The volunteers at Mercy Home have been keeping busy with various activities during the winter months such as a retreat, classes, and celebrating holidays. They are now looking forward to spring and have many upcoming events planned like a shamrocks fundraiser, quarterly liturgy & brunch, and an alumni dinner & speaker. The volunteers are also getting involved in their community through activities like tutoring, sports teams, church groups, and nonprofit organizations.

1. www.MercyHome.org
Spring 2011
Springing Into Action Farrell joined the group to explore the Pastoral Circle.
Katie Keller Smith, along with volunteers Becca and
After record snowfall in February, the volunteers are Stephanie, led a session on the two feet of social justice
ready for the days of Winter to turn into Spring. Despite and helped the volunteers to lay out a plan for action for
Chicago’s cold and snowy Winter, the volunteers have the remainder of the year. Other activities included a
made the most of their time at Mercy Home for Boys and silent night, a prayer vigil and stations of the cross.
Girls and made great contributions to the youth as well Besides the structured retreat sessions, the volunteers
as their community. Winter was filled with holiday cele- had an opportunity to relax and have some fun! They
brations, a retreat, sports with the youth, fun classes and enjoyed a super bowl pizza party, played cards, strutted
activities, and catching their stride. their stuff at a “newspaper fashion show” and played in
the snow.
The volunteers have found some wonderful outlets and
ways to get involved throughout Mercy Home for Boys
and Girls and Chicago. Hannah is tutoring and par-
ticipating in RCIA. Jess is involved in a weekly social
club. Britney is the co-founder of “The Misfits and The
Bandits” which is a weekly gathering to promote cultural
awareness in Chicago. She is also enjoying Thursday
night “family dinners” with her community members.
Kate and Shannon are showing off their athletic skills on
a club volleyball team. Becca is relaxing and gaining
perspective in a weekly yoga class. Mikaela is part of a
“companions on a journey” group with other alumni from
St. Benedict. Rachel is making great contributions to
society by donating blood and taking part in the demo-
cratic process by casting her vote. Stephanie is running
with the Back On My Feet nonprofit organization and
Kate, Hannah, Jess and Shannon at Winter Retreat. getting involved with Soul City Church. Diego is also
involved with Soul City Church and playing on the Mercy
With nearly two feet of snow on the ground, the vol- Home soccer team. Jillian attends St. Vincent De Paul
unteers headed out to LaSalle Manor for the Winter church and is an After Care liaison at the Hoops to
retreat. The grounds were covered in snow and ice and Homework basketball league.
created a serene and relaxing setting. The lodge was
warm and the large fireplace glowed throughout many of In addition to all of these activities, the volunteers
the sessions and activities. The focus of the retreat was continue to host their own family and friends for visits, as
social justice. The retreat provided an opportunity to well as prospective volunteers who will join MercyWorks
explore social justice issues that are pertinent to the in August 2011.
volunteers’ work with the youth of Mercy Home, as well
as share their own passions and expectations for the Upcoming Events
remainder of the volunteer year. Each volunteer shared March 12 Shamrocks for Kids
a social justice issue close to their heart by bringing an March 20 Quarterly Liturgy & Brunch
article to educate the thirteen other volunteers. Emily April 6 Alumni Dinner & Speaker at
Michael, Manager of Training at Mercy Home, directed a Dominican University
session on identity, diversity and privilege and applied it May 2-5 Spring Retreat
beautifully into the theme of the retreat. Megan Kennedy May 12 Faith & Work Speaker Series

2. Continuing to Live the MercyWorks Values Stay Connected on the Web
It is extremely easy to unlearn the tough lessons we Become a “fan” of MercyWorks and Mercy Home on
learn as MercyWorks volunteers. I remember wondering facebook. http://www.facebook.com/mercyworks
how I could possibly even spend the $32,000 I made as http://www.facebook.com/mercyhome
a first year teacher at De La Salle High School after
grubbing about for a year on our measly bi-weekly sti- Our website has a fresh new look and is updated often.
pend (thus we cultivated another important Mercy-bred http://www.mercyhome.org/mercyworks
life-skill: that of getting people to buy us beers). When a
new car, insurance, grad school, marriage, and babies Our blog serves as an archive of reflections from
enter the picture (and they will), one all of a sudden volunteers, alumni and parents.
begins to reappraise the true value of one’s professional
http://mercyworks.wordpress.com
skills. The $32,000 which seemed at first to make me
unfathomably wealthy appeared increasingly meager in
light of life’s multiplying expenses. Faith & Work Speaker Series
Yet even if it is only those alums of exceptional will or The Faith & Work Speaker Series began in 2007 and is
piety who continue to adhere to the MercyWorks values a time to gather with co-workers and reflect on the
in a highly literal fashion—and there are certainly those mission and motivation behind the work at Mercy Home.
among us who have—we nevertheless ought to see to it It includes a light lunch and then features a speaker and
that they somehow remain influential in whatever kind of discussion. We are proud to welcome home Jess
vocation we answer after Mercy Home. For it is very Heringer, MercyWorks volunteer from 2006-2007, as the
easy, once we are no longer part of an intentional, faith- featured speaker at the Spring 2011 Faith & Work
centered community, to let other (often material) con- Speaker Series! Jess is currently pursuing a Masters in
cerns begin to dictate the course of our decisions. Divinity at the University of Notre Dame. She will
present “Images of God and the Mission of Mercy” on
One way I think we can continue to “live close” to our Wednesday, May 12th at 11:45am. All Mercy Home
MercyWorks values is to intentionally seek ways to build employees, MercyWorks alumni and friends are invited
them into our lifestyles. By this, I mean seeking church to attend. Please RSVP to Liz Kuhn at (312) 738-7556 or
communities, charitable groups, social justice organi- lizkuh@ mercyhome.org.
zations, and even jobs that allow us to perform our
values on a regular basis. I can recall many days as a Run for Mercy Home
teacher that I felt like I was not accomplishing anything
worthwhile. Yet, I knew that what I was doing was part Although the Bank of America Chicago Marathon sold
of a larger good that I was helping come into being, one out in record time, there are still spots available through
that was well beyond achieving my own satisfaction. Mercy Home’s charity team! To find out more about this
When our altruism batteries inevitably run low, it is our opportunity, visit http://www.mercyhome.org/marathon or
spiritual, social, and professional networks that keep us contact Karen Matts at karmat@mercyhome.org.
in touch with our moral selves, that keep us close to that
younger self who was formed morally in a community
that was doing God’s work. Alumni Dinner and Speaker
Please join us on Wednesday, April 6th for dinner,
prayer and a lecture. Dominican University Siena Center
presents Donna Freitas who will speak on the topic
“Young Adult Catholics Today: Finding Power, Passion
and Voice.” We will meet for dinner at 6:00pm at Panera
Bread in River Forest before heading to Dominican
University’s Priory Campus. Prayer service begins at
7:00pm and the lecture begins at 7:30pm. Please RSVP
to Liz Kuhn at (312) 738-7556 or lizkuh@mercyhome.org
Grant Gholson was a MercyWorks volunteer from 2002- Staying Connected to the MercyWorks
2003 and worked in School Resources. He taught high
school theology for 5 years after MercyWorks and is now Values: Resources for Alumni
a PhD candidate in Theology at Loyola University
Chicago. He married (as he says, well above his station) Catholics on Call http://www.catholicsoncall.org
Erica Walter, who was also a member of the 2002-2003 Charis Ministries http://www.charisministries.org
community, in 2008. Pallotti Center http://www.pallotticenter.org