Greetings fellow Oak Lawnians and happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy time spent with family and friends and counting blessings. For our soldiers who are away from their families this holiday, we’re keeping you and your families in our thoughts and prayers.
As we enter the start of the holiday season, there’s a group of students who enjoy giving back to the community throughout the year. When the village of Oak Lawn hosted its fall Senior/Handicapped Electronic Waste Pick-up on Oct. 8, those students came out to help. The home pick-up event, now in its third year, takes place twice a year, usually in April and October. Items are removed from the resident’s home, loaded onto a truck and taken to the village’s recycling site at 5550 98th St.
Jack Lopez, who supervises the e-waste program, has worked in various capacities throughout his 24 years with the village. The home pick-up program is a huge success for Oak Lawn’s senior citizens and disabled residents. “People genuinely love the service,” Lopez said. “People are super appreciative and it’s very rewarding to be able to help them.”
The program’s success has a lot to do with Lopez, but it’s also because of the commitment and support he gets from the volunteers he’s come to rely on. Like him, the volunteers give up their own time to support the e-waste program. One of those volunteer groups are students from Oak Lawn Community High School’s Spartan Athletic Leadership Team, aka SALT, along with the school’s athletic director, Kevin McKeown. “Kevin is such a proponent and real believer in environmental concerns and he knows how important it is. It’s such a win thing,” Lopez said.
McKeown and his Spartan athletes have lent a helping hand — and a lot of muscle power — to Lopez on numerous home visits. In fact, McKeown’s grandmother, Patricia McKeown, was one of the residents on the Oct. 8 pick-up. McKeown said the events “have 10-12 kids each time. They’re all sophomores, juniors and senior athletes from SALT.”
Lopez said the most popular item they pick-up are “old TVs — TVs all the time. With senior residents, we get a lot of old TV consoles. There’s some wild stuff, too, like really old computers like the first ones.” A lot of times they have to remove old heavy TVs from a basement or climb flights of stairs with an item.
The group starts at 8 a.m. and the pick-up usually takes about four hours. Lopez said, “we average about 20 homes. We use a lift truck. It makes things easier — it gets loaded.” Lopez also gets a kick out of taking pictures of the students on the truck before it gets unloaded.
McKeown said one of the benefits of having the athletes participate in the program is the ability “to build a connection between youth and the elderly. We have a lot of quality students in Oak Lawn. They give a lot. It’s a very positive exchange between the kids and residents. I just want people to know how humble our kids are, and personable, and wanting to connect. This is what we do. We love doing this.”
Lopez is extremely organized and wastes no time planning for each collection. As soon as one collection finishes, the sign-up sheet for the next collection is made available for residents. In fact, he’s already collecting names for the April 2017 home pick-up. “You actually have to start planning a couple months early. You have to create an efficient route, call everyone on the list with a time for pick-up – it’s not bad, but you have to have the list (of homes) ahead of time,” said Lopez.
Lopez always needs volunteers to help at the recycling collection site as well as the home pick-ups. He is always appreciative of his volunteers and makes a point to wrap things up by noon so they can still have plenty of time left to enjoy their day. He is an excellent mentor for not only young people, but also the community, and he’s very knowledgeable on the best way to recycle or safely dispose of something.
McKeown especially likes to hear the students talk about their experience helping the residents. “They get a more global perspective and look past their own life,” he said.
Lopez encourages senior citizens and the disabled to sign up early for the April pick-up. To schedule a pick-up or to volunteer, call Lopez at 708-499-7847 or e-mail him at jlopez@oaklawn-il.gov.
Here are this week’s celebrity announcements: Happy birthday to Sterling Weston, who’s turning 23, from his family and Cocoa. Shannon Matthews’ family wish her a happy 30th birthday. Natasha Gornik’s parents and family send her their love on her 40th birthday. Happy birthday to Wyo Petzel from his wife, Erica; daughter, Charlotte, and their family. Birthday wishes go out to Bob McCarville from his wife, Barb, their friends and family. Belated 60th birthday wishes to out to Mike Holloway from his family and Debbie Weston.
Wedding anniversary wishes go out to the following couples: Kevin and Nicole Burbano on their 8th anniversary; Roy and Nancy Bubel’s 44th anniversary, from their children, Kelly, Brian and Holly, Roy’s mother, Bernice, and family.
Keep your fellow Oak Lawnians informed about birthdays, special events or special “stuff” going on with your family or within the community. Call me at (708) 899-9544 or e-mail me at the address above.
Until next time…
Cheryl Petzel is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
