DMC Cares is an initiative that started at one of our All Day Company Meetings, or ADCMs. For this ADCM, we split into teams and given an envelope, contents unknown.
I’ll never forget opening it to find $500 and instructions to make an impact in Chicago by "paying it forward." My team thought a lot about causes that were important to us and went all over the city to distribute the money to each cause.
Hello Healthy Start
In my personal life, I’ve volunteered with an organization called Chicago Cares several times. They offer several ways to get involved. I've stuck to the opportunities that involve children, because I find that I have a lot in common with them.
DMC found a very cool program through Chicago Cares called Healthy Start and rallied a crew to visit Oakley Square after work one afternoon. Healthy Start's mission is to introduce cooking and eating healthy foods to children used to cafeteria food or fast food for most of their meals, which I can definitely relate to.
Even though I brought little to no cooking skills to the table, I brought lots of enthusiasm. I was really excited to interact with such awesome kids.
A Recipe of Sorts
Everyone wanted to be involved, which definitely did not result in there being too many cooks in the kitchen.
The energy was contagious as we proceeded to chop up vegetables and throw them into bowls.
Next, we cracked open four dozen eggs, a crowd favorite.
Finally, we put the veggies in a pan, poured the eggs over top and stuck the pans in the oven.
Making Friends
While we waited, we got to know each other. Ryan Yu had a hilarious conversation with a group of the kids about a TV show that he used to watch as a kid (and is apparently still going strong today). Jordan showed off his origami skills. Heather and Grant helped the cleanup team, and I ended up refereeing some sort of race.
The Results
Soon, the timers went off and we opened the ovens to find a bunch of delicious veggie bakes. To be honest, the bakes got mixed reviews. However, we all learned how easy and fun it is to make a healthy, home-cooked meal.
It's so easy, even I could do it!
Explore some other DMC Cares adventures we've been on in Chicago and around the US.
Wish you were with us, helping too? Check out our Careers Page to view our open positions. We are always looking for great additions to DMC!
Learn more about the DMC Cares volunteer initiative.