Thanksgiving 2008 (Late November)

The First Thirty by Jillip Naysinthe Paxson (and expanded version, The Silhouette Man ) tells the story of a person's efforts to use food as 'common ground' to bring the community closer together -- and the first thirty lessons learned along the way. The former was honored as NSDLC 2007 Multicultural Relations Book of the Year.

Greg Forbes Siegman is the real-life person upon whom the two books are based.  This part of the site has photos, feedback and links regarding some of Greg's experiences during Late November 2008 (Thanksgiving Weekend) -- as well as links to other previous experiences, plus photos of those involved and some of the memorable people and places he met along the way.

Three days before Thanksgiving 2008 , Greg decided he would spend the holiday volunteering somewhere in the community. Once he did, he took three immediate steps: (1) Ask if anyone wanted to come with him -- done by phone and email, and (2) Decide where to volunteer - done by searching online and contacting a trusted group like United Way  for suggestions, and (3) Think up ways to turn something small into something bigger - done by seeking a short-notice grant to get school supplies for kids where he ended up volunteering, and asking a store to collaborate on it as well.

(1) To try and make a difference - and to do so in ways that anyone can, if they're willing to spend the time (2) to involve other people in the process, (3) have fun

All three efforts paid off. Greg decided to volunteer with the Humboldt Park Social Services in Chicago. His friend, Adriana, offered to come volunteer with him.

And in advance of the visit, the Board of The 11-10-02 Foundation approved a surprise grant to the Center.

So, the night before the visit, the two went to Target to fill up the cart with pens, paper, notebooks, calculators, books, crayons, rulers, and other school supplies.

Truly in the holiday spirit, the nice people at Target gave them a discount so they could get more supplies for the kids with the same amount of money. (Thanks, Target!)

Afterwards, Greg met up with some friends at a restaurant/ bar where he'd never been before - as Thanksgiving Eve is a popular night to go out in America. The friends included one whose family comes from South Africa  and taught Greg a lot about the country before he went there in June 08 to serve as Scholar in Residence.

After arriving in Humboldt Park, Greg and Adriana presented the Executive Director with the books and supplies.

When trying to maximize the impact of a grant, it's important to give thought to the background of the recipients. HPSS serves a very diverse community - with many people who speak Spanish as a first or second language. So, part of the grant from The 11-10-02 Foundation was used to purchase bilingual learning products.

In turn, she and her team began giving them out to the students.

Photo courtesy of HPSS

Photo courtesy of HPSS

The next couple hours were spent helping in the kitchen. HPSS was preparing a meal for about 100 people for Thanksgiving - but this is not out of the ordinary, as they provide meals on an ongoing basis).

Greg does not spend a lot of time in a kitchen, but he felt at home the instant he walked into this one (Partly because the people in charge were so nice, and partly because I spotted a box of my beloved Cheerios  on the shelf!)

One of the sure signs of a well-run organization is that they know how to utilize volunteers in a way that is (a) fun and meaningful for the volunteers and (b) puts them to use in a way that is effective for the organization.

In this case, Adriana turned out to be a great cook - so the people in charge had her help cook.

Greg is, well, not a great cook, so he was given two other roles (which I greatly enjoyed!):

and (2) to be the official taster

One benefit of volunteering is that you are likely to meet some really nice people. This was true at HPSS....including someone who had lived in Nebraska.

and some really nice people who gave him a chance to practice his Spanish, which he studied in school.

Greg was invited by Adriana to join her and some of her other friends for Thanksgiving Dinner. As they spent the afternoon preparing the meal, Greg found two ways he could pitch in...

...walk their dog while they cooked...

...and make some stuffing (technically, I "prepared" some stuffing - but I'm saying I made it. My story and I'm sticking to it).

[Another easy way to work on Goal #1: While getting the stuffing, also got some bottled water to give out to people working on Thanksgiving - like the doorman at the building where the dinner was taking place. A couple dollars, no skill needed. Easy to do :)

The dinner proved to be a chance for Greg to meet a bunch of really nice people...

...and pets...

...listen to some great music....

...and a chance to practice his Spanish a lot more. (It turned out everyone else who was there, except for one other guy, had come from Mexico, Puerto Rico or Spain.)

On Friday, Greg worked on things related to upcoming events. Then, that night, after the crowds died down a bit, he did a bit of Black Friday shopping (mostly at Target -- because it's nice to give business to a store that just chose to support efforts in the community).

Greg worked out at the gym, then went for a run outside (wearing his recently re-found IPOD, newly purchased work out clothes from Target and the most comfortable shoes ever, NIKE Air Zoom Equalon 2+).

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He liked the clothes so much that he then went back to Target and bought another pair of each thing he'd bought the day before...and then he had lunch  at a nearby restaurant he had only been to once before.  Unfortunately, it turned out he had forgotten his cash, but the waitress -- whom he had never previously met -- opted to trust him and accept a $9.00 IOU.

Thanks for trusting me! Second day in a row that someone who works at a restaurant completely made my day!

Another fun part of volunteering is that you get to know the families of the people you work with. One of Greg's friends, Jennifer, is the older sister of one of the students who was part of the Foundation's BrunchBunch.com Mentoring Program (Side Note: That student is now out of high school, out of college and out in the working world!)

On Saturday night, Greg and a friend attended an exhibit featuring photos taken by Jennifer (left). The photos were part of her photographic journal of "Adelita, a character that was inspired by the women who fought in the Mexican Revolution."

The event took place at Tianguis: Books, Tea, Cultura -- a(neat) place where Greg had never been before. The owners were on hand to personally lend support to Jen's efforts (which gave me an opportunity to hear their story about being small business entrepreneurs -- working 7 days a week for long stretches of time to help realize their dream).

Afterwards, Greg and the friend who came with him to the exhibit went to dinner at a restaurant in the city, where he had never previously eaten. During dinner, they ran into Barbara Fine (left). Barb served as Greg's dietician for the Triathlon   he completed a month earlier.

She gave a thumbs-up when she saw what (chicken, vegetables and water)  he was eating for dinner :)

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To return to Greg's site, visit www.GregForbes.com

Thanks to The Thanksgiving Crew, Humboldt Park Social Services, Target, The 11-10-02 Foundation, United Way, Adriana, Melvin & Delia, Ajoy, Daphne, Brandy, Jen and Family, and everyone met along the way. Happy Holidays!