t a lot.  ‘ACS’ cannot call and invite politicians to the event, so it was up to other committee members to do so.  Plus we had to be clear that the politicians could not use the event as a forum for lobbying, neither could their supporters.  For example, if anyone showed up wearing a t-shirt supporting a politician, we were to ask them to turn it inside out or leave.  The rules were very stringent on that.  Next we talked about “Promotions” and all of us got flyers to distribute.  We could go to local businesses and ask if we could put them out, though my plan was to do so at my office.  Carrie talked about a women’s only Networking event for “legal professionals” that ‘ACS’ is hosting soon and told us to spread the word.  Finally, there is another Networking event on Monday 18^th and unlike the ‘CAN’ event, it is free.  Carrie requested some volunteers for that I said that I would go help.  We left after a good meeting.  74 days to go. 

American Cancer Society Making Strides Steering Committee: Chicago Kick-Off Breakfast

Location: Hilton Hotel

Date: Monday, August 04, 2014; 6:15-8:30 am

Another year had gone by and once again it was time for another ‘Making Strides Kick-Off Breakfast’.  The location for this year was different though – ‘Hilton Chicago’.  Carrie had sent an email to the committee members asking if we could volunteer and if so, we were required to arrive at 6:15 am to help with registration.  She said it was a formal affair and so had requested us to wear “business attire”, which should also be pink.  Now, as much as I would love to rock a pink suit, it not justified for just one event a year.  So I wore my jacket and tie and arrived at the hotel just after 6:15 am.  I saw that Ted was wearing a nice pink tie and maybe that's something that I should add to my wardrobe for occasions such as these. 

The Registration table

Carrie was setting up the registration tables and the first task was to put our ‘Making Strides’ table cloths on them.  After that I went about placing nametags, marker pens and other such paraphernalia that folks at registration usually require.  My fellow committee member Katie arrived and we took over one of the tables.  We had a script in front of us and which included us welcoming the guests to the event, asking for their name and checking against the provided list.  If the name was on the list, we were to scratch it off using a pink marker.  If not, then we were to request them to fill out a small registration form.  If the letters “TL” appeared in front of their name, then they were a “Team Leader” and we were to give them a kit to help in their fundraising efforts.  Finally, we were to ask if this was the first time they had been to this event and if they replied in the affirmative, we were to give them pink neon name tags, else plain white ones.  The newcomers would definitely be noticed wearing that bright hot pink label.

We had a lot of attendees

Carrie wanted us to practice on each other and as we did so, I found my name on the list and scratched it off.  It also said that I was a “TL”, though me starting a team was probably not going to happen.  Although the ballroom was only going to open at 7 am, people had already started arriving.  Katie and I started welcoming them and went through our entire script as planned.  There were several people whose name was not on the list and who had to fill out the form.  A few told us that they had been called multiple times and were a bit miffed because of that.  Katie and I discussed our progress this year and we both were in agreement that Carrie had done a fantastic job as a leader.  The program got underway at 7:30 am, though people were still coming in.  We were supposed to go inside, though it was clear that they needed some people waiting outside to greet the latecomers.  Katie and I had been sitting at the corner table and now moved towards the center so that people coming in could see us.  We could hear the speeches and it seemed like Ted was giving a rousing and passionate opening address.  As we waited outside, Katie told me that she had read recently that the youngest breast cancer survivor was 3 months old…3 months!  This definitely puts into perspective everything that we were trying to accomplish today and throughout the year leading up to the walk. 

It was getting close to 8:15 am and Katie had to leave for work.  It seemed that all of our visitors had arrived and so I went inside to get some coffee.  Ted was taking about the importance of joining ‘CAN – Cancer Awareness Network’ – in fact I had attended one of their fund raiser events last week.  Ted was urging people to sign up and even renewed his own membership on the spot.  Everyone who contributes $20, get a special commemorative pin and Carrie insisted that one of the volunteers go up to the stage to hand Ted his pin.  When no one moved, she grabbed a pin and did it herself.  Ted’s speech had done its job and I could see many hands go up as people did indeed join.  Ted talked about loving his job, but waiting for a day when he is not needed and someone would take away this job and eliminate his position.  He said that his entire team feels this way and seeing their work ethic and passion, I believe him.  I left to get to work and it had been a successful morning, though we still have a lot of planning left to do over the next couple of months. 

