| |
|
|
Press Releases
|
|
On Tuesday, April 4, 2000, retailers and manufacturers from around the state gathered in Springfield for the Third Annual Business Day at the Capitol. Over 500 business leaders attended this full-day event which was co-hosted by more than a dozen business associations across Illinois, including the Illinois Chamber, Illinois Manufacturers, Illinois Retail Merchants, and IFRA. Our sincere thanks to the IFRA members and Board of Directors who attended this very important day in Springfield. 
Nick Andrew, Dave Steffen, Bruce Longanecker |  IFRA delegates at the Capitol. Rex Mudge, Bill
Kisler, Russ Coomans, Brian Jordan, Phyllis
Potash, Nick Andrew, Melvin Potash Bruce and
Pat Longanecker, Rita Andrew, June and John
Sullivan | |
|
IT STARTS WITH A CALL
BY RON ROENIGK
Publisher
 Word of mouth helped to spread the news last week of relief efforts underway in Lincoln Park that resulted in four fully-loaded semi trailers departing the Lincoln Park Market, 2500 N. Clark St., Sunday at 4 p.m. to head south toward the storm ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast. Met at the border by Mississippi state officials, the caravan made it to the destination Monday afternoon, the first relief aid that has made it into to several towns, and the donations are now being distributed
It all started with a few phone calls. “Last Thursday, state Sen. Antonio Munoz called my cousin Paul Lopez letting him know that he was coordinating local relief efforts for disaster victims of Hurricane Katrina and asking if he would drive a truck if needed,'" said Bruce Longanecker, owner of the Lincoln Park Market. "He then called me and asked if I could donate some water.”
Calls quickly followed to Access Healthcare Network requesting medical supplies, to Home Depot requesting generators, and to Penske Trucking for rental trucks. “'Nobody said 'no,” said Longanecker who himself made some calls. “We wanted to send supplies into an area that was still in need and short on supplies which is why we chose Mississippi. Our trucks were the first deliveries of aid in several of the small town they visited on Monday," he said.
“I called Ald. Vi Daley's (43rd) office to let her know that if anyone was looking to donate I would serve as a drop off location.” Ald. Daley's office then sent out a blanket email that made the rounds of Lincoln Park. “The response was overwhelming from all over the ward - all the aisles of my store were filled with pallets of donated items,” said
Longanecker, whose staff and customers spent much or their holiday weekend sorting the donated items and loading the trucks. “The outpouring of support was unimaginable. In two days we collected four truckloads of supplies and there was no space left in their beds when they pulled out of here,’ he said. “We were the first ones in with aid. Lincoln Park has made a difference to the folks in Hattiesburg, Laurel and Jones Canton.”
“I had customers who came in to shop and ended up working here for six hours or more. Another customer came by and asked what we needed, then left for Costco - he came back with thousands of dollars' worth of tents and camping equipment," said Longanecker. “We cleaned out Target's bedding department with .some of the cash contributions we got.”
Included with the medical supplies and generators were 55 cases of medical scrubs and robes, tents, air mattresses, bedding, hygiene products, baby supplies, toys, formula and diapers, fans, plastic bags, flashlights, batteries, food, clothing, and, yes, over 400 cases of drinking water which is where the whole effort got started in Lincoln Park.
“We even got $1,500 donated for gas money for the trucks,” said Longanecker, who credited his neighbors for their generosity. “A special thanks goes out to the community for your generosity. I've never seen anything like it. And thanks to our volunteers and my employees who worked so hard to get it sorted, loaded and ready to go. You all have huge hearts.”
