Category: 2008 Community Service in the Village of Lombard
Community Service Learning in Du Page County for the Village of Lombard is an underlying requirement to Illinois residency and homeownership, not always publicly acknowledged nor explained to newcomers to the western suburbs “out in the boonies”, but rather implicitly, tacitly, and sometimes unwillingly assigned. However, some Lombard resident homeowners are given more community service than others without compensation for the consequences of the volunteer service in their neighborhood. Perhaps the Village of Lombard and Du Page County take advantage of gullible Chicago newcomers as resident homeowners to the western suburbs, “the farther the fools move away from the Windy City or others areas in Illinois”, just because they are “Chicagoans”, the same people become casualties, victims of crime and suffer from damages, losses, and liabilities.
Since my deceased father, Mr. Roberto Hung, J.D. purchased a Lombard historic brick bungalow built in 1927, at 502 South Westmore-Meyer s Road and Washington Boulevard, in Du Page County, Illinois, I have had to participate and volunteer in more community service learning projects than other neighbor resident homeowner and tenants in the Eastgate Center Community, along Westmore-Meyers Road, one mile north of Route 38, Roosevelt Road.
It started while I worked for the College of Du Page as faculty, I volunteered for the Latin American Committee and the European Heritage Committee in Glen Ellyn and Lombard.
It started while I worked as Faculty at the College of DuPage and added Professional Development Credit Units (CEUs) for Community Service Learning, after my father died on June 25, 1998. I was invited to participate and volunteer for the Friends of the Library at the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library, who are also Friends of the Lombard Garden Club and the Lombard Service League, in Lilac Town, the home of the Lilac Festival at Lilacia Park, which was bequeathed to the Village of Lombard by Colonel William R. Plum in 1927. After the closing of the Estate of Mr. Roberto Hung Supplemental Health Care Trust in Lombard by the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Wheaton, Du Page County, the Friends of the Court program invited volunteers to participate in the court advocacy program where assigned volunteers visited court wards on-site, upon assignment by the Friends of the Court.
As a friend of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court in Wheaton, I was assigned to visit court wards by car, at my own expense for mileage, gasoline, telephone calls, and U.S. postage for mailing notices for visits by the Court Advocacy program when there was no telephone number available, for those who lived at Lexington Health Care in Lombard and Elmhurst, the Ray Graham Association for People with Disabilities, Iona Glos Intermediate Care for the Mentally Retarded in Addison, Marklund Children’s Home for Developmental Disabilities in Bloomingdale, Deicke Home for the Retarded in Lombard, as well as other individuals with terminal disease and disabilities, granted court ward status and funding in Addison, Elmhurst, The Cove Landing in Lombard, and Bensenville, Illinois.
During the expected Community Service as a volunteer, I was paying for car mileage, gasoline, telephone calls, U.S. postage for mailing, as well as printing in black/white, and color community newsletters, flyers, posters, correspondence, and other mailings for contact in Du Page County, Illinois. The Community Service Learning experience became more expensive by the days, weeks, and months, than I could afford to absorb as a consultant—when no one in the Village of Lombard helped me to get referrals for business or freelance assignments, or even job prospects or leads. The Community Service Learning experience and lifestyle reveals that “it is meant for retired seniors with a fixed income who have to pay for their volunteer service” in York Township, Lombard, and Du Page County, Illinois. The amazing revelation is that, I am still not a retired person nor a senior citizen in Lombard, Du Page County, Illinois—I am too young to be retired and my peers for the Baby Boomer Generation are the middle working class of the nation in the 21st century.
For some reason, the Village of Lombard and York Township expect me to volunteer in community service for the rest of my life and not have any gainful income other than poverty for having purchased a Lombard historic brick bungalow, as a resident homeowner, and U.S. citizen for the last seventeen years in Du Page County, Illinois, U.S.A.
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by G.C. Hung, M.A., Communications, Languages & Culture, Inc.
I have volunteered more than 2008 hours, as an Illinois resident homeowner, taxpayer, and U.S. citizen in the Village of Lombard. I have always volunteered for the community and performed community services at my own expense and using the operational budget for my company, Communications, Languages & Culture, Inc., on behalf of children, young people, adults, and the elderly, even the sick, the disabled, and the feeble–in the past, currently in the present, future, and beyond…
Since I live one block away from St. Pius X Church, my local Christian Catholic Parish, at 1025 East Madison Street, in the Village of Lombard, Du Page County, Illinois, I have volunteered more than 100 hours to help and assist at church events sponsored by the Catholic Council of Women, at the Shrine of Mary Immaculate Queen for rosary prayers, Eucharistic adoration, services, including supporting Elizabeth Ministry during the Living Rosary, Making Tie-Knot Baby Blankets, and the St. Pius X School and CCW, serving chili dogs, pizza, chili burgers, hot dogs during the Christmas Magic Bazaar, Chili Night, Christmas decorations, and singing with the Adult Choir during the year. I have volunteered to perform and help the Adult Choir with Joel Everett and Jean Ceithaml. Also, I have helped the Council of Catholic Women during events for the Magic Craft Show and Raffle, Chili Night, Elizabeth Ministry services for baby blankets, attendance, Holy Rosary, Christmas Holiday Decoration. On Sundays, I have assisted Jeff to find missing car keys left behind the church pew and return the same keys to the rightful owner.