Zoo Guest Relations Volunteer

Location: Lincoln Park Zoo

Date: Sunday, August 03, 2014; 1:00-5:00 pm

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo.

I do believe it, I do believe it's true.

Whose eyes?

I had requested my release from the ‘GRV’ commitment and thinking that last week was my final shift, I had signed up a ‘Make-A-Wish’ project.  But they requested that I come one final time and so I found myself on the bus back to the zoo.  A couple of gents, looking at my uniform, asked if they could follow me and I said sure.  I guess this will stop soon.  I arrived in the volunteer room and Jeremy, who was present today, said that it was sad that I was leaving and thanked me for coming in today.  There were the new volunteers from last week, as well as some of the regulars like Judy, as well as Jim, who has been with the zoo for a year.  We started by reviewing the shift sheet and I was happy to see that the ATM had finally been fixed!  They were still promoting the “Bowling for Rhinos” event and despite the best hopes of the Snow Owls and the rest of us, there would be no Owlets this year.  We then played “name the eyes game” where we saw a group of animal eyes and had to guess whom they belonged to.  Finally, Jeremy told us about the Shrimp Mantis - spotlight of the week - and which appears to be one badass creature.  Now it was time for my final session.

My first stop was at ‘Gateway’ with Jim and I stayed behind the desk while he handed out maps outside.  The phone was ringing off the hook and I was able to answer most of the questions, which either dealt with the price of admission – free – or the zoo closing time.  One senior gentleman came inside and he wanted to call a pick-up service using our phone.  We started chatting as he waited for his pick-up to arrive.  He told me that he wanted to get a special needs person to come visit the zoo.  He said that it was either this or the ‘Cubs’ game and I said that there was definitely more excitement over here.  As he waited, he told me about his father, who had said to him that he had "not need for him as a son".  I asked what his age was when he was told this and he said that he heard it all the way from 6 to 16 years of age.  Wow, that was an unpleasant person for sure.  I had other customers to handle, those wanting a map or directions and soon we were full since it had started raining and everyone had stepped inside for shelter.

It's a light and tumble journey

From the East side to the park.

Fortunately for me it was just a passing shower since my next stop was at the ‘West Gate’.  I found a place to stand so as to greet the visitors and noticed that there was one more person there with a camera.  She was stopping people as they came in and asking if they wanted to take a picture.  If they chose to do so, they could then pick up those pictures after an hour at the booth next to ‘Gateway’.  She had a lot to say in a short time when people came in and it was made difficult by the fact that she was suffering from a bout of hiccups.  I tried my best to recommend some home remedies ranging from bending down to drinking water.  As the people came in she would say, “Hello, welcome to Lincoln Park zoo.  Would you want to squeeze together and take a photo”.  Some said yes while many did not.  She said that grandparents with little kids are the best customers since they rarely turn this down.  She was doing a good job since she was making sure she got the family pictures as well as kids in close-up.  After she had left at 3 pm to upload pictures – why isn’t there a Wifi on cameras – I continued greeting people and handing out maps.  One lady came with kids and said that they were visiting the city.  They wanted to know if there were any special demonstrations and I said there was “Cow milking” in ‘Farm-at-the Zoo’ in 10 minutes, meaning they had better get down there fast.  It was about to start raining around 3:30 pm, which coincided with the end of my stay here and I rushed to my final stop at the ‘Gateway’.

Jim was still there along with Andrew, who was in his 2^nd week as a ‘GRV’.  As soon as it stopped raining, Jim went outside again to hand out maps, which was excellent since he was intercepting a lot of traffic that would have typically come in.  A mom came in with couple of kids and said that her son needed an eye patch.  I wanted to make some ‘Pirates’ related joke, but she then went on to say that he had lost his contact lens and since the prescription was strong, he was getting dizzy by just seeing clearly through one eye.  That made sense.  The paramedic put gauze on his eye and taped it up.  I did wonder why he didn't just remove the other lens, but that would perhaps have led to him being unable to see.  Some of the other happenings for this afternoon entailed a lost credit card being turned in and a woman who came in to report a lost ‘iphone’.  She said that it was pink and with sparkles.  I asked where was the last place that she had seen it and she said that she had put it on the toilet roll in the ladies bathroom and had forgotten it there.  Well then.  I guess there are ways of losing stuff and this was as good as any! 

