At age 8, Maressa Spinak marched in the annual Chicago Gay Pride Parade, representing Season of Concern, the Chicagoland theater community's fundraising effort for those impacted by HIV/AIDS and other illnesses.
At age 13, she donated funds from her bat mitzvah to Season of Concern.
At 14, she asked to volunteer at the old AIDSCare facility in Lakeview (now EdgeAlliance), although she was told she needed to be 16.
Following through, at 16 she started volunteering at AIDSCare, working at the front desk 4-10 p.m. every Friday until she left the neighborhood to attend George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Spinak continued to volunteer at AIDSCare during breaks from college, and after graduating and returning to Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, where she now lives, she's become an integral part of two major, annual EdgeAlliance events: Dining Out For Life and Bar AIDS.
The 8th annual Bar AIDS was held Aug. 25, as many Chicago bars and nightclubs participated in this citywide fundraiser to help those living with HIV/AIDS. Participating bars and nightclubs pledged a portion of their proceeds to EdgeAlliance to sustain housing and support services for those impacted by HIV/AIDS.
The 18th annual Dining Out For Life event was held April 28, and the event helped raise about $200,000 to continue its mission of providing housing with life services to women, children, and men living with HIV/AIDS.
"When I was looking [to do] volunteer work while in high school, I contacted [AIDSCare] because AIDS service organizations have always been very important to me," said Spinak, 27, a primary special-education teacher in the Chicago Public Schools system.
"Growing up where I did, and since my mom, Madeleine Fallon, has [worked] in theatre for years, I grew up knowing people who had HIV and/or AIDS, so it's a cause that is very near and dear to my heart because it affects so many people that I know and care about.
"I think it's really important to give back to the community."
EdgeAlliance will hold its inaugural Giving Thanks Celebration Thursday, Nov. 3, recognizing contributions of EdgeAlliance partners and volunteers—including Spinak—who, according to event organizers, are so crucial in the quest to provide permanent housing and support to children and adults living with HIV/AIDS and veterans who are homeless.
The event will be held at Texas de Brazil, 51 E. Ohio St.
Spinak will be honored for her volunteer work and her role as a Dining Out for Life Ambassador.
"I was shocked, kind of taken aback, very flattered, when told in June that I would be honored," Spinak said. "From the residents to the staff to the other volunteers, it really is a bunch of great people to be around."
Spinak, who is single and straight, said her family has always been very open and accepting of the LGBT community: "Someone's [sexual orientation] has always been a non-issue in my life."
In fact, she said she's a regular Sunday visitor to Sidetrack to hear showtunes.
