Food and Volunteerism Promoted at “Yelp Helps”

On a balmy Wednesday night I waited in a line of spiffily dressed Chicagoans leading to what looked like a warehouse. I was not awaiting entry into an exclusive dance club and the people with clipboards at the door weren’t turning anyone away. I was attending Yelp’s 2010 “Yelp Helps”, an event that connects non-profit organizations with volunteers while throwing a great party. Yelp is one of my favorite online resources for finding good food, but it is also a great place to find local charity events and restaurants that do good. On Yelp, members are rewarded for staying involved in the community and because people use their real names, they are accountable for their reviews. Being a volunteer requires the same capabilities and you might say regular “yelpers” are uniquely suited for charity work. They are also uniquely suited for eating good food. Both abounded at Yelp Helps.

The party was thrown in Salvage One, which is a sort of furniture warehouse cum event space cum museum of salvaged Chicago artifacts. Salvage One’s emphasis on recycling, reuse, and rebuilding is a sort of good work in itself. It is also stunning in a crazy sort of way. Glowing orbed chandeliers hang over renaissance statues, restored bowling alley benches, and a sculpted Chinese lion. An old ticket booth has been converted into a desk, outfitted with stained glass and crowned with a fishbowl globe.

Information booths for the 30 NGOs present were nestled naturally into this maze of materials in a way that dispelled any memory of awkward gymnasium career fairs. An open bar favored effortless mingling. I sipped on a kumquat flavored Dry Soda and Zodiac vodka (the former, a locally produced product, is notably less sweet and more complex than your standard pop) while I spoke to the charming representatives of Starlight. This foundation focuses children with serious illnesses and mental retardation to improve their quality of life. They organize events like picnics, proms and spa days to build a sense of community among affected families and give children and their parents a chance to have fun and relax. Some organizations, like 826Chi and Book Worm Angels, encourage children to read, write, and even publish books. Others, like the Sierra Club’s Inner City Outings, take kids on field trips to Lake Michigan dunes and forest preserves to expose them to nature.

Meanwhile succulent snacks were plentiful. Tasty mini-burgers were served by Rub BBQ, so called because its meat is rubbed with 14 spices before serving. Go Roma provided yummy meatballs and a refreshing salad. On to desert! Sweet Margy’s chocolate bark and toffee were a delectable combination of chocolate and chew. Laura and Libby’s traditional Yiddish mandelbrot had all the flavor of a well made biscotti without the tooth-breaking hardness. Sprinkles Cupcakes brought towers of miniatures that were so good that in the week that followed, I visited their store. Twice.

As I patted a happy black pitbull, a representative of One Tail at a Time told me about their animal adoption and foster programs and made me wish I lived in a dog-friendly apartment. Several programs were geared towards women’s issues.The Red Pump Project, whose members can be seen sporting scarlet shoes, aims to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in women and promotes testing and prevention through education. Bright Pink focuses on breast and ovarian cancer, supporting young women at high risk for these diseases and advocating early detection. I was particularly impressed with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation’s End Demand Illinois project, which strives to put an end to sexual exploitation by putting pressure on men who are purchasing sex. Their manual “Demand Change” outlines what an ordinary person can do to stop sexual exploitation and trafficking. I was happy to see Inspiration Coorporation also had a booth and were spreading the word about Café Too and their meal services for poor families.

While I sipped on a shot of Riva’s crab soup, I listened to a passionate advocate for FamilyFarmed extol the virtues of locally farmed foods, and signed my name to the mailing list. Yelp Helps is a matchmaking event like no other, and I have a feeling most of the event’s 500 guests got lucky that night.

Photos by Alysha Primmer for Appetite for Good.

Related Posts

No related posts.