Just a fine and fancy ramble to the zoo.

But you can take the cross-town bus

At least two families came because the “moldarama” had given them faulty “pigs”.  We did not have any similar models and so one of them took a “gorilla” and the other a “monkey”.  One person came and complained about the vending machine that had taken their money and this is a common complaint.  Finally, it wasn’t all just issues, as one woman came and inquired about renting out a place in the zoo for a kids party and we gave her the email address and asked her to contact us with details. 

It was 5 pm and I left ‘Gateway’ for the final time and went back to the volunteer office to hand in my ID and name tag.  I told Jeremy that I was sorry that this had not worked out.  I had met some really nice people during my stay here over the past 5 weeks and I will miss them.  But it was time to move on. Though I will always remember with fondness the summer that I spent at the zoo.

If it's raining or it's cold.

And the animals will love it if you do.

-          Written by Paul Simon

“The views expressed on this weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.”

Job Coaching

Location: Open Door Shelter

Date: Monday, July 28, 2014; 6:45-8:30 pm

Just like this time last year, Chicago Cares had asked if I could lead this project over the summer while Claire coached her volleyball league.  I looked at the online agenda that she had followed with the other leader on alternate turns and noticed that the icebreaker that I had used last year had not be done since.  I went to a coffee shop the previous Saturday and while I had my “Dream/Nightmare Job” icebreaker, I still required a main lesson for the evening.  I decided to go with “Role Reversal”, where the youth would “interview” the volunteers for a bit and the volunteers would be encouraged to give “bad responses”.  After this there would be a feedback session where the youth would identify the mistakes the volunteers had made.  Finally the volunteers would interview the youth and were expected to get more professional responses.  I wrote down some examples of what a bad and a good answer to a question would look like.  For example, if the following question were to be asked, “In your previous job, how was the working relationship with your colleagues”, a bad answer would be something like, "They were a lazy lot and I was the only person with any common sense.”  While that may have been true, a more professional response should be, “I owe my success to my colleagues and while there were challenging times – mostly due to the standards that I expected all of us to live up to – we all worked towards the common goal, which was building the business.  If that meant that I had to take a leadership role to get things done, I did so.”  I wrote down a few examples and was as prepared as I could be.

I emailed the volunteers on the day of the project and even send them the agenda.  One volunteer wrote back and asked if she needed to bring any supplies and I responded by saying that it was my task to do so.  I did go to a store over lunch and picked up some labels and candy, candy being the best bonding tool for children, youth and adults alike.  I arrived at ODS at 6:30 pm and waited for others to get there.  One volunteer sent me a note of cancellation saying that she was new to Chicago, wasn’t aware of the distances and since was running late, would have to cancel.  So that was one down.  Fortunately 3 of my volunteers arrived soon and all of them worked together at ‘Career Builder’.  I really admire people who do this, where they use their expertise in programs like these.  Another volunteer showed up soon and she said that she was doing this project as a part of a 30 day thing where she would do something new every day.  That sounded like a cool thing to do.  All of them were first time volunteers with Chicago Cares, though one of them had done the ‘MLK Celebration of Service’ before.  I told them the usual things about this place, especially about not giving the youth their contact information, even if they asked for it and rather directing them to me if they required any follow-up.

Yeah, I would visit a Parisian Bakery every day

We went upstairs and gathered around for introductions.  Another volunteer arrived and we now had 6 volunteers, including me, and 7 youth; though 2 girls looked like they would much rather be somewhere else.  After introductions I split everyone into 3 teams with couple of volunteers and at least 2 youth in each.  We were going to play the icebreaker game.  I started by saying how I was never interested in being a doctor and how I like writing and would love to be financially independent so as to do that.  One enthusiastic girl said that her “Dream Job” was to be a counselor and “Nightmare Job” was anything to do with weather or history…because of course they are related!  Another girl said that she would love to be a “Game Designer” whereas she did not want to work with people.  We assembled back as a group and now had to introduce each other’s “Dream and Nightmare Jobs”.  It was interesting to listen to everyone and when one youth said that he wanted to be a chief baker at a ‘Parisian Bakery’, I said that my dream would be to visit such a bakery every day!  One of the volunteers said that her dream was to have her own doggie day care, which sounded great as well.  It was funny that another volunteer’s “Dream and  Nightmare Jobs”, were same as mine – be a blogger and not a doctor. 

