MBAA and GMARK: Lincoln Park Community Shelter: Round Two

For the second week in a row, a UIC Liautaud Community Action Team visited the Lincoln Park Community Shelter (LPCS) to prepare and serve a hot lunch for its residents.  This week, the group comprised of Net Impact and MBAA members.

LPCS is located at 600 W. Fullerton, underneath the Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church.  While the organization began with the help of a coalition of area churches in the mid-1980s, it is a non-denominational non-profit organization. Still, the setting of a shelter situated in the basement level of a beautiful Romanesque church has its charms.

Saturday’s lunch menu consisted of homemade salad, chicken enchiladas, rice and beans, and a Minnesota-inspired delicacy for dessert – scotcheroos! Some who had gone the previous week knew the layout of the shelter’s large kitchen a little better, which aided in finding all the right utensils while putting together the hands-on meal. Everything came out on time, and by 1:30pm we were sending out the salads, followed by the main course. Knowing everyone would want more than one scotcheroo for dessert, we opted to make two batches. Everyone was quite happy with this decision!

As the semester winds down for the year, and we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, it was a touching volunteering event where we as students could have an impact – making other people’s day brighter – especially those who haven’t had it the best in life. As we left the shelter, we were given a round of applause by the residents. Those must have been some pretty good enchiladas!

Special thanks to Zac Bleicher for contributing to this post.