Downers Grove Roadrunners Soccer Club:
The Downers Grove Roadrunners Soccer Club annually helps District 58 students from low-income families – providing school supplies in August, coats in October and holiday gifts in December. This year was no exception, as the club provided 500+ gifts for more than 130 students in need! Many community members – including some who are not Roadrunners members – offered to purchase gifts to help our low-income families have a more joyous holiday. The Roadrunners also provided a few families with gift cards for gas, groceries and other essentials.
From the very bottom of our hearts, District 58 thanks you for your incredible generosity. We especially thank Carl Turk and Lisa Forst for leading the effort, as well as Lori, Laura, Becky, Shannon and Cathy for helping to wrap, organize and deliver the gifts to our schools.
Finally, thank you to the District 58 social workers for identifying students and families in need, along with their holiday wish lists. This helped ensure that donations were gifts that each child truly desired. The Downers Grove Roadrunners Soccer Club is a premier local soccer club open to ages 4+. Learn more about them at www.roadrunnersc.com.
Downers Grove Junior Woman's Club:
Each holiday season, the Downers Grove Junior Woman's Club seeks District 58 families to sponsor for the holidays. They work carefully with schools to identify families most in need -- some may be homeless or on the brink of losing their home; others may have recently lost their primary source of income.
This year, the club sponsored families at Whittier, Hillcrest and Pierce Downer schools. Together they raised $2,500 to spend on the families. Club members strategically purchased gifts on sale, so while they spent $2,500 on gifts, the retail value of all the gifts was about double that figure!
Not only did they purchase gifts, they also bought essentials -- bus and train passes, grocery and gas gift cards, etc. These little "extras" will certainly make a difference in these families' lives!
At their annual holiday dinner, the club gathered and wrapped the presents, with help from Pierce Downer Principal Justin Sisul and Hillcrest Principal Michelle Rzepka.
Thank you very much for your incredible generosity, DGJWC. We sincerely appreciate everything! Learn more at www.dgjwc.org.