Well, here we are. Fifty-two weeks later, and we have met our commitment. One whole year of doing something to help others every week. On the one hand, it feels good to have come this far down a path of compassion and on the other hand, it just feels normal, like it is just what we do now. We could easily pledge another year of the same and it would not be hard. We have brought giving into our lives and have made it a part of ourselves, so choosing to do it is easy. That is one of the things we have learned along the way. I want to talk about those things, but first I need to quickly summarize our experiences this week.
Our planned volunteering this week was at the Lakeview Pantry, one of our new homes in the volunteering world. We worked again with our friend Maloo and, as always, there were some things to talk about. It was a snowy day, and the first distribution after Christmas, so the volume of patrons was really light. The lines moved fast and most people were in a pretty good mood. Maloo worked the meat counter again, since she enjoyed it so much last time. Jen learned how to do patron intake, which was new for her. This is where the Pantry keeps track of its customers and makes sure that everyone is following the rules about how often food can be received. Jen enjoyed this work a lot because she had to stay on her toes mentally and because she got to talk to every patron a little bit. I worked the bread counter, which I have not done since my first week at the Pantry. It was fun because I could be pretty generous owing to the light volume. When you work the bread counter, the line backs up right in front of you. This is because it takes a long time to give out produce, the next stop in the distribution line. Because the line was backed up, I got to chat with a lot of the patrons, and got to know a little about them. I met a woman with seven kids who had the oldest few with her. Her son, clearly the oldest and probably in high school, made a real impression on me. He was friendly and polite and obviously interested in helping out his family. I wanted to give the kid a hug, a medal and a college scholarship. Of course, I could do none of those things, but I did give him a few extra energy bars for after wrestling practice at school. I also met a woman who was a school teacher for 20 years and was kicked to the curb by Chicago Public Schools. She almost lost her house, but managed to hang on to it, although she needs help with food as a result. She was witty and erudite, and a pleasure to talk to - cheerful in spite of her troubles.
One other fellow was a little less pleasant. He was a young man, probably in his twenties, who came in with a beer. He was quiet and kind of fierce looking, but we take everyone. He became agitated a little while into the distribution, complaining about people bumping into him. He started arguing with one of the female patrons as they waited in line in front of my station. As I started to pay attention to what was happening, he started to argue with me. It was clear that his reactions were disproportionate to the situation, that he was not completely in control of himself. He did not do anything that could be construed as violent or even approaching violence, but he did start to get loud. As I was preparing to come around the counter to move him away from the other patrons, Carrie, the Pantry director and a male patron in line both stepped in. They calmly asked to talk to young man outside, and he went along without incident. Carrie is fantastic in these situations. She knows how to help the patrons be on their best behavior, and she makes it clear that she cares about them, even when she has to deny them service, as she had to in this case. When the male patron came back to the line, I thanked him and gave him some extra food as well. He and others in line with made many comments about how grateful they are that the Pantry exists and that we come to work there. They are not fond of anyone who disrespects that.
The rest of the night went quickly and quietly, and we cleaned up and got done a little early. It was, as it always is, a great night at the Pantry.
So now, let's take a look back and try to put things in perspective. Jen and I volunteered on 42 different occasions and we made 20 (-ish) small donations to various causes. We brought seven people along with us at various times throughout the year, some of them more than once. All of them had never worked at the place we took them. All told, we did about 230 hours of service and donated around $500. We volunteered primarily with seven organizations, and donated to about 18 more. As to the number of people we met and helped, that number is beyond count. It is certainly over 1000 people, and possibly over ten thousand.
As with this entire blogging endeavor, I do not bring up these numbers to trumpet our accomplishments. I bring them up because it helps to show the impact that a single person can make when he or she is dedicated to a simple mission. On average, our volunteer work was two or two and a half hours. The longest sessions were only four. Those few hours every week generated the kind of result listed above. Imagine what 8 hours per week could do. Even more importantly, think about the things you did this week. Could you have found four hours to dedicate to someone else?
Throughout the whole year, people have, upon hearing about our pledge, asked us the same questions over and over. It seems like this would be a good time to answer some of those. First, "How do you find the time for that?" That answer is easy. We make the time. We plan ahead and we make giving a priority. Jen and are are both very busy professionals. We work 50 to 70 hour work weeks, but we did not have trouble making this work. Jen, in her tenacity as our scheduling secretary, made sure that we were always looking ahead and that we always talked about what was coming up so that she could find the places to fit the volunteering in. I will concede that there are some fundamental things which allowed us to do this work. First, we are financially secure ourselves. We have what we need and so we could think of what others need. Also, we do not have children, young or otherwise. If we did, it would have been a lot harder to make this work. That said, we also have seen many, many people bringing their kids along to volunteer and teaching them about taking care of others. The bottom line is that we wanted to bring this work into our lives and we found a way to make that happen.
Another common question, "Well, your year is up... Are you going to stop now?" The short answer to this question is that we are going to stop worrying about doing something every week. The long answer is that this kind of work is now part of us, and we could not stop if we wanted to. We have made so many friends and developed such a habit of doing this work, that it would be hard to stop now. The entire point of this venture was to stop talking about volunteering and actually force ourselves to do it. We always wanted to but did not make the time for it. Now that there is room for it in our lives, we will keep volunteering, because it is fun, and fulfilling and part of who we are now. I am also going to leave this blog up, with this as the last post, to be used as a resource for those who are interested.
"Were you ever scared?" This one always takes me by surprise. I never gave even one thought to whether or not I would be safe at any of the places we worked. We certainly have worked in places where there are dangerous people, and we certainly have seen the face of mental illness. We have been to "bad" neighborhoods. We have heard stories of violence. But every place we worked has systems in place to deal with problems. Given the communities they serve, these organizations have to be ready for the unexpected, and they are. The other side of this is that the patrons, the clients, the beneficiaries of these services are vehemently protective of the organizations and the people who work there. They understand the benefits they are being given, and they are grateful to the point of putting themselves in harm's way before allowing a volunteer to come to harm. It is one of the more amazing things we learned in this process. The final point here is that while there are some scary people that use some of these services, they are few and far between - so much so that we barely ever saw them. Most of the patrons are friendly and grateful, even if they are a little strange, or eccentric, or even mentally ill. In short, no, we were never scared.
"What have you learned?" This is the big one, and almost impossible to answer, but let me try. We have learned that helping others is never one sided. When you help someone else, you help yourself as well. You also have a good chance that the person you helped will go on to help another. We have learned that we can afford the time and money to help others, to a much greater degree than we had previously believed. We have learned that one of the greatest gifts you can give a person is dignity - to recognize them as a worthy, complete human being. How many times have you said "No" to a person begging on the street without looking them in the eye? Try to say it while looking into their eyes. It is a lot harder. The best thing we did all year was to look at the patrons of these organizations as people, not beggars, not homeless. To borrow from India, we let the god in us see the god in them. When you see dignity dawning on the face of someone who has been ignored as something less than human all day, all week, all year, you surely do see the face of god. We learned what a wonderful habit that can be.
We also learned that anyone can be in need. The people who are hungry in this country are not all dumb. They are not all lazy. They are not all mentally ill. They are people in situations they did not plan on. Some have addictions. Some have mental illness. Some are unlucky. Some are trying to rebuild their lives. Some are just trying to get through the day. Some are just trying not to give up. However they came to their need, we learned that judgement is worthless. If these people could be in better control of their lives, they would be, and wasting time judging them will not help them. It does not eliminate their need and they do not have time or energy to even notice a condemnation. Condemn as you will, they still need help. Anyone can wind up homeless, and any time I have doubted that in the past year, I have met someone to prove my doubt foolish. Anyone can be homeless. Anyone can be struck down, surprised by a force that they did not see coming, and judging that person is the best way to get in line for a fall yourself.
I see looking back that this is, by far, the longest post I have written all year, so I think it is time to sum it up. I think the best way to do that is with some thanks and with a call to action. The thanks begin with the people we have enjoyed working with so much: Carrie and Erin and Elizabeth at Lakeview Pantry; Scott at Common Pantry; Tony at the House of Mary and Joseph and all the fantastic staff at Feed My Starving Children, The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Top Box Foods and Breaking Bread. These people work very long hours for almost no money. They do it because they believe in the work, and without them there would have been no work for us to do. I also need to thank my incredible wife again for putting in all the time, the phone calls, the web searches, etc in order to make sure we always had work scheduled. She was also constantly looking for new places we could go. She was as or more dedicated to this idea than I was, and in fact it was her idea in the first place. She is an amazing woman and I am lucky she chose me. The last thank you is for you, the reader. Thanks for sharing in our journey and for being at all interested in my take on all this. As of last count, we had about 1300 page views, which makes me pretty happy. So, thank you...
Lastly... a call to action. It is simple. Go out and do something. Anything. Anywhere. Use some of the talent you have been given and do something nice for someone else. You can look through these pages and find many good opportunities, but there are literally thousands more out there. Find a cause you believe in and do something to forward that cause. Go to GiveWell.org and find a charity that uses their money well. Go to www.thelifeyoucansave.com for more ideas. Talk to your friends. See what they do and go with them. Bring them with you. In the wake of the Newtown shootings, Anne Curry asked people to do 26 good deeds in honor of those killed that day. I say do 26 good deeds because it will start the habit. Do 26 and then 26 more. Make space in your life to consciously and actively do good for others, and you will find yourself happier, more peaceful and more full of life than you are now. Habit is everything. Be in the habit of helping others. Be in the habit of spreading your habit to others. Hatred and fear seem to be winning right now, and changing gun laws won't help, and putting a little more money into mental health facilities won't help. What will help is cultivating the habits of love and kindness. What will help is giving up our habits of judgement and separation. That is my challenge to you - let go of your fears and be a force for some kind of good, whatever good moves you. Go out and do something. Anything. Anywhere.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Week 51 - Lakeview Pantry and Breaking Bread
Well, folks, we are coming down to it. It is nearly the end of the year and nearly the end of our giving year as well. Next week I will talk about the journey and some of the things we have noticed and learned along the way. I will also answer the question I have been asked most in recent weeks... " What are you going to do when the year is over?" For now, I want to talk about this week. To celebrate both Christmas and the fact that we have come this far, we had a double header this week. We brought a good friend to work with us at Lakeview Pantry and we went back to Breaking Bread, a rather unusual soup kitchen that we have only worked at once before.
Lakeview Pantry was much the same as it has been, but this time we had a lot more fun because we brought along our good friend Melissa, also known as Maloo. Maloo works at Chicago Shakespeare with me, and mentioned a few weeks ago that she was feeling a strong need to do something for others - she was a bit sick at heart and wanted to help others as a way to fight that feeling. I have felt the same way over the past year, and service has always made me feel better. It turns out that the Pantry was just the thing.
When Jen and I go to the Pantry, we almost always do the same jobs. She gives out the meat and diary stuff and I do canned goods. This time, we had plenty of volunteers, so Jen and Maloo both worked the meat counter. It was a really busy night, with all the seats packed an more people coming in later on. Maloo and Jen worked furiously to keep up, but Maloo loved every minute. Her father is a butcher and she grew up helping out in his shop, so she was a natural. She also had a great talent for talking to the patrons and helping them find the meat they really wanted. Often, we can't tale the time for this level of service, but because they were both working the counter, it worked really well.
Often, when there is a lot of people and therefore a long wait, the patrons get really grumpy, but not this time. Some of the most complimentary patrons were those who had waited the longest. I think this is because they were getting food for Christmas, but also because we had a really good group of volunteers who kept things very positive, cheerful and upbeat all night. This was one of the best nights we have had at the pantry, and that is saying something as Lakeview Pantry is one of our favorite places to work. I also think Maloo got hooked. She signed up to work with us next week too!
Our other service this week was at Breaking Bread, a soup kitchen that is part of the LaSalle Street Church's outreach ministry. If you recall from Week 21, this is a full service kitchen where patrons are encouraged to come in early and socialize. There is also live music, a room with free clothing, a medical referral service, rapid AIDS testing and spiritual counseling. The group tries to serves the whole person, mind, body and spirit. It is a great concept, and it is a shame they only operate one per week.
They are also always booked up. We had booked this session months ago and decided to keep it even though we had gone to Lakeview Pantry the night before. As you may recall, we had kind of a dubious experience the first time and we wanted to give it another try. Before, we were a little put off by the seeming lack of organization but we had a great time serving patrons.
