Thank you to our amazing supporters!
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The past few months presented unprecedented challenges. As we prepare to welcome clients back to our shelter in the coming weeks with added measures in place to keep them healthy and safe, we are reflecting on our gratitude for the many ways our community stepped up to help us during this time.
It truly does take a village, and we couldn't do what we do without ours. Thank you!
We have featured a few of these support stories in this month's e-newsletter. Check them out below!
We are also grateful to everyone who has donated to our Spring Appeal, which has raised more than $20,000 toward our goal of $30,000 for our Emergency Services Program! Funds from this program directly help clients with emergency needs such as rent assistance, car repairs, prescriptions and more. Will you help us cross the finish line and help a victim of domestic violence survive an unexpected emergency? Through June 15 the Greer Foundation will match your donation and double your impact.
Click here
to donate now!
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Neat Repeats stores to re-open in June
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We are excited to announce that we will be reopening our Neat Repeats resale stores! We have put safety protocols in place to keep our customers and volunteers safe and healthy, and we can't wait to welcome everyone back to shop. Income from our stores represent nearly one-third of our annual revenues, and we need your support now more than ever.
The Worth store, located at 6602 W 111th St,, will reopen Monday, June 1
.
The Worth store will be open Mondays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 9-4.
The number of shoppers in the Worth store will be limited to 22 at one time. We have also temporarily eliminated our Sunday hours.
The Orland Park store, located at 9028 W 159th St,, will reopen Tuesday, June 9
.
The Orland Park store will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9-4.
The number of shoppers in the Orland Park store will be limited to 16 at one time.
Donations will be accepted at our Worth store beginning June 1
ONLY
on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or as space permits. Orland Park will begin accepting donations on June 9 with limited acceptance hours to be announced soon. All donation acceptance will be contact-free.
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Donated computers will connect clients to opportunities
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When our clients return to our emergency shelter in June they will be restricted to their rooms to ensure social distancing. However, thanks to a donation of 20 previously owned desktop computers
from
Bill Boyd and Brandenburg Industrial Services
,
they will have a new way to stay connected with the outside world as the Crisis Center is installing these computers in each bedroom.
"These donated computers came at the absolute perfect time for us as we are moving our clients back into the shelter," said Associate Executive Director Yvonne MacDonald-Hames. "The computers will be connected to the Internet, so they will provide a way for clients to stay connected with friends and family, keep themselves and their children entertained, and follow the latest news."
Clients will also be able to use the computers to participate in residential meetings and educational groups via Zoom.
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Supporters help make Mother's Day f
estive for Crisis Center clients
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Mother's Day may have looked different this year with our clients temporarily staying in hotels due to COVID-19, but several community supporters helped make it a festive celebration! Each mom received beautiful flowers from Helping Hands, a ministry within
Family Harvest Church
;
a delicious brunch funded by the
Crisis Center Auxiliary
and delivered to the hotels; and a purse filled with pampering gifts thanks to a donation drive coordinated by
Pastor Char Proper-Smits
. Thank you to these amazing donors for helping our clients celebrate Mother's Day in style!
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Local sisters make and sell masks, donate proceeds to Crisis Center
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We are incredibly grateful for the individuals who have so generously supported us knowing that our needs are greater than ever. Two such supporters are Orland Park resident Mary Monczynski and her sister, Lockport resident Dorothy Veraveic. Monczynski started sewing fabric face masks several months ago to give to the nursing home and doctor's office where family members work. She started getting requests from others for masks, which evolved into a mission to benefit local charities, including the Crisis Center.
Her sister, Lockport resident Dorothy Veraveic, took up the cause with her. The sisters have already made and sold hundreds of masks, and each time they raise $1,000 they donate it to a local charity. The Crisis Center was the second recipient of the sisters' generosity.
"We thought the Crisis Center would be a good place to give money to, especially knowing that the needs are greater now with so many victims being shut in," Monczynski said.
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Aaron's mattress donations save the day
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Moving clients from our shelter or transitional housing into safe housing while they continue to heal from trauma is challenging, but one of our Corporate Champions has helped alleviate the real need of supplying new mattresses for our families:
Aaron's, Inc.
, through their Aaron's Gives initiatives.
"We are so excited about this partnership," Lorri Nagle, Director of Development, said. "I think everyone at the Crisis Center is feeling positive knowing that families who are fleeing abusive and violent situations will have new beds to safely and peacefully lay their heads on at night."
Aaron's has committed to ongoing support of the Crisis Center whenever possible. The first donation of 26 sets of full and twin mattresses accommodated all of the families moving into apartments through the end of May. The second donation of five sets of full and twin mattresses arrived just a few weeks later. We couldn't be more grateful for their continued generosity!
