#ChiDoesGood: Friendship Bracelets for Medical Professionals

Many of us have been home now for months. Not going to school, work, sports practices, etc. We have been responsibly practicing safe social distancing to help combat COVID-19. Another group of people have been fighting it by doing the exact opposite- going to work and interacting with countless people. We are talking about the medical professionals of course. The doctors, nurses, and other medical staff who have been tirelessly working to see, treat, and care for their patients, whether COVID related or not.

We recently revived Chi Town Connection, or CTC, our own youth group for Camp Chi teens. On a recent CTC call, the teens were brainstorming how we can use our camp skills to help support our medical professionals. The conversation went round and round and then it was obvious- friendship bracelets. Over the summer and throughout the year, we display our friendship bracelets or our “camp wrists” as badges of honor. And no one deserves a badge of honor more right now than the medical professionals.

Our teens came up with the idea to make friendship bracelets or bead bracelets and send them to a nearby hospital with a little note of support. A friendship bracelet symbolizes just that- friendship, support, and care. By participating in this mitzvah, we are supporting the staff who are working tirelessly to treat those who are most vulnerable, and we are saying to them “you’ve got a friend.”

So join us and the CTC teens in making a bracelet or two (or more) and send them to a nearby hospital with little note of encouragement. It’s simple, it’s supportive and it’s #ChiDoesGood.

Here are some of our CTC teen’s badges of honor:

Here are some Chicago-area hospitals you may send bracelets to:

• Northwestern Memorial Hospital | 251 E Huron St, Chicago, IL 60611
• Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center | 836 W Wellington Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
• Rush University Medical Center | 1620 W Harrison St, Chicago, IL 60612
• Evanston Hospital | 2650 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201
• Glenbrook Hospital | 2100 Pfingsten Road, Glenview, IL  60026
• Highland Park Hospital | 777 Park Ave. West, Highland Park, IL 60035
• NCH Northwest Community Hospital | 800 W Central Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60005
• Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital | 1000 N Westmoreland Rd, Lake Forest, IL 60045
• Advocate Condell Medical Center |801 S Milwaukee Ave, Libertyville, IL 60048

Need a refresher on how to make a friendship bracelet, check out our last friendship bracelet blog.