Thank You - Christmas 2010

Happy New Year's – 2011

The Year of the City Worker

by Jude Coyle

If you listen to the fat cats in Washington, you'll hear them refer to the fat cat union workers that saturate every part of government. They're making all this money and it's killing the American economy. It has to be stopped.

I've been searching my memory for a name I can blame as the cause of all of the discomfort America has felt of late, and frankly I can't come up with one. Instead I think of those individuals who patrol our streets, fight our fires and dig ditches in an effort to stop the flow of water main breaks. I think of the guys who fill the potholes, and the employees at City Hall who do the paperwork required in running a City the size of Blue Island. None of them are living in mansions, and if you read City Council News, you'll know that these are the same people who were asked to give up half their regular pay for the months of October and November because property tax bills went out late. They were to be repaid after Christmas.

Yet it was these people who on realizing that An Angel's Touch needed extra help this year because of the economy, dug deep to help us. For that reason, I am calling Christmas, 2010, the Year of the City Worker. To all of you, thank you so much.

An Angel's Touch is an organization that was created by friends to help other friends who ran into emergencies that threatened to wipe them out financially. We've grown from there, doing our best to help anywhere we can with emergencies of every kind. Over the nearly twenty years of operation, we've helped several hundred families with food, Christmas gifts, clothing and other necessities. This year alone we helped 43 families. What we do though, doesn't come from just us. It is because people like the City workers of Blue Island, the churches who have partnered with us, the Library, the Park District, Calumet Township Senior Center and other organizations, through their donations, allow us to help others.

This year it seemed that we would have to turn away families for the first time in our history as we just didn't have enough food. I begged at churches. I begged at City Hall. I begged on Facebook. I spoke to anyone who took the time to listen to me. At the last possible minute, Bernie Perryman donated huge stack of canned goods. So did Betty Nagle, Nancy Shultz, Raymond Guray, Charlene Finn, and John and Marsha Rauch. After that it seemed that I had to pick up canned goods every couple of days from City Hall. The very same people I referred to above, helped us out in spite of their own needs. I also picked up donations from the library, Calumet Senior Center, Lincoln, Oak Ridge and Beverly Cemeteries, Memorial Park and from various churches. Rose Rita, who has been ill, collected cereal for us. Tony from the Doubleplay Lounge, the Calumet Park Troublemakers and the Blue Island Professional Firefighters each provided five Christmas dinners. The Rickerson family made a huge donation. Again, thank you.

As I said, this year was harder than usual because of the economy, and a lot of our calls came from people living in odd situations. One woman called from a hotel room. She had two little boys, and had lost her home and her car. Could we help her? We did our best. We also helped a gentleman and his lady who were living in their car. There were too many others in similar situations. We did the best we could and we turned no one away. Better yet, we were able to pass on food to St. Benedict's Parish St. Vincent de Paul Society pantry and to the Salvation Army. As I've always said, donations end at Christmas. Hunger doesn't. We were also able to pass along coats to Reverend Rod Reinhart for veterans in need.

Our only disappointment was that we weren't able to pass along a full 240 gloves or mittens and hats to the CEDA preschool. We bought enough gloves to go around, but not hats. The boss saw mittens on sale right after Christmas this year, and purchased 200 pairs. So when next year comes along, I will be begging for 240 hats. A very big thank you to Jim Reihel who made that purchase possible because of the can shake he sponsors each year on our behalf.

