Road Rulz - Chicago (Part 2)

On Tuesday of our trip we planned to do some work for the church that was housing us for the week (St. John's Lutheran Church in Wilmette,IL) as a thank you for their hospitality. They had some big weed problems so it was our job to pull many weeds from all over the church grounds. It was a simple job, but we had lots of fun and a few hours of work made a huge impact on the look of the church! A lot of church visitors commented on how great the church looked after our weed pulling and it was nice to hear how much it was appreciated. The only bad part was that this outside work took place on probably the hottest day so our walk to the grocery store for some Popsicles was the perfect end to our afternoon. (We had also planned to do some work for the church that last year's Road Rulz stayed at, but they did not call about any needs so that project fell through). It felt great to use some of our trip time to help the curb appeal of our home for the week! Hopefully, the improved curb appeal will attract some more people to the church!

Wednesday we had another outside day, but after a huge storm the night before (while we were trying to enjoy Navy Pier), the weather had gotten a little cooler and more overcast so outside work was more welcome than the day before. Our group traveled to the North Park Village Nature Center where we joined a group of regular volunteers for pulling thistle weeds out of a large prairie area; digging up a heavily weeded area; and planting new native plants in the new bed. The simple work gave us lots of time for conversation. It was fun to work with some regular volunteers and the campers seemed to learn a bit about IL natural prairies as well as plants and gardening work. That project could have lasted all day, but we were only scheduled for the morning so we headed back "home" to prepare for an afternoon at Lincoln Park Zoo and some Chicago style pizza for dinner.

The Road Rulz - Chicago group outside of Lincoln Park Zoo

On Thursday, we left Chicago to go back to camp. Overall, the trip was amazing. There were a few things that didn't work out as planned and I wish we would have done one more service project, but the good feelings from the trip are still continuing. I feel so lucky that I got to go on such a great trip and provide service to so many people in so many different ways. It was neat to experience projects not in my hometown and with some campers who had done little volunteer work before the trip. It was neat to see how the volunteer experiences brought our group together. I enjoy how common experiences can really link people in a very strong way.

Now that I've been home for a while, I've been lucky to be able to share my experiences with a lot of my friends and family. Even talking about the work we did makes me feel good inside and helps me remember that it is easy to make a difference if you just give up a bit of time. During this trip, we had so much fun giving time and effort to serve various parts of the Chicagoland community. I hope to go back someday and do a similar trip!