A 12-year-old Chicago girl is helping give back to unhoused individuals in the city with Chi Care. NBC Chicago’s Vi Nguyen reports.
In her spare time, 12-year-old Zola Orlov likes to do karate, play her tuba and now volunteer.
“I think this has changed me because it has given me a bigger view and now I see the world differently,” Zola told NBC Chicago.
Every other Sunday for the past year and a half, she’s been out and about with Chi Care, handing out meals and other basic items to help homeless and migrant families.
“It made me feel good, like I knew immediately that was definitely something I wanted to do, because it was just the perfect way to help people,” she said.
The seventh-grade student said she has a desire to help after seeing the problem firsthand throughout the city and wanted to give back.
“I see homeless people and it just makes me sad,” she said. “We have more than they have and I just wanted to be able to give back, help the people, who don’t have everything that we do.”
The experience has been rewarding for Zola, making her father proud of her and the work that she’s doing at such a young age.
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“For me it’s great to participate in her passion and to help her do these wonderful things that she’s involved with, but it’s entirely motivated by her,” Adam Orlov said.
Orlov said his daughter has been able to build relationships with the people she’s helped along the way.
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“There’s one particular woman who has really formed a bond with her, brought her a birthday present and a birthday card—really special connections that she’s made,” he said.
This weekend, she’s running in the organization’s first 5K run at Montrose Harbor to raise money to further the mission and cause and to break the stigma of homelessness.
She’s hoping others will give back and be inspired to change and knows a little bit of kindness and empathy goes a long way.