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Local businesses come through for Crisis Center
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Two amazing local Farmers Insurance agencies recently secured $1,500 grants for the Crisis Center through the Farmers Insurance COVID-19 Agent Community Grant program! Palos Park-based
Candos Agency
has been a longtime and faithful supporter of the Crisis Center.
Sarah Davis Farmers Agency
in Tinley Park is a new supporter who has become passionate about helping victims of domestic violence. We are so grateful for their efforts on our behalf!
The Crisis Center's Emergency Services Program recently got a boost from
Peoples Bank
thanks to a casual week fundraiser. The Crisis Center was selected as the beneficiary at the end of April. Employees made a donation for the opportunity to wear jeans for the week, raising $1,035!
Do you know a Farmers Insurance agent
who might be willing to submit a grant request on behalf of the Crisis Center?
Want to know
more about hosting
a casual week or another type of fundraiser for the Crisis Center? Contact Lisa Molloy at
[email protected]
or (708) 429-7255 x 126!
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Crisis Center seeking donations for client meals
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Normally the kitchen at our shelter is bustling with activity as our clients take turns cooking meals for everyone and cleaning up afterwards. While we look forward to returning to that setup, Crisis Center staff are currently delivering meals regularly to our clients as they stay safe in local hotel rooms during the pandemic.
Many of the meals delivered in the past few months have been made possible by donations from dozens of our faithful supporters, including several local restaurants. We are so grateful for their generosity and spirit of caring!
As we continue providing these meals over the next several weeks, we are in need of additional support from donors and restaurants.
Even when families return to the shelter, staff will be preparing and delivering meals to client bedrooms, so having a meal catered and delivered for our clients would be greatly appreciated.
A donation of $250 would cover the cost of one meal for the families we are serving in shelter, but donations in any amount are appreciated. Supporters can also pay a local restaurant directly, if preferred.
To cover the cost of a meal
for our clients or donate a meal from your restaurant during the pandemic, please contact Sarah Tygart, Director of Victim Services, at
[email protected]
or (708) 429-7255 x127.
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Crisis Center gearing up for Dianne Masters Cup Charity Golf Outing
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We are gearing up for the
Dianne Masters Cup Charity Golf Outing
on Tuesday, August 11 at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park! This outing is one of our two major annual fundraisers that help us continue to provide shelter and essential services free of cost to victims of domestic violence and their children.
Raising funds through our golf outing has become even more crucial for the Crisis Center, especially as we expect a significant shortfall in revenues from our Neat Repeats resale shops for at least the first few months after they reopen in June.
So, while o
ur outing will look different this year as we comply with social distancing and group gathering rules outlined in Gov. Pritzker's five-phase plan to reopen the state, we are also offering some new support opportunities that we hope will be highly successful in helping us raise funds. For instance, we are incredibly excited that t
his year for the first time
all Crisis Center supporters can buy tickets for our item raffle, bid on items in our silent auction, and opt to Fund a Need. In the past these donation opportunities were available exclusively to our golf outing participants.
We hope you will join us in helping raise funds during this year's Dianne Masters Cup. Stay tuned for details!
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Annual Auxiliary Luncheon
rescheduled to September
The Crisis Center for South Suburbia Annual Spring Luncheon will be a fall luncheon this year, as the event has been rescheduled once again due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The new date is
Tuesday, September 15
, 2020 at Palos Country Club from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A $45 ticket includes lunch and the program, "Girls Like Us", remains the same. For more information call 708-448-2419.
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Join our Safety Circle!
Our Safety Circle continues to grow as more of our supporters choose to make their donation a monthly one!
Jim Vasaturo lives in New Jersey, but he is making a big difference locally as one of the newest members of our Safety Circle. Vasaturo read an article about the increased challenges domestic violence victims face in reaching out for help while they are in close quarters with their abusers during the pandemic, and he reached out to his Exelon colleague, Crisis Center Board President Katie Abbott, to find out how he could help. After learning more about the Crisis Center's mission to provide a safe haven for domestic violence victims and their children, Vasaturo opted to help
meet our needs with a recurring monthly donation!
To join our Safety Circle, visit
www.crisisctr.org
and check the box to make your donation a monthly one. Monthly giving is a selfless commitment to our mission to support survivors of domestic abuse.
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Shopping on Amazon.com? Start with Amazon Smile and choose the Crisis Center as a beneficiary and 0.5% of the profits will automatically be donated to the Crisis Center!
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