Hinsdale Central Baseball Team Volunteers at Ravenswood Community Services

Written by Jeff Neal (HC Baseball Club) on behalf of the Hinsdale Central Baseball Board. Photos by Jason Ziemer (HC Head Baseball Coach).

Red Devils varsity baseball coach Jason Ziemer and twelve prospective players boarded a Hinsdale Central bus Tuesday afternoon, headed for the north side of Chicago. Bats and ball gloves, however, were not in tow. Instead, team members had volunteered to lend a hand and spread holiday cheer to people being served by the Ravenswood Community Services organization.

Ravenswood Community Services is an outreach program providing hunger and poverty relief, health services and life skills education in the Ravenswood and Uptown neighborhoods of Chicago. The agency began in 1993 with the simple act of handing out bags of groceries to 20 area neighbors. Today, with sponsorship from Episcopal Charities, volunteers serve hundreds each Tuesdaynight in the Community Kitchen, Food Pantry and Dining Hall of All Saints’ Episcopal Church.

Red Devil players spent three hours assisting with a variety of duties including food preparation, service and clean-up. Approximately 150 individuals and families were served. Coach Ziemer commented, “People were extremely appreciative of our work, especially families with small children. It was important for our boys to see the impact in people’s lives that just a few hours of community service can deliver.”

Senior Red Devil Ben Chapman observed, “We had a great experience going to the city on a school night and working together to help serve the less fortunate. It was a reminder that we have an obligation to help and a lot to give.” Senior Tom Lorenc added, “Tuesday was a great way to give back to the community and at the same time, bond as a team. Although I was washing dishes all night, I talked with a lot of interesting people!” In addition to Ben and Tom, participating Red Devil teammates were Mike Schaub, Brian Zillis, Mike Guererro, Dan Teska, Jeremy Drexler, Austin Cerny, Drew Mullarkey, Patrick Sullivan, Kevin Schranz, and Spencer Tate.

Please visit www.ravenswoodcommunityservices.org to learn more. As a hunger relief agency, food and monetary donations are always needed.