Our Generous Community

Decorating the Community Room Wednesday afternoon, I started thinking about all of the wonderful things about working at LPCS during the holidays. As the official Volunteer Coordinator, and the unofficial “Donation Coordinator,” I am in the unique position of being on the receiving end of a lot of giving. While LPCS is fortunate enough to receive many volunteer and donation inquiries year-round, the holidays seem to bring out more generosity than I thought possible! Everyone is ready to bring over their old coats, drop off extra food, and spend every spare moment making sure that our volunteer calendar is full. I could not feel part of a more thoughtful community.

The constant inflow of donations, food, and time are incredibly magnificent.  Because our guests are staying at LPCS for longer periods of time, we have less turnover and are serving fewer people overall, which means there are only so many coats, scarves, boots, etc. that we can use at any given time. We want to make sure that your generous donations are getting to the people who need them the most, so we sometimes “re-donate” extra items to another worthy charity, to ensure that we are “spreading the wealth” and making sure that everyone can have a warm and bright holiday season! 

Want to help LPCS in an easy way?  Remind your friends and family to spread holiday cheer year-round.  One of our goals is to make sure that we can spread “holiday cheer” with every guest, whether they stay here from September to January, or March to October.  Everyone deserves a CTA pass, a variety of food to eat, and good shoes to walk in.  Encourage everyone to designate a random month in the year in which they donate and volunteer with the same fervor that they expel during the winter holiday season.   Better yet, encourage them, if able, to give continuously throughout the year, even if that means smaller amounts of time and items.  We understand that not everyone is able to volunteer on a regular basis, so don’t think your efforts are unappreciated by any means!

I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has, and will, donate and volunteer this year at LPCS. We would not be able to do what we do without all of you! The holidays can be an especially hard time for our guests, and they notice and appreciate the extra effort by volunteers and donors during this time, as they will throughout the year.

 --Elli Krandel, Volunteer Coordinator

What are you grateful for?

On Thanksgiving, people around the country gather around tables filled with turkey, sweet potatoes, pie and more.  Many people take this as an opportunity to reflect on and share some of the many things that they are grateful for.  Here at LPCS, some of our guests have already been reflecting.  We recently asked guests "What are you grateful for?"  Both simple and complex things made the list: The sun.  Health. Family.  LPCS.  Here is a sampling of the responses we received:  

"For the volunteers that bring their smiles."
"Strangers who have become friends."
"That my daughter continues to tell me she loves me."
"Being able to help other people."
"The help being offered from so many people that support homeless people."
"A chance to go back to work and get a place of my own again."

The staff at LPCS is grateful for a supportive community of friends, neighbors, and volunteers who have given their time and resources to ensure that the Lincoln Park Community Shelter continues to help men and women make the life changes necessary to move from homelessness to a home of their own.  From everyone here, thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

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!

In Remembrance

As a Volunteer Manager, I get the joy of getting to know many wonderful people who give their time and energy to LPCS. Sometimes though, my job can be sad as well. Earlier this month we learned that one of LPCS’ long time volunteers had passed away. Jo Ann Bogdanor Hurd Reynolds, aged 71, died October 4 of complications from ovarian cancer. JoAnn had been an LPCS volunteer for many years.

I attended the memorial service for JoAnn that was held on October 29th at Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church. There were about 100 people in attendance from all walks of JoAnn’s life. Knowing only JoAnn the volunteer, it was touching to hear stories from some of her family and close friends. They told of a woman who was known as feisty, determined, very generous, and always well dressed. At LPCS, we knew the generous JoAnn. She helped prepare dinner and sack lunches with members of her church, Lincoln Park Presbyterian. And each month for many years, JoAnn would serve as an overnight volunteer, providing supervision to the 35 guests of the Lincoln Park Community Shelter. Guests appreciated her attention to detail and no-nonsense approach, and she was consistently voted one of their favorite overnight volunteers!