Our experience this time was basically the same as last time. We got to the kitchen separately, with me arriving later than Jen. I got there and had to stand around for about 15 minutes before anyone talked to me or gave me a job to do. Finally one of the volunteers grabbed me and gave me some work, but there was no one really minding the kitchen. Many of the volunteers were regulars and it was their familiarity with the process that actually got anything to happen. Eventually, the chef and manager came into the kitchen and got things moving a little more, but we wound up serving about half an hour late.
It seems petty to complain about not being given work, but it is very disconcerting to have a lot of activity happening around you and not being able to contribute. I felt like I was in the way a lot - much more than I felt useful. Eventually, we got the jobs we would have for the rest of the night. Jen was running the dishwasher and I was cleaning pots and pans in great big sinks. While we usually like jobs that include more contact with patrons, we were happy to have jobs where we knew what to do. This, again, was almost the same experience we had the last time we worked, but with different jobs.
From that point on, the night moved forward with more intention. We knew what to do, and the meal got served and enjoyed and cleaned up. The patrons seemed to really enjoy and appreciate it, and all of the workers were cheerful and had a good time. Without question, this group does a lot of good and serve very real needs for their patrons. They are just not very good at managing and welcoming their workers, which made the whole experience a little less pleasant. Whereas we will certainly keep going back to Lakeview Pantry, we are probably done with this group, at least for a while. Nonetheless, if you are inspired by their work, I still recommend that you give them a try - just be prepared to find your own way a bit.
You can get information on Lakeview Pantry HERE.
You can get information on Breaking Bread HERE.
Have a Merry Christmas!!!
Lakeview Pantry was much the same as it has been, but this time we had a lot more fun because we brought along our good friend Melissa, also known as Maloo. Maloo works at Chicago Shakespeare with me, and mentioned a few weeks ago that she was feeling a strong need to do something for others - she was a bit sick at heart and wanted to help others as a way to fight that feeling. I have felt the same way over the past year, and service has always made me feel better. It turns out that the Pantry was just the thing.
When Jen and I go to the Pantry, we almost always do the same jobs. She gives out the meat and diary stuff and I do canned goods. This time, we had plenty of volunteers, so Jen and Maloo both worked the meat counter. It was a really busy night, with all the seats packed an more people coming in later on. Maloo and Jen worked furiously to keep up, but Maloo loved every minute. Her father is a butcher and she grew up helping out in his shop, so she was a natural. She also had a great talent for talking to the patrons and helping them find the meat they really wanted. Often, we can't tale the time for this level of service, but because they were both working the counter, it worked really well.
Often, when there is a lot of people and therefore a long wait, the patrons get really grumpy, but not this time. Some of the most complimentary patrons were those who had waited the longest. I think this is because they were getting food for Christmas, but also because we had a really good group of volunteers who kept things very positive, cheerful and upbeat all night. This was one of the best nights we have had at the pantry, and that is saying something as Lakeview Pantry is one of our favorite places to work. I also think Maloo got hooked. She signed up to work with us next week too!
Our other service this week was at Breaking Bread, a soup kitchen that is part of the LaSalle Street Church's outreach ministry. If you recall from Week 21, this is a full service kitchen where patrons are encouraged to come in early and socialize. There is also live music, a room with free clothing, a medical referral service, rapid AIDS testing and spiritual counseling. The group tries to serves the whole person, mind, body and spirit. It is a great concept, and it is a shame they only operate one per week.
They are also always booked up. We had booked this session months ago and decided to keep it even though we had gone to Lakeview Pantry the night before. As you may recall, we had kind of a dubious experience the first time and we wanted to give it another try. Before, we were a little put off by the seeming lack of organization but we had a great time serving patrons.
Our experience this time was basically the same as last time. We got to the kitchen separately, with me arriving later than Jen. I got there and had to stand around for about 15 minutes before anyone talked to me or gave me a job to do. Finally one of the volunteers grabbed me and gave me some work, but there was no one really minding the kitchen. Many of the volunteers were regulars and it was their familiarity with the process that actually got anything to happen. Eventually, the chef and manager came into the kitchen and got things moving a little more, but we wound up serving about half an hour late.
It seems petty to complain about not being given work, but it is very disconcerting to have a lot of activity happening around you and not being able to contribute. I felt like I was in the way a lot - much more than I felt useful. Eventually, we got the jobs we would have for the rest of the night. Jen was running the dishwasher and I was cleaning pots and pans in great big sinks. While we usually like jobs that include more contact with patrons, we were happy to have jobs where we knew what to do. This, again, was almost the same experience we had the last time we worked, but with different jobs.
From that point on, the night moved forward with more intention. We knew what to do, and the meal got served and enjoyed and cleaned up. The patrons seemed to really enjoy and appreciate it, and all of the workers were cheerful and had a good time. Without question, this group does a lot of good and serve very real needs for their patrons. They are just not very good at managing and welcoming their workers, which made the whole experience a little less pleasant. Whereas we will certainly keep going back to Lakeview Pantry, we are probably done with this group, at least for a while. Nonetheless, if you are inspired by their work, I still recommend that you give them a try - just be prepared to find your own way a bit.
You can get information on Lakeview Pantry HERE.
You can get information on Breaking Bread HERE.
Have a Merry Christmas!!!
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Week 50 - Feed My Starving Children
This week we went back to Feed My Starving Children to pack food bags for malnourished children. This will be our last visit of the year with them, but as with so many of the places we have been, we plan to continue to work there even after our year is up. As is our recent custom, we brought along our friend Jen, who had never been to FMSC before.
This time around, it looked like we might be able to pack a lot because there was a couple of large groups with adults and teenagers, and very few smaller children. It is great when the small children come out and get their first experience volunteering, but they don't pack as quickly as a motivated 17 year old. Anyway, it looked like a good group, but things started a little sluggish. It turned out that most of the people were there for the first time, and so things started a little slow. The workers at FMSC could see by the make-up of the group that we had the potential to break the record for how many boxes could be packed in one session, and they started pushing everyone right away to try to go as fast as possible. Fortunately, almost every table got the hang of things pretty quickly.
We grabbed a table right away and jumped into our normal positions - me on sealing bags, Jen (my wife) on holding bags under the funnel and weighing them, and Jen (our friend) on scooping ingredients. We were joined by a father and teenage daughter who were new to packing, and so we had to give them a few pointers, but things got rolling soon enough. It turned out to be one of our most productive sessions ever, with our table (consisting of two packing stations) packing 18 boxes of food in just over a hour. Since there are 216 meals in a box, it means we packed 3,888 meals.
At the end of the session, it seemed like there was a chance we had broken the record. A lot of the table were saying they had reached numbers like ours. The record is 101-1/2 boxes in a 1-1/2 session (only about 1 hour of packing after instructions and clean up). There are six tables, and if each of them had hit 18 boxes, we would have smashed the record. After we cleaned up and prayed over the food, we headed back to the seating area to find out how we did. The final tally looked like this:
We didn't hit the record, but we pack a lot of food. It is worth pointing out that the "Kids Fed" number refers to the number of children who can eat for a whole year based on the packing we did in one hour of hard work. Also worth noting is the cost. Even at $0.22 per meal, it adds up. FMSC always shows this number because they remind the workers that other people had to give the money to buy the meals before we ever packed them.
The shipment we packed was part of about 217,000 meals that were leaving for Nicaragua this week. That is one of the nice things about working at FMSC. They pack six days per week and send at least one large shipment every week to a place they identify for you. We have packed for shipments to places all over Africa and Central America, and to Haiti, where poverty and starvation always seems to have a death grip.
The evening turned out to be a lot of fun, and very productive. Jen enjoyed her first time and we enjoyed being back. We are getting to be old hands at packing, and it is fun to help others get the hang of it. When faced with all of the bad things that happen in our world, the seeming forward progress of evil and devastation, this kind of work feels like a tangible stand in opposition to those forces. When it seems like we are powerless to prevent the senseless deaths of others, this is a way to gain a measure of power, to take real, meaningful, direct action to fight the darkness. All the time, but especially at Christmas time, this feels like helping to bring light into the world where it is desperately needed.
For more information about Feed My Starving Children, including opportunities to pack food or to donate, go to Feed My Starving Children.
This time around, it looked like we might be able to pack a lot because there was a couple of large groups with adults and teenagers, and very few smaller children. It is great when the small children come out and get their first experience volunteering, but they don't pack as quickly as a motivated 17 year old. Anyway, it looked like a good group, but things started a little sluggish. It turned out that most of the people were there for the first time, and so things started a little slow. The workers at FMSC could see by the make-up of the group that we had the potential to break the record for how many boxes could be packed in one session, and they started pushing everyone right away to try to go as fast as possible. Fortunately, almost every table got the hang of things pretty quickly.
We grabbed a table right away and jumped into our normal positions - me on sealing bags, Jen (my wife) on holding bags under the funnel and weighing them, and Jen (our friend) on scooping ingredients. We were joined by a father and teenage daughter who were new to packing, and so we had to give them a few pointers, but things got rolling soon enough. It turned out to be one of our most productive sessions ever, with our table (consisting of two packing stations) packing 18 boxes of food in just over a hour. Since there are 216 meals in a box, it means we packed 3,888 meals.
At the end of the session, it seemed like there was a chance we had broken the record. A lot of the table were saying they had reached numbers like ours. The record is 101-1/2 boxes in a 1-1/2 session (only about 1 hour of packing after instructions and clean up). There are six tables, and if each of them had hit 18 boxes, we would have smashed the record. After we cleaned up and prayed over the food, we headed back to the seating area to find out how we did. The final tally looked like this:
We didn't hit the record, but we pack a lot of food. It is worth pointing out that the "Kids Fed" number refers to the number of children who can eat for a whole year based on the packing we did in one hour of hard work. Also worth noting is the cost. Even at $0.22 per meal, it adds up. FMSC always shows this number because they remind the workers that other people had to give the money to buy the meals before we ever packed them.
The shipment we packed was part of about 217,000 meals that were leaving for Nicaragua this week. That is one of the nice things about working at FMSC. They pack six days per week and send at least one large shipment every week to a place they identify for you. We have packed for shipments to places all over Africa and Central America, and to Haiti, where poverty and starvation always seems to have a death grip.
The evening turned out to be a lot of fun, and very productive. Jen enjoyed her first time and we enjoyed being back. We are getting to be old hands at packing, and it is fun to help others get the hang of it. When faced with all of the bad things that happen in our world, the seeming forward progress of evil and devastation, this kind of work feels like a tangible stand in opposition to those forces. When it seems like we are powerless to prevent the senseless deaths of others, this is a way to gain a measure of power, to take real, meaningful, direct action to fight the darkness. All the time, but especially at Christmas time, this feels like helping to bring light into the world where it is desperately needed.
For more information about Feed My Starving Children, including opportunities to pack food or to donate, go to Feed My Starving Children.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Week 49 - St. Vincent's Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen
This week, Jen and I attended a wonderful Christmas concert at the St. Vincent de Paul church on the campus of DePaul University. The concert, called Christmas at DePaul is a way for the church, the university and the surrounding community to come together and celebrate the Christmas season. It is a magnificent concert with musicians from the university and a chorale made up of singers from local and university groups. The church is accented by beautiful lighting inside and out. It is a warm, wonderful way to prepare for Christmas, and the only admission fee is a request to donate to the food pantry and soup kitchen run by St. Vincent's parish. Jen and I were not able to book any volunteer work this week, and so we happily donated to this very active pantry.
It is called the Mother Seton Food Pantry and Sandwich window, and it began in 1980 in a small room in the Parish center of the church. The group points out that working poor families, parents of young children and the elderly make up a large portion of their clients, and they offer the following statistics:
- 39% of the households that receive food include at least one employed adult
- about 33% of the people served are children under the age of 18
- 10% of clients are aged 65 and older
- 25% of households have at least one family member in poor health
- 10% of clients own the place where they live
- 9% of clients are homeless
The food pantry serves about 230 families every month, which translates into about 700 individuals per month or around 8,250 people per year. Their service this year will expand to include DePaul University students who qualify for food assistance.
The soup kitchen is open six days per week, and serves about 125 meals per day, which adds up to 32,500 meals served in the last year. The sandwich window serves about 30,000 sandwiches, 1,000 special holiday meals and 45,000 cups of coffee in a year.
St. Vincent's is in an area that does not seem like it should need a food pantry or soup kitchen. The neighborhood is full of streets lined with large single family homes, and the university campus provides an ordered, scholarly backdrop. There is money here. The university has it. The homeowners have it. Even many of the students have it. When you walk in the area, it feels like a place where everyone has enough, but that is sadly untrue. This neighborhood is a perfect example of how pervasive the problem of food insecurity is. 40% of the population of Chicago either does not have enough to eat, or is in imminent danger of not having enough. One in five people in our city go hungry at least some of the time, and they do not all live in the violent slums on the south side. They are everywhere, including wherever you are. I am always amazed when I see the lines at the Seton soup kitchen in the mornings on my way to the gym (across the street), but the reality is that people need help everywhere.
