Adler Advisory Council Meeting

Location: Eleven City Diner

Date: Thursday, April 23, 2015; 5:30-7:00 pm

Michael had mentioned that our fellow volunteer Bob was the chair of an “Advisory Council” and sent me and another volunteer an invitation to their next meeting.  But it was also the evening when Adler was having a ‘C2E2’ party and I was scheduled to volunteer for that.  So I asked Michael where he wanted me and although he had said ‘C2E2’, that session got cancelled and so I was able to attend this one.  The meeting was at ‘Eleven City Diner’, near my place, and I arrived to see that Bob was already at the restaurant.  Very soon Michael arrived, as did another volunteer Corey and that was it in terms of attendance.

I was now a "Councilman"

This council had been active for over 18 months, though I wasn’t sure what its role was supposed to be.  I learnt that the idea is for this council is to be an advisor for Adler in terms of what’s working and what needs improvements, especially for ‘After Dark’.  Michael said that since I was now a “veteran volunteer”, I would be able to contribute.  Bob had come prepared with some talking points and Corey had pages upon pages of notes.  I wasn’t even carrying a pen.

The main agenda item was creation of a “Concierge Desk”, which would be available to help guests with customer service, such as giving directions, show recommendations etc.  I said directions are something everyone needs and there are some tricky to find places such as ‘Johnson Theatre’.  Location wise, Corey said that currently she was near the entrance but was thinking of an additional desk near ‘Galileo Café’ and one more, possibly in lower level.  I suggested outside ‘Difinity Theatre’ since that was the epicenter of the lower level and a lot of traffic passed outside it.  We talked about having volunteers in pairs, else one person may be there without anything to do.  Corey also suggested an idea about placing “You are here” markers at different places.  This was a great idea and all of us liked it.

Corey said that the concierge folks should have ‘ipads’ so that they can refer to internet for any question that may come up, including scientific inquiries that are the “flavor of the day” i.e. in the news; which I get quite a bit.  Adler has some ‘ipads’ that can be used and Michael said that we could use those as long as they were looked after.  He also mentioned that we should have some critical links bookmarked, like bus schedules etc. in order for people to know their options during closing time.  We talked about having a cab company come pick up guests at the end of ‘After Dark’ event.  Michael said they had tried it, but the cabs don’t want to come since they can get additional business in the theatre district. 

We talked about helping the guests find surrounding attractions should they ask for it and I told them how we had a folder with similar information in the ‘Lincoln Park Zoo’ .  Michael said that people are usually not going anywhere afterwards, so it may be superfluous.  It is true that out-of-towners would probably come to Adler only in the morning and so we do not need to carry directions at our event.  I gave my feedback on some of the things that I had observed as an ‘Education Host’.  I mentioned having a “smartphone app” which people can use as a ticket, instead of paper, and Michael said they were working on it.  We talked about merits of “pocket science”, which is my favorite, as well as the “Bar Tricks” cart with 2 wheels.  Bob said we should just go to ‘Home Depot’ and buy additional wheels!  We concluded the meeting and Bob said that if you get to the end of a meeting with one good idea, it was a success – referring to Corey’s “You are here” idea.  Michael said that the council was ours to run as we pleased and that he wouldn’t interfere.  All ideas and recommendations were welcome.  It was certainly nice to be asked to be a part of this team.

Earth Day Beach Clean-Up

Location: Montrose Beach

Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2015; 1:00-3:00 pm

As I have posted in the past, I am a part of my company’s “Culture Crew”, and we have had some successful ventures in the past.  Now we were debating some activity for the ‘Earth Day’, after having done an “Earth Week” last year, albeit with limited success. This year, I was put in charge – since I said that I knew a few organizations - to organize the outing for our colleagues.  As with anything else, I contacted Wilson and he suggested that we go to the ‘American Indian Center’ to cook for the elders and listen to stories from them.  It was an intriguing idea since we would be learning about our land from the natives, but our team wanted to do something outside, which was totally understandable.

We sent an application to ‘Chicago Park District (CPD)’ – they only worked via a paper based application - and also called ‘Lincoln Park Conservancy (LPC)’.  The ‘LPC’ was very accommodating and were willing to work with us.  But they could not accommodate us on the actual ‘Earth Day’.  In fact, their ‘Earth Day’ was on Saturday 25^th and they were willing to let us come then.  But we wanted to do it on a weekday, not knowing how many of our colleagues would be willing to give up a few hours of their weekend.  While waiting for the ‘CPD’ to respond, we scheduled a tentative project with ‘LPC’ for May 1^st.  However, CPD finally responded and after a couple of phone calls and email exchanges with the lady over there, we finally had a project for April 22^nd at ‘Montrose Harbor Beach’.

