Eagle Scout project keeps Silver Cross patients busy
Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox now has four handmade carts with donated books, puzzles, coloring books and other activities to interest patients, thanks to an aspiring Eagle Scout.
Sean Parkes, who’s been involved in Scouting since first grade, was inspired in part by his mother, Dr. Megan Parkes, medical director of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at the hospital. Two of the carts are for the inpatient therapy unit at the AbilityLab, one is in the outpatient therapy unit and the other can go where needed.
Sean Parkes, who didn’t have carpentry experience before the project, got a little help from former patient Boller Boll of Mokena, a retired carpenter who has made many items for the lab. Boll helped the scout refine his design for the carts.
Eagle Scout projects must be led by the Scout, from getting approval for it and providing planning paperwork, as well as garnering donations and leading volunteers to complete it. “That was the hardest part for me. But I learned about leadership and following through to get what we needed done,” he said in a news release.
He obtained funding from his church for the supplies, and the carts were finished with help from fellow scouts and his sisters. Although originally conceived as a stationary kiosk, he decided to change the project to include mobile carts instead.
The carts allow patients to borrow books and work on their cognitive abilities and fine motor skills, Megan Parkes said.
Classical concert, blood and food drives set for MLK Do Good Weekend
The Center for Food Equity in Medicine Foundation’s founder and executive director, Dr. Ann Jackson, has planned a MLK Do Good Weekend celebration centered on a classical concert, blood drive and food drive to raise money and awareness about food-insecure families battling illness.
The blood and food drives take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 18 at Flossmoor Community Church, 2218 Hutchison Road in Flossmoor. The concert is at 4 p.m. Jan. 19 in the church. Students from the Music Institute of Chicago will perform a free concert to raise money for the center, which serves families undergoing chronic health issues. Monetary donations will be accepted.
The event comes after a pain-filled 2024 because of the loss of her 29-year-old son early in the year and his twin sister just nine months later, both to complications of rare cancers.
“We are grieving, however, we can grieve and serve at the same time,” Jackson said of she and her husband, Aubrey, in a news release. “Sorrow sits with me every day. I feel it in every part of my body- even my earlobes, but I choose joy – the life of my children and what they gave to the world during their lives.”
Reverend known for interfaith dialogue speaks at Evergreen Park UCC
The Rev. Shanta Premawardhana will be a guest preacher at 10 a.m. Jan. 19 at Immanuel United Church of Christ, 9815 S. Campbell Ave., Evergreen Park.
Premawardhana is president of the OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership, a global training organization that builds interfaith peacemaker teams to counter religious extremism and religion-based oppression, domination and violence.
He was senior pastor at Ellis Avenue Church in Chicago’s Hyde Park/Kenwood neighborhood for 14 years. He also directed the Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation at the World Council of Churches based in Geneva, Switzerland, a worldwide association of 349 Protestant and Orthodox denominations. He led an initiative between the World Evangelical Alliance, World Council of Churches and the Vatican to seek agreement on a code of conduct for Christian witness.
Premawardhana, who has a master’s degree and a doctorate in religion from Northwestern University, also was associate general secretary for Interfaith Relations at the National Council of Church of Christ in New York, leading dialogue between senior Jewish and Christian leaders and a similar one with senior Christian and Muslim leaders. Information is at immanueluccep.org or 708-424-3755.
Homer Glen camp for people with disabilities receives $15,800 donation
Shady Oaks Camp in Homer Glen, a camp for children and adults and disabilities, got a boost recently in the form of a donation of $15,800, thanks to 100+ Women Who Care of Will County and the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation.
In the women’s organization, members nominate Will County charities at each quarterly meeting. Three are chosen at random, and after a short presentation, members vote on which charity to support and write a $100 check on the spot to it.
The group donated $10,800 and the foundation gave another $5,000 to Shady Oaks, which offers eight weeks of one-on-one camping for male and female campers. They enjoy games, arts and crafts, swimming and recreation – all adapted to fit the needs of each camper.
“We are overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity. Now more than ever we need the support of the community to help us continue our vital program that was started 78 years ago by a group of caring parents,” Scott Steele, the camp’s executive director, shared in a news release.
The next meeting of 100+ Women Who Care of Will County is 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at Coom’s Corner, 1255 E. Ninth St., Lockport. Information is at www.100wwc-will.org.
‘Late Nite Catechism’ fundraiser planned Jan. 25 in Palos Hills
The St. Vincent De Paul Society at Sacred Heart Catholic Church hosts “Late Nite Catechism” Jan. 25 at the Moscow Center, 8245 W. 111th St., Palos Hills.
Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show is at 6 p.m. The funny play, which was first performed 31 years ago, is a mix of catechism class and stand-up comedy, set in a 1950s or 1960s Catholic school.
Tickets cost $30 before Jan. 19 or $35 at the door. To reserve, call 708-974-4870. They may be picked up before and after Masses at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 18 or 8 a.m., 10 a.m. or noon Jan. 19.
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