The 2024 Barrington Giving Day Winter Event, held on Dec. 14 at Station Middle School in Barrington, broke a record by serving 467 registered families.
“It’s a record number of families,” confirmed Dori Hough of Barrington, executive director of (BGD) Barrington Giving Day. “It’s a record.”
“The need is there, the need is great,” Hough added. “We need to be supporting our community.”
Barrington Giving Day (BGD), a 501c3 non-profit organization, assists families of Barrington Community Unit School District 220 and has expanded its reach to serve Chicagoland families who may be experiencing continuing or sudden hardships. BGD has served the community for more than 80 years.
The Barrington school district includes Barrington, Carpentersville, Hoffman Estates, Fox River Grove, Deer Park, Tower Lakes, North Barrington, Lake Barrington, Port Barrington, and South Barrington.
Families were also welcomed at this year’s Winter Event from Chicago, Lake Zurich, Elgin, and Arlington Heights.
“We’re covering many districts,” Hough said, adding an estimated 400 volunteers helped to make Saturday’s Winter Event happen.
“Can’t do it without them when you walk around and see the magnitude of this event,” Hough said in appreciation of volunteers.
Barrington Giving Day hosts four events each year, a spring event, a back-to-school event, a pop-up prom boutique, and the flagship holiday event. The Winter Event offers families the opportunity to shop for toys, bicycles, clothing and other items.
Red holiday donation drive boxes were placed around Barrington and a new steel permanent collection bin made possible by partnerships and a (BACF) Barrington Area Community Foundation grant is located at the District 220 Administrative Building at 515 W. Main Street in Barrington.
Hough’s daughter Ariana Squires of Barrington and the Barrington High School Class of 2015 has assisted at Barrington Giving Day since middle school in 2008.
Squires, Winter Event assistant manager, oversees social media and marketing to promote BGD.
At the holidays, “The cost of living has increased for everybody across the board, so our families who were already underserved or families who might have been struggling or already facing a hardship … it makes it that much harder for them,” Squires said.
Volunteers were identifiable by shirts that read on the back, “We rise by lifting others.”
Coats and Snow Pants Manager Simone Zorzy of Barrington worked with other volunteers to help keep the racks organized for families shopping for winter clothing sizes.
“The coats are really important, I think, to me, because it’s unfortunate to see kids who need a coat…that’s a necessity,” Zorzy said. “So I think it’s nice to be able to give a kid something that they really need every day.”
Alexandra Walocha, 17, of Barrington Hills, a junior at Barrington High School, volunteered in the children’s books section where community tables were also available to patrons.
“I think it’s super important that we help people in need,” Walocha said, who believes that if you see another student who may need help, to act appropriately.
“Our teachers talk about this a lot, always be kind to one another and if you see someone struggling, talk to an adult or even talk to them about it, seeing if you can do anything,” Walocha said.
Robin Padal, a sixth-grade English teacher at Station Middle School, also volunteered in the literature section where books were available in Spanish.
“It’s really, really important,” Padal said, to get books to youth.
“If kids get this knowledge and education and love for reading, then in high school, they do better.
“We want to get books in their hands,” Padal said.
At the end of the shopping journey, people were offered snack bags with fruit. The 2,000 bags distributed were provided by The Community Meal of Barrington. The Community Meal has a calendar of free meals open to all and rotates at local houses of worship and community locations.
“We love helping our neighbors, we know there’s inflation,” said Sandy Hasse of Barrington, coordinator of The Community Meal. “We know that people can’t buy their groceries, people are having trouble putting gas in their cars.
“We do what we can,” Hasse said. “We’re here to do our part.”
Visit Barrington Giving Day at https://www.barringtongivingday.org. The Community Meal schedule is at https://www.thecommunitymeal.org.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