Thank to the following. If I forgot your name or spelled it wrong, please accept my apology now, and know that you are in our prayers. Mayor Donald E. Peloquin, his office; City Clerk Pam Frasor and her office; City Council, particularly Aldermen Rose Rita, Leticia Vieyra, Jan Ostling, Marcia Stone; the Police and Fire Departments, and Professional Firefighters Union; the Building, Public Works and Water Departments; The 911 Center; the Chamber of Commerce; Metro South Hospital; the Blue Island Park District; the Public Library; the Calumet Township Senior Center; St. Rita High School, DDE Key and Leo Clubs; Veteran's Memorial Middle School; Paul Revere Intermediate and Primary Schools; Reverend Judy Jones, and Christ Memorial United Church of Christ; First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Grace United Methodist Church; Lori Campione and St. Walter's School; Accurate Perforating; the Kiwanis; the Calumet Park Troublemakers; Tony and the Doubleplay Lounge; The FORUM, Bob Jones and Beverly Bank, the Simborg Family, Temulac Boat Club and Windjammers Marina of Chicago, Beverly, Lincoln and Oak Ridge Cemeteries, Korbakis Liquors, T&G's, Iversen's Bakery, Blue Island Video, Carr Gardens, Harry's Long Bar, Gene's Dry Cleaners, A&R Security, Jim and Carol Reihel, American Legion Post #50, Charlene Finn, Bernie Perryman, Ron and Tracy Rickerson, John and Marsha Rauch, Betty Nagle, Nancy Schultz and Raymond Guray. Thank you to my sort crew who not only show up for me, but bring new people each year. Katherine Matthis, Chris Rondinella, Gloria Zaper, Ed and Grace Diaz, Matt Hess, Amber Sullivan, Stephen Gerez, Lisa Woodrich, Bob O'Connor, Ed, Jon and Becki Coyle. A special thank you to Bob, Roseanne and Kevin Moran and friend, Nicole. Every donor and every gift is very much appreciated, not only by the members of An Angel's Touch, but by the recipients of your love as well.

The Year in Photos - 2010

As you can see, we began the Christmas season in October when the weather was nice. Even into November, we ran about town wearing shirt sleeves. By the time Christmas rolled around, we were ankle deep in snow.

As always, we kicked off the Christmas season with our annual can shake. We took corners, and shook our cans and our buns for a good cause. We asked for whatever pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and even dollars we could get from people on the street. Most Blue Islanders know us for our work, and many, many responded. To them, thank you.

Our next step was to inspect our facility. Each year, space is donated for our use. An added bonus was being able to pull right up to an inside elevator and offload. Upstairs, we discovered a happy coincidence. Last year's digs were again available to us, and with a fresh coat of paint as well.

We contacted our usual donors. Local schools play a very big part of what we do. St. Rita of Cascia High School, Veteran's Memorial Middle School, Paul Revere Primary and Intermediate Schools, and Eisenhower Leo and Key Clubs hold food drives for us. The young men below are from Veterans.

Throughout the months of November and December, we spend a lot of time running from place to place, collecting donations.

Besides the schools, we work with City Hall, the Library, Memorial Park and the Calumet Township Senior Center. Each location set up drop off points where food and other items are collected.

Our churches donate as well. Below you'll find a photo of the interior of First Evangelical Lutheran, and a photo of Reverend Judy Jones outside of Christ Memorial United Church of Christ. We also received donations from Grace United Methodist and St. Walters School.

I'm a very proud Mom. Ed and Becki worked their tails off this year, and as usual, they got their friends involved. My kids walked the streets of Blue Island, collecting the proceeds from penny jars, picked up from donation sites, and then sorted through the donations.

The economy affected everything we did this year. Food collection usually begins at St. Rita of Cascia High School, and usually we collect more food there than anywhere. Not this year. Even they were tempered by the recession. Paul Revere Primary School provided a bright spot, but from then on out, we fought for every can of corn and every box of Fruit Loops we brought in. We begged. We spoke at City Hall, we posted on Facebook, talked to church members, and to anyone else who would listen. Just as the boss thought we would have to turn away clients, food donations shot through the roof. Bernie Perryman began by donating cases of food. Betty Nagle followed suit. Nancy Schultz and Raymond Guray donated a lot as well. City employees brought in tons and tons of food.

Our sort crew took over from there. They emptied boxes and refilled others. Corn went with corn, beans with beans, cereal with cereal. It's a lot of work.