I then paired every volunteer with a youth and a couple of them would have to do double duty, though one of the youth in each group looked disinterested.  I was not participating but rather walking about and listening to everyone.  The volunteers were doing a good job of staying in character and being unprofessional in their responses – we had not told the youth about this. I stopped by a group and the volunteer asked if the youth could pose a question to me.  He asked “Where do see yourself in 2 years” and being in character, I said “In your chair’.  He said that I came across as confident and that was good.  I said there was a fine line between confidence and brash, and one should realize that.  We discussed conflict resolution and he told a story about him as a kid, when he and his siblings would fight for the remote control to see their favorite shows.  But then he realized that after his mom left for work, he could stay up and watch whatever he wanted.  This way he avoided the conflict with his siblings, but in doing so, he did disobey his mom.  I said it wasn’t the worst thing in the world to break curfew and as long as he could spin this story in a positive way during an interview, he could use it.  Say that yes, you may have disobeyed your mom every now and then, but you found a way around the conflict.

I kept walking around and heard other interesting comments from the youth such as a business idea for an ambulance with two beds so that greater number of lives could be saved during an accident.  I said that there must be a reason why they don’t do it today, perhaps they need the room for paramedics and the equipment.  He responded by saying how about we make the ambulances wider.  I said that the problem with that was then there wouldn't be enough room for them to make it through traffic.  I said that the ideas were great and I encouraged them to follow a critical thinking path to get to the right answers.  Another idea proposed was of “Self-driving baby carriages”.  I said to him find me 10 mothers who would be willing to leave their baby’s untouched when outside and then we can talk.  Our session seemed to be working as one of the youth told me that he wouldn't hire the volunteer he was interviewing since she was being unprofessional.

I went and chatted with the staff member of the facility and he was busy editing a video on his laptop computer.  He thanked us for coming and mentioned how we are really helping out these youth.  In turn I thanked him for having us over and told him how last year we had a volunteer who had returned to “give back” to this place since she had once been a resident here.  He said that this is what they needed, people like that volunteer who realize their responsibilities.  I joined a volunteer and the enthusiastic girl that we had met earlier.  We asked to see her resume, though she kept making excuses such as “printer not working” or “it was on a flash drive in her room”.  I said that if she really wanted to have us look at it, we could make it happen.  She promised to have it ready the next time we came.  We then talked about the difference between resume and a cover letter and some of the things that constitute a good resume. 

Time was almost up and so I gathered everyone back for a reflection session.  I went around and asked the people to share with the group something that they had learnt today.  For anyone who gave an answer, I handed out a candy.  Many gave great responses and our strategy of “role reversal” had definitely worked.  We bid goodbye to the youth and came downstairs where I assembled the volunteers and asked them for feedback.  They said that perhaps we could start the sessions by asking the youth what they wanted to accomplish, rather than deciding the agenda for them.  I said that the problem with that approach was that we may receive answers which we may not like, but it was worth a try.  It had been a successful session and I look forward to returning next month.

Zoo Guest Relations Volunteer

Location: Lincoln Park Zoo

Date: Sunday, July 27, 2014; 1:00-4:30 pm

A long and winding road for volunteers

Over the last week I had been thinking about my role at the zoo a lot.  While I had enjoyed my time as a ‘GRV’ – all 3 times I had done it - the commitment of having to go week after week was going to take its toll.  I knew exactly what I was getting into but now that it was real, I felt that very soon I would come to resent it.  Volunteering should never be a chore and one of the reasons I like volunteering with Chicago Cares is because it is on my schedule.  I choose the projects.  Sure my duties at ‘Adler’ are recurring, but they are monthly – and I could always opt out every now and then.  But here at the zoo I had to be available every Sunday.  Plus unlike the staff, for whom this was a job, Sunday was a day I usually did my chores.  Moreover, even the volunteer coordinator over the last 3 weekends had been a different person, while I was expected to be there every week.  But still, I knew what I was signing up for and now I had to undo this.  So I arrived early and talked with Tessa – it was her turn today – and she understood where I was coming from.  We agreed that rather than being a ‘GRV’, perhaps a “Special Events Volunteer” was more of what I should do, meaning this could be my last shift.  I would never make it up the chart on the wall honoring seasoned volunteers as they go up a winding road.  These guys had put in hundreds upon hundreds of hours.  And to think I had started less than a month ago.  At the pre-shift meeting Tessa told us about some upcoming events like ‘Bowling for Rhinos’ and another evening Wine tasting event.  Then she gave us a list of all the institutions where we would have free entry as volunteers.  Man, just when I had decided to quit!

