Top Leo honors go to Blue Island student, again

Top Leo honors go to Blue Island student, again

Donna Vickroy dvickroy@southtownstar.com | (708) 633-5982 Apr 21, 2011 7:42AM

“Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out.”

Frank A. Clark

Like a lot of Chicago’s smaller, older suburbs, Blue Island has its struggles.

The population is declining. The average school expenditure is less than the national average. And the cost of living is below that of many other suburban Cook County communities.

Yet, despite the challenges its residents face, the city produces an exorbitant number of compassionate students. Not only is the turnout for service-driven clubs and events continually high but, for five of the past six years, a student at Eisenhower High School has been honored with the countywide Leo of the Year award.

This year, that distinction goes to senior Matthew Taylor-Schultz, who learned he’d won when teacher/club sponsor Susan Hodges walked into the special education classroom where he was volunteering one week in March and screamed, “Guess what?”

The next thing Matt remembers is the room going up for grabs, with students cheering and clapping.

When asked to explain his generous spirit, Matt shyly shrugs and says: “I’ve always been a nice kid. I’ve always felt an obligation to help others. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just grateful for what I have, but I’m happy to help others.”

Matt’s been a member of the Leo Club, the high school affiliate of the Lions Club, all four years of his high school career.

This year, he is president. Last year, he was treasurer.

In addition to fundraising for leukemia and breast cancer research, Matt pitches in to run the school food drive, which helped feed 13 families this year. He also helps organize the annual special education prom coming up next month.

Outside of school, he helps community organizations such as Blue Cap and An Angel’s Touch.

Based in Blue Island, Blue Cap provides education, therapy and vocational assistance to children and adults with developmental disabilities.

An Angel’s Touch provides assistance to needy Blue Island families with food during the year, gifts at Christmastime that students actually deliver on Christmas Day and used clothing, as needed.

“I know the family who started Angel’s Touch,” Matt said. “I also have friends whose family members have lost jobs.”

In addition to his impressive service record, Matt is a top student who enjoys being involved with choir, drama and the school newspaper.

He plans to attend Elmhurst College after graduation but he’s not sure of a major yet.

“Maybe nursing, maybe public relations,” he said.

For now, Matt joins the ranks of previous Leo Award winners: Stephanie Horvath, Alicia Johnson, Sara Spadoni and Stephanie Young.

By their nature, service clubs attract students with big hearts. So you might say competition for this award is fierce, even within a single school, let alone across the countywide 1A district.

Hodges, who nominated Matt this year, has run the Eisenhower Leo Club for the past nine years.

When asked to explain the extraordinary track record, she stated simply, “I’ve got good kids.”

Many of the 40 to 50 students who participate each year are members for all four of their high school years.

Of Matt, she said, he has a great sense of humor and a natural touch with people, especially the special education students.

“A couple of these kids who are especially challenged can’t remember anything but they remember Matt’s name,” she said.

Leo of the Year Award is determined by members of Lions Club International, among the largest service organizations in the world with 1.35 million members in 206 countries. The group, which focuses primarily on providing glasses and services to the visually impaired, was begun in 1917 by Melvin Jones, a Chicago businessman.

There are currently five Leo Clubs in Cook County. Every year at a spring convention, a committee of Lions Club members chooses the student Leo of the Year recipient, based on the individual’s volunteer record and the recommendation of a faculty member.

Joan McMillan is a member of the Mount Greenwood Lion’s Club. She said it is in some ways fitting that so many Leo of the Year recipients attend a District 218 school.

The first Leo Club in Illinois, McMillan said, was started at fellow 218 school Richards in Oak Lawn in 1969.

What, if anything, does this say about kids from the Southland?

That their hearts are as big as their dreams.

Thank You - Christmas 2010

Happy New Year's – 2011

The Year of the City Worker

by Jude Coyle

If you listen to the fat cats in Washington, you'll hear them refer to the fat cat union workers that saturate every part of government. They're making all this money and it's killing the American economy. It has to be stopped.

