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On December 20 and 21, 2007 the Respond
Now Holiday Store was open
Every year for
the last 38 years, Respond Now has depended on volunteers and donations to
make a cheerful holiday for area families with children. Applications for
holiday baskets are taken starting after Thanksgiving. Families with
children under 16 are eligible to receive help. Respond Now serves Beecher,
Flossmoor, Glenwood, Homewood, Monee, Olympia Fields, Matteson, Peotone,
Richton Park, Park Forest, University Park, Calumet City, Lansing, South
Chicago Heights, Steger, Crete and parts of Chicago Heights.
On distribution days, parents pick up the official form at the Respond Now
office and take the form to First Christian Church where the food and gifts
are set up. Santa is on hand to greet the children. There Liz Wisnasky and her "Christmas angels" distribute food and gifts to needy
families. Each year Respond Now helps hundreds of families through the
generosity of donors and volunteers.
Here are some highlights of those two days. |
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On Wednesday, December 21, 2006 folks
gathered to help set up the "store." Notice all the different people helping
with this effort! First they set up 28 tables, then unpacked and organized
all the items to distribute. There were used coats, set up in the front hall
for anyone who needed them. There were new coats with the gifts. There were
socks and underwear, hats and mittens for each person. |
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There were no racks for the coats, so
volunteers used what was at hand, including a board held up by whatever! All
day long, more goods kept arriving. It is a monumental task to organize it
all, but when our customers arrive, we must be able to find appropriate
gifts for them. Each family gets a box of food, suitable for their family size. |
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On Thursday, December 22, preparations
continue. Our chief angel, Liz, directs the operation. Adults greet the
customers and figure out what they need. Each adult is assigned at least two
younger helpers to select items for the family they are serving. The helpers
need to study all that is available so they know where to find what they
need. The cardboard cartons contain food that was previously packed by
Charlie and his helpers. One young man made fancy socks for Santa to
distribute. (Below right) |
| When our customers arrive,
they come in the foyer, where used coats are available. They move on to
check in. There are volunteers in the kitchen baking warm cookies which are
provided to our customers. The press is here to chronicle events. (Below
right.) |
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| The volunteers and helpers
collect the gifts. Some strong young men help to transport the gifts and
food to vehicles. To help pass any waiting time, Father Joe serenades all
with cheerful songs. The fancy socks from Santa are a big hit! |
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| What would we have done
without those strong young men? Our head Angel, Liz, visits with one of the
youngest angels. Altogether we served more than 1,100 folks at the store
this year. We lost count of the volunteers who worked so hard with love and
good cheer. So many people made this effort possible. These pictures show
folks who worked on the actual days of the store. For months before this
people collected toys, money, new clothing, boxes to hold the food and bags
to hold the gifts. Project Share provided a large part of the food. We thank
all the angels who helped make this possible. Please consider joining us
next year! |
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