So it was a great way to kick off Christmas... Hear a beautiful concert and help those in need. I highly recommend either if you are looking to get into the Christmas spirit.
I usually post a web link to the organization website here, but the website for St. Vincent's does not seem to be working. If you want information about the pantry, check back later as I will post a link if it becomes available, or call St.Vincent's Parish at (773) 325-8610.
It is called the Mother Seton Food Pantry and Sandwich window, and it began in 1980 in a small room in the Parish center of the church. The group points out that working poor families, parents of young children and the elderly make up a large portion of their clients, and they offer the following statistics:
- 39% of the households that receive food include at least one employed adult
- about 33% of the people served are children under the age of 18
- 10% of clients are aged 65 and older
- 25% of households have at least one family member in poor health
- 10% of clients own the place where they live
- 9% of clients are homeless
The food pantry serves about 230 families every month, which translates into about 700 individuals per month or around 8,250 people per year. Their service this year will expand to include DePaul University students who qualify for food assistance.
The soup kitchen is open six days per week, and serves about 125 meals per day, which adds up to 32,500 meals served in the last year. The sandwich window serves about 30,000 sandwiches, 1,000 special holiday meals and 45,000 cups of coffee in a year.
St. Vincent's is in an area that does not seem like it should need a food pantry or soup kitchen. The neighborhood is full of streets lined with large single family homes, and the university campus provides an ordered, scholarly backdrop. There is money here. The university has it. The homeowners have it. Even many of the students have it. When you walk in the area, it feels like a place where everyone has enough, but that is sadly untrue. This neighborhood is a perfect example of how pervasive the problem of food insecurity is. 40% of the population of Chicago either does not have enough to eat, or is in imminent danger of not having enough. One in five people in our city go hungry at least some of the time, and they do not all live in the violent slums on the south side. They are everywhere, including wherever you are. I am always amazed when I see the lines at the Seton soup kitchen in the mornings on my way to the gym (across the street), but the reality is that people need help everywhere.
So it was a great way to kick off Christmas... Hear a beautiful concert and help those in need. I highly recommend either if you are looking to get into the Christmas spirit.
I usually post a web link to the organization website here, but the website for St. Vincent's does not seem to be working. If you want information about the pantry, check back later as I will post a link if it becomes available, or call St.Vincent's Parish at (773) 325-8610.
Week 48 - The Salvation Army
This week we needed to donate as we could not fit in any volunteering, and we noticed that it was also the week when Salvation Army bell ringers were appearing all over town. We usually make a donation to the Salvation Army around this time of year, and we decided to do so again.
I have given to this organization for years, both in monetary donations and in donations of clothing and other good to their thrift stores, but I always just kind of assumed they were doing good work. I never really looked into it until now. I guess it is not surprising to find that this giant organization has a hand in almost every area of giving aid and succor to those who need it.
The Salvation Army was the brain child of a minister named William Booth in London starting around 1852. Booth saw that the conventional methods of church and pulpit were failing the desperately poor population of London's East End and instead decided to take his message to the streets. He set up a tent in a Quaker grave yard and began preaching sermons which were instantly successful. Thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, drunkards and paupers were converted to Christianity through Booth's message of hope and salvation. Unfortunately, these converts, because of their activities before conversion, were not readily accepted in the traditional church. Booth's response to this problem was to give his followers a different spiritual direction - to go out and save other like themselves. Soon, Booth's followers were also singing and preaching in the streets.
Booth's group grew very quickly. In 1867, he had only ten full time workers, but by 1874, that number had grown to over 1000 volunteers and 42 evangelists all serving under the name "The Christian Mission". Booth assumed the title of General Superintendent, but his followers just called him "General". They then took on the colloquial name "Hallelujah Army" as they spread though London and then into other cities. In 1878, booth was reading a printer's proof of an annual report when he noticed the phrase, "The Christian Mission is a volunteer army". He crossed out the word volunteer and wrote "Salvation Army" instead. The name stuck and the Booth's followers were known as soldiers of Christ or "Salvationists" from them on.
From 1878 to 1885, the Salvation Army grew by leaps and bounds, expanding throughout the U.K. to Ireland and Scotland, as well as into America, beginning in Philadelphia and quickly expanding to New York City. Sometimes these soldiers of Christ faced real battles as organized gangs mocked and attacked them, but they prevailed, eventually spreading to virtually every corner of the globe. Booth died in 1912 after seeing his venture succeed beyond his dreams and 17 more Generals have followed since, including the current one, Shaw Clifton, who runs the organization from the international headquarters in London.
Here in Chicago, the Salvation Army works diligently to help those in need. They sponsor food programs for young and old and those in between. They run housing programs. They run programs to assist convicts transition back to normal life after serving time. They offer a myriad of substance abuse recovery programs and are a loud, local voice in opposition to sex trafficking, including direct outreach to its victims. They offer many, many programs to foster community development including sessions to help develop character and leadership among young people. They run day camps and provide fellowship and worship opportunities. They run food pantries and offer other forms of emergency financial assistance. They run early childhood education programs and provide assistance and counseling to expectant mothers. In short, they address nearly every aspect of need, in body, mind, and spirit, that people in Chicago may have.
One particularly moving service that the Salvation Army provides is a prayer request service. The idea is that you tell them what you are praying for, and then many more people pray for the same thing. While I am undecided for myself about the power and effectiveness of prayer, it is still incredibly moving to visit the prayer website and see what people are asking for and to witness the power of their need. The webpage has a feed of texts that have been received and Facebook prayer requests, and it is a humbling experience to sit in the quiet of my secure, warm, well-stocked home on a Sunday morning and read entry after entry from people who are suffering, worried, insecure and fearful. It reminds me to be thankful for the many blessings I have been given and to keep at least a portion of my mind thinking about those who have not been given as much. It reminds me to be humble and not to take my safety and security for granted. If you are interested, you can see the prayer request page HERE.
Given the wide range of work that they do here in Chicago and around the world, Jen and I were proud to give them a donation, and we will probably continue to do so in the future. One note, however... I did look up the Chicago chapter of the Salvation Army on the Better Business Bureau website (they rate charities as well as businesses...), and found that the BBB could not report on them because the Salvation Army did not respond to requests for information. I usually like to check to see how well the charities we give to manage their money, and it is slightly unsettling that the SA would not provide that kind of information. Regardless, they still do a lot of good work, and we happy to support them.
To check out more about the Salvation Army, click HERE.
I have given to this organization for years, both in monetary donations and in donations of clothing and other good to their thrift stores, but I always just kind of assumed they were doing good work. I never really looked into it until now. I guess it is not surprising to find that this giant organization has a hand in almost every area of giving aid and succor to those who need it.
The Salvation Army was the brain child of a minister named William Booth in London starting around 1852. Booth saw that the conventional methods of church and pulpit were failing the desperately poor population of London's East End and instead decided to take his message to the streets. He set up a tent in a Quaker grave yard and began preaching sermons which were instantly successful. Thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, drunkards and paupers were converted to Christianity through Booth's message of hope and salvation. Unfortunately, these converts, because of their activities before conversion, were not readily accepted in the traditional church. Booth's response to this problem was to give his followers a different spiritual direction - to go out and save other like themselves. Soon, Booth's followers were also singing and preaching in the streets.
Booth's group grew very quickly. In 1867, he had only ten full time workers, but by 1874, that number had grown to over 1000 volunteers and 42 evangelists all serving under the name "The Christian Mission". Booth assumed the title of General Superintendent, but his followers just called him "General". They then took on the colloquial name "Hallelujah Army" as they spread though London and then into other cities. In 1878, booth was reading a printer's proof of an annual report when he noticed the phrase, "The Christian Mission is a volunteer army". He crossed out the word volunteer and wrote "Salvation Army" instead. The name stuck and the Booth's followers were known as soldiers of Christ or "Salvationists" from them on.
From 1878 to 1885, the Salvation Army grew by leaps and bounds, expanding throughout the U.K. to Ireland and Scotland, as well as into America, beginning in Philadelphia and quickly expanding to New York City. Sometimes these soldiers of Christ faced real battles as organized gangs mocked and attacked them, but they prevailed, eventually spreading to virtually every corner of the globe. Booth died in 1912 after seeing his venture succeed beyond his dreams and 17 more Generals have followed since, including the current one, Shaw Clifton, who runs the organization from the international headquarters in London.
Here in Chicago, the Salvation Army works diligently to help those in need. They sponsor food programs for young and old and those in between. They run housing programs. They run programs to assist convicts transition back to normal life after serving time. They offer a myriad of substance abuse recovery programs and are a loud, local voice in opposition to sex trafficking, including direct outreach to its victims. They offer many, many programs to foster community development including sessions to help develop character and leadership among young people. They run day camps and provide fellowship and worship opportunities. They run food pantries and offer other forms of emergency financial assistance. They run early childhood education programs and provide assistance and counseling to expectant mothers. In short, they address nearly every aspect of need, in body, mind, and spirit, that people in Chicago may have.
One particularly moving service that the Salvation Army provides is a prayer request service. The idea is that you tell them what you are praying for, and then many more people pray for the same thing. While I am undecided for myself about the power and effectiveness of prayer, it is still incredibly moving to visit the prayer website and see what people are asking for and to witness the power of their need. The webpage has a feed of texts that have been received and Facebook prayer requests, and it is a humbling experience to sit in the quiet of my secure, warm, well-stocked home on a Sunday morning and read entry after entry from people who are suffering, worried, insecure and fearful. It reminds me to be thankful for the many blessings I have been given and to keep at least a portion of my mind thinking about those who have not been given as much. It reminds me to be humble and not to take my safety and security for granted. If you are interested, you can see the prayer request page HERE.
Given the wide range of work that they do here in Chicago and around the world, Jen and I were proud to give them a donation, and we will probably continue to do so in the future. One note, however... I did look up the Chicago chapter of the Salvation Army on the Better Business Bureau website (they rate charities as well as businesses...), and found that the BBB could not report on them because the Salvation Army did not respond to requests for information. I usually like to check to see how well the charities we give to manage their money, and it is slightly unsettling that the SA would not provide that kind of information. Regardless, they still do a lot of good work, and we happy to support them.
To check out more about the Salvation Army, click HERE.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Week 47 - Common Pantry
This week we returned to out friends at Common Pantry, where we have not been for a little while. As it turns out, we had volunteered to work on the busiest day of their year, the day before Thanksgiving.
As you would expect, donations were up in a serious way this week, and most of it had a Thanksgiving bent. Local Jewel stores donated 68 full turkeys to the pantry, and they also got a few more from private donors. In addition, they had lost of cans and boxes of all the necessary trimmings - stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, etc. It made for a very busy and very successful day of distribution.
Scott, the pantry's manager, told me that they had basically been distributing all day, which is not that unusual since they do an afternoon and evening session every Wednesday. What was unusual was the number of families they served, which was something the neighborhood of 110 families. Every family of three or more got a turkey and a holiday bag with stuffing, vegetables, and potatoes and gravy. They also got a holiday pie, either pumpkin or apple, along with the rest of the regular rations for the week. The smaller families still got the holiday stuff - they just got a different meat instead. It worked out just right so that the number of turkeys and the number of families who needed them was the same.
Jen got to the pantry first and got assigned to work on distribution, so she got to be a part of the frenzy. She was in charge of the meat and pies and gravy, so much so that she wound up with one tub of gravy dumped all over her. She is a trooper though, and kept right on going. I got there a little later due to some terrible traffic and, after fighting my way through the distribution area, spent the night cleaning up the back room of the pantry. This room is also the Sunday school classroom for the adjacent church while also serving as a makeshift warehouse area for the pantry. The room was full of food at the beginning of the day, but was down to a manageable level by the time I got there. We moved food around, re-packed it from boxes in to crates, (more stack-able) and generally cleaned the whole place. We spent a good deal of time going through huge boxes of donated plastic bags, trying to find the ones that were still usable and discarding the ones that were ripped, torn, or nasty. It was a very zen task - all hands and no mind, but my coworkers and I had fun making conversation while we worked. At the end of the night, it looked like a classroom again, which was very satisfying.
As always, we had a great night of work and really enjoyed the staff and our coworkers throughout the evening.
