Thank you volunteers!

On Thursday, November 3^rd, the Lincoln Park Community Shelter opened its doors even wider than usual to accommodate guests, staff, and volunteers for our annual Volunteer Appreciation event. By all standards, the event was a HUGE success. Hosted by the Graduate Council, the evening featured a wonderful Mediterranean meal, complete with Falafel, home-made Greek Salad, Sautéed Vegetables, Spanikopita, and Greek Chicken. All attendees agreed that the food was delicious! The standout for the evening though was definitely the Cornucopia Cake created by one of the guests. Beautiful AND delicious, what could be better?

Towards the end of evening, we handed out awards to several volunteers who have gone above and beyond in the past year.  Award recipients were voted on by the guests.    The Mission Award, given in recognition of a “hands on” volunteer who has demonstrated a commitment to furthering the mission of LPCS by his/her direct volunteer service with guests, was given to Brad & Karin, a couple who have been serving meals here for over 10 years--most of that time just the two of them! They truly know how to run a kitchen. The Vision Award, given in recognition of a “behind the scenes” volunteer who, through his/her continued active support of LPCS, has furthered the broader vision of LPCS, was awarded to Joel, the leader of our Tech Team, an active Track Activity volunteer, and good friend to guests and staff. Joel has spent countless hours helping maintain our wonderful computer lab, as well as staff computers. We very literally would not be functioning without him and his hard work! The final award of the evening was the Community Partnership Award. Given in recognition of an organization or institution that fosters community and support for LPCS and its mission through collaboration with LPCS, this year’s award went to the ChicagoPhotography Center.  The CPC has been helping many of our guests and grads develop their photography skills, the importance of which can hardly be put into words. This creative outlet has given many people a new passion. This January, for the third time, CPC is hosting a photography exhibition of guest and Graduate work.   Stay tuned for more information!  

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend and help make it such a special evening! We look forward to the next opportunity to spend time with this incredibly supportive community. We could not do what we do without each and every one of you. Thank you to all of our volunteers!