Next came the recruitment activity, where we sent an email seeking volunteers and received several responses.  We had approximately 18 people who would be participating in Chicago and then it was a question of logistics.  We found out peoples ideal departure times based on meeting etc. and realized that 1:30 pm was probably the best time to start – though the ‘CPD’ really wanted us there earlier.  I bought some Granola Bars and a 36 pack of water and got a ride to the beach from a colleague.  With our luck, it was extremely cold with wind gusts and I even saw a few snowflakes in the air.  Not ideal beach weather by any means!

Look at us, hard at work!

Upon arriving, I met our site contact Janis and handed her the volunteer waiver forms, which they has requested that we sign beforehand.  Our group arrived in batches and once everyone was here, we got our assignment.  All along the beach, there were “shower pits” – areas where people wash off the lake I suppose – and they were full of sand.  Our job was to dig out 3 such pits and try to get them as “sand free” as we could.  We all grabbed shovels and split into teams.  It was hard work and very soon I wasn’t cold anymore.  The pits were deep and there was a lot of sand inside; and it took some effort in getting everything out of there.  Seeing that we were done, another ‘CPD’ staff member - Mike - told us that we could help in cleaning the sides of the building where sand had accumulated in piles.  Since there was a narrow path separating the building from the beach, we had to use wheelbarrows to collect the sand. This involved us filling them up and then transferring to the beach to dump, which was not as easy as it sounds and was quite exhausting.

There were a few other odd jobs that Mike requested, like cleaning up some leaves that had accumulated on the side of the building, but we were having lots of fun.  One of our colleagues had her birthday and we even sang “Happy Birthday” to her as she posed for pictures while sitting inside the wheelbarrow.  We had made significant change this afternoon and Janis and Mike appreciated that.  We left having felt that the ‘Earth Day’ had definitely been a success.  Hey, its not every afternoon that you can take off from work and go to the beach!

Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, April 20, 2015; 6:15-7:45 pm

Jim's treats

I arrived early and saw that Jim was settling in at his usual spot.  Once again, he mentioned how he was enjoying living by himself, though I guess he meant living away from here.  I also saw Josie and Holly and asked Holly about her birthday.  She said that her entire family had come over including her son and Great granddaughter named ‘Rival’!  She said that there had been a big feast.  I went upstairs to check on Pearl, but a nurse said that she was in the bathroom.  Downstairs, people had started assembling for Bingo and Holly had taken it upon herself to distribute Bingo supplies to the residents.  She really is full of energy.  Emma was brought over and she was wearing her cute ‘Mario’ t-shirt.  When I mentioned that it was good shirt, she said something about having had a good meal.  I asked what it was, and she said “juices”.  I asked what kind and she said “Lemonade and Grape”.  Jack had arrived and he was chatting with Jim.  I went over as Jim was examining his beloved ‘White Sox’ schedule.  He had come prepared with treats for the dogs and just as he opened the bag, we saw first of the dogs arriving.

Gronk!

It was a girl dog named Bailey and unfortunately due to a sensitive stomach, she could not enjoy any of the treats that Jim had, though that didn’t stop her from staring at him continuously.  There were several other dogs, including a little 8 month old cutie and a giant 10 month old girl named Gronk!  She was 120 lbs. and still growing, but also one of the gentlest of creatures.  Robyn was our Volunteer leader for today and she was with Bruce and June as usual.  Other than me, everyone else was new and we had a lot of dogs.  She paired everyone and I was going to be with her, especially since I could help with either Bruce or June.  We started on 1^st floor and most the residents from here were at Bingo.  However, there were a couple of ladies that loved dogs; one said that she had a huge ‘German Shepherd’ growing up in Poland and a cat.  She became very emotional when talking about her childhood and how the dog used to wait for her as she went to school.  She had just come to Lakeview Nursing last night and so was pleased to see such an activity over here.

We moved to 2^nd floor and stopped to see Polly and Dena.  I put June on the bed with Polly, so that she could pet her.  Poor Bruce was bumping his head a lot today, but as is his wont, he never complained.  Plus, he would sit whenever told and sometimes even on his own.  I mentioned to Robyn that he was the nicest dog that I had seen…and I have seen a lot here.  We went over to David’s and as usual he gave June a massage which she enjoyed thoroughly.  Next was a stop to see Loritta, who was chatty and feisty as usual.  But the most poignant stop was with a gentleman who was blind, especially since Bruce was here with us and we had seen his struggles in navigating.

We went over to 3^rd floor and stopped to see Hannah.  She was a bit bummed out because her book had been rejected by some publishers.  It seems that they hadn’t even read the manuscript and she said that she would have been even more disappointed if they had read it and then rejected it.  Next up was Jerry and as is usually the case, both Bruce and June wanted to get on the bed.  After they had their fill of munching on many of his treats, it was time for our final stop, which was with Pearl.  She told me about her crusade on improving the living conditions for the residents.  She called herself a “scholar, not a philosopher”.  I told her that I was glad to see her looking better and that she should keep it up. 