Before I sign off for the week, I do want to offer, as so many do at this time of year, a quick thought about thankfulness. This (almost a) year of work has shown us a few new things to be thankful for. The first and most obvious is the opportunity to help. We are blessed to have our own needs provided for well enough to be able to spare some time and resources to help others. This one is evident to us every day, and Jen and I are pretty constantly thankful for our good fortune. The aspect that is slightly less obvious is that we are also thankful for the people who need the help. It seems a little gruesome to be thankful for that, because what we really wish is that no one needed help - that everyone had enough. But we are thankful nonetheless. The people in need have gotten Jen and I out of our house and into the world, connecting with hundred of wonderful people we would not have known otherwise. Those people in need show us something wonderful in ourselves and in humanity at large. They give us the opportunity to help build the world up with our own hands, and get to see the good our hands have helped to make. As many have said before, they help us, in the most real way I know of, to see the face of God. I am not an overly religious man, and questions the nature and existence of god almost every day, but when I am least doubting is when I am looking at the grateful face of someone to whom I have just given their dinner. This work we do feeds our souls as much as it feeds their bodies, and so I am thankful for who need help. Their need helps us touch the divine.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
For more information about Common Pantry, click HERE.
As you would expect, donations were up in a serious way this week, and most of it had a Thanksgiving bent. Local Jewel stores donated 68 full turkeys to the pantry, and they also got a few more from private donors. In addition, they had lost of cans and boxes of all the necessary trimmings - stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, etc. It made for a very busy and very successful day of distribution.
Scott, the pantry's manager, told me that they had basically been distributing all day, which is not that unusual since they do an afternoon and evening session every Wednesday. What was unusual was the number of families they served, which was something the neighborhood of 110 families. Every family of three or more got a turkey and a holiday bag with stuffing, vegetables, and potatoes and gravy. They also got a holiday pie, either pumpkin or apple, along with the rest of the regular rations for the week. The smaller families still got the holiday stuff - they just got a different meat instead. It worked out just right so that the number of turkeys and the number of families who needed them was the same.
Jen got to the pantry first and got assigned to work on distribution, so she got to be a part of the frenzy. She was in charge of the meat and pies and gravy, so much so that she wound up with one tub of gravy dumped all over her. She is a trooper though, and kept right on going. I got there a little later due to some terrible traffic and, after fighting my way through the distribution area, spent the night cleaning up the back room of the pantry. This room is also the Sunday school classroom for the adjacent church while also serving as a makeshift warehouse area for the pantry. The room was full of food at the beginning of the day, but was down to a manageable level by the time I got there. We moved food around, re-packed it from boxes in to crates, (more stack-able) and generally cleaned the whole place. We spent a good deal of time going through huge boxes of donated plastic bags, trying to find the ones that were still usable and discarding the ones that were ripped, torn, or nasty. It was a very zen task - all hands and no mind, but my coworkers and I had fun making conversation while we worked. At the end of the night, it looked like a classroom again, which was very satisfying.
As always, we had a great night of work and really enjoyed the staff and our coworkers throughout the evening.
Before I sign off for the week, I do want to offer, as so many do at this time of year, a quick thought about thankfulness. This (almost a) year of work has shown us a few new things to be thankful for. The first and most obvious is the opportunity to help. We are blessed to have our own needs provided for well enough to be able to spare some time and resources to help others. This one is evident to us every day, and Jen and I are pretty constantly thankful for our good fortune. The aspect that is slightly less obvious is that we are also thankful for the people who need the help. It seems a little gruesome to be thankful for that, because what we really wish is that no one needed help - that everyone had enough. But we are thankful nonetheless. The people in need have gotten Jen and I out of our house and into the world, connecting with hundred of wonderful people we would not have known otherwise. Those people in need show us something wonderful in ourselves and in humanity at large. They give us the opportunity to help build the world up with our own hands, and get to see the good our hands have helped to make. As many have said before, they help us, in the most real way I know of, to see the face of God. I am not an overly religious man, and questions the nature and existence of god almost every day, but when I am least doubting is when I am looking at the grateful face of someone to whom I have just given their dinner. This work we do feeds our souls as much as it feeds their bodies, and so I am thankful for who need help. Their need helps us touch the divine.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
For more information about Common Pantry, click HERE.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Week 46 - Toys for Tots
Well, it is the week before Thanksgiving, and it seems to be the unofficial start of the giving season. People are starting to keep track of the things they are thankful for, and to consider ways to make sure others have something to be thankful for as well. It is the time of year when Jen and I would usually say to ourselves, "Boy, it has been a while since we donated or volunteered... We should get some food for a food drive or something..." This year is different, of course, thanks to Our Giving Year, but we still find ourselves even more interested in giving as this time of year comes around. We have a number of friends who want to volunteer with us, so we are booking multiple sessions each weeks in December, and we are realizing that we have some groups that we wanted to donate to, but may run out of weeks in which to do it, assuming we limit ourselves to a single year. (We are not, of course going to do that... Giving is now a habit for us and we will keep it up in the years to come.) The places we volunteer are also filling up with "seasonal" volunteers. I bring all this up only to point out a couple things:
First, now IS the time to give. It is cold, and the people who needed help before need even more now. And it is the time when we celebrate, in whatever way we choose, the solidarity of humankind. Now is the time of year when we are reminded that there is far more that unites us than divides us. This season shows us the struggle, the difficultly in loving our neighbors, and it shows us the rewards for doing so. We are given the bitter cold to remind us of loneliness and that solidarity is hard to achieve, and we are given the warmth of giving and receiving from our loved ones to remind us that it is worth striving for. The people Jen and I have met throughout our work this year are the ones who sometimes only feel the cold, the loneliness, the outside-ness. If you have any inkling to help these people, do it now so that they can get a measure of what the holidays are meant to bring - inclusion and warmth, both physical and spiritual.
The second thing is that we are winding down. There are only six weeks left in the year and so only six weeks left in Our Giving Year. As I mentioned above, we still have a lot to do and and plenty to report about after. We have stepped up to the season, and we are planning to visit pretty much all of our favorite places to work, as well as giving to a couple more organizations. It is going to be a fun, busy holiday season and a fitting end to this year long experiment. Jen and I are different people that when we started, and so in addition to describing our work in these last few weeks, I am also going to reflect a little on what we have learned and what it means for us in the future. I will try to keep these ramblings short, but it seems appropriate to examine where this journey has taken us.
Which bring us along to this week... This was a busy week at the theater, so it was a donation week for us. We struggled a little to find an organization to whom to donate because we are now bombarded by requests, as I have mentioned before. We know that we don't have a lot of weeks left, so we started talking about the holiday season and about organizations that have some meaning for us already. Jen brought up Toys for Tots. I have given to Toys for Tots before when I saw a toy drive going on, but I did not have a very personal connection to the group. Jen, it turns out, does.
When she was young, Jen has very clear and very fond memories of taking toys to a pickup site in on the south side of Chicago. Toys for Tots is run by the US Marine Corps, but is strongly supported by many of the motorcycle clubs here in Chicago. The clubs have Toys for Tots parades and toy drives, where they drive their bikes around, in full regalia, to collect toys and raise awareness. Jen has fond and funny memories of large, heavily bearded guys on Harleys driving around with teddy bears and dolls. For her, these memories are a part of the holiday season - a part of what Christmas means for her, and so she wanted to make sure we gave to them as part of this year.
So we did just that. They have a great website which allows you to donate to the organization as a national whole, or to Toys for Tots groups specific to your area. They are a 97%- 3% charity, which means that only 3% of the money received goes to administration and fund raising. The rest goes directly into buying and distributing toys. They collect new and unwrapped toys from October into December and then hand them out in time for Christmas. Their stated goals are:
"to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future."
While we like to help people get enough to eat, at this time of year, we also like to help kids have a happier Christmas, so Toys for Tots was a natural choice.
For more information on Toys for Tots, click HERE.
First, now IS the time to give. It is cold, and the people who needed help before need even more now. And it is the time when we celebrate, in whatever way we choose, the solidarity of humankind. Now is the time of year when we are reminded that there is far more that unites us than divides us. This season shows us the struggle, the difficultly in loving our neighbors, and it shows us the rewards for doing so. We are given the bitter cold to remind us of loneliness and that solidarity is hard to achieve, and we are given the warmth of giving and receiving from our loved ones to remind us that it is worth striving for. The people Jen and I have met throughout our work this year are the ones who sometimes only feel the cold, the loneliness, the outside-ness. If you have any inkling to help these people, do it now so that they can get a measure of what the holidays are meant to bring - inclusion and warmth, both physical and spiritual.
The second thing is that we are winding down. There are only six weeks left in the year and so only six weeks left in Our Giving Year. As I mentioned above, we still have a lot to do and and plenty to report about after. We have stepped up to the season, and we are planning to visit pretty much all of our favorite places to work, as well as giving to a couple more organizations. It is going to be a fun, busy holiday season and a fitting end to this year long experiment. Jen and I are different people that when we started, and so in addition to describing our work in these last few weeks, I am also going to reflect a little on what we have learned and what it means for us in the future. I will try to keep these ramblings short, but it seems appropriate to examine where this journey has taken us.
Which bring us along to this week... This was a busy week at the theater, so it was a donation week for us. We struggled a little to find an organization to whom to donate because we are now bombarded by requests, as I have mentioned before. We know that we don't have a lot of weeks left, so we started talking about the holiday season and about organizations that have some meaning for us already. Jen brought up Toys for Tots. I have given to Toys for Tots before when I saw a toy drive going on, but I did not have a very personal connection to the group. Jen, it turns out, does.
When she was young, Jen has very clear and very fond memories of taking toys to a pickup site in on the south side of Chicago. Toys for Tots is run by the US Marine Corps, but is strongly supported by many of the motorcycle clubs here in Chicago. The clubs have Toys for Tots parades and toy drives, where they drive their bikes around, in full regalia, to collect toys and raise awareness. Jen has fond and funny memories of large, heavily bearded guys on Harleys driving around with teddy bears and dolls. For her, these memories are a part of the holiday season - a part of what Christmas means for her, and so she wanted to make sure we gave to them as part of this year.
So we did just that. They have a great website which allows you to donate to the organization as a national whole, or to Toys for Tots groups specific to your area. They are a 97%- 3% charity, which means that only 3% of the money received goes to administration and fund raising. The rest goes directly into buying and distributing toys. They collect new and unwrapped toys from October into December and then hand them out in time for Christmas. Their stated goals are:
"to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future."
While we like to help people get enough to eat, at this time of year, we also like to help kids have a happier Christmas, so Toys for Tots was a natural choice.
For more information on Toys for Tots, click HERE.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Weeks 43, 44 and 45 - Lakeview Pantry and Top Box
Well, we have to call it a habit now. Posting only once every three weeks is a habit... I am hoping to do better as we look to close out the year, but for now, I have updates and a new organization!
For two of the past three weeks, Jen and I went to the Lakeview Pantry, one of our absolute favorite places to work. We had a night that was slow and pretty easy, and another night where the place was fast and furious. We brought in some clothes we collected for their "goodwill" area, and I fixed the latch on an interior door in their cargo van. We met new friends and got to work again with the old ones. Carrie, the site administrator has been training her new assistant, Elizabeth, to run distribution sessions, and so Elizabeth ran the show for both of our recent work calls. She is still learning the ropes about how to be loud and confident in a room full of patrons, but she is dedicated and did a great job with the recent busy night. Also, Carrie gave me a Pantry T-shirt, which was nice. In short, our time there was everything we have come to expect, and we feel like we are part of the team when we are there. I have made a proper pitch in a while, but if you have any thoughts about volunteering at a pantry, I highly recommend either site that Lakeview Pantry operates. They are a great group of people and they are doing a whole lot of good.
The most interesting part of the last couple weeks was two weeks ago when we volunteered with a new organization, Top Box Foods. This is a new group to us, but also a new group in general, only having been operating since May of this year. The mission of the group and the story of its origin are both pretty cool.
About a year and half a go, Chris Kennedy, son of the late senator Robert F. Kennedy, stepped down as president of the Merchandise Mart here in Chicago. He was an unmitigated success in the world of business, but he was tired of the corporate world and the greed that permeates it. He took a year to decide on a new direction and formulate his new business model - a non-profit designed to bring real, healthy, fresh food to people who did not have ready access to it. He called it Top Box Foods and it opened in May of this year.
