Location: UIC Student Center
Date: Saturday, November 22, 2014; 10:00 am-2:00 pm
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| Back in the familiar hall |
It was that time again…one of my
favorite and most rewarding projects of the year. Make-A-Wish had sent an email earlier in the
week asking if we could pick-up some of the supplies, but that required access
to a vehicle and so I did not offer to do so. I
took a cab to the ‘UIC Student Center’
and for once I did not get lost. I went
up to the 2nd floor and there was no one in the big room. I guess I
was early. I asked one of the organizers
on where I could set up and she said wherever I wanted! I decided to choose the same table as last
year, especially since it was right next to the gift's table, meaning we should
get a lot of traffic. The organizers
found the supply boxes that MAW had dropped off earlier and just as I was going
through them, another volunteer, Megan, arrived.
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| My "turkey" |
We had 3 main activities for
today – tattoos, scratch-off cards and making a “hand thanksgiving turkey”, where you trace the outline of your
hand on paper, cut it off and make a turkey out of it. We set up the table with MAW table cloth,
just as our other two volunteers arrived - Fred and Monica. I traced out one of the “hand turkeys” and stuck “colored
feathers” - that we had cut from paper - on it. Then I stuck a sticker on it, which said “I am Thankful For” and
wrote, “Family, Friends, Make-A-Wish,
Holiday’s, Santa”. The other
organizations were setting up their stuff around us and the families had
started arriving. I saw Dr. Schmidt,
whom I had met last year, and she remembered me as well. We had a chat and she once again reiterated
how this was the only thanksgiving that most of these families would have. After some of my recent experiences with MAW,
I knew how important it was to have frequent reminders of that.
The place was bustling now and I
could recognize some familiar faces. At
our table the tattoos were quite popular and kids flocked to that – hey even I
was wearing a puppy tattoo on my hand! I
helped some kids trace out their turkeys and then they took over the
decorations, knowing exactly what they wanted.
Even with all of these kids around, I was looking for one particular child
– Olivia, whom I had seen a couple of years ago and then again last year. I asked one of the organizers and she pointed
out Olivia and her mom. I immediately
went over and her mom remembered me as well.
Olivia’s little brother who was but a baby 2 years ago was now a
toddler. And Olivia…I could hardly
believe how much she had grown. Time
does go by quickly.
I came back to our table and we
were indeed busy. Kids were coming in
for hand tracing, and tattoos as well as the scratch-off cards. In
fact, they were extremely creative with those and one kid even did a ‘Bulls’ logo which would have made them
proud. Two ‘UIC’ graduate students stopped by and they were interested in MAW
and what we do. I told them about our
mission, how to volunteer, as well as a few stories. Plus, one of them was getting a Doctorate in ‘Materials Science’ and I definitely had
more than a few things to say about that!
We decided to take turns for our breaks, and initially Megan and I went around to other stations. I picked up some information from a few of
them, including ‘Gilda’s Club’, so
that I would be able to volunteer with them in the future. One station was doing tattoos as well and I
got another one on my arm over there.
The station where ‘Bear Necessities’ was stationed was doing bracelets, but the best was a group
who was decorating donuts…real donuts which you could eat afterwards! As with previous years there was lunch which
some of the other volunteers were serving and we were welcome to join the
families. After having a bite to eat I
went back to my table and some of the familiar kids from previous years started
coming, including Steven, whom I had called the “most well-dressed young man” for two straight years and once again
he proved me right. Also present was his
ever-thoughtful sister Emelcee, who was doing an outstanding job with her scratch-off card.
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| The party was truly on |
The DJ was now taking over the
proceedings and he announced that it was his birthday. This led to us singing “Happy Birthday” to him after which he got the kids going by
playing some popular tunes and getting everyone on the dance floor. Little Olivia was there as well, hugging one
of the students and dancing and I later saw her do the same with another
toddler boy. The way he was chasing her,
I told Olivia’s mom that she was in trouble already! Next, it was time for raffle and the presents
on the table next to us were being handed off.
First claim was for the kids who were patients in the hospital and then
it was the siblings’ turn, which meant that Olivia had to patiently wait. She really wanted a baby doll, but
when her turn came, that was taken and the poor thing had to settle for
something else.
We did a few more tattoos and
turkeys – including a tiny one made by a little girl – and then it was time to
go. We cleaned up our station and I said
goodbye to Dr. Schmidt for another year before signing the giant "Thank You" card and then leaving. It had been another outstanding day and my
fellow volunteers had been fantastic.
Every year I leave this party, looking forward to the one the following year. Today
was no exception and I cannot wait to see Olivia again. This truly is one of the highlights of my
year.
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