Neighbor News
Friendship Village Honored MLK's Legacy with Action for Homeless
Residents and staff of Friendship Village made sandwiches and assembled brown bag lunches that included sandwiches, bottled water and fruit.
On January 19th, Friendship Village honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, through a day of service. “Dr. King’s life was dedicated to helping others and in his memory we will serve the hungry of the Northwest suburbs,” said Jeannette Magdaleno, lifelong learning and volunteer coordinator for Friendship Village.
Residents and staff of Friendship Village made sandwiches and then assembled brown bag lunches that included sandwiches, bottled water and fruit. These were distributed through JOURNEYS: The Road Home in Palatine, and the PADS shelter at the Prince of Peace Church in Hoffman Estates. Both organizations assist homeless individuals in suburban Cook County. Volunteers at the MLK Day event were also invited to write a note of encouragement included in each lunch.
“We were inspired to launch this service project as we researched homeless statistics in our area. There are 3000 reported cases of homelessness in suburban Cook County, with 1200 accessing shelters in the Northwest suburbs alone. There are approximately 400 additional homeless people living on the streets, in cars or throughout forest preserves,” said Jeannette. “The residents of Friendship Village are very service-oriented in general, and this project just calls to all of us as we realize how very fortunate we are. That’s not the case for many of our neighbors.”
Find out what's happening in Palatinefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The schedule for the day, included two sessions of making sandwiches:
10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. sandwich and lunch assembly
Find out what's happening in Palatinefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
11:30 a.m. blessing of the food by Chaplain Shawn Kafader
2 p.m.-3 p.m. sandwich and lunch assembly
3 p.m. blessing of the food by Chaplain Richard Oas
“Dr. King is quoted as having asked, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘what are you doing for others?’ This is how we are answering that question and paying tribute to this inspirational man,” said Jeannette.
Friendship Village is a leading Chicago-area retirement community offering a complete continuum of care including independent living garden homes and apartment homes, as well as assisted living, memory support, skilled care, and short- and long-term rehabilitation services. For more than 35 years, Friendship Village has been providing Chicago area seniors with exceptional retirement living options. For additional information visit www.FriendshipVillage.org
