Paying it Forward

TS. "Chowdah-fest Chefs". 2017

This year I had gone out to help the community more than I have in years prior. I was a volunteer in multiple events, mostly around Christmas time. The first had been working on fixing donated bikes with the Chicago Fire Department to give to children who did not have access to get there own. It was a good experience working with these people knowing that it will put a smile on multiple children's faces within the next week. It was a lot of hard work because some of the bikes had been in horrible condition- broken parts, bent or missing wheels, and more. I wish I could have been there when the children came to pick a bike, but I was unavailable that day. Though from what I heard they were ecstatic and full of unadulterated joy. The next event I helped out at is called the Christmas Tree Ship Overnighter and Unloading. This overnighter is an event the group I am a member of, Sea Scout Ship 5111, does every year. We invite scout troupes from all over the Midwest region (Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and occasionally Ohio) to come spend the night in the Columbia Yacht Club the day before the annual Christmas Tree delivery; where the Coast Guard brings trees from Michigan to Chicago for families that are less fortunate and cannot afford a Christmas tree. There is a lot that goes into this event and each scout is responsible for multiple jobs. This was the fifth year I participated and this year I was put in charge of cooking breakfast/lunch, checking in troupes, and guide for sleeping areas. My ship must be there to start work at five in the afternoon and we work until eleven at night. Breakfast staff wakes up at six in the morning (breakfast starts at seven) working until eight at that point the troupes leave to unload the Christmas trees from the Coast Guard's ship. After cleaning my ship leaves to help. I love unloading the trees because it is just fun and you get to meet people from multiple places in the city all under the same goal. The last, and most recent, event I joined in is another one my ship organizes. Imagine Festivals hosts the Chowdah-fest, at Columbia Yacht Club, to raise money for our ship, Ship 5111. We volunteer as staff, most of us being stationed at the coat check, and help where help is needed. Despite us not being the official hosts we are still the ones who do all the planning and scheduling for it, however the adults are the ones who reach out to the chowder chefs in the city. It is an annual event, this being the fifth or sixth year, and it was just as fun and hectic as it has been in years past. Coat check is always difficult because of how many people show up and the fact that it is held in March so it is still relatively cold. Throughout all these events I had lots of fun being with all sorts of kind people. The work was hard, long, and messy but most definitely worth it knowing that I helped to make a difference in someone's life, even if it was our own.

"Christmas Tree Crew". 2015

The Joy of Giving

Over the course of my first school year at GCE I was immersed in a community that cared and helped one another. However GCE encourages us to go out into our own communities and help those within it. I had helped fix up homes in the Habitat for Humanity's Build project. This was where people from all over Chicago came together to help make homes in a two by one block radius more appealing and efficient. The build started at 8am and went on until 3pm. My specific group was tasked to fix a garden, paint the porch, and fix the stairs of the porch. During this whole experience I only had one fellow GCE student in my group and everyone else were strangers. It was a little awkward meeting my group mates and, at first, I thought we weren't going to be able to work fluidly enough to finish the big project. However it is a big suprise at how well people get along and are able to work when we come together for a good cause. By the end of the build the people around the neighborhood expressed their gratitude and it was more rewarding than any other kind of payment. Since our Thanksgiving break is a whole week versus the standard two days I was a teacher assistant for that Monday and Tuesday. I was in charge of the stations she laid out for the kids (grammar, matching, simple multiplication, etc) while she graded papers. The kids had been very sweet and loved my colorful hair, especially a little girl named Precious. I brought along a math riddle story, similar to that of The Two Pebbles, and they absolutely loved it. The children were engaged the whole time I was there always trying to show me what they knew. Whenever they kids had a specials class where the teacher and I weren't in charge I helped her grade papers and prepare for the next lesson. It definitely reminded me of my elementary school days and it was a complete blast spending time with these little fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.