Jo Ann was born in St Louis. She graduated from Ferguson High School and the University of Missouri with a BA in History, and did graduate work at the University of Illinois. She was a member of Alpha Phi sorority. She moved to Chicago where she began a long and valued career at IBM, working at branches in Chicago and Houston and at headquarters in White Plains, NY. She was an elder and choir member at Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church in Chicago, and at Presbyterian churches in Houston and Fairfield, CT.
In honor of JoAnn’s giving spirit, the family requested that in lieu of flowers gifts be made to Lincoln Park Community Shelter, Sarah's Circle, or to any other of the many charities with which she was active. JoAnn is survived by her husband David; brothers John and James; children John, Judith, Susan and Rachel; and grandchildren David, George and Connor.

Thank you for all that you did for LPCS, JoAnn. You will be missed.

--Heather Pressman, Community Relations Manager

JoAnn Reynolds

What A Night!

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s A Taste of Fall event! As they listened to the acoustic sounds of the Tony Bondi Project, guests tasted the night away, experiencing a variety of yummy treats and cocktails generously donated by our vendors. Staff from Gejas Café, located in Lincoln Park, served up the sweet and the savory with their chocolate and cheese fondues; the lentil soup from Nesh Mediterranean Grill was a huge hit and Death’s Door Spirits brought in the tastes of the season with their autumn themed gin and vodka cocktails. Meanwhile, our VIP guests enjoyed a fun craft cocktail demonstration by Michael Killmer of Templeton Rye. A few bidding wars broke out on some of our amazing silent auction items, including a Chicago Hawks jersey, signed by Duncan Keith. Thank you to everyone who helped raise nearly $17,000 to benefit the Lincoln Park Community Shelter!

A special thanks to all of our in-kind and financial sponsors who made this fantastic night possible!

LONGEVITY SPONSORS

Bob and Mary DeCresce

PROSPERITY SPONSOR

IN-KIND DONORS

DRINK

Agave Loco Brands

Death’s Door Spirits

Goose Island Brewery

Templeton Rye

Koval

FOOD

Austrian Bakery and Deli

Basil Leaf Café

Geja’s Café

Getta Polpetta

J. Alexanders

Kincades

Nesh

Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine

MUSIC

The Tony Bondi Project

PRINTING

International Label and Printing Co., Inc.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Paul Saini

DÉCOR

Daniel Stober

Meet an LPCS Graduate!

We love to share to good news when someone graduates from LPCS.  Here is the story of one individual who graduated earlier this year:

Steve* entered LPCS with a lifetime history of over 30 years of substance abuse problems.  A former truck driver, he has also lost his driver's license due to his failure to make child-support payments.  Once in the shelter, he went through intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment for more than two months, and attended at least 6 AA meetings per week.   In addition to working on his sobriety, Steve took a 5 week long computer course and completed a job readiness program where he worked on his resume, practiced writing cover letters, and did extensive mock interviewing.  Working with an employment counselor, within a few weeks of the job readiness program ending Steve obtained a short-term factory job to gain current employment experience.   Using the income he earned from that position, he was able to pay the back child-support payments and obtained his drivers license once again.  Steve then applied and was accepted to be a full-time driver for PACE paratransit services, earning a living wage with excellent benefits.  He has now moved into his own apartment, sees his family members on a regular basis, and has been sober for almost 2 years.


*Name has been changed to protect identity

What are you doing for World Homeless Action Day?

Monday, October 10th will be the second annual World Homeless Action Day. In Chicago alone there are over 21,000 homeless individuals on a given night. Anyone can become homeless and stereotypes need to be replaced with accurate information. Most guests at the shelter never expected to be homeless. They previously had jobs and housing and just need assistance accessing resources so they can get back on their feet.

With millions of people around the world dealing with homelessness, it is clear that this is an issue that needs attention and that is exactly what the day was created to do. One of the co-founders, Brianna Karp, was in her early twenties when she lost her job and became homeless. While still homeless she became an advocate for other homeless people and started World Homeless Action Day as an opportunity for members of all communities to get involved. Hers is truly an inspirational story.

How can you observe World Homeless Action Day? You can respond to homelessness locally, by getting involved at a community shelter or outreach center and by using the day as a platform to speak out about the needs of the homeless. Since it is only the second year of this day of observance, its existence is not yet widely known. For this reason, it is more important than ever for us to share this information with others to allow for continued expansion of participation from organizations and community members. It also means we need to be creative in developing collaborative methods for observing this day. Homelessness can end, but only with community-wide involvement.