In Chicago, as in other places, there exist "food deserts" - places where there is a lack of income and of decent grocery stores, but plenty fast food restaurants. People in these places cannot not afford to buy healthy food, and even if they could, they cannot travel by public transit to get it, or haul it home. Top Box gathers up food from many sources and packages it into a variety of different purchase options. The boxes include real meats, fish, fruits and vegetables. Most of the food is uncooked, but some boxes include heat and serve meals. The most popular is the family box, which is meant to feed a family of four for a week of dinners. The box includes 17 pounds of food, and comes complete with a pie for dessert. That box, containing something like 28 meals, sells for $36. Other boxes sell for as low as $19 and all of them are a much better deal than the average grocery store in Chicago. That covers the affordable part.
Now for the accessible part... Since a big part of the problem is that the families who need this food don't live in a place where they can get it, Top Box had to find a way to bring the food to where it was needed. To do that, the company has created a network of host sites, partnering with churches, community groups, and food pantries. The host site helps publicize the products which Top Box offers and helps to collect the orders. Then, once a month, Top Box sends a truck to each host site loaded with the boxes that have been ordered. Patrons come to the site (a place to which they were most likely already going for one reason or another) and they pay for and pick up the food. Payment can be made with cash, check, credit card or food stamps. The cost of the boxes covers the logistics of getting the food and packing it. The price also includes a 5% donation which goes to the host site to help defer the costs of working with Top Box and to help forward their own programs. It is these site visits which use volunteers, to help process patron orders and help put the actual boxes in the hands of the patrons.
Jen and I worked with Top Box at a Methodist church in Evanston where there is also a food pantry. The day we helped was the first time that Top Box was delivering at this site, so there was some confusion. The pantry served a great many people, and in an effort to stay out of the way of their activities, we set up the Top Box station on the other side of the building. That meant that there needed to be some people directing the patrons who had made orders to where they could pick them up. As it turns out, this is the job Jen and I would up with. While the rest of the volunteers worked outside, we sat at a table in the lobby of the pantry talking to patrons and perspective customers. Since it was the first time there, a lot of people had not heard about Top Box, so we got to do a lot of talking. The result from our listeners was overwhelmingly positive. Everyone who heard about it wanted in. There were even some people with suggestions about additional host sites. We referred those people to the staff outside, because it seems like there is strong interest by the Top Box leadership in expanding coverage as quickly as possible.
As a bonus, we also got to meet Chris Kennedy. He came by to see how things were going, and was very nice. You can see by the look in his eyes that he sees how big this could be. A report in the Tribune mentions that he has plans to take Top Box nationwide if possible, which seems like a great idea. We have seen so many people who desperately need any food at all, but Kennedy is looking at the millions more who just need a little help. If food costs a little less, then they can give a little more to their kids in the way of clothes or books or shoes. If healthy food is affordable more kids can be spared the burden of being overweight from the start. Top Box represents that little bit of help that can make the difference in life changing from unbearable to tolerable. Rather than bringing a lot of help to a few people, the way a pantry or a shelter does, this could bring a little help to thousands upon thousands of people, and could make a tangible dent in hunger and poor nutrition in America. We loved helping out, and are overwhelmingly inspired by the possibility of this idea.
Part of the promotional materials we handed out were small pages that showed what comes in each box. I snapped some pictures of those pages and they are shown below.
To read the Chicago Tribune article about Chris Kennedy and Top Box, click HERE.
To learn more about Top Box Foods, click HERE.
For two of the past three weeks, Jen and I went to the Lakeview Pantry, one of our absolute favorite places to work. We had a night that was slow and pretty easy, and another night where the place was fast and furious. We brought in some clothes we collected for their "goodwill" area, and I fixed the latch on an interior door in their cargo van. We met new friends and got to work again with the old ones. Carrie, the site administrator has been training her new assistant, Elizabeth, to run distribution sessions, and so Elizabeth ran the show for both of our recent work calls. She is still learning the ropes about how to be loud and confident in a room full of patrons, but she is dedicated and did a great job with the recent busy night. Also, Carrie gave me a Pantry T-shirt, which was nice. In short, our time there was everything we have come to expect, and we feel like we are part of the team when we are there. I have made a proper pitch in a while, but if you have any thoughts about volunteering at a pantry, I highly recommend either site that Lakeview Pantry operates. They are a great group of people and they are doing a whole lot of good.
The most interesting part of the last couple weeks was two weeks ago when we volunteered with a new organization, Top Box Foods. This is a new group to us, but also a new group in general, only having been operating since May of this year. The mission of the group and the story of its origin are both pretty cool.
About a year and half a go, Chris Kennedy, son of the late senator Robert F. Kennedy, stepped down as president of the Merchandise Mart here in Chicago. He was an unmitigated success in the world of business, but he was tired of the corporate world and the greed that permeates it. He took a year to decide on a new direction and formulate his new business model - a non-profit designed to bring real, healthy, fresh food to people who did not have ready access to it. He called it Top Box Foods and it opened in May of this year.
In Chicago, as in other places, there exist "food deserts" - places where there is a lack of income and of decent grocery stores, but plenty fast food restaurants. People in these places cannot not afford to buy healthy food, and even if they could, they cannot travel by public transit to get it, or haul it home. Top Box gathers up food from many sources and packages it into a variety of different purchase options. The boxes include real meats, fish, fruits and vegetables. Most of the food is uncooked, but some boxes include heat and serve meals. The most popular is the family box, which is meant to feed a family of four for a week of dinners. The box includes 17 pounds of food, and comes complete with a pie for dessert. That box, containing something like 28 meals, sells for $36. Other boxes sell for as low as $19 and all of them are a much better deal than the average grocery store in Chicago. That covers the affordable part.
Now for the accessible part... Since a big part of the problem is that the families who need this food don't live in a place where they can get it, Top Box had to find a way to bring the food to where it was needed. To do that, the company has created a network of host sites, partnering with churches, community groups, and food pantries. The host site helps publicize the products which Top Box offers and helps to collect the orders. Then, once a month, Top Box sends a truck to each host site loaded with the boxes that have been ordered. Patrons come to the site (a place to which they were most likely already going for one reason or another) and they pay for and pick up the food. Payment can be made with cash, check, credit card or food stamps. The cost of the boxes covers the logistics of getting the food and packing it. The price also includes a 5% donation which goes to the host site to help defer the costs of working with Top Box and to help forward their own programs. It is these site visits which use volunteers, to help process patron orders and help put the actual boxes in the hands of the patrons.
Jen and I worked with Top Box at a Methodist church in Evanston where there is also a food pantry. The day we helped was the first time that Top Box was delivering at this site, so there was some confusion. The pantry served a great many people, and in an effort to stay out of the way of their activities, we set up the Top Box station on the other side of the building. That meant that there needed to be some people directing the patrons who had made orders to where they could pick them up. As it turns out, this is the job Jen and I would up with. While the rest of the volunteers worked outside, we sat at a table in the lobby of the pantry talking to patrons and perspective customers. Since it was the first time there, a lot of people had not heard about Top Box, so we got to do a lot of talking. The result from our listeners was overwhelmingly positive. Everyone who heard about it wanted in. There were even some people with suggestions about additional host sites. We referred those people to the staff outside, because it seems like there is strong interest by the Top Box leadership in expanding coverage as quickly as possible.
As a bonus, we also got to meet Chris Kennedy. He came by to see how things were going, and was very nice. You can see by the look in his eyes that he sees how big this could be. A report in the Tribune mentions that he has plans to take Top Box nationwide if possible, which seems like a great idea. We have seen so many people who desperately need any food at all, but Kennedy is looking at the millions more who just need a little help. If food costs a little less, then they can give a little more to their kids in the way of clothes or books or shoes. If healthy food is affordable more kids can be spared the burden of being overweight from the start. Top Box represents that little bit of help that can make the difference in life changing from unbearable to tolerable. Rather than bringing a lot of help to a few people, the way a pantry or a shelter does, this could bring a little help to thousands upon thousands of people, and could make a tangible dent in hunger and poor nutrition in America. We loved helping out, and are overwhelmingly inspired by the possibility of this idea.
Part of the promotional materials we handed out were small pages that showed what comes in each box. I snapped some pictures of those pages and they are shown below.
To read the Chicago Tribune article about Chris Kennedy and Top Box, click HERE.
To learn more about Top Box Foods, click HERE.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Weeks 40, 41 and 42 - Circling back to those we know
Well, as you might guess from the title of the post, our crazy busy fall season has not abated and I have not been keeping up on posting. As always though, we have not missed a week. In the last three weeks, we had some great times visiting the organizations we have become very fond of.
Longest ago, in week 40, we returned to the House of Mary and Joseph for another night of feeding the patrons before they retired for the night. Or so we thought... As it turned out, there was a food truck parked outside the shelter from a local church group. The food truck fed almost everyone that had been waiting to get into the shelter, so almost no wanted the food we had to offer. We did not know about the truck outside, so it was a strange night for us. Usually, the patrons can't get enough, even though the House serves almost the same thing every night. But on this night, everyone kept turning down the sandwiches and eating only one cup of soup, or none! We were mystified for most of the night, until one of the program residents (the ones who live at the shelter while they work on getting housing, work, etc.) told us about the food truck. Then it all made sense, except for the logic of feeding people where there already was food. I am sure the patrons of the House enjoyed the change of pace, but I have to believe that the food truck could have gone somewhere that people had nothing to eat. In any case, everyone was in a good mood. It was a nice fall night, not too cold and there was variety - something that the people who depend on kitchens and shelters almost never get.
Next up was Common Pantry, for Wednesday night food distribution. Unfortunately, I wound up having to work late and had to cancel at the last minute, something I try very hard not to do. Jen went and worked without me, though, and had a good time. It is always busy there on Wednesday nights, and this one was no different. They had a large number of what they call "courtesy" cases. These are people who live outside of the service area for the Pantry, or who have already gotten their allotment of food for the month. The pantry workers will not run someone away outright, so these people are given food, although less than a regular patron, and sent on their way. The problem is that some of the patrons try to come almost every week to get a courtesy package. These people have to be dealt with by Scott, the Pantry manager. He tries to be as generous as possible, but he has found, as have so many others who run pantries and kitchens and the like, that he must stick hard and fast to his rules because any little slip brings in a flood of people looking to take advantage. Sadly, this makes it harder for honest people to get the help they need. In spite of all of that, Jen still had a great time.
Since I could not make it to the Pantry, I decided to make another loan with Kiva.org. This is the organization that acts as a clearing house for micro-loans from all over the world. The idea behind micro-loans is that many people in impoverished countries could benefit a great deal by getting very small loans to start or improve a business. These loans are so small that normal lending agencies overlook them and would never extend credit to the people in this situation anyway. Kiva makes these small scale loans to people all over the world through a network of lending partners and the "backfills" them with money from donors all over the world. The loans are repaid in very small increments over about a year, so if you loan $25 (the base suggested loan amount) as part of a $600 loan, for example, you would most likely see that money back in a year or so. Ideally, you would then use it to make another loan. The borrower gets the cash infusion they need and no single person has a major amount of risk. Most of the loans are repaid, but if there is a problem, no one is out very much money.
Since I think this is a pretty good system, I went looking for a loan to make. I started by narrowing my search down to women borrowers, because the plight of women in impoverished nations is far worse that the plight of men. I looked for loans in the arts, but there were none available, so I looked for loans that were almost complete. I like to give the last chunk of money on a loan. Even though the loan has already been dispersed, it still feels like an accomplishment. From the loans that were nearly complete, I found Asina, a woman in Kenya. She has used Kiva loans in the past to start a boda boda business - a motorcycle transportation business. She used Kiva loans to buy her first and second motorcycles and is now looking to buy a third. her business is growing and she is considering opening a retail store as well. This is Asina:
It seemed like an interesting story to me, and so I was able to make the last donation to her loan. I kind of like the idea of this woman kicking around Africa on a motorcycle. I hope she continues to do well and improve her life.
Last week was perhaps the most fun we have had in a long time volunteering. Jen and I were scheduled to work at Feed My Starving Children to pack food bags when we got a call from my sister Virginia. She happened to be coming to Schaumberg, where we pack the bags, on business, on the very night we were going to go work. We asked if she would come with us, and she agreed. We met for dinner and then went to work. Virginia had never been to FMSC before, but had heard about them, and another organization like them. As it turned out, we had a blast. Usually, there are a lot of kids at the packing sessions because they are so popular with school and church groups. This time, there was a big contingent of high school or college age kids, and no really young kids at all. I have always said that we could really cruise if we got a group like this, and cruise we did. Virginia took to it right away, and we hooked up with a few people we did not know to make a table with all ten worker spots filled. Theoretically, in during one session, we should pack a box for every worker, so we should have packed ten boxes. We packed sixteen. It was the most furious work we have ever done there, and so much fun. We just blazed though it. It was a big rush for everyone on the table, even though we were all exhausted at the end. Overall, we had 54 workers and packed 64 boxes, so the whole room was not moving quite as fast as we were, but it doesn't matter. We had a ton of fun, and my sister will definitely be back. This is her with Jen and I after the session.
