I am extremely fortunate to have something very special–a close relationship with a group of my best girlfriends from high school.  For 30+ years (hard to believe it has really been that long), we have done a Secret Santa gift exchange. This year, one of the group suggested that we do something different together.  She suggested that we all volunteer together, and a new plan was set into motion! We chose to volunteer for a local organization called Bernie’s Book Bank. I had heard great things about the place, but I had never volunteered there. Bernie’s Book Bank provides free books to low income children throughout Chicagoland, 12 books per…