Today we had several volunteers in house, including 2 new guys who would be paired with Pat, Rose or Judy.  With two people being trained, it was obvious that ‘Gateway’ would have more than enough people today.  Hence I had just one shift there and it was my first stop.  While Pat trained the new volunteer, I was at the front desk, handing out maps and giving directions to the bathrooms.  The phone was ringing frequently with one lady wanting to reach the vet and I messed it up twice while trying to transfer her call.  Answering phones ain't easy.  People were coming in with membership cards for free gifts and since I had seen how that worked, I was able to serve them in a timely fashion. Same was the case with people who had a ‘Go Pass’, and who got tickets for carousel or train rides.  Towards the end of my shift one woman came and mentioned that her wheelchair had been stolen.  Well, that was a new one.  She said that she had left it outside a building and it was gone when she returned.  We issued a security alert for it, but unless it was recovered, it would be a tricky situation to deal with.  I couldn't wait and see the end of this since I was due at my next stop, which was the ‘West Gate’.

I stationed myself by the gate across the upcoming Macaque’s exhibit and many people did ask about that construction.  My task was mostly greeting people, handing out maps and giving directions, especially families looking to go to the ‘Farm In The Zoo’.  It was quite an uneventful stay there, other than me having to tell some folks not to ride their bikes.  My final stop was near the ‘Wild Things’ gift shop.  Construction had blocked an accessible ramp to the North side of the zoo and so my task was to stand by the stairs next to the gift shop and re-direct the strollers and wheelchairs around the building to another ramp.  Well, in theory this sounds great, but many people did not care and just carried their strollers up the stairs or were carrying it down.  I called Tessa on the radio and requested that another volunteer be placed at the top of the stairs to do the same duty as me for people coming down.  Besides trying to regulate this, I was also handing out maps and - you guessed it - giving directions.  I had to stop someone from rollerblading, though he claimed that he couldn't take them off since he was only wearing socks and had no shoes.  I told him that unfortunately he would have to leave.  Similarly I had to tell another little boy that he couldn't ride his bike and it nearly broke my heart when he looked at me through puppy eyes and said, “But I’m going so slow”. 

Speaking of kids, one guy looked absolutely horrified when I told him to leave his stroller outside the gift shop.  “But there’s a baby inside”, he said.  I mean how ridiculous does that statement sound.  I almost responded saying that the baby could enjoy a smoke outside while he shopped, but had to politely tell him that babies were allowed inside the store.  Finally, for the first time in 4 weeks, I had to call in a missing kid and Mike, the ‘Gateway’ supervisor came over with a security guard and they spoke with the guardians who had reported it.  These things happen more often than you would think and are almost always resolved immediately.  In my time outside I had recorded over 400 interactions and at 4:30 pm I went back inside to return my stuff.  I had to leave early today and I asked Tessa if this was it for me. She said that they may request one more shift from me next Sunday and then prepare for my transition.  Looks like I will be back one last time. 

“The views expressed on this weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.”

Zoo Guest Relations Volunteer

Location: Lincoln Park Zoo

Date: Sunday, July 20, 2014; 1:00-5:00 pm

Prior to my shift, I went to get a sandwich for lunch and looking at my uniform, the cashier asked if I worked for the zoo.  The same happened on the bus as a lady said that she and her kids were headed to the zoo and would get down when I did.  I guess I was getting noticed.  I got down at the ‘Farm In The Zoo’ stop and told the lady and her kids to visit that first and then make their way up to the main zoo.  After doing this civic duty, I arrived at the volunteer office and saw that it was Jeremy’s turn today to be our coordinator for the afternoon.  Also present were other volunteers, Rose, Judy and a new recruit, Yitan.  Jeremy went through the pre-shift notes including the upcoming zoo events.  There’s a volunteer breakfast next Saturday at 8:30 am and while I would like to attend, well it depends on whether I want to get out of bed!