These three weeks have proven to be just as fun and interesting as all the others. We learned new things, made new friends, and helped out some people who needed it. Next week we head back to the Lakeview Pantry, where we will give out food and, hopefully, fix a busted door latch in their cargo van. I will tell you all about that next week!
For more information about the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph, click HERE.
For more information about Common Pantry, click HERE.
For more information about micro-loans at Kiva, click HERE.
For more information about Feed My Starving Children, click HERE.
Longest ago, in week 40, we returned to the House of Mary and Joseph for another night of feeding the patrons before they retired for the night. Or so we thought... As it turned out, there was a food truck parked outside the shelter from a local church group. The food truck fed almost everyone that had been waiting to get into the shelter, so almost no wanted the food we had to offer. We did not know about the truck outside, so it was a strange night for us. Usually, the patrons can't get enough, even though the House serves almost the same thing every night. But on this night, everyone kept turning down the sandwiches and eating only one cup of soup, or none! We were mystified for most of the night, until one of the program residents (the ones who live at the shelter while they work on getting housing, work, etc.) told us about the food truck. Then it all made sense, except for the logic of feeding people where there already was food. I am sure the patrons of the House enjoyed the change of pace, but I have to believe that the food truck could have gone somewhere that people had nothing to eat. In any case, everyone was in a good mood. It was a nice fall night, not too cold and there was variety - something that the people who depend on kitchens and shelters almost never get.
Next up was Common Pantry, for Wednesday night food distribution. Unfortunately, I wound up having to work late and had to cancel at the last minute, something I try very hard not to do. Jen went and worked without me, though, and had a good time. It is always busy there on Wednesday nights, and this one was no different. They had a large number of what they call "courtesy" cases. These are people who live outside of the service area for the Pantry, or who have already gotten their allotment of food for the month. The pantry workers will not run someone away outright, so these people are given food, although less than a regular patron, and sent on their way. The problem is that some of the patrons try to come almost every week to get a courtesy package. These people have to be dealt with by Scott, the Pantry manager. He tries to be as generous as possible, but he has found, as have so many others who run pantries and kitchens and the like, that he must stick hard and fast to his rules because any little slip brings in a flood of people looking to take advantage. Sadly, this makes it harder for honest people to get the help they need. In spite of all of that, Jen still had a great time.
Since I could not make it to the Pantry, I decided to make another loan with Kiva.org. This is the organization that acts as a clearing house for micro-loans from all over the world. The idea behind micro-loans is that many people in impoverished countries could benefit a great deal by getting very small loans to start or improve a business. These loans are so small that normal lending agencies overlook them and would never extend credit to the people in this situation anyway. Kiva makes these small scale loans to people all over the world through a network of lending partners and the "backfills" them with money from donors all over the world. The loans are repaid in very small increments over about a year, so if you loan $25 (the base suggested loan amount) as part of a $600 loan, for example, you would most likely see that money back in a year or so. Ideally, you would then use it to make another loan. The borrower gets the cash infusion they need and no single person has a major amount of risk. Most of the loans are repaid, but if there is a problem, no one is out very much money.
Since I think this is a pretty good system, I went looking for a loan to make. I started by narrowing my search down to women borrowers, because the plight of women in impoverished nations is far worse that the plight of men. I looked for loans in the arts, but there were none available, so I looked for loans that were almost complete. I like to give the last chunk of money on a loan. Even though the loan has already been dispersed, it still feels like an accomplishment. From the loans that were nearly complete, I found Asina, a woman in Kenya. She has used Kiva loans in the past to start a boda boda business - a motorcycle transportation business. She used Kiva loans to buy her first and second motorcycles and is now looking to buy a third. her business is growing and she is considering opening a retail store as well. This is Asina:
It seemed like an interesting story to me, and so I was able to make the last donation to her loan. I kind of like the idea of this woman kicking around Africa on a motorcycle. I hope she continues to do well and improve her life.
Last week was perhaps the most fun we have had in a long time volunteering. Jen and I were scheduled to work at Feed My Starving Children to pack food bags when we got a call from my sister Virginia. She happened to be coming to Schaumberg, where we pack the bags, on business, on the very night we were going to go work. We asked if she would come with us, and she agreed. We met for dinner and then went to work. Virginia had never been to FMSC before, but had heard about them, and another organization like them. As it turned out, we had a blast. Usually, there are a lot of kids at the packing sessions because they are so popular with school and church groups. This time, there was a big contingent of high school or college age kids, and no really young kids at all. I have always said that we could really cruise if we got a group like this, and cruise we did. Virginia took to it right away, and we hooked up with a few people we did not know to make a table with all ten worker spots filled. Theoretically, in during one session, we should pack a box for every worker, so we should have packed ten boxes. We packed sixteen. It was the most furious work we have ever done there, and so much fun. We just blazed though it. It was a big rush for everyone on the table, even though we were all exhausted at the end. Overall, we had 54 workers and packed 64 boxes, so the whole room was not moving quite as fast as we were, but it doesn't matter. We had a ton of fun, and my sister will definitely be back. This is her with Jen and I after the session.
These three weeks have proven to be just as fun and interesting as all the others. We learned new things, made new friends, and helped out some people who needed it. Next week we head back to the Lakeview Pantry, where we will give out food and, hopefully, fix a busted door latch in their cargo van. I will tell you all about that next week!
For more information about the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph, click HERE.
For more information about Common Pantry, click HERE.
For more information about micro-loans at Kiva, click HERE.
For more information about Feed My Starving Children, click HERE.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Weeks 37, 38 & 39 - Old friends, Misericordia and Covenant House
If you have been keeping track of our charity work, you will certainly have noticed that as Fall approached, we seem to have fallen off the map. September has been a supremely busy month for both Jen and I, and while we have not stopped doing something every week, I have not been very good about writing about it. So let me catch you up on what we have been up to...
Over the last three weeks, we have visited a couple old friends. We had a great distribution session at Lakeview Pantry, where we served a lot of people and had a great time, as we have come to expect. We also served dinner at the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph. That night was great for a couple of reasons. The first was that there was a family volunteering with two very feisty 8th or 9th grade girls who were really into the work, and were all full of giggles. It made the night go really quickly and we spent most of it laughing. That emotion seemed to radiate out into the patrons we served, because the other great thing about that night was how thankful and cheerful all the patrons were. Often times at this shelter, the people we serve are pretty wrapped up int their own problems and don't have a lot of energy or emotion to spare for thank yous, but when we were there, everyone was kind of upbeat and very grateful. Obviously we don't go there to be thanked, but when the patrons are thanking you, it gives much more of a chance to connect with them, to look them in the eyes. Being able to connect like that, even for a moment, is good for the people in the shelter. It reminds them that even though they are ignored and treated like they don't exist for most of their day on the streets, there are still some people who look at them and see a person, not just a beggar. In any case, it was one of our better night at the House.
Even before we did either of these things, Jen and her friend Vicki volunteered, as they have for the last handful of years, at the Misericordia Family Fest. Misericordia is an institution in Chicago that provides housing and development opportunities people with Down's Syndrome and other cognitive disorders. They have residents of all ages from across the spectrum of functional levels. They strive to provide not just housing but also enrichment to the live of their residents. To that end, they provide training in life skills and offer employment to their residents, involving them as wait staff in a cafe, assistants in a bakery and in other small commercial ventures run by the organization. Residents make art and craft items which are sold to help cover the immense cost of keeping the facility and all of its service running. Family Fest is an annual fund raising effort in which Misericordia basically throws a big party staffed by volunteers and the family members of the residents. They have bingo and games and music and food, much like any other festival. Because it is held on the Misericordia grounds, there is also a strong component of introducing people to the work of the organization. Jen has been a big fan of Misericordia for a long time, and also helps with their other fund raiser, called Candy Days, when volunteers fan out thought the city to solicit drivers at busy intersections in exchange for some candy. She tells me that she and Vicki had a great time at this year's Family Fest, and that she is looking forward to going back next year.
That brings us up to this past week, a week in which we had no time to volunteer. In place of that, we decided to give some money to a group called Covenant House, which is dedicated to helping homeless children get off the street.
Covenant House was founded in 1972 in New York City as a single shelter for runaways and homeless kids. In the ensuing 40 years, it has spread across the U.S. as well as south into Mexico and other Central American countries to become the largest privately funded agency in the Americas providing "loving care and vital services to homeless, abandoned, abused, trafficked, and exploited kids." There are Covenant House locations in 21 cities in the U.S., Canada and Central America, including Anchorage, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Managua, Mexico City, Milpas Altas, Newark, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Orlando, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Tegucigalpa, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C. They served over 50,000 kids in the last year alone.
When a child comes to Covenant House they are immediately given food and a secure place to sleep, as well as clothes and medical attention. Sadly, almost all of the kids who come to the House need all of those things. After those physical needs are met, the staff must slowly and carefully try to navigate the minefield of the needs which are not so easily seen or so easily dealt with. Most of the children who have been on the street for any length of time have experienced some kind of sever abuse. Many have been forced into prostitution by people they thought of as friends. Almost all have been abandoned and betrayed enough that getting them to open up to anyone, even the caring staff at Covenant House is beyond difficult. They have all been scarred, and the long, careful work of helping them back to health in body, mind and soul is exactly what Covenant House does.
Their skill and experience with bringing kids back from the edge of desperation is pretty clear in the excerpt from their website, detailing the mission and vision of Covenant House:
As you might expect from reading their approach to helping, their success rate is very good, and the web site is filled with stories of kids who have managed to cast aside lives of gangs and prostitution, drugs and alcohol to stand on their own as strong, healthy young men and women. It is very inspiring reading, if you can stand to hear about the pain and suffering that begins every story.
In the past year, as we have worked around the city, we have seen how hard life on the street can be for adults, and in all of our work around the homeless, we have never seen a single child on his or her own. Does that mean that there simply are no homeless kids in Chicago? As much as I would like that to be true, it surely is not. What it does mean is that organizations who are doing real, tangible good for the homeless people of the city are not reaching the children. There is no Covenant House in Chicago, and it makes me wonder who, if anyone is serving the disenfranchised kids in our city. I may very well find out, and give them some money as well, but until then, at least Covenant House is helping the kids in other cities, and I am proud to support them.
For more information on Misericordia, click HERE.
For more information on Covenant House, click HERE.
Over the last three weeks, we have visited a couple old friends. We had a great distribution session at Lakeview Pantry, where we served a lot of people and had a great time, as we have come to expect. We also served dinner at the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph. That night was great for a couple of reasons. The first was that there was a family volunteering with two very feisty 8th or 9th grade girls who were really into the work, and were all full of giggles. It made the night go really quickly and we spent most of it laughing. That emotion seemed to radiate out into the patrons we served, because the other great thing about that night was how thankful and cheerful all the patrons were. Often times at this shelter, the people we serve are pretty wrapped up int their own problems and don't have a lot of energy or emotion to spare for thank yous, but when we were there, everyone was kind of upbeat and very grateful. Obviously we don't go there to be thanked, but when the patrons are thanking you, it gives much more of a chance to connect with them, to look them in the eyes. Being able to connect like that, even for a moment, is good for the people in the shelter. It reminds them that even though they are ignored and treated like they don't exist for most of their day on the streets, there are still some people who look at them and see a person, not just a beggar. In any case, it was one of our better night at the House.
Even before we did either of these things, Jen and her friend Vicki volunteered, as they have for the last handful of years, at the Misericordia Family Fest. Misericordia is an institution in Chicago that provides housing and development opportunities people with Down's Syndrome and other cognitive disorders. They have residents of all ages from across the spectrum of functional levels. They strive to provide not just housing but also enrichment to the live of their residents. To that end, they provide training in life skills and offer employment to their residents, involving them as wait staff in a cafe, assistants in a bakery and in other small commercial ventures run by the organization. Residents make art and craft items which are sold to help cover the immense cost of keeping the facility and all of its service running. Family Fest is an annual fund raising effort in which Misericordia basically throws a big party staffed by volunteers and the family members of the residents. They have bingo and games and music and food, much like any other festival. Because it is held on the Misericordia grounds, there is also a strong component of introducing people to the work of the organization. Jen has been a big fan of Misericordia for a long time, and also helps with their other fund raiser, called Candy Days, when volunteers fan out thought the city to solicit drivers at busy intersections in exchange for some candy. She tells me that she and Vicki had a great time at this year's Family Fest, and that she is looking forward to going back next year.