Local businesses allowed us to place penny jars on their counters. This year wasn't as lucrative as past years, but then again this year's economy sucked. Residents did what they could, and to each donor, we say thank you again. We had jars at Carr Gardens, Korbakes Liquors, Iversen's Bakery, Blue Island Video, T&J Gyros, Harry's Long Bar and the Dollar Store.

We received special donations. Tony from Doubleplay Lounge and the Calumet Park Troublemakers each donated five turkey dinners. The Blue Island Firefighters Union donated five ham dinners. Then Temulac Boat Club and Windjammers Marina of Chicago donated toys again this year. Jim and Mary Poulsen delivered.

There are so many others who participated, it's hard to remember all of them. If I've forgotten names, please accept my apologies. Remember though, whether we know your name or not, every contribution to our penny jars or during a can shake and every canned good left at a donation spot is very much appreciated.

En guard!

Peek-a-boo!

Thank you - Christmas 2009

Happy New Year's from An Angel's Touch

by Jude Coyle

*To be published in the 02/24/2010 edition of the Blue Island Forum.

First I want to offer Jim Reihel and the Legion Riders from American Legion Post #50 a big thank you for again organizing and sponsoring our annual can shake in September. Without them we wouldn't have finished Christmas as well as we had. Anyone wishing to participate should contact Jim.

I began my Christmas activities as I do each year by addressing City Council. After some discussions earlier in the year about what we do, I thought it would be a good idea to make that part of my talk. I said, "We don't do 'baskets.'" We do not have a food pantry, and we are not equipped to help people who are at the lower end of the economic ladder and need constant help. There are organizations that do that. We also don't pay utilities, rent or mortgages for our clients. There are organizations that do that as well.

We are equipped to help people through emergencies, like illness and job loss. We keep a small amount of food on hand and we use gift cards to provide our clients with enough food to last a few weeks. Where we won't pay bills, we will allow money that was to be spent on food to be spent elsewhere. We have helped relocate families after burn outs, and we have relocated families who are returning to the world after spending time in abused women's shelters. We have also helped at least two young people finish high school, as well as many other things.

What do we do with the money we collect? First off, we buy meat for our families. We also buy items our clients need that haven't been donated from the community. In one case we bought a pair of special shoes needed by a child. This year we bought Food-4-Less gift cards when we ran low on canned and boxed foods. We have a very small overhead, and we plan to keep it that way.

I asked City Council for three things. First, I needed canned and boxed goods. Once we have serviced all of our clients, we pass the surplus onto the Salvation Army and St. Benedict's Vincent de Paul Society Food Pantry. I asked for 240 pairs of mittens or gloves and hats as well. They would go to the CEDA preschool, which is attended by poor children. I asked for new places to locate penny jars this year, too.

I was concerned about how much food we would collect, and rightly so. The economy proved to be a driving force in everything we did this year. I became more concerned when one by one my usual schools dropped their food drives. I shouldn't have worried though, Blue Islanders stepped up as they always do.

Right after speaking before City Council, a lady waved me down as I walked down Western Avenue. She introduced herself as Maria Alverez. She had seen me speak on WDDE, and she wanted to know if her small office could put together a food drive for us. Ah, YES!

After that I was contacted by the office personnel at Beverly Cemetery. The three cemeteries on Kedzie, Lincoln, Oak Ridge and Beverly, hoped to hold canned food drives. One of the staff asked Reverend Judy Jones who they should donate to, and Reverend Jones recommended An Angel's Touch. They didn't collect a thing. The office staff felt so bad, they collected funds between them and bought us large several boxes.

