One Brick Chicago

I have volunteered through One Brick a few times, and I gotta say that I love working with these people.
I worked a couple of times at Chicago Food Pantry, and had a blast. It was hard work, but I was cracking jokes and having fun while working hard.
I also worked once at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. I was in charge of explaining to people what Ginger was, how the plant looked and what medicinal uses they have found for it. The thing is, I didn’t know anything about Ginger… So, I learned a lot that day.
What’s great is after you work a lot of people meet up afterwards for drinks or food. So, you really get a chance to make some friends.
Although I was helping out others, they really helped me find myself after a bad break up. It re-​focused my priorities.
The great thing is you commit to each event, not to one thing you do over and over again. This allows you to pick and choose and do it at your time. No weekly or monthly commitments.

I attended my first «One Brick» volunteer event last night. We sorted over 8,000
t-​shirts for the «Girls on the Run» organization. The One Brick event leaders were welcoming and the end organization coordinator that we helped, Tia, was so grateful it was natural to want to help her sort through such a large project. This is such an easy way to volunteer as One Brick lists the various events on their website and you can sign up for those that fit into your schedule… really a great idea!

I have to second and third the One Brick love here.
I’ve had some major changes go on in the last year, and decided to get involved in more positive social activities. Volunteering is great because you get to help someone and feel good about what you’re doing at the same time.
What’s great about One Brick is that it is so easy to sign up for events! A regular schedule or commitment is not required, awesome for someone like me with an irregular schedule. You can volunteer as much or little as you like.
They also have a pretty wide array of types of opportunities, from stuffing envelopes to helping out with food banks, crafting, to ushering at the Goodman. Something for everyone.
Moreover, at the few events I’ve gone to, everyone involved has been very friendly and there seems to often be an informal gathering afterward for food/​drinks to socialize more for those interested. It’s been fun to meet the diverse assortment of people that volunteer and work with One Brick.
I’ve just started attending, but this is definitely something I can see continuing for a while.

I moved to Chicago about a year ago and didn’t know anyone. One night I started googling things to do in the city and found One Brick. I’ve always loved volunteering and the social component was like icing on the cake. Getting to make a difference and make new friends at the same time sounded like the perfect combination. I love everything about One Brick. It’s a great way to volunteer.
First of all, it’s soooo easy. There’s a calender posted online with various events. (Check it out at
.) All you have to do is find an event that looks interesting to you, sign up, and volunteer. There’s no orientation or commitment, and you can sign up for as many or as few events as you want.
The variety of events is another plus. In the past year, I’ve gotten to cook lunch for the homeless, package condoms, bake cookies, paint a grade school bathroom, garden, and so much more. I love that I’ve been able to have so many different experiences and see different areas of the city. One Brick is never boring.
It’s also a great way to meet people. After every event we go out to get food or drinks and to socialize. It’s always a good time! I’ve met some great friends through One Brick and also met some wonderful interesting people. I can’t say enough good thing about this organization!

Sometimes you gotta put some good into the world, but maybe you don’t have time to be a regular fairy godmother or you have volunteerism ADD. With One Brick, you can still help out the Chicago community, but there’s no commitment so you can leap from project to project as you desire.
I’ve been volunteering with One Brick for 2.5 years. I had a crappy year in ’06 and decided that in ’07 I was going to change some things — -new friends, new activities and volunteer more. I did a couple projects with Chicago Cares before I found One Brick. I like Chicago Cares, but it’s a bit more impersonal. You show up, do your work and leave. Not much friendly chit-​chat. One Brick is different. People are friendly — whether you just met them or you’ve seen them at a project three months ago. It makes me feel like I want to help more when I feel engaged with those I’m working alongside.
My first project was a telethon for the local PBS station (WTTW) — yep, One Brick made me a TV star for a night. Perhaps you saw me? ;) I took pledges and got a light-​up WTTW pen. I’ve helped set-​up local library book sale fundraiser (bonus, you get first dibs on the donated goods. I always leave with a load of new books), assisted with educational programs at Garfield Park Conservatory, done crafts with kids at street festivals, etc. I tend to favor projects involving kids, plants, or street festivals. But there are lots of options. (Bonus, sometimes you get a free t-​shirt for an event. It’s just like college when free t-​shirts were being passed out like credit cards.)
One Brick also does fundraising for its own purposes — because even volunteer groups need some funding. BINGO, trivia, etc. They’ve had social events to raise school supplies, help knit blankets for those in need. (I tried, I really tried on the knitting front, but somewhere between casting on and knitting, I got oh so lost.)
So, Chicago, I ask you, what have you done for your city lately? Too busy for a regular commitment? Don’t know of an organization you want to volunteer with regularly? Excuses, excuses. With One Brick, you really have no excuse — you’re just lazy. Get up off your butt and do something!