That brings us up to this past week, a week in which we had no time to volunteer. In place of that, we decided to give some money to a group called Covenant House, which is dedicated to helping homeless children get off the street.
Covenant House was founded in 1972 in New York City as a single shelter for runaways and homeless kids. In the ensuing 40 years, it has spread across the U.S. as well as south into Mexico and other Central American countries to become the largest privately funded agency in the Americas providing "loving care and vital services to homeless, abandoned, abused, trafficked, and exploited kids." There are Covenant House locations in 21 cities in the U.S., Canada and Central America, including Anchorage, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Managua, Mexico City, Milpas Altas, Newark, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Orlando, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Tegucigalpa, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C. They served over 50,000 kids in the last year alone.
When a child comes to Covenant House they are immediately given food and a secure place to sleep, as well as clothes and medical attention. Sadly, almost all of the kids who come to the House need all of those things. After those physical needs are met, the staff must slowly and carefully try to navigate the minefield of the needs which are not so easily seen or so easily dealt with. Most of the children who have been on the street for any length of time have experienced some kind of sever abuse. Many have been forced into prostitution by people they thought of as friends. Almost all have been abandoned and betrayed enough that getting them to open up to anyone, even the caring staff at Covenant House is beyond difficult. They have all been scarred, and the long, careful work of helping them back to health in body, mind and soul is exactly what Covenant House does.
Their skill and experience with bringing kids back from the edge of desperation is pretty clear in the excerpt from their website, detailing the mission and vision of Covenant House:
Immediacy
Homeless kids come to Covenant House in crisis. Immediately and without question, we meet their basic human needs – a nourishing meal, a shower, clean clothes, medical attention, and a safe place away from the dangers of the street.
Sanctuary
Homeless kids arriving at our door are often frightened and mistrustful. Young men and women can grow only when they feel safe and secure – Covenant House protects them from the perils of the street and offers that important sense of security.
Value Communication
Lying, cheating, and stealing are common survival tools on the street. Covenant House teaches by example that caring relationships are based on trust, respect, and honesty.
Structure
Homeless kids never know how they will get their next meal or where they will sleep. Covenant House provides the stability and structure necessary to build a positive future.
Choice
Young people often feel powerless to control their lives and fall into a self-defeating cycle of failure. Covenant House fosters confidence, encouraging young people to believe in themselves and make smart choices for their lives.
As you might expect from reading their approach to helping, their success rate is very good, and the web site is filled with stories of kids who have managed to cast aside lives of gangs and prostitution, drugs and alcohol to stand on their own as strong, healthy young men and women. It is very inspiring reading, if you can stand to hear about the pain and suffering that begins every story.
In the past year, as we have worked around the city, we have seen how hard life on the street can be for adults, and in all of our work around the homeless, we have never seen a single child on his or her own. Does that mean that there simply are no homeless kids in Chicago? As much as I would like that to be true, it surely is not. What it does mean is that organizations who are doing real, tangible good for the homeless people of the city are not reaching the children. There is no Covenant House in Chicago, and it makes me wonder who, if anyone is serving the disenfranchised kids in our city. I may very well find out, and give them some money as well, but until then, at least Covenant House is helping the kids in other cities, and I am proud to support them.
For more information on Misericordia, click HERE.
For more information on Covenant House, click HERE.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Week 36 - Lakeview Pantry Produce Pickup
This week Jen and I worked with our friends at the Lakeview Pantry, but we helped out in an unusual way, at least for us. Instead of helping distribute the Pantry's food, we helped collect it.
The Pantry gets food from many sources. The largest single source is the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which we have written about in previous posts, but they also get donations from grocery stores like Trader Joe's and from individuals through food drives. The source that I think is the coolest is the Green City Market, the farmer's market that takes place in Lincoln Park every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the summer. (It goes on during the colder months too, but it goes indoors). For the last three years, Lakeview Pantry has been giving the farmers at the market an option to donate some of their produce that would otherwise not be sold. The farmers had been composting those items that would not keep until the next market, or that did not look good enough to sell, but were still fine to eat. Now, the Pantry comes to the market with volunteers, hands out donation bins to all the farmers, and then collects whatever the farmers have to give.
The Pantry has distribution on Saturday mornings, so when you volunteer for the market run, you are pretty much on your own. Since we had not done it before, we were careful to get very specific directions about when and how to go about our duties. We hopped in the Pantry's cargo van and got down to the market ahead of schedule, but we lost some time trying to park. Parking in the area of the market is always hard, and with all the vendors and all the shoppers, and us in a great big van, it was really just a matter of luck that we got a spot after only three circuits of the area. Once we "landed" we walked around the market, which was very busy, and found out where we were supposed to be. The Pantry sets up right next to the composting/recycling/trash area in order to catch any farmers who might not know about the option to donate. When we got to that spot, we were almost immediately approached by a really nice farmer who was worried that the Pantry was not going to be there that week. Apparently, they are used to the volunteers coming around with bins earlier than we were told to do it. It was no worries though. That farmer grabbed a few bins and went off to pack them up.
We collected the food in plastic bins with hinged tops. If you have ever been to a farmer's market, you will know what kind of bins I mean - all of the vendors use them. We brought about 45 of those bins along, with the expectation of filling more than half of them, at least. The friendly farmer came back twice for more of them. I stayed with the pile of bins while Jen took some on a cart around to all the vendors. Since the Pantry has been doing this for some time now, the farmers did not need any convincing. Basically every vendor who sold produce gave us something. We also got a flour sack full of buns from a baker. It was a beautiful day to hanging around in the park, with 70 degrees, sunshine and a light breeze, so we had a wonderful time with our work.
Once all the bins were out and the farmers were all breaking down their tents, we collected the bins and loaded up the van and headed back to the pantry. We unloaded all of the bins there, weighed them, inventoried what was donated and then refrigerated the bins that needed it (mostly the leafy green and herbs). It turned out that we had gotten 29 bins full, totaling 877 pounds of produce, plus the sack of bread. That number makes it a good haul, but somewhere in the middle of the range for the life of the program. It seems the best load was about 1100-1200 pounds (all apples, tomatoes and cucumbers...) and that the low end is down around 500 pounds. Looking at all of what we collected, and thinking that it otherwise would have gone to waste, I was really glad that the Pantry puts in the effort to collect it.
It reminded me of a fact that we keep coming across in our volunteer work: For the last 15 years or so, there has been more food grown on earth than is needed to feed the population of earth. Right now, we produce enough food to give every person on earth 2800 calories per day. That is enough to make everyone a little fat, much less to make them healthy. So why do some people have nothing to eat? And where are all those calories going? While some people eat way more than 2800 calories in a day, I can't imagine overeating accounts for the discrepancy. Food is wasted all the time. Now, I know why some people have and others don't. Self-interest and desire to have the most of everything will always beat out the instinct to share and make sure everyone has enough. But I am still glad we could be a part of collecting a little of the food that isn't good enough for those with access to their 2800 calories and more, and give it to those who need it, even if it isn't polished, pristine, perfect produce. This was a fulfilling, wonderful day for us, and we will definitely look to do it again.
For more information about the Pantry and its many programs, go to Lakeview Pantry.
The Pantry gets food from many sources. The largest single source is the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which we have written about in previous posts, but they also get donations from grocery stores like Trader Joe's and from individuals through food drives. The source that I think is the coolest is the Green City Market, the farmer's market that takes place in Lincoln Park every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the summer. (It goes on during the colder months too, but it goes indoors). For the last three years, Lakeview Pantry has been giving the farmers at the market an option to donate some of their produce that would otherwise not be sold. The farmers had been composting those items that would not keep until the next market, or that did not look good enough to sell, but were still fine to eat. Now, the Pantry comes to the market with volunteers, hands out donation bins to all the farmers, and then collects whatever the farmers have to give.
The Pantry has distribution on Saturday mornings, so when you volunteer for the market run, you are pretty much on your own. Since we had not done it before, we were careful to get very specific directions about when and how to go about our duties. We hopped in the Pantry's cargo van and got down to the market ahead of schedule, but we lost some time trying to park. Parking in the area of the market is always hard, and with all the vendors and all the shoppers, and us in a great big van, it was really just a matter of luck that we got a spot after only three circuits of the area. Once we "landed" we walked around the market, which was very busy, and found out where we were supposed to be. The Pantry sets up right next to the composting/recycling/trash area in order to catch any farmers who might not know about the option to donate. When we got to that spot, we were almost immediately approached by a really nice farmer who was worried that the Pantry was not going to be there that week. Apparently, they are used to the volunteers coming around with bins earlier than we were told to do it. It was no worries though. That farmer grabbed a few bins and went off to pack them up.
We collected the food in plastic bins with hinged tops. If you have ever been to a farmer's market, you will know what kind of bins I mean - all of the vendors use them. We brought about 45 of those bins along, with the expectation of filling more than half of them, at least. The friendly farmer came back twice for more of them. I stayed with the pile of bins while Jen took some on a cart around to all the vendors. Since the Pantry has been doing this for some time now, the farmers did not need any convincing. Basically every vendor who sold produce gave us something. We also got a flour sack full of buns from a baker. It was a beautiful day to hanging around in the park, with 70 degrees, sunshine and a light breeze, so we had a wonderful time with our work.
Once all the bins were out and the farmers were all breaking down their tents, we collected the bins and loaded up the van and headed back to the pantry. We unloaded all of the bins there, weighed them, inventoried what was donated and then refrigerated the bins that needed it (mostly the leafy green and herbs). It turned out that we had gotten 29 bins full, totaling 877 pounds of produce, plus the sack of bread. That number makes it a good haul, but somewhere in the middle of the range for the life of the program. It seems the best load was about 1100-1200 pounds (all apples, tomatoes and cucumbers...) and that the low end is down around 500 pounds. Looking at all of what we collected, and thinking that it otherwise would have gone to waste, I was really glad that the Pantry puts in the effort to collect it.
It reminded me of a fact that we keep coming across in our volunteer work: For the last 15 years or so, there has been more food grown on earth than is needed to feed the population of earth. Right now, we produce enough food to give every person on earth 2800 calories per day. That is enough to make everyone a little fat, much less to make them healthy. So why do some people have nothing to eat? And where are all those calories going? While some people eat way more than 2800 calories in a day, I can't imagine overeating accounts for the discrepancy. Food is wasted all the time. Now, I know why some people have and others don't. Self-interest and desire to have the most of everything will always beat out the instinct to share and make sure everyone has enough. But I am still glad we could be a part of collecting a little of the food that isn't good enough for those with access to their 2800 calories and more, and give it to those who need it, even if it isn't polished, pristine, perfect produce. This was a fulfilling, wonderful day for us, and we will definitely look to do it again.
For more information about the Pantry and its many programs, go to Lakeview Pantry.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Week 35 - The Red Cloud Indian School
It has been a while since we gave money to an organization rather than giving time. It has also been a while since we gave either money or time to a new organization. This week, our busy schedules and a great opportunity to make a difference met in a happy coincidence.
In the way of an explanation, we must begin with the sharing of data. Jen and I have spent our year giving time and money to many organizations. Sometimes we do this by way of the internet. Apparently, when a person give to charities over the internet, there is a group of non-profit fairies who make sure that your address is given to every other charity in the world. All of those charities have now begun sending us mail. Some of the mail is from serious organizations doing widespread good. Other mail is from small focused charities aiming at one particular problem in one particular place. Some organizations are clearly above board while others are pretty shady. The sheer volume of mail is staggering, but we try to look at all of it because we do like to look for new opportunities to give.
Enter a small envelope from the Red Cloud Indian School. On the day we got it, there was not a lot of mail for a change. Jen took a look first, and told me I had to read it too. The school is located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It was founded in 1888, just after the reservation was established, by the historic Chief Red Cloud as a tool to fight the poverty and hopelessness that was attacking the Lakota (Sioux) people then and which is still attacking them now. In order to understand the challenges this school faces, you have to first understand the Reservation.
Pine Ridge is the second largest reservation in the US, covering 2.8 million acres. It houses somewhere between 28,000 and 40,000 Lakota tribesmen and women. The number is hard to pin down because of intense poverty and a reluctance to cooperate with the US government. Eighty percent of the reservation's resident are unemployed. Forty-nine percent of them live below the federal poverty line. Shannon County, where the reservation is located, is the second poorest county in the US, with an average per capita income of $6,286. While the poverty numbers are shocking, the more disturbing numbers have to do with young people on the reservation.
