A Different Kind of Holiday Letter – 2011

After finishing my MBA back in 1982, I started on a path of volunteering at different non-profits while I busily clawed my way up the corporate ladder first at the current day Accenture and then at Quaker Oats. When I decided to rejoin the workforce after a decade of caretaking sick family members and an insane amount of travel, I made the decision to follow my passion for public service. For two years now, I found this passion at Inspiration Corporation (IC) which provides employment, housing and support services to Chicago's homeless community.

I am very proud of the work I do at IC trying my darnest to connect to employers who have social consciousness to allow participants to interview for open positions. You can imagine this is quite a challenge in these hard economic times. This year I have been fairly successful. Through my efforts I have found employment for over 50 clients at Inspiration and for the clients of over 20 other non-profit agency partners. All non-profit agencies are facing additional budget hardship as our city, state, and federal government funding sources are limiting their support to the social safety net for the neediest of their constituents.

When I heard that Inspiration was sponsoring an initiative called Make it Rain, I jumped at the chance to involve the people I care about in my life. Make it Rain is an effort where our staff is all doing our best to help this amazing organization maintain the services we provide. So we all are reaching out to our friends and family for extra support during this time of government budget shortfalls. I'd like to share with you a story of a participant named Charles who I have worked with for over a year who I have witnessed amazing growth:

Charles told me he was one of the first graduates our Inspiration Kitchen's culinary training program in 2002. My first encounter with him was that he was a frustrated person looking for work using our resource room back in 2008. This seemed to change suddenly one day – his outlook seemed more positive and open. He reported to me the difference was due to his entering Inspiration’s Employment Project's Employment Preparation Training program. He was so proud when he found a job at a trattoria in Andersonville. He came into my office with a bright smile. My office mates, Katherine, Angela & I all did our happy dance with Charles.

The next time I saw Charles he was in our resource room looking forlorn. He had burns up and down his arms and reported he could not keep up with the pace of the line cook position at his new employer and was let go after two weeks. This was just at the time when I was staffing for a new Honey Baked Ham Cafe. I screened him and was impressed by how his interview skills had grown. He got the job at Honey Baked and within a few months was recognized by the employer as the “Master Glazer” in the café window. He was also was working with Housing & Supportive Services and looking forward to leaving the shelter. Things were looking up for Charles.

In true operatic fashion, things changed swiftly. Six months later I got a call from the employer that I was to come in the next morning and support Charles as he lost his employment. That next day was my most difficult day at IC. I watch Charles get fired and brought him back to our milieu and we just sat and talked about next steps. Unfortunately Charles housing was tied to his employment so he lost two important support systems provided through IC at once. It was a devastating day.

Charles showed up the next day in the resource room to start his job search. He was focused and not blameful. I saw him take responsibility and was doing his best to find a job on his own once again. Some weeks later I found an opportunity for him to screen for food service job at the Shedd Aquarium. Charles got hired for a part time seasonal position to run the beverage service at the sit down restaurant at the Shedd called Soundings Cafe. His performance at his new job was exemplary. His part time job turned into one working 6 days a week. He loved working at the Shedd and felt he would like to work their all year if there was an opportunity.

The 2nd act of this opera is much less dramatic. At this point Charles got notice that he was to move into housing on the south side that was independent of his employment for the next two years. Moving out the shelter is a huge step for Charles. Unfortunately the Shedd did not have the budget to maintain his position all year. I was able to work with my contacts at other food service locations to help him get interviews and find employment.

Charles’s story is just an example how IC partners with our over 3000 participants each year in a variety of areas of support. This is a long term commitment knowing that the challenges that homeless individuals face include a myriad of social, emotional, medical and educational barriers that they have to conquer. The funds we raise are all aimed at providing nutritious meals, gaining stable housing and employment so they can raise themselves towards self-sufficiency.

Help us make lives bloom with your donation to our Make it Rain initiative. If there is anything you can do to support our efforts - I would be truly appreciative.
 

Robert