by Kim Kilpatrick
December 1, 2011 12:48 PM
You've seen those pictures: cars, light poles, benches, and roads encased in a thick sheet of ice. You've seen pictures of howling winds blasting snow on people hunched over trying to walk down the street. These are typical winter scenes in Chicago where winters are sometimes harsh and bitter cold.
LifeStorage Hermosa in Chicago is holding a coat drive from now through December 15. People interested in donating a coat can drop it off at its location on 4500 W. Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL. LifeStorage has a goal of collecting 50 coats and encourages members of the community to help out by donating new or used coats for the drive.
Timothy Smith, manager of LifeStorage Hermosa, knows first-hand what it is like to be under-clothed - and underfed - during the winter season. When he became aware of Cornerstone Community Outreach (CCO) and of the charitable works it performed, he became interested, from both a business and a personal standpoint, in partnering with CCO.
"We here at LifeStorage Hermosa love to help out the community in any way we can and understand how hard the winter can be in Chicago, so we want to be able to help out the less fortunate in regards to a warm coat. I feel the CCO is very important because I personally have experienced the hardships of not having a coat for the winter to sometimes not even having a warm meal to eat growing up. This organization is very dear to me because no one should experience those types of hardships in life." Smith said.
CCO provides many services for people in need. They offer an after-school program for children, on-site nurse visits to the sick, mental health counseling, and case-management assistance. It also has a Free Store where needy people can shop for personal hygiene items, clothing, household goods, and baby products. They give out food bags and hold a free weekly Dinner Guest Program every Saturday. Their Dinner Guest Program often serves up to 200 people.
"Being a resident close to uptown I witnessed the helping hand of CCO and how they have made a positive impact to the community. CCO is helping change lives for the better during these very hard times and they have ongoing needs in terms of items that are often overlooked. The coat drive is just the beginning of our support and hopefully we'll be able to successfully help CCO for the foreseeable future," Smith said.
LifeStorage Hermosa serves the west side of Chicago. They offer storage for personal and business, document shredding, climate controlled units, large commercial spaces, and band rehearsal rooms.
Sources used:
LifeStorage, Self Storage Chicago Keeping People Warm Through Coat Drive; Benzinga.com; 1 December 2011.
LifeStorage Hermosa.
Cornerstone Community Outreach.