By Michael O'Shea
Special to Inside
Lincoln Park High School's Key Club recently volunteered at a Halloween activity day for children at the Chicago Cultural Center and at a homeless outreach day at the St. Vincent de Paul Center.
October 29 was a day set aside at the Chicago Cultural Center for children's activities on the weekend before Halloween. The 18 members representing the Key Club assisted in staffing a fun-bucket game, a glow-in-the-dark room, and an Arts and Crafts center.
Equally exiting for the club was the Thanksgiving homeless outreach day organized by the St. Vincent de Paul Center on the Saturday before the holiday. The club's members were a part of nearly 300 volunteers who ran a system of "stations" targeted at helping the homeless with medical care, haircuts, showers or new clothing. Though not staffed by Key Club, a soup kitchen at the nearby St. Vincent de Paul Church provided hot food for those finished at the Center.
Lincoln Park's high school volunteers spoke of a sense of fulfillment and purpose in helping the less fortunate and the less able. The Thanksgiving activity was "a really nice thing to do," said Ereni K., a Key Club Officer. One Lincoln Park volunteer noted that at the Halloween activities it was "noisy—all the little kids were excited." She added that "it was really nice to help the kids make crafts," and in particular the magic wands she helped the children create were "so cool." |