"Did you hear, the Macaques are coming"

My first posting was at the ‘West Gate’ and I made my way over there armed with several maps, a radio and a clicker.  I started greeting people coming in and out while handing out the maps at a rapid pace.  Some people were asking for directions to specific animals, the Giraffes being the most popular.  Once again, I heard comments expressing surprise that the zoo was free.  All through my time here there had been construction happening by this gate, in preparation for the Macaque exhibit that was opening soon.  One girl was very interested in that and asked me if we had torn down anything else to make room for that. I responded in the negative, saying that the reason there was construction was because we were creating a natural habitat.  People were friendly as usual and some stopped by ask for directions, not just within the zoo, but also to places like the ‘North Beach’.  All in all, I had over 400 interactions during my hour at this location. 

At 2:30 pm I came back to the volunteer office to return my radio and clicker and then headed to ‘Gateway’ for a long session.  My partner to start off the afternoon was Rose and since it was a nice day, she said that she would stand outside to hand out maps.  A gentleman came in and I asked if he wanted a map.  I then learned that he was Mike, the supervisor of this place.  Well, in my defense he wasn’t wearing the green zoo shirt.  The wheelchairs were in demand and many were stopping by to borrow them.  One gentleman asked if we had a “power chair” and seemed greatly disappointed when I said no.  There were the usual visitors looking for the bathrooms and the maps were disappearing as if containing directions for a buried treasure!  There were phone calls that I had to answer, with people calling to ask about parking rates, zoo closing times etc.  By this time Rose had come back in and at one stage chastised me for speaking over her saying, “You are probably used to working by yourself.”  I can’t say I didn't deserve that.

Judy and Yitan soon replaced Rose for the conclusion of my shift at ‘Gateway’.  Judy seems to be the chief trainer and mentor for new volunteers and today was no exception with Yitan shadowing her.  While they did their usual training, I was handling the front desk by myself.  There were a few members’ appreciation gifts like lunch coolers, blankets etc.; that they could pick up and a few stopped by this afternoon to redeem their gift receipts.  Visitors having a ‘Chicago GoPass’, were entitled to a free ride for their kids on either the carousel or the train in the big courtyard.  I was shown how to scan the pass and then give them their ticket, and there were a few who claimed them.  Other than that there was a minor medical need, some people who stopped by to charge their phones, a report of theft in the parking lot and a person complaining that the ATM wasn’t working and so he couldn't buy things.  But no visitor this afternoon beat a guy who seemed to have had a few too many at lunch and was now looking for directions.  Despite me pointing it out to him, Judy had to walk him to the gates to ensure that he reached the right place.  It had been a typical afternoon and time really flew by till it was 5 pm and the end of my shift.  I left after chatting a bit with Yitan, who is getting a PhD in “Glaciology” or study of glaciers.  Yep, I sure do meet interesting people every day. 

“The views expressed on this weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.”

Rock And Roll Half Marathon

Location: McCormick Place

Date: Saturday, July 19, 2014; 8:00 am-12:30 pm

I often scout the Make-A-Wish website for volunteer opportunities and had found this one, though without much clue on what we would be doing.  I was at a concert the previous night and got back to my place quite late.  As the alarm went off the next morning, I wasn’t really sure if I would be able to do it, but a commitment is a commitment.  I took a cab to McCormick and went inside to the information to ask for directions.  The lady over there said that she had no clue and I immediately thought that I was in the wrong place….again.  Well, it wasn’t that bad since I just had to relocate to another wing, which can be a hike in this gigantic place.  I followed the signs to a hall and it did look like an Expo was being set up. I guess I had arrived.

I was stopped at the entrance by a lady who told me to return at 9:30 am.  After convincing her that I was in fact a volunteer, she let me through.  I checked-in and got my shirt and a goody bag.  They asked if I was here for the whole day or just the morning session. Considering that the morning session was over 5 hours, I said that it would be enough for me thank you very much.  Besides MAW volunteers, there were other folks as well and I asked who else from MAW was in attendance so as to stay with them.  I located a couple of them and we wondered if MAW had a specific task at the event, but leaned that it was pretty much the same for all volunteers. 