I've been searching my memory for a name I can blame as the cause of all of the discomfort America has felt of late, and frankly I can't come up with one. Instead I think of those individuals who patrol our streets, fight our fires and dig ditches in an effort to stop the flow of water main breaks. I think of the guys who fill the potholes, and the employees at City Hall who do the paperwork required in running a City the size of Blue Island. None of them are living in mansions, and if you read City Council News, you'll know that these are the same people who were asked to give up half their regular pay for the months of October and November because property tax bills went out late. They were to be repaid after Christmas.

Yet it was these people who on realizing that An Angel's Touch needed extra help this year because of the economy, dug deep to help us. For that reason, I am calling Christmas, 2010, the Year of the City Worker. To all of you, thank you so much.

An Angel's Touch is an organization that was created by friends to help other friends who ran into emergencies that threatened to wipe them out financially. We've grown from there, doing our best to help anywhere we can with emergencies of every kind. Over the nearly twenty years of operation, we've helped several hundred families with food, Christmas gifts, clothing and other necessities. This year alone we helped 43 families. What we do though, doesn't come from just us. It is because people like the City workers of Blue Island, the churches who have partnered with us, the Library, the Park District, Calumet Township Senior Center and other organizations, through their donations, allow us to help others.

This year it seemed that we would have to turn away families for the first time in our history as we just didn't have enough food. I begged at churches. I begged at City Hall. I begged on Facebook. I spoke to anyone who took the time to listen to me. At the last possible minute, Bernie Perryman donated huge stack of canned goods. So did Betty Nagle, Nancy Shultz, Raymond Guray, Charlene Finn, and John and Marsha Rauch. After that it seemed that I had to pick up canned goods every couple of days from City Hall. The very same people I referred to above, helped us out in spite of their own needs. I also picked up donations from the library, Calumet Senior Center, Lincoln, Oak Ridge and Beverly Cemeteries, Memorial Park and from various churches. Rose Rita, who has been ill, collected cereal for us. Tony from the Doubleplay Lounge, the Calumet Park Troublemakers and the Blue Island Professional Firefighters each provided five Christmas dinners. The Rickerson family made a huge donation. Again, thank you.

As I said, this year was harder than usual because of the economy, and a lot of our calls came from people living in odd situations. One woman called from a hotel room. She had two little boys, and had lost her home and her car. Could we help her? We did our best. We also helped a gentleman and his lady who were living in their car. There were too many others in similar situations. We did the best we could and we turned no one away. Better yet, we were able to pass on food to St. Benedict's Parish St. Vincent de Paul Society pantry and to the Salvation Army. As I've always said, donations end at Christmas. Hunger doesn't. We were also able to pass along coats to Reverend Rod Reinhart for veterans in need.

Our only disappointment was that we weren't able to pass along a full 240 gloves or mittens and hats to the CEDA preschool. We bought enough gloves to go around, but not hats. The boss saw mittens on sale right after Christmas this year, and purchased 200 pairs. So when next year comes along, I will be begging for 240 hats. A very big thank you to Jim Reihel who made that purchase possible because of the can shake he sponsors each year on our behalf.

Thank to the following. If I forgot your name or spelled it wrong, please accept my apology now, and know that you are in our prayers. Mayor Donald E. Peloquin, his office; City Clerk Pam Frasor and her office; City Council, particularly Aldermen Rose Rita, Leticia Vieyra, Jan Ostling, Marcia Stone; the Police and Fire Departments, and Professional Firefighters Union; the Building, Public Works and Water Departments; The 911 Center; the Chamber of Commerce; Metro South Hospital; the Blue Island Park District; the Public Library; the Calumet Township Senior Center; St. Rita High School, DDE Key and Leo Clubs; Veteran's Memorial Middle School; Paul Revere Intermediate and Primary Schools; Reverend Judy Jones, and Christ Memorial United Church of Christ; First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Grace United Methodist Church; Lori Campione and St. Walter's School; Accurate Perforating; the Kiwanis; the Calumet Park Troublemakers; Tony and the Doubleplay Lounge; The FORUM, Bob Jones and Beverly Bank, the Simborg Family, Temulac Boat Club and Windjammers Marina of Chicago, Beverly, Lincoln and Oak Ridge Cemeteries, Korbakis Liquors, T&G's, Iversen's Bakery, Blue Island Video, Carr Gardens, Harry's Long Bar, Gene's Dry Cleaners, A&R Security, Jim and Carol Reihel, American Legion Post #50, Charlene Finn, Bernie Perryman, Ron and Tracy Rickerson, John and Marsha Rauch, Betty Nagle, Nancy Schultz and Raymond Guray. Thank you to my sort crew who not only show up for me, but bring new people each year. Katherine Matthis, Chris Rondinella, Gloria Zaper, Ed and Grace Diaz, Matt Hess, Amber Sullivan, Stephen Gerez, Lisa Woodrich, Bob O'Connor, Ed, Jon and Becki Coyle. A special thank you to Bob, Roseanne and Kevin Moran and friend, Nicole. Every donor and every gift is very much appreciated, not only by the members of An Angel's Touch, but by the recipients of your love as well.