The Friends of the Helen M. Plum Library remember me as a member of the Library Board and a volunteer editor for the quarterly newsletter, the Christmas Wreath Contest, the Annual Book Sale, and other library community events in Lilac Town.
The Lombard Garden Club welcomed me as one of their own flowers and invited me to present my garden travelogue of the Jenny Butchart Gardens, the Montréal Botanical Gardens, and my own experience as a gardener and resident homeowner. I have also volunteered during the Lombard Lilac Festival and helped to give away free Lilac bushes, pruned, cleaned, and delivered to visitors’ cars at the Lilacia Park driveway. In addition, as a Friend of the Parks, I have helped to garden, weed, and clean-up for Spring at the Lombard Historical Society with other gardeners.
The Friends of the Sheldon Peck Homestead in Lombard, invited me to visit them and join them for events at the log cabin. I have volunteered to help in handstitching a patch for a homemade quilt in Lombard.
Later the Lombard Service League asked me to join them as the LSL Newsletter editor and volunteer participant to promote community events at the Lexington Square Retirement Center.
The Village of Lombard invited me to participate in the Community Relations Workshop and TV Channel 6 media training seminar for broadcasting and publishing events for the community-at-large.
As Faculty at the College of Du Page, I volunteered extra time after regular work hours for the Latin American Committee and the European Heritage Committee, as well as for the Nursing Program featuring Spanish for Health Care Communication Professionals in the medical field.
The American Red Cross has trained and certified me as a volunteer to provide First Aid, Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and Advanced Electronic Defibrillator (AED) assistance for first medical responders. I have helped to save lives in the community by providing emergency care and American Red Cross assistance.
Others have benefited from my community volunteer support for law enforcement agencies locally, statewide, and nationally as a member of the Illinois Sheriff Association, for many years in the Village of Lombard, Du Page County, Illinois.
In Wheaton, I have volunteered for Holy Cross Lutheran Church located at 802 E. Geneva Road, to help in the Global Assistance Program providing Tie-a-Knot Blankets made by the women at church with their own hands. I have also attended the Sibelius Music Festival during the summer and participated in the musical concerts sponsored by Finlandia University at Holy Cross Lutheran Church.
In addition, I have been a Court Advocate and Friend of the Court in Wheaton, at the 18th Judicial Circuit Court, Du Page Judicial Center.
Also, I have offered my communication skills and language services for translation to the National Lodge at the Theosophical Society of America in Wheaton.
As a Lombard resident homeowner, taxpayer, and U.S. citizen, I have always supported my local public schools, Westmore Elementary School and St. Pius X Catholic School.
During my active years of teaching kindergarten, elementary, high school, and college students, I have volunteered endless hours for young people and the elderly alike. As a college student, I volunteered for senior citizens during a graduate project for the American Gerontological Association and Chicago-area hospitals and nursing homes. I also volunteered in Chinatown for the Chinese-American Service League.
In addition, I have also volunteered for professional associations who remember me as an active member at the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Conference Committee Chair for Public Relations, at the Chicago Area Translators Association, at the American Translators Association, French and Spanish Language Divisions, and at the Federation of International Translators, around the world.
During 2007 and 2008, I am volunteering to present the proposal presentation for discussion about: The Chinese Concepts of “Shih” in Contrast to “Hsüe” in English for Translation and Cultural Diversity, at the XVIII World Congress of the International Federation of Translators, Translation and Cultural Diversity, August 4-7, 2008, Shanghai, China. I have been researching and developing this topic to discuss linguistic concepts in translation and cultural diversity, into English. Translation and Cultural diversity offer insights about how language is used in the community.
Throughout the years, I have volunteered for the City of Chicago – Office of the Mayor, the Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Humanities Festival, and other community groups who have shared my time at Northeastern Illinois University, St. Augustine College, Oakton Community College, etc.
Since I usually have to pay cash for my own volunteer services, using my personal income, and my own company resources, equipment, and budget for Communications, Languages & Culture, Inc., I cannot say that I have failed to perform my civic duties as an Illinois resident homeowner, taxpayer, and U.S. citizen.
As I am getting older, lacking in resources and transportation to pay for my own volunteer services, I am very selective when I offer my time to volunteer for the community-at-large. However, those who see me walking around and volunteering willingly to help others, cannot say that I have failed to do my duty as a community service volunteer in the past, present, future, and beyond…here, there, and everywhere…
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