St. Rita High School came in as usual with about one third of what we usually collected. Gym teacher Raeann Zillman asked her students to donate their Halloween candy while Bob Jones at Beverly Bank conducted a hygiene product drive. Rose Rita collected food at the Calumet Township Senior Center, Deb Beasley, Children's Librarian, called to say that the Library would again hold a food drive, and the Park District collected baby items, again. The Blue Island Kiwanis donated cash. Charlene Finn and then John and Marsha Rauch arrived at my house with their trunks loaded with food. I made several pickups from Betty Nagle. Nancy Schultz and Raymond Garay dropped off a huge amount of food and mittens at the Senior Center. Tony from Doubleplay Lounge called to say that Troublemakers wanted to donate five turkey dinners, including apple pie for desert. In the end they donated 7. Aldermen Jan Ostling, Marsha Stone and Leticia Vieyra donated three gift certificates from D'Mastis for complete Christmas dinners. Several church communities held drives. First Evangelical Christian donated gloves and hats, while First Lutheran provided us with Jewel gift certificates. Then one by one, almost all of my schools called me to say, 'yes, we will have a food drive after all.' Metro South held a toy drive, as did the Police and 911 Center employees. Everything looked as if we would finish very well, and that we would have plenty to pass on after Christmas.

We received more calls for help than usual, and most stories were so much worse because of the economy. Our feelings of accomplishment was squelched by the time the second wave of requests came through. By then we had only corn and beans to give out, and very few toys. Temulac Boat Club and Windjammer Marina stepped in with a toy drive, solving the second problem. (A huge thank you to Mary Poulsen for help in organizing this.) We solved the food problem by giving out Food-4-Less gift cards.

As I said, the stories were sadder this year. We helped a family my daughter recommended. Becki had recently befriended a young lady who is expecting her second child. She is living with her son, her boy friend, her parents, her little brother and an aunt and uncle in a two bedroom apartment. Apparently most had been laid off from the same company, and only she and her boyfriend were able to find part time jobs. We also helped a couple who both suffer from diabetes. He had lost both his legs and she lost one.

Where we were able to pass along some food to St. Vincent de Paul at St.Benedict's, and to the Salvation Army, it wasn't nearly as much as I had hoped. I am asking that fraternal groups, community service groups, churches, Boy and Girl Scout troops please to help our pantries. Donations usually stop at Christmas. Hunger doesn't. This month and next will be tough for both places as more than the usual amount of people will be seeking help from already over stressed pantries.

In the end we serviced nearly 70 families. We donated to Guildhaus, The Lighthouse Church, and other organizations. We are also donating bed sheets and pillow cases to St. Elizabeth Seaton Parish. They are making the linens into burial bags so that the victims of the Haiti earthquake can be buried in dignity.

Please visit our blog at http://anangelstouchblueisland.blogspot.com/

A very special thank you to everyone who made this year happen, particularly Mayor Donald E. Peloquin and his office, City Clerk Pam Frasor and her office, City Council, particularly Aldermen Rose Rita, Marsha Stone, Jan Ostling, Leticia Vieyra and Mike Janko, State Representative Bob Rita; the Police Department, Fire Department, and 911 Center; the Chamber of Commerce; the Blue Island Park District, Deb Beasley, Director James Dieters, Jr., the Library; The Calumet Township Senior Center, St. Rita High School, DDE Key and Leo Clubs, Kerr and Veteran's Memorial Middle Schools, Teacher Raeann Zillman, Paul Revere Intermediate and Primary Schools; Reverend Judy Jones, St. Philip Lutheran Church, First Evangelical Lutheran Church, First Evangelical Christian Church, Grace United Methodist Church, Accurate Perferating, the Gerry Goodwrench Foundation, the Kiwanis, The Troublemakers, Tony and Doubleplay Lounge, The FORUM, Bob Jones and Beverly Bank, Metro South Hospital, the Simborg Family, Temulac Boat Club and Windjammers Marina of Chicago, Beverly, Lincoln and Oak Ridge Cemeteries, Maria Alverez and the AT&T Harvey Office, Korbakis Liquors, T&G's, Iversen's Bakery, Blue Island Video, Carr Gardens, Harry's Long Bar, Jim and Carol Riehel, American Legion Post #50, Charlene and Eric Finn, John and Marsha Rauch, Betty Nagle, Nancy Schultz and Raymond Garay, Thank you to my sort crew who not only show up for me, but bring new people each year. Melanie Rickerson, Katherine Matthis, Chris Rondenella, Sara Karis, Jenica and Matt Schultz-Taylor, Gloria Zaper, Leo Rivera, Mike Zbonski, Vicki Parsino, Ed and Grace Diaz, Matt Hess, Amber Sullivan, Stephen Gerez, Luis Estrada, Ed, Jon and Becki Coyle. If I have forgotten anyone I apologize for the oversight. Every donor and every gift is very much appreciated, not only by the members of An Angel's Touch, but by the recipients of your love as well.

