Day on

I had yesterday off but decided to participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. As the proponents of the Day of Service like to say, it's not a day off but a day on (I know, it's kind of cheesy). The program I participated in was sponsored by a state senator and carried out through the offices of two Chicago aldermen. It was a good way to connect volunteers with projects, which isn't always easy. I wish things had been a little more organized in advance in terms of transportation and knowing the time commitments involved in each project and if/when other volunteers would be arriving. Hopefully it all worked out for the organizations and volunteers.

I took two assignments: picking up garbage at a high school near my home, and doing some office work for the Ravenswood ArtWalk. Since I was closer to RAW, I went there first, thinking I'd put in a few hours there, then end the day in my own neighborhood. Unfortunately, I never made it to the school. There was plenty to do at RAW and no one else volunteered there, so I felt like my time was better spent by getting as much as possible done there. RAW is a really cool event held in the Ravenswood Corridor, an industrial area in my neighborhood. Nestled among the odd little businesses that run along the railroad tracks on Ravenswood Avenue are a lot of art studios and galleries. The RAW venues include not only these creative spaces, but also local businesses that offer their spaces to artists for the weekend.

The main project I worked on was organizing materials from last year's walk. A lot of random items -- posters, raffle tickets, T-shirts, etc. -- had been put aside immediately after the event and needed to be sorted, inventoried, and filed away. I made a fairly large dent in the organization project by sorting a lot of the materials and inventorying the signage. I also worked on tracking down missing venue signs and updating the email contact list. It was all fairly simple work, but tasks that are time-consuming -- perfect for a volunteer.


It was a fun day, and I felt like I was able to get a good amount of work done for the organization. But do you know what's even better than leaving with a sense of satisfaction? Leaving with some Rod Blagojevich art! RAW placed a call for Blago-themed art for last year's walk, and a few of the pieces were sitting around the office, uninstalled. I got to select a piece to keep, which I present to you in all its glory here.

I know you are jealous of me.