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!

Metamorphosis Party a Success!

Thanks to all of the wonderful supporters who came out on Friday night to this year's Metamorphosis Party!  More than 200 party-goers enjoyed festive food and delicious desserts by the Entertaining Company while bidding on great live and silent auction items.  A few bidding wars broke out, but in the end everyone went home happy!  DJ Shaka23 was on hand to spin a mix of songs that entertained the whole crowd.  At the end of the night, more than $92,000 was raised to directly support the programs and guests of the Lincoln Park Community Shelter. 

The goal of the night was not only to raise funds, but also to honor the work of longtime supporters of the organization with the Compassion in Action award.  This year's honorees were the leaders of the four founding congregations of LPCS: Pastor Jeffery Doane from Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church, Reverend Tom Henry from St. Pauls UCC, Father Tom Hickey from St. Clement Church, and the Reverend Linda Packard from Church of Our Saviour.  The Compassion in Action Award was established last year to recognize exceptional contributions to LPCS since its founding 26 years ago.

2011 Compassion in Action recipients with LPCS Executive Director. 
From left, Rev. Tom Henry, Rev. Linda Packard, Erin Ryan, Pastor Jeff Doane, and Fr. Tom Hickey

A Year of Celebration

Wow!  It's hard to believe that Sunday's "Home for the Holidays" Sing-A-Long is the last of many events celebrating 25 years of the Lincoln Park Community Shelter.  It has been a wonderful year of celebrations in honor of all of the people who have made LPCS what it is today.  Without the support of the community we wouldn't be able to do half of what we do, so thank you for everything you have done for us over the last 25 years!  We hope to see you at our final celebration this Sunday, December 5th at 2pm at St. Pauls United Church of Christ to join us in carols, cookies, cider, and fun!