I have been volunteering with One Brick off and on for a few years. Most of the events are well organized and the event managers and coordinators are very friendly. One perk is that the group goes out for food and drinks afterwards — it’s a good way to meet people — especially if you are new to the city. The only complaint I have is that there’s not a huge variety of events to pick from (especially compared to Chicago Cares).

My good friend Katie and I met putting hundreds of condom goody bags together. Clearly, it was destiny. Somewhere between me wondering aloud if the same person really would want XL condoms and strawberry flavored ones and her compensating for a lube shortage by stuffing extra «tuxedo» condoms in her packages… I knew this girl was the friend for me.
One Brick is a great organization for those who want to volunteer but don’t want to (or can’t) commit to the same project/​organization every week. I’ve done all sorts of events with them, ranging from serving beer at a festival to hauling books out of storage for a library book sale. Everything has always been very well organized and all the leaders are volunteers too.
What I like about One Brick is not only getting to be a part of doing «good», but also meeting some great people. There is always a social component to every volunteer event, meaning who ever wants to usually goes out all together afterward for food/​drinks. The volunteers range in age, but I’ve found they’re predominantly women in their 20/30’s (yeah, holy-single-guy’s-untapped-gold-mine, you’re tellin’ me). It’s really a great way to expand your social network and make some new friends, especially since most people seem to do it on their own — it’s not like there are cliques.
Events fill up fast, so look ahead on the calendar (
) and I’d advise you sign up the day an event becomes available for sign-​up.
BOTTOM LINE: A well-​organized group & a great way to meet new friends and do some good… at your convenience!

Disclosure: I am an Event Manager with One Brick.
I have been volunteering with One Brick Chicago for 2 ½ years and there is something for everyone. It’s easy to volunteer (that’s the whole point), and you can become as involved as you want in running the chapter. (One Brick is entirely volunteer-​run, so all the Event Leaders and chapter management folks have square, day time jobs and volunteer with OB on their own time.)
I got involved initially because I wanted to expand my social circle with like-​minded, giving people. I have become friends with some great people who I wouldn’t have met but for One Brick.
Favorite events: Inspiration Café; Greater Chicago Food Depository (where I discovered One Brick); goodie bag/​envelope stuffing events (you can take the girl out of the office, but not the office out of the girl)
Check One Brick out!

I’ve been voluteering with One Brick for 4 years. I was hooked with the variety of charities helped along with the amazing people I’ve met. I’ve done 3 trips to NOLA and one trip to Iowa. Have made some amazing friends and met some amazing people. One Brick is a great place to start volunteering at your own pace with minimal committment. I just started out doing one 2 hour event. Now I’m planning trips to help flood victims in NW Indiana. Yes, that is correct people still need help from the Floods in September. Just because you don’t hear anything on your local news about help for Flood Victims doesn’t mean there isn’t anymore work to be done. So turn off the TV/​News some weekend and try One Brick out.

I’ve volunteered with One Brick Chicago for just over 3 years now and the experience has been truly amazing! The events are easy to sign up for and you truly feel that you are making a difference with every event you participate in. Everyone should work the Inspiration Café event at least once as well as the City Farm event (that’s my personal favorite)!! Their happy hours are also a blast as well!

I used to volunteer a lot, but since I’ve moved to Chicago, I just haven’t had time to make the sort of commitment that I did before. Enter One Brick. All of there events are short 2 – 3 hour opportunities to help out, socialize, maybe have a beer after, and help Chicago. I also really like that there’s a wide variety of events so that I can help places I’m really interested in in ways that work really well for me. All over, a great way to try out volunteering all over the Chicago area.