Each year, most states conduct a survey relating to youth risk behaviors. These are things like smoking, alcohol use, suicide, and sexual activity. The Red Cloud Indian School gives those statistics for the reservation, but I was curious, so I looked up the stats for all of South Dakota so I could compare them. The data is kind of horrifying.
In 2011, 47% of the high school students in South Dakota said they had engaged in sexual intercourse at least once in their lives. On the reservation, that number is 67%. In South Dakota, 69% of high school students have tried alcohol. At Pine Ridge, the number is 88%. The numbers for cigarette and marijuana use in South Dakota as a whole were 48% and 33% respectively. On the reservation, those numbers are 90% and 80%. The most frightening numbers are these: 18% of South Dakota high school students have considered suicide and 8% have tried. For those kids living on Pine Ridge, the numbers are 31% and 15% - nearly double. These are not numbers for the population as a whole - they are for kids, aged 13 to 19. If that does not speak of the despair that exists on the reservation, I don't know what would. Also, just to give a local perspective, I looked up these numbers for Chicago. In all areas, they are slightly higher than the South Dakota numbers, and still drastically lower than the Pine Ridge numbers.
So these numbers combined with the poverty stats tell us a few things. Pine Ridge has a lot of people, young and old, who are very poor. It has a lot of people who use alcohol and drugs, and it has a lot of young people who have a lot of things distracting them from getting the education that might let them leave the reservation or stay and help improve the conditions. This is where the Red Cloud Indian School comes in.
For over 100 years, they have been educating students (currently about 600 per year) from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. They provide them with the services they need to stay focused on school, from food to counseling to transportation. Their goal is to create proud, powerful Lakota citizens, and by all appearances, they pursue that goal relentlessly, even in the face of the hardship that is all around them. It is a lofty goal and a moving story, and we were moved to help them.
Certainly there are children in Chicago who could use our help, and we would like to help them too, but thankfully we live in a city where there are many people of means, and many organizations doing very good work to help children find a better life. While I am sure that this school is not the only group on the reservation trying to find a brighter future, I also know that there are not nearly as many groups as we have here. Help is harder to find on the reservation because nobody has anything. Sometime, people say that the casinos give the Indians all the money they need, but it that is not even close to true. The Lakota do have a casino, and if the revenue from that casino was distributed evenly among the people living on the reservation, it would amount to about 15 cents per person per month. Hardly a windfall... Life is hard on the reservation - harder than almost anywhere else in the country. This school is trying to make it better, and Jen and I were proud to help them.
If you are interested in more information about the school, they have a very good website at Red Cloud Indian School.
In the way of an explanation, we must begin with the sharing of data. Jen and I have spent our year giving time and money to many organizations. Sometimes we do this by way of the internet. Apparently, when a person give to charities over the internet, there is a group of non-profit fairies who make sure that your address is given to every other charity in the world. All of those charities have now begun sending us mail. Some of the mail is from serious organizations doing widespread good. Other mail is from small focused charities aiming at one particular problem in one particular place. Some organizations are clearly above board while others are pretty shady. The sheer volume of mail is staggering, but we try to look at all of it because we do like to look for new opportunities to give.
Enter a small envelope from the Red Cloud Indian School. On the day we got it, there was not a lot of mail for a change. Jen took a look first, and told me I had to read it too. The school is located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It was founded in 1888, just after the reservation was established, by the historic Chief Red Cloud as a tool to fight the poverty and hopelessness that was attacking the Lakota (Sioux) people then and which is still attacking them now. In order to understand the challenges this school faces, you have to first understand the Reservation.
Pine Ridge is the second largest reservation in the US, covering 2.8 million acres. It houses somewhere between 28,000 and 40,000 Lakota tribesmen and women. The number is hard to pin down because of intense poverty and a reluctance to cooperate with the US government. Eighty percent of the reservation's resident are unemployed. Forty-nine percent of them live below the federal poverty line. Shannon County, where the reservation is located, is the second poorest county in the US, with an average per capita income of $6,286. While the poverty numbers are shocking, the more disturbing numbers have to do with young people on the reservation.
Each year, most states conduct a survey relating to youth risk behaviors. These are things like smoking, alcohol use, suicide, and sexual activity. The Red Cloud Indian School gives those statistics for the reservation, but I was curious, so I looked up the stats for all of South Dakota so I could compare them. The data is kind of horrifying.
In 2011, 47% of the high school students in South Dakota said they had engaged in sexual intercourse at least once in their lives. On the reservation, that number is 67%. In South Dakota, 69% of high school students have tried alcohol. At Pine Ridge, the number is 88%. The numbers for cigarette and marijuana use in South Dakota as a whole were 48% and 33% respectively. On the reservation, those numbers are 90% and 80%. The most frightening numbers are these: 18% of South Dakota high school students have considered suicide and 8% have tried. For those kids living on Pine Ridge, the numbers are 31% and 15% - nearly double. These are not numbers for the population as a whole - they are for kids, aged 13 to 19. If that does not speak of the despair that exists on the reservation, I don't know what would. Also, just to give a local perspective, I looked up these numbers for Chicago. In all areas, they are slightly higher than the South Dakota numbers, and still drastically lower than the Pine Ridge numbers.
So these numbers combined with the poverty stats tell us a few things. Pine Ridge has a lot of people, young and old, who are very poor. It has a lot of people who use alcohol and drugs, and it has a lot of young people who have a lot of things distracting them from getting the education that might let them leave the reservation or stay and help improve the conditions. This is where the Red Cloud Indian School comes in.
For over 100 years, they have been educating students (currently about 600 per year) from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. They provide them with the services they need to stay focused on school, from food to counseling to transportation. Their goal is to create proud, powerful Lakota citizens, and by all appearances, they pursue that goal relentlessly, even in the face of the hardship that is all around them. It is a lofty goal and a moving story, and we were moved to help them.
Certainly there are children in Chicago who could use our help, and we would like to help them too, but thankfully we live in a city where there are many people of means, and many organizations doing very good work to help children find a better life. While I am sure that this school is not the only group on the reservation trying to find a brighter future, I also know that there are not nearly as many groups as we have here. Help is harder to find on the reservation because nobody has anything. Sometime, people say that the casinos give the Indians all the money they need, but it that is not even close to true. The Lakota do have a casino, and if the revenue from that casino was distributed evenly among the people living on the reservation, it would amount to about 15 cents per person per month. Hardly a windfall... Life is hard on the reservation - harder than almost anywhere else in the country. This school is trying to make it better, and Jen and I were proud to help them.
If you are interested in more information about the school, they have a very good website at Red Cloud Indian School.
Week 34 - Common Pantry
This week, we went back to Common Pantry, the closest food pantry to our house, to work with Scott, the manager, and the incredibly fun and devoted group of people there.
To give a quick refresher, Common Pantry distributes food once a week, on Wednesdays in both the afternoon and evenings. They also do some home delivery and produce distribution at other times during the week, but Wednesdays are the big day. (If you want a few more details, please check on previous posts, especially Week 23). This time, Jen got to do a new job. She was one of the people who assisted people as they "shopped" for the food they get to choose themselves. At this pantry, the goal is to give people a sense of independence to act as counter point to the feelings of dependence brought on by needing to go to a pantry in the first place. The way they encourage that independence is to give every patron a certain number of points. These points can be used to pick foods that are not part of the normal package. They can load up on things they like, or get things they need that are not readily available in the regular distribution.
One thing Jen and I have noticed is that if you get food from a pantry, even from different pantries around the city, you tend to get a lot of the same thing. Certain foods are just easier to keep fresh or are just more available. I have been told by many pantry patrons, here and elsewhere, that they have three jars of peanut butter and even more jelly at home, and please don't make me take any more of that stuff! Canned goods are really prevalent, and toiletries are scarce. If you want to make a big difference in the life of people who are struggling, donate 50 tubes of toothpaste to your nearest pantry - they never have enough. If you are considering donating canned beef stew, pick something else. That stuff is always in stock. If you want to give soup, give something other than tomato or chicken noodle. Even if it seems like a long shot in the taste department, someone will be thrilled to try that unusual soup instead of another can of generic tomato.
Because of all this sameness, food can get pretty boring in a big hurry. By giving the patrons a choice, the pantry is able to use all of the food it gets in from food drives. That stuff is usually of wide variety and not easily categorized. More accurately, it does not always fit well with the large shipments of product from places like the Greater Chicago Food Depository. By putting in out in the choice section, there is no need to give everyone an equal share. What is there is there, and when it is gone, it is gone. But it still can provide treats for people who can really use them.
So... Jen spent the night helping the patrons see what was available for them and helping them pick it out. In some cases, that meant helping someone find that thing they really need. In others, it meant reminding them that they were out of points. Almost always, it meant reminding them that other people were behind them waiting to get in. Since the pantry is quite small, there is only room for two people to shop at a time, and it is hard to make sure everyone gets a turn.
I spent the night manning the USDA section, which is part of the predetermined allotment of food that is given to the patrons. I had a good time working with two other guys who were handling the meat and the rest of the packaged food. It was a busy night for the pantry, serving 35 patrons who account for well over 100 hungry people. This time we have a lot of big families, with seven or eight family members. These are always hard for the patrons because they are given so much food that they can barely carry it. Some bring along helpers, but we also try to at least help them get it out to the street.
Both Jen and I had a great night, and we both remarked to each other about how great the entire staff and volunteer corps are at this pantry. Every time we are there, we meet new people, re-connect with those we know and spend a lot of time laughing along to the work. It is always a good time for us.
To learn more about the pantry, go to Common Pantry
To give a quick refresher, Common Pantry distributes food once a week, on Wednesdays in both the afternoon and evenings. They also do some home delivery and produce distribution at other times during the week, but Wednesdays are the big day. (If you want a few more details, please check on previous posts, especially Week 23). This time, Jen got to do a new job. She was one of the people who assisted people as they "shopped" for the food they get to choose themselves. At this pantry, the goal is to give people a sense of independence to act as counter point to the feelings of dependence brought on by needing to go to a pantry in the first place. The way they encourage that independence is to give every patron a certain number of points. These points can be used to pick foods that are not part of the normal package. They can load up on things they like, or get things they need that are not readily available in the regular distribution.
One thing Jen and I have noticed is that if you get food from a pantry, even from different pantries around the city, you tend to get a lot of the same thing. Certain foods are just easier to keep fresh or are just more available. I have been told by many pantry patrons, here and elsewhere, that they have three jars of peanut butter and even more jelly at home, and please don't make me take any more of that stuff! Canned goods are really prevalent, and toiletries are scarce. If you want to make a big difference in the life of people who are struggling, donate 50 tubes of toothpaste to your nearest pantry - they never have enough. If you are considering donating canned beef stew, pick something else. That stuff is always in stock. If you want to give soup, give something other than tomato or chicken noodle. Even if it seems like a long shot in the taste department, someone will be thrilled to try that unusual soup instead of another can of generic tomato.
Because of all this sameness, food can get pretty boring in a big hurry. By giving the patrons a choice, the pantry is able to use all of the food it gets in from food drives. That stuff is usually of wide variety and not easily categorized. More accurately, it does not always fit well with the large shipments of product from places like the Greater Chicago Food Depository. By putting in out in the choice section, there is no need to give everyone an equal share. What is there is there, and when it is gone, it is gone. But it still can provide treats for people who can really use them.
So... Jen spent the night helping the patrons see what was available for them and helping them pick it out. In some cases, that meant helping someone find that thing they really need. In others, it meant reminding them that they were out of points. Almost always, it meant reminding them that other people were behind them waiting to get in. Since the pantry is quite small, there is only room for two people to shop at a time, and it is hard to make sure everyone gets a turn.
I spent the night manning the USDA section, which is part of the predetermined allotment of food that is given to the patrons. I had a good time working with two other guys who were handling the meat and the rest of the packaged food. It was a busy night for the pantry, serving 35 patrons who account for well over 100 hungry people. This time we have a lot of big families, with seven or eight family members. These are always hard for the patrons because they are given so much food that they can barely carry it. Some bring along helpers, but we also try to at least help them get it out to the street.
Both Jen and I had a great night, and we both remarked to each other about how great the entire staff and volunteer corps are at this pantry. Every time we are there, we meet new people, re-connect with those we know and spend a lot of time laughing along to the work. It is always a good time for us.
To learn more about the pantry, go to Common Pantry
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