Coat Drives Needed

In an emergency, when a family member is ill, or you've lost your job, you have extra expenses and yet you still have to pay your bills. The utility companies, the landlord or the mortgage company isn't going to worry about whether you can feed your family or if you or your child needs a coat. Just as long as they get paid, And God help you, but the Government is not equipped to help quickly enough to stop an eviction or a foreclosure. With your help An Angel's Touch can. We can't pay your rent or mortgage, but we can feed the family or supply that needed coat.

And with that in mind we need help. We are looking for churches, fraternal organizations, clubs, companies,Boy and Girl Scout troops, etc. willing to participate in for community outreach programs. We need coats, jackets, hats, scarves, gloves and mittens, both new and gently used, by the end of November. We begin delivery on December 12th. If you can hold a coat drive for us or you know anyone who can, please contact Jude at Jmorancoyle@aol.com.

Needed Items

Every year we provide a list of items we need for our families. This year is no different, and neither is the list. We need the following. And they should be brand new.

McDonald’s Gift Certificates

Light Bulbs

School Supplies – Packages of loose leaf paper, 
Washable and regular Markers, Rulers, 
Highlighters(teen-agers), Pencils,

Pencil Sharpeners, colored pencils, 
folders, notebooks,

Pencil cases, crayons,

New Backpacks

Fruit Snacks

Baby bottles or any other infant items,

Sippy cups or any other toddler items,

Cheese and Crackers (Individual 
Serving Size), Combs/brushes,

Granola Bars,

Shaving cream and good shavers 
(not Dollar store shavers),

Tic Tacs or rolls of lifesavers,

Packs of playing cards,

Halloween Candy, Dress-up Stuff,

Shopping Bags, Gift Boxes,

Disposable Cameras, Playing Cards

Sudoku books,  Crossword puzzle 
books, Tooth Brushes, Toothpaste,  
Floss, Boxes of Candy Canes,

New Plush to fit into a stocking,

ANY items for teenagers,

Nail polish / nail files, Nail Clippers

Personal size lotions / shampoos etc.

These items can be dropped off at City Hall or Memorial Park when we begin our collection. Thank you.


This year we have decided to participate in a special project. Two of our workers took ill during the past two years. After their hospitalization, they were sent to a facility called Providence Health Care, located at 128th and Central in Palos Heights. The care was phenomenal. Providence can use a helping hand. Considering they have helped a lot of Blue Islanders and will help more in the future, we volunteered to take up a collection. Asked what they needed, they said things like adult size white socks, body and/or hand lotion, large count puzzles (looking for thicker puzzles that are easier to handle by people with limited dexterity), playing cards, snacks, Polident, puzzle books, simple games like checkers or chess (nothing complicated like Mousetrap or Twister), hand held or make-up mirrors, gifts for Bingo like snacks, small stuffed animals, etc., birthday cards (residents want to send cards to their families), gift bags with tissue (residents will win a prize while playing Bingo and want to give that prize away as a gift), dollar store gifts like jewelry, holiday pins, cologne, etc., would be appreciated. Again, donations can be dropped off at City Hall or Memorial  Park.

2015 Benefit

This was our fourth benefit, and I think this had to be the most fun. We had new digs, Double PlaySaloon, and we began in the early evening on Saturday, September 19. 

We gathered with friends and family.

We served Beggar's Pizza, D'Masti's sub sandwiches and Double Play pasta. The cake came from Pierre's. a number of sweet treats were homemade by our Angels.

We had music, although I don't have a decent photo of Tommy Gerez and Alex Francois. They are only two people, but they are good.

We offered a large number of items to bid on. Let me take a moment here to mention that most of our baskets came from Mary Beth O'Brien and Peggy Flood. We were very success this year, and every year, because these two ladies work their wings off to make it so. A huge thank you goes out to these ladies because of all their work.

A number of other people donated baskets to be raffled off, and a number of businesses contributed prizes as well. We had a lot to bid on. We had three big prizes to offer, a 39 inch LED TV, a set of lighted bags and boards, as well as a gift certificate form Aztek, Inc. Here are photos of some of what we had to offer. There were a lot more.

Our Angels worked their wings off. That's Gloria, Amanda, Becki, Angelina, Caitlyn and Ashley, from top to bottom.

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The evening started slowly. We opened at 5PM, and no one was there. At 5:30 there were a few, and a few more at 6. I was worried. But then we started pulling raffle tickets at 7:30, and we had standing room only. There were so many prizes, it took an hour and a half to finish.

A big thank you to everyone who contributed, participated or simply wished us well. We will use the money to finance our Christmas operation, which will include meat, special needs and so on for families who need our help. I think that we were pretty successful. Thank you, everyone.