Friends of the Parks

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Stories From Volunteers A few volunteers share their stories: "I've ridden nine years in a row and volunteered the last five years. Under the stars after midnight, Chicago takes on a whole new personality. It's lots of fun to laugh, shake hands, see so many people smiling and having a good time. That's what brings me back every year." Bill, 33 Resident of Bolingbrook, IL "We met lots of people while volunteering. I enjoyed seeing families riding together. I even saw a couple towing their 1-year-old behind them. When we came home Sunday, we spent an hour on the driveway just talking about how much fun we had." Kathy Mt. Prospect, IL (Kathy volunteered with her husband Patrick and daughters Lynn, 18, Michelle, 23, and Sharon, 25) "I helped in one of the registration tents. Volunteering made it easy to meet people. A group of volunteers who'd never met rode together. It was great going north on Halsted in Greek Town and seeing all the awestruck spectators along the sidewalks." John, 24 Palos Heights, IL "I'm proud to say that I stayed up all night driving one of the support vans. Even though I felt tired about four in the morning, the riders lifted my spirits by shouting friendly hellos in my window." Jill, 31 Chicago, IL "I heard about the ride at a running event. My husband and I both helped at the worknights, and I volunteered at a packet pick-up. We didn't sign up to volunteer the night of the ride, but we inadvertently helped anyway. People saw our volunteer tag and asked us for directions to the bike repair station, water tent, registration area, etc. We had a blast!" Tara, 32 Aurora, IL (Tara rode and volunteered the last several years with her husband Sonny, 33) "I'm glad the money raised from the ride goes to Friends of the Parks. I use Chicago parks all the time for biking and picnics, and my kids love the playground nearby. Friends of the Parks is a great organization! " Paula, 37 Chicago, IL