Longanecker said another collection and charity run is being planned for this weekend as a result of feedback from officials in Mississippi of what's most in need A departure date has not been set as new trucks have yet to be located to make the second delivery. Those wishing to volunteer, donate money or donate materials should call the store at (773) 477-9372. Among items sought are: tents, bedding, towels, cots, air mattresses, toiletries, feminine hygiene products, deodorant, baby formula, diapers, baby wipes, new socks and underwear, plastic gloves, plastic bags, flashlights, batteries, clothes, canned food, toys and generators. |
|
Supplies donated at St. Mary of the Woods fill at least 2 trucks by Alan Schmidt  A long line of vehicles formed in front of St. Mary of the Woods Church on Saturday as people dropped off everything from canned goods to portable generators that would go to parts of southern Mississippi devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
As each car, van or SUV pulled up to the church, 7033N. Moselle Ave., volunteers helped unload and got the donated goods ready to load into a waiting truck. "It looked like a drive-through," said the Rev. Greg Sakowicz, "not to pick up, but to drop off. An incredible number of people came to box, wrap, sort, and load. "Unfortunately it was hot out there, but it mattered to no one. What impressed me most was seeing People working together like an orchestra, and they played beautiful music. It was staggering to see. I'm truly proud to be pastor of this faith community." At least two truckloads of goods were collected during the effort, which started early Sept. 9 and continued throughout the weekend. Enough was collected to fill a 53-foot semi trailer, he said. The collection of gloves, canned food, toiletries, pillows, bedding, towels, baby formula, diapers, bottled water, flashlights, batteries, toys and at least four new portable generators, was brought to the Lincoln Park Market, 2500 N. Clark St., owned by parishioner Bruce Longanecker. The effort is a follow-up to a relief drive he helped organize at the store along with his cousin, Paul Lopez, vice chairman of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation. Lopez got involved after he was contacted by Illinois state Sen. Tony Munoz, D1st. Lopez remarked that generators are a much-needed commodity there because so many areas were still without electricity. Unfortunately, he added, they were hard to come by. Generators that would typically sell for $300 or $500 were being priced at $1,800. That previous effort filled four long-haul trucks with donations of relief supplies, which left Chicago Sept. 5 bound for Hattiesburg and Laurel, Miss. Even though the trucks arrived in the hurricane-stricken areas eight days after Katrina left, the supplies were the first form of disaster relief the residents and evacuees saw there, Lopez said. "There was no Red Cross, no FEMA, no Salvation Army," he said "If it wasn't for us .... You've got to remember how poor these people are. They had almost nothing at all – and now all they have is nothing. I couldn't believe that no one was there eight days after it happened. There had to be 200 people who lined up for anything. It was really heartbreaking." Longanecker said he was put in contact with Mississippi State Sen. Willie Lee Simmons, D-13th, whose district covers a portion of northwestern Mississippi. Simmons called Sept. 6 to thank him for his help. Longanecker said, "My response was, 'What else do you need?'" Simmons gave him a list of supplies, and Longanecker got started fulfilling the request the next day. Part of his job was to spread the word throughout the community to get as many people involved as possible. He sent out e-mails to individuals and organizations and it blossomed from there. Bob Cole, of Edgebrook Bank; Bless Peterson, of the Edgebrook Chamber of Commerce; Janita Tucker, of the Peterson Pulaski Business and Industrial Council, and others who received the e-mail from Longanecker, forwarded copies to many of their contacts. Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts at St. Mary of the Woods used a much more low-tech method, distributing notices to houses throughout the neighborhood. Longanecker said the trucks were provided by Reebie Storage and Moving, 2325 N. Clark St., and the drivers volunteered their time. Donated goods collected through Lopez's contacts were gathered there. Depending on how much was collected by the time they were ready to go, a caravan of five trucks, filled with items destined to southern Mississippi, plus a truckload of bottled water donated by Hinkley & Schmitt, were expected to leave Monday afternoon. From Chicago, they were to be unloaded at one location, where items would be transferred to smaller trucks that would bring the supplies directly to the people who need them in communities like Gulfport, Biloxi and Bay Saint Louis. Lopez went with the trucks to help make the first delivery. He was planning to make his next trip by air, with a medical team from Access Community Health Network. "Everything is falling into place," Longanecker said, "I've never done anything of this magnitude in my life. The generosity of people is unbelievable." ''All I can say," Sakowicz remarked, "Is that the community has really responded to the need." |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 3 of 4 |
|
|
 |
Press
