Location: Lincoln Park Zoo
Date: Sunday, July 27, 2014; 1:00-4:30 pm
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| 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.”
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