Choi Family

“People don’t get to pick the family they are born into,” says Soo Choi, “so one way to show appreciation of how lucky we are is to help others in need.”

Dedicated volunteers since 2017, Soo and her twins, Andrew and Sophia (age 13), have traveled throughout Chicago supporting Honeycomb events. At the age of five, Andrew and Sophia first made blankets for children at a shelter and wrapped holiday toys at a local community center. 

As Soo’s kids have gotten older, activities have increased and weekends are busier than ever.  But her family manage to fit projects in when time allows. 

“My kids associate Honeycomb with part of their upbringing,” says Soo. “I’m happy they find volunteering satisfying and how they are so committed during their time at these projects...they genuinely look forward to participating.” 

Most recently, the Choi Family volunteered in the Back of the Yards neighborhood at Chicken & Waffles at Frieda’s, preparing a home-cooked meal to families experiencing poverty and hunger. Soo remembers how Andrew and Sophia saw the smiles of others they were helping, understanding that their small gestures of kindness made a huge difference in someone’s life.  

“People have misconceptions of why people are homeless,” continues Soo. “We met Frieda and heard her story of how she fell into bad times and how the compassion of others helped pull her out of hard circumstances. Frieda built this place to help others, just like others helped her – we are thankful to play a small role in this.” 

In addition, the Choi Family financially supports a year of Honeycomb programming as a Pollinator Sponsor. “I love contributing to the fund and appreciate how one of the Pollinator Perks is signing up a few days early to monthly events,” says Soo. “With projects filling up so fast, access to early registration is so nice.”

“We are really lucky to have found Honeycomb,” Soo says, “we’ve made some special connections and had some unexpected, amazing experiences.”

The Choi Family lives in Lakeview with their new German Shepherd, Gatsby. Soo is the Cook County Sheriff’s Office Executive Director of Human Resources. Andrew and Sophia turn 14 years old in September. Andrew attends GEMS World Academy and enjoys basketball, math and gaming. Sophia attends Blaine Elementary School and loves the guitar, musicals and creating art. The family loves to hang out together with family and friends and enjoy cooking and watching movies together.