On any given night, you can see the homeless men and women gathered along Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago. What isn’t readily apparent, though, is the generosity and commitment of a man people along this stretch of downtown call, “The Angel of Lower Wacker."
Since early 2001, Dr. Patrick Angelo, founder of CHC Wellbeing, has traveled from his home in the Northwest Suburbs each week to deliver blankets, gloves, hats, mittens and up to 80 McDonald’s hamburgers and warm cups of coffee to a group he calls “my guys.” Angelo’s bi-weekly trips to Lower Wacker Drive began after a thought occurred to him while sitting in his whirlpool on a bitter cold February day. “I thought, ‘How can I sit here in this warm bath in my beautiful home when I know people are cold?’ I got up, got dressed and went downtown. I have been doing it ever since.” He went on to say, “I have a good life: A good home, five beautiful children, and a great business. “I have been blessed with a lot, and I am called to give back to others out of gratitude for what I have been given.”
Dr. Angelo’s compassion and generosity have been an inspiration to many who have learned about his work and are now “Doc’s Angels,” working with him to provide nourishment, warm clothing, and a caring presence to even more of our city’s homeless.