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The Caroling Connection Celebrates the Season with Home Run Inn and the City of Chicago

Home Run Inn and City of Chicago

CHICAGO, IL — On Monday, December 19 from 10 a.m. until 12 noon, a final donation of 3,300 pizzas will be distributed to feed Chicagoans in need as part of the 75th Anniversary Celebration of Home Run Inn (HRI), the pizza company that has captured the heart of Chicago since opening its first tavern on the South Side in 1947.

This final event marks over 10,000 pizzas donated in 2022 and caps off a year-long partnership between the oldest family-owned pizza brand and the City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS). Maura McCauley, Deputy Commissioner of Homeless and Domestic Violence Programs for the City of Chicago, Home Run Inn Fourth Generation Family Members, CEO Dan Costello and Senior Vice President Gina (Perrino) Bolger will be on hand, along with Dreezy Claus, Chicago’s Black Santa, and The Caroling Connection, an offering of With A Voice Like This, to hand out pizzas to twenty Chicago Homeless Shelters at the Original Home Run Inn location at 4254 W. 31st Street – A true “Miracle on 31st Street.”

“As we wrap up the year, I’m incredibly thankful for the collaboration and partnership with Homerun Inn, and our mutual goal of assisting families across Chicago. Their gracious donations have allowed us to continue to feed Chicago families that need it the most.” Brandie Knazze, Commissioner for the Department of Family and Support Services

“We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to partner with the City of Chicago to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Home Run Inn in 2022” says Dan Costello, CEO of Home Run Inn. “It is an honor and privilege to be able to carry out our 75 year legacy in this great city and also give back to those in need by donating 10,000 pizzas this year.” 

During the year, pizza giveaways were established for the City of Chicago’s Homeless Shelters, Senior Centers and Community Service Centers, which included 2500 pizzas to elementary schools. With this commitment to serve vulnerable populations, Home Run Inn and DFSS worked together to create a real community and food-access impact for many thousands of Chicago residents.

ABOUT HOME RUN INN

Home Run Inn is considered Chicago’s very own thin crust pizza known for its irresistible flavor, hand-pinched buttery crust, zesty sauce, plentiful cheese and homemade sausage. The small tavern of the 1920’s was named Home Run Inn in 1947. Now, the company has 9 pizzerias throughout the Chicagoland area and frozen pizza sold in more than 40 states. Home Run Inn also is currently the official pizza of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and sold at Chicago’s Midway International Airport. Still family-owned and operated, Home Run Inn ranks among the top 10 in pizza brands sold nationally and number one in the Chicagoland area. For further information, visit www.homeruninnpizza.com.

ABOUT DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND SUPPORT SERVICES (DFSS)

Chicago Department of Family and Support Services

DFSS works with community partners to connect Chicago residents and families to resources that build stability, support their well-being, and empower them to thrive. As the 5th largest City agency and one of the largest social service funders in Chicago, DFSS provides direct services at six Community Service Centers, six Regional Senior Centers, and through partnerships with 360 community-based organizations across the city. In total, DFSS services and funding supports over 400,000 vulnerable Chicagoans each year.

Connect with DFSS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn

Learn more about DFSS at www.chicago.gov/fss

ABOUT THE CAROLING CONNECTION

The Caroling Connection Logo

The Caroling Connection, an offering of With A Voice Like This, was founded in 2016. Jim Goodrich, our Founder and Head Voice, has been singing and performing professionally in the Chicago area for over thirty years. The Caroling Connection appeared in the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival on Festival Lane in both 2016, 2017 & 2019.  They were also featured on the national broadcast of the 2017 & 2019 Lights Festival Parade. They also garnered a credit for the parade on IMDB.com, The Internet Movie Database (link opens in a new window). The holiday season is almost magical in its warmth and welcoming nature. The goal of The Caroling Connection is to give our audiences and client that sense of connection, as well as being a part of something larger than yourself, being part of the Caroling Connection family.

Chicago Now – “People, Places and Organizations To Watch in 2017” Article

Archived on May 18, 2017 at The Internet Archives Wayback Machine (opens in a new window)

People, Places and Organization To Watch in 2017 Article - Archived copy
This is an image of the article “People, Places and Organization To Watch in 2017” Archived May 18, 2017 from the Chicago Now website
Text of Article (click or tap to expand)

“Jim Goodrich – With A Voice Like This
Jim Goodrich is an accomplished musician and performer with a Master’s Degree in Vocal Pedagogy. He shares his talents, from opera to trade shows, through his company, With A Voice Like This. Jim has produced multiple podcasts and assisted at the Travel & Adventure Shows for The Local Tourist in Chicago and San Diego, and he was an emcee for the 30th Berghoff Oktoberfest on Federal Plaza. He’s half of the rock cover duo Jim & Tim and has recorded numerous voice-over scripts for clients as diverse as a small town in Kentucky, a manufacturer, a music school, a jewelry store, and an internationally-touring musical group. After 22 years as a professional Christmas caroler, in 2016 he launched The Caroling Connection. These professionally trained Dickensian carolers inaugurated the holiday season at the 25th Magnificent Mile Lights Festival and concluded with an appearance on ABC7 Chicago. Jim is also a web designer with both a design and a business background. He was the Manager of Internet Operations for a National Health Benefits Management Corporation. In that capacity, he presented on Capitol Hill at Healthcare Leadership Council Innovations and his duties included overseeing business, design and functionality aspects of over 1400 individual client websites. Jim is a Certified Usability Analyst by Human Factors International and he designs and builds websites for small businesses.“

The Story Behind ‘Stories – With A Voice Like This’

Links directing to a purchase page may be an affiliate link.