It was time to leave and I came downstairs to see that Bingo was over.  Jack said that he had won twice today and was looking pleased about that.  I asked if Emma had won and indeed, she had 2 prizes as well, “Fig Bars” and “Cookies Ahoy”.  I opened one of the container's for her and she enjoyed her treats, even offering me some, which I declined.  I said that I would drop her to her room and as I took her to the elevator, Jack asked if I could help him as well.  So I got them both in the elevator and then upstairs, leaving Emma in the capable hands of a nurse.  I came down and saw that Jim was about to leave. He told me that Larry was in the hospital...c'est la vie.    He and I walked out together as he talked about his new life, learning how to cook again etc.  I guess it’s never too late for anything is it…almost never.

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

Uptown Tech Club

Location: Brennemann (Joseph) Elementary School

Date: Saturday, April 18, 2015; 10:00am-12:00 pm

I used to come here for the “Drama Club” and that was one of the best Chicago Cares projects that I have attended, till it was cancelled.  So it was months later that I walked over to the school and arrived at the cafeteria to see the leader for “Read-With-Me” project and some volunteers.  I talked to them about the old project and how the kids had been extremely shy in person, but it was as if a switch had been turned on and they went into character when we started our improv skits.  It’s a pity that the project was cut.  A little girl was playing with a paper model of a ‘Chinese Dragon’ and it was brilliant.  I asked if she had made it and she said no.  She was having fun playing with it though and every now and then brought the dragon close to me and made growling sounds.  She would have been right at home at the drama project.

My Volunteer leader, Paul arrived and I went and joined him and 3 other volunteers.  A couple of the guys in that group were regulars and had been coming to this project for a long time.  Paul took us to a room with computers and our first task was to turn them on and logging in, which was easier said than done. The user name was a code that would have made the Government proud and I said as much!  The computer took a long time to start and then we had to install a program called "Scratch" from a flash drive, something that we would be using for our lesson today.

In the meanwhile, the kids had arrived and they were anywhere from 10-14 years of age.  Paul said that before we started on the computers, we would play the game of ‘Scattergories’ and he asked the kids to form teams.  There were 3 teams, one of 2 boys, then 3 girls and finally 3 other boys.  I said that I would play as well and Paul then gave everyone the 7 questions that we had to write answers to: (1) Name of a  City, (2) Things people give as presents, (3) Name of a show on TV, (4) A Job Title, (5) Things people do that are crazy, (6) Something that you want to do this summer and (7) A Basketball player who was currently in the ‘NBA’ playoffs.  You got 1 point for a unique answer and 2 points for a creative one.  There were no points awarded if someone else had the same answer as you.   Another volunteer gave us the letter, which was ‘C’ and we were ready to go.  I wrote down “Cancun” for my city; “Coloring supplies” as my present; “CSI” as the TV show; “Chief Operating Officer” as a Job Title; “Climbing steep mountains” as a crazy activity; “Car trip through Glacier National Park” as something that I am doing this summer; and since I do not follow basketball, just said “Chris Paul” as my player in the playoffs, not knowing if that was true.

The kids were struggling with a city that was other than Chicago, and I mentioned "Capital of Ohio, with the largest University".  The funny thing was that they knew the name of the University, ‘OSU’, but not the city!  Then one of my fellow volunteers asked "Who discovered America" and then they got it.  There were a few creative answers but nothing more than two boys who responded to the "What would you be doing this summer" question with the answer, "Crocheting".  I said to Paul that we should just give it to them and that there was no need for another answer.  There was another interesting answer to “Things people do that’s crazy”, where the girls team responded with, “Cocaine”.  Even the other teams said that they deserved the points on that one!

What a great concept

We now ready for our activity on ‘Scratch’, which was an animated cat and we had to program its moves on the screen using some logic statements.  I was paired with a boy who seemed interested.  We followed Paul's instructions to get the cat to move around though I could see the kid's interest slowly fading away.  Two other girls had discovered various characters in the program, such as a "hot" woman, a kneeling guy and a football player.  The way they had programmed it, it seemed like the kneeling guy was proposing to the girl and she was walking to and fro from the guy and the football player as if she was confused.  Paul said that the girls always preferred “jocks”, and that eventually the program should end with her next to the player.  Paul then showed us a few more programming exercises and by now and I was extremely impressed that the kids were being taught logic through this.  It was by far the best education I had seen through a Chicago Cares project. 

The kids had enough of the lesson and so next we played a game of "guess who", where the kids had a card of some object, animal, or thing, which they placed on a headband and had to guess by asking "yes/no" questions.  The problem was that others were so enthusiastic that they were giving them easy clues.  But it was all fun.  After a bit of chaos around this, we all proceeded to the gym for some playtime.  Some of the kids started shooting basketballs while one girl was showing us her skills with a “hula hoop”.  I was chatting with other volunteers and learned that this was in fact Paul’s last session after 4 years, since he was moving away; but the 2 regular guys were going to take over as leaders.  Around noon we all left after what had been a great session. I had enjoyed the company of the kids and my fellow volunteers. What a great educational program this is!  While I would always miss the “Drama Club”, this was a worthy replacement.