Gershman Family
“Alex is 17 and Charlotte is 13…and it was almost ten years ago when my family starting volunteering with Honeycomb,” says Dawn Gershman.
Dedicated volunteers, Dawn and her husband, Eddie, and their two kids have seen The Honeycomb Project grow throughout the years, along with seeing their son and daughter grow their love of service.
“Honeycomb really opened up the world of service to our family,” Dawn says. “Over the years, we have really felt the impact on the variety of organizations they help and connect families to -- which really allows kids to figure out where they can best be of service.”
One of the earliest projects Eddie and Alex participated in was at a holiday party at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago). Dawn will never forget how meaningful the experience was for Alex -- working one on one with children. “If not for Honeycomb, Alex would have shied away from this type of volunteering. But he came home and immediately asked when he could do this again.” Dawn continues, “for Charlotte, Honeycomb was actually a source of purpose for her.”
The power of Honeycomb was brought into the Gershman household in the early days of Covid-19, when masks were hard to come by. Honeycomb partnered with Sew Crafty Studios, seeking out volunteers to sew cloth masks at home. Charlotte developed a strong passion for sewing at an early age…which led to her most favorite Honeycomb project when she was younger -- sewing blankets for pediatric patients at Sew Crafty Studio.
Dawn said, “Charlotte naturally answered this call during Covid and contributed over 20 masks in this Honeycomb effort. But more importantly, that skill she learned led her to keep on sewing masks through the Spring of 2020…she gave nearly 200 masks to family, friends, friends of friends, the city of Chicago mask drive…to essential workers.”
“Eddie and I believe this helped Charlotte get through such a challenging time during the early stay-at-home orders. It kept her busy and gave her a real sense of purpose. Honeycomb is special for the unique way they curate volunteer opportunities for families.”
“It is really important that when our kids leave the nest, they go out into the world and continue to help others,” stresses Dawn. “Honeycomb has provided a path for us to start them out on this journey…we are so happy to support such a wonderful organization.”
Outside of attending Honeycomb Project events, the Gershman family keep busy. Dawn and Eddie work in the financial sector. Alex enjoys songwriting and playing the guitar. Charlotte is an equestrian and along with being addicted to horses, she loves to play basketball. Charlotte has her own sewing business (Charlotte Adele & Co) that she started at the age of nine. The family lives in Lakeview and enjoys spending time together outdoors, reading and boating.