This week I posted story number 30. For six weeks, I’ve been recording and sharing children’s books in the hopes that it will give parents a few minutes of quiet time and will entertain the kids.

When the current situation started back in March and we were put under a shelter in place order here, I had a friend tell me that I should read children’s stories everyday online with video. It would really help out parents and kids during this time.

With A Voice Like This started as a podcast back in 2007. While it was primarily about music, including making a completely DIY EP, I also included other information and featured live interviews. That experience meant I was comfortable with live audio work. At the time I also swore I’d never do video because I didn’t like the look of someone just sitting behind a microphone, but I digress.

I thought it was a good idea and I wanted to do anything I could to help in any fashion. So I decided to quickly (or at least as quickly as I could) set this up and get going, so I laid down my ground rules:

  1. The stories had to be free to watch and listen
  2. They had to help on as many levels as possible
  3. They had to happen on a consistent schedule
  4. The stories should be live

The Stories had to be free to watch and listen

This was my primary goal. I immediately thought of YouTube. With their recent changes due to COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule), they don’t allow personalized ads on children’s content any longer. They also don’t allow comments or live chat and that fit perfectly with what I had in mind. A low noise floor, where the entire focus could be on the story as it was being read.

I also wanted to include access to the book itself and with some books, that means links to how you can buy the book, and sometimes those are affiliate links. I don’t consider that an ad, as no one has to buy the book or even click the link, but more on that next.

The Cover of Beatrice The Little Camper Gets Rescued, a link to the story on Stories - With A Voice Like This
(Click or tap the graphic to open the story Beatrice The Little Camper Gets Rescued in a new window.)

They had to help on as many levels as possible

Helping Children and Parents. Check. But there are others involved in children’s stories as well. So I needed to identify them and see if there was a way I could help them too, not just during this time, but on an ongoing basis.

First are the Authors and/or Publishers. The easiest and best way is to provide information on how to buy the book. As of now, 60% of the stories that are available for purchase are only available directly from the author/publisher. That information is shared in the video description.

The remaining 40% are links to online stores. Whenever possible and the first place I look is Bookshop.org. The reason for that is simple. 10% of the sale from that affiliate link goes to support independent bookstores. Another group that I can help and it’s by using a specific link. If you want to know more, it’s on their About BookShop page. They explain how they work with Independent Bookstores (It really helps to have an author for a wife). They just launched this past January.

Here was a bit of a wrinkle. I needed to have the rights to record the book and it needed to be at no charge, the trade-off is the exposure and the purchase information. But what to do when I don’t have a current book to read? I won’t read without the proper rights, so I fill with Children’s stories in the Public Domain. For that, I’m indebted to the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature at The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries and their digital collection. The collection has been a lifesaver, pure and simple.

The Cover of Into the Night, a link to the story on Stories - With A Voice Like This
(Click or tap the graphic to open the story Into the Night in a new window.)

They have to be on a consistent schedule

This was a big point. At first, I didn’t know what I was getting into, so I had thought of possibly doing 7 days a week. I was quickly disabused of that idea by just trying to get the idea up and running. It took two weeks to get the first 5 stories complete. At that point, I thought 5 days a week was sufficient (I question my own wisdom and sanity on that decision at times still).

(Click or tap the graphic to open the story The Christmas Tractor in a new window.)

The Stories should be live

This was my one roadblock that could have done this project in at the beginning. I had a specific quality and method in mind and I found out that I had some experiential and technical hurdles that would prevent a live stream of the stories. The biggest one? I had no ethernet port on my laptop. I hadn’t realized that until went to set up the live stream. Long story as short as I can, There was no way I could achieve a consistent quality live stream over WiFi with my current setup. And I tried a bunch of technical workarounds.

I found the answer on YouTube. They have a Premiere function where you can prerecord and release a video at a specific time so everyone can view it at the same time. At that point, YouTube was the only service that I found had that feature, though I didn’t look too hard anywhere else at the time. I was set on using YouTube anyway.

Based on all of that, the Premiere time was Set for 10:00 am CT Monday-Friday.

And that’s how I got to 30 stories.

The Cover of Denslow's Jack and the Bean-Stalk, a link to story #30 on Stories - With A Voice Like This
(Click or tap the graphic to open the story Denslow’s Jack and the Bean-Stalk in a new window.)

Where will it go from here

I have at least a couple more weeks before that decision needs to be made. It may continue after the current shelter in place is over, but not 5 days a week. But even if it doesn’t, I have a body of work that can and will help long term. A body of my work…And as an Artist, that helps me define what I did and how I used my talents at a time when it was needed and benefited as many people as possible.

If you would like to be a part of the work I’ve done, you can subscribe to my YouTube Channel, view my playlist or, I’ve built Stories – With A Voice Like This where you can watch the stories, submit a story if you’re an Author/Publisher and browse an archive of all the stories.