Service in Chicago
While many Utah State University students headed south for warmer weather outside of the giant ice chest of Cache Valley for Spring Break, a group of nine other students and I went north to Chicago where temperatures remained around freezing.
It rained, it snowed and it was windy, but with that aside, Chicago was worth it.
The group was Alternative Breaks, an Associated Students of USU service group that does service during Spring Break rather than hitting the beach. The group included students Shelly Weber, the director of Alternative Breaks, Nellene Howard, the assistant director for service and leadership, Tony Wayman, Brandy Barton, Kim Neilson, Britney Hunter, Rusty Rigby, Sarah Butler, Brooke Bender and myself.
Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States, with a population of about three million and a combined surrounding population around 10 million.
Although we had time for site seeing and recreation, the majority of the trip was dedicated toward service. We got into Chicago Sunday night and started early Monday morning.
For the first day, the group set out to the Chicago Christian Industrial League, a non-profit, non-secular service organization which serves poor and homeless men, women and families in the Chicago area. The organization provides drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and job skills training. Their mission is to provide resources, opportunities and support necessary to return to the work force and lead independent lives.
The organization recently received a large amount of canned food from a donation drive and it was our job to organize it. In one day we sorted out near 11,000 pounds of cans from giant square boxes to shelves in a storage room in the facilities basement. I have never seen so many cans of green beans, sweet peas and corn.
I have been to food banks before, but seeing the actual end of road for the donations is an experience. While sorting, the cooks would literally come down and pick out cans and other food for the next meal.
Tuesday, we took advantage of our only full day of site seeing, where we went to the Art Institute of Chicago. This museum is must for anyone visiting the city. It’s full of famous art from Monet’s, Picasso’s to ancient Asian artifacts and Native American pottery. The three-floor museum, which expands nearly an entire block, is too much to take in one single day, but I plan to go back.
It was nice for the free day to happen close to the beginning of the trip, because by the end of that day we all understood the city a little more.
Chicago has an amazing public transportation system. It is made of elevated trains, or the “El,” subway systems and buses. All of the El trains, which shoot out to surrounding areas, come together in the “Loop,” a section of downtown about nine blocks east/west and 12 blocks north/south where the trains make a loop. The trains essentially come in, make one loop and go back out. During the week, we relied entirely on trains and buses.
Wednesday afternoon we went to the James Jordan Boys and Girls Club. The club is located just west of the United Center and is named after Michael Jordan’s father and was built with funds from the Chicago Bulls.
Here we helped elementary school-age students with their homework and projects or helped out in the gym and gameroom. The club, which only charges $20 a year for membership, provides education, recreation and other after-school activities for students from kindergarten through high school.
The next day we went to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, a giant food bank that serves Chicago and the surrounding Cook County area. According to the GCFD, more than 300,000 people in Cook County alone rely on the food bank. Last year they sent out more than 40 million pounds of food through a network of 600 agencies.
We bagged and boxed up pasta.
I shoveled the pasta from a large box with a snow shovel into bins as the rest of the team bagged, weighed, tied and then boxed it all up to ready for those in need. It worked like an assembly line.
Thursday evening we headed back to the Boys and Girls Club for a college-bound program where we talked to high school students about our USU experiences. On Friday morning we returned to the Christian Industrial League, finishing the last boxes of cans.
The trip was an unforgettable experience. Sure, I would have had fun partying it up in California, but I got to experience the wonders and troubles of a giant city.
Joel Featherstone is the
features editor at the Utah Statesman and a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. Comments may be sent to joelfeathers@cc.usu.edu.
The skyline of Chicago rises into the haze as seen from the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center tower. In the distance, the Sears Tower stands above all. (Photo by Joel Featherstone)
USU Students Brandy Barton and Britney hunter put pasta into plastic bags at the Chicago Greater Food Depository Thursday during the Alternative Breaks trip to Chicago. The food bank serves more than 300,000 people in the Chicago area. (Photo by Joel Featherstone)