2009 - In Pictures

That's me, accepting checks from one of my favorite people, Rose Rita, Blue Island Alderman and Calumet Township President. Rose is responsible for one of the most incredible parts of the food drive each year. She calls everyone she knows, asking for cereal. This year, her first at Calumet Township, she conducted a food drive. She raised a fairly decent amount when one takes into consideration that this year the state of the economy has affected everything we do.

The next photo is of Josh Polanco of the Salvation Army and Dr. Michael Korshak of Kiwanis. Each year Kiwanis earns money to pass onto local charities. The last two years, they donated money to An Angel's Touch, The Salvation Army, St. Benedict's Food Pantry, and CEDA. They make a special evening each year at their last meeting before Christmas to present the checks.

The next photo is another one of my favorite people, Dr. Marlene Talaski. She is also with Kiwanis.

This year, Troublemakers of Calumet Park, joined our ranks as a contributor. The photo below is of my Bill with Bill Brown of Troublemakers. Tony Masoulis of Double Play Lounge in Uptown Blue Island, called to say that Troublemakers wanted to help and would be happy to provide us with five full Christmas or Thanksgiving dinners. By the time we left, we had seven dinners, which included turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggy and apple pie. Tony promised hams for Easter. I can't wait.

Another group to join us as first time contributors is Temulac Boat Club. Below, Mike Olsen, owner of Windjammer Marine in Chicago; Ken Pohlman, Commodore, Temulac Boat Club; Bill Umgelder, Vice Commodore, Temulac Boat Club and Pam Frasor, Blue Island City Clerk, examine toys donated by the Boat Club and Marine.

Photo by Jim Riehel.

After the initial burst of energy is over and clients have been serviced, we can count on two things. Another wave of clients call for help, and we have very little left for the children on the second list. When that last wave of calls came in, we were able to provide a better Christmas than normal because of Temulac Boat Club and Windjammer Marine In Chicago.

Thanks to The Gerry Goodwrench Foundation, we were able to provide the children at CEDA in Blue Island with hats and gloves. Below are photos of Becki and I purchasing 240 pairs of gloves and hats to match. We visited four stores.

I love our logo. Michelle spent a lot of time working on this.

My job is to bring in food. Every year I've asked my children to ask their friends to help sort food once we have our donations at the warehouse. We simply line boxes up, and hang labels on the wall. From there, we empty the donation bags, and move canned and boxed good from bag to box. When that's done, we move down the wall, and pack food to go to our clients. It's simple work, and boring. What surprised me the most this year is that I no longer have kids in school. Even so, the same friends answered our calls, and brought with others who had never heard of us.

Below are photos of not only the food sort, but also of others working at various sorts, like clothing, toiletries or toys.

After a misunderstanding having to do with the utilities, we found our normal delivery schedule interrupted. Rather than form our usual long line of vehicles and stop at 14 or 15 homes, once everything was packed, Georgene, the boss, sent out one vehicle at a time to serve one family at a time. We were able to service about twenty families the first day of delivery. We serviced quite a few more later.