Santillan Family
You Don’t Stop. You Pivot.
It was four years ago when the Santillan family heard about Honeycomb, through word of mouth from a friend. Now, Heather, Randy and their son, Enzo are learning life lessons and helping to change the lives around them.
“He’s become more socially conscious and is learning what goes on behind the scenes,” says Heather, as she speaks about her fifteen-year-old son, Enzo. “Ideas of what he can do in the future for Honeycomb will randomly come to his mind…such as what kind of toys he can buy a little kid during the holidays or what type of meal someone in need may want.”
Enzo is now a freshman at St. Ignatius High School, but he and his mom remember their first project near Chinatown, cleaning up a natural forest preserve. Initially looking to complete service hours, this turned into something more. “He wanted to do more on his own and learn…he wasn’t concerned about how many service hours he needed,” says Heather.
With a passion for drawing, Honeycomb helped to catapult Enzo into his own personal relationship with Jesse Brown VA Medical Center (which provides care to over 60,000 enrolled veterans).
At Honeycomb’s project, Make Cards for Veterans, families handmake block-print cards for veterans receiving care at JBVAMC. At this event, something clicked and now in addition to volunteering at this project with Honeycomb, Enzo now handcrafts close to 400 motivational greeting cards a year and drops the cards off for the veterans.
“Enzo is very giving,” says Heather. “Not only does he create these cards, but he’s also mindful at other projects.” “When we drop off toys in Englewood…he wants to make sure that during the holidays, these kids will receive meaningful gifts.” In addition, at the Deliver Meals with Love project, Enzo learned to make salisbury steak and mash potatoes on a mass scale for the teens at Belfort House, a transitional housing program in Bronzeville.
As for the pandemic -- “We don’t stop. We pivot.” Heather firmly believes that it’s important to continue to volunteer in a way that feels safe for her family. She says, “we mask up and take all the levels of precaution.” “It’s important to Enzo. The need to help is higher than ever.”
Outside of attending Honeycomb Project events, the Santillan Family loves to ride their bikes and explore the City. Heather is a leasing agent and her husband, Randy, is a Cook County Spanish court interpreter. Enzo has a goal of playing soccer in college and enjoys drawing and building Legos. The family lives in Jefferson Park.