The organizers took us to the registration area to explain our tasks and it was essentially to assist in bib pick-up for the participants.  We were to be placed one person per corral – they were numbered from 1000 up to 36,000.  The runners would come as per their corral number and we were to take their package pick-up form, check their ids and then give them their bib, which also had a tag that went on their shoe to record their time; a gear check ticket, one for their t-shirt and finally one for a beer after the race.  We were also to give them an envelope containing pins for their bib and finally point them towards the t-shirt pick up place through an arch.  Whew.

The pink balloon

The lower numbered corrals meant that those runners were expected to finish faster.  If people in higher numbered corrals wanted to switch to lower corrals and thus start earlier, they had to get the corrals changed.  On the contrary, if the faster people wanted to start later, there wasn’t an issue.  If we were to encounter any problems with registrations, we were to direct people to the “Solutions” desk, which was identified by a Pink balloon over it.  In fact all desks had unique colored balloons with “Beer Garden wristbands” being Black, “Corral change” being Yellow, “Registration” being Purple and I also saw several other colors.  I said that we needed a cheat sheet just to remember all of that.  I was with couple of other MAW volunteers, Taylor and Michele, and we took over adjoining corrals.  I was on #15, which meant bib numbers from 15001 to 15999, though for some reason the numbers ended at 15500.  One of the organizers stopped by to check on us and on chatting with her I learned that this was a multi-city international event and as a part of her job, she goes from city to city.  She said that she was headed to Dublin next week.  "I would be visiting the suburbs of Chicago", I said.

My station

Around 9 am people started coming in and after greeting them I would check their id and find their bib saying, “This is the tag which goes on the shoe. These are tickets for gear check, t-shirts and beer. Here are the pins for the bib.  There's a wrap in there to tie your gear check bag.  You can collect your shirts through the archway.  Good luck".  And yes, I had to do this again and again. There was a lady from New York City and I mentioned how much I loved visiting there and definitely prefer their pizza to Chicago-style.  I saw that someone was from England and I thanked her for coming this far and told her to visit the sights.  In fact there were a lot of people from out of town and I hoped that they would be able to enjoy the food and drink of Chicago after their race.

Yeah, I had all sorts of visitors!

I have always enjoyed these interactions during my projects, especially when I have worked the registration desk at various events.  There are always unique people that you end up meeting, like a girl who had forgotten her id, but said that she could show me her ‘Facebook’ profile as evidence.  I guess this is truly the world we live in now. There was even a lady with a dog in her bag.  I saw a little girl with her mom and asked if she was planning to run as well.  She said not in the race, but then proudly stated that she was starting to run.  I wished her luck and said that soon she would be able to take on her mom. One girl said that she had come straight from running a 5K race today and I congratulated her.  She said that after her half marathon tomorrow she would get that medal and then another one for finishing both.  Plus there was one more for being a fundraiser.  I said that once she had gathered her 4 medals, I expected nothing less than a pose with all of them, which the organizers could use on their promotional materials next year.

Almost everyone who came was friendly, though a few of them weren't interested in small talk and wanted to get out as fast as possible.  One lady came in running in and when she realized that she had to fill out the package pick-up form first, said “Why do you have to make it so complicated”.  Then she ran to fill out the form, ran back to hand it over, picked up the bib, and then ran for t-shirt.  Maybe she was double parked!  I had to send a few people to the "Corral change" booth and a few to the "Solutions" desk.  Then there was a guy who wasn’t sure which corral he belonged to since there were 3 others with the same name.  But overall it was a smooth time.

My fellow MAW volunteers got relived at 12:30 pm, though I was still there.  After some time I went over to the organizer and said that I was here just for the morning session and would appreciate if they could find a replacement for me.  She thanked me for my service and sent over a new person whom I trained and was now free to leave.  I walked about the expo area which was full of merchandise for runners and it was now rocking with people.  I did now know how MAW had been connected with this race, perhaps receiving some promotion through them.  A lady had asked me how I was involved with MAW and I had said to her that I was a “Wish Granter”.  She had then told me how her friend’s son had his wish granted, which was throwing out the first pitch at ‘St. Louis Cardinals’ game.  Man, that’s a cool thing for a kid to do.  No matter what their connection to this event; any opportunity to help out an organization like MAW, is definitely worth the effort of getting up early.