Stephanie Khio is the Assistant Leader of the Eleanor Roosevelt Society at Roosevelt University. She brought her group to the Chicago Indoor Sports Center on October 21st to volunteer with our teams from Attucks and Lloyd. The following is a blog post by Stephanie:
Being the Assistant Leader of the Eleanor Roosevelt Society (ERS) at Roosevelt University, contacting many different charities and organizations happens to be my biggest job. Our group focuses on achieving the goals of Roosevelt University – and Eleanor Roosevelt herself – in that we pertain to the goals of social justice and community outreach. After contacting many organizations, Urban Initiatives seemed the most promising, giving me detailed information of what our group would be doing. The mission of this organization grasped me, as well.
When we got to the Chicago Indoor Sports center, keeping in mind that this was my first project I organized this year, I felt incredibly comfortable and confident. I couldn’t help but smile when seeing the participants enter the sports center. They ran into the center, so excited to play soccer. And when our group was split up, I noticed the interactions the kids had with their teammates. When a teammate fell, another member would help them up.
They had a great attitude towards each other and towards us volunteers. But there was one simple act that touched me. When the kids went on their water break, I felt a little hand touch my hand. A little girl held my hand, showing the slightest bit of trust. I wasn’t just a volunteer; I was a friend to the kids. After we had finished coaching the kids, I heard members of our group talking about their experience, floored with the positive enthusiasm of the kids. They thanked me for bringing them out to volunteer with Urban Initiatives. It was a great first experience – it made my job everything I wanted (and continue to want) it to be.
Urban Initiatives wants to thank Stephanie and the Eleanor Roosevelt Society for volunteering their valuable time with our kids! They were naturals at coaching, refereeing and cheerleading – and our kids left the Indoor Center feeling like they had made new friends! The enthusiasm and time of our volunteers is a huge part of what makes Urban Initiatives’ succeed – we cannot say "THANK YOU" enough!