The Year in Photos - 2010

As you can see, we began the Christmas season in October when the weather was nice. Even into November, we ran about town wearing shirt sleeves. By the time Christmas rolled around, we were ankle deep in snow.

As always, we kicked off the Christmas season with our annual can shake. We took corners, and shook our cans and our buns for a good cause. We asked for whatever pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and even dollars we could get from people on the street. Most Blue Islanders know us for our work, and many, many responded. To them, thank you.

Our next step was to inspect our facility. Each year, space is donated for our use. An added bonus was being able to pull right up to an inside elevator and offload. Upstairs, we discovered a happy coincidence. Last year's digs were again available to us, and with a fresh coat of paint as well.

We contacted our usual donors. Local schools play a very big part of what we do. St. Rita of Cascia High School, Veteran's Memorial Middle School, Paul Revere Primary and Intermediate Schools, and Eisenhower Leo and Key Clubs hold food drives for us. The young men below are from Veterans.

Throughout the months of November and December, we spend a lot of time running from place to place, collecting donations.

Besides the schools, we work with City Hall, the Library, Memorial Park and the Calumet Township Senior Center. Each location set up drop off points where food and other items are collected.

Our churches donate as well. Below you'll find a photo of the interior of First Evangelical Lutheran, and a photo of Reverend Judy Jones outside of Christ Memorial United Church of Christ. We also received donations from Grace United Methodist and St. Walters School.

I'm a very proud Mom. Ed and Becki worked their tails off this year, and as usual, they got their friends involved. My kids walked the streets of Blue Island, collecting the proceeds from penny jars, picked up from donation sites, and then sorted through the donations.

The economy affected everything we did this year. Food collection usually begins at St. Rita of Cascia High School, and usually we collect more food there than anywhere. Not this year. Even they were tempered by the recession. Paul Revere Primary School provided a bright spot, but from then on out, we fought for every can of corn and every box of Fruit Loops we brought in. We begged. We spoke at City Hall, we posted on Facebook, talked to church members, and to anyone else who would listen. Just as the boss thought we would have to turn away clients, food donations shot through the roof. Bernie Perryman began by donating cases of food. Betty Nagle followed suit. Nancy Schultz and Raymond Guray donated a lot as well. City employees brought in tons and tons of food.

Our sort crew took over from there. They emptied boxes and refilled others. Corn went with corn, beans with beans, cereal with cereal. It's a lot of work.

Local businesses allowed us to place penny jars on their counters. This year wasn't as lucrative as past years, but then again this year's economy sucked. Residents did what they could, and to each donor, we say thank you again. We had jars at Carr Gardens, Korbakes Liquors, Iversen's Bakery, Blue Island Video, T&J Gyros, Harry's Long Bar and the Dollar Store.

We received special donations. Tony from Doubleplay Lounge and the Calumet Park Troublemakers each donated five turkey dinners. The Blue Island Firefighters Union donated five ham dinners. Then Temulac Boat Club and Windjammers Marina of Chicago donated toys again this year. Jim and Mary Poulsen delivered.

There are so many others who participated, it's hard to remember all of them. If I've forgotten names, please accept my apologies. Remember though, whether we know your name or not, every contribution to our penny jars or during a can shake and every canned good left at a donation spot is very much appreciated.

En guard!

Peek-a-boo!