It took under one hour for volunteers of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish in Lake Zurich on Oct. 19 to load up a van and large truck with donations destined for people impacted by Hurricane Milton in Tampa, Florida.
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish, in partnership with Lake Forest business Contract Installations, made possible the donation drive to provide relief supplies.
On Saturday morning, adult parishioners were also joined by students from St. Francis de Sales Catholic School and the parish’s religious education program to pack up and load items.
“It’s good teamwork,” said Mike Iwanski of Long Grove, among volunteers working the assembly line to load the truck.
Matt Dulen of Lake Zurich is president of Contract Installations, a Lake Forest business with a three-decade history and now with 30 to 40 employees. Contract Installations specializes in commercial office furniture and related services.
Contract Installations has a satellite location in Tampa, Florida, and when Hurricane Milton occurred, Dulen reached out to contacts in Tampa to ask how to help.
Dulen was inspired to launch a local donation drive. Supplies such as water, diapers, and baby formula will be driven in a 53-foot tractor-trailer truck to Tampa for donation distribution by a charitable relief organization, non-profit ECHO of Brandon (Emergency Care Help Organization). The donations should arrive in Tampa the week before Halloween, Dulen said.
“In today’s world and how things are going,” Dulen said, “I think this is a good opportunity to just bring everybody together for a good cause.”
In addition to being a parishioner at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, Dulen is a member of the Knights of Columbus Queen of Peace Council #3954 and his children attend St. Francis de Sales Catholic School.
“I know this is going to go a long way,” Dulen said of the amount of donations. “It’s a cool thing to see.”
Parishioners and families of the religious education program and the school donated multiple skids of bottled water and non-perishable food such as energy and granola bars. The items were staged in the St. Francis de Sales Parish Center over one week.
Rev. David Ryan, pastor at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish, conducted a blessing of the truck once it was loaded. Volunteers put their hands on the truck as part of the gesture of faith.
“We’re not like social workers, we’re disciples of Jesus Christ carrying out the great law of love and carrying out the corporal works of mercy and being good samaritans along the way, stopping and helping someone in need,” Ryan said.
Father Ryan complimented the school’s (NJHS) National Junior Honor Society, student council, religious education, and youth ministry for assisting, in addition to school principal Mary Keller, parish families, and associated ministry collaboratives.
“This has been a tremendous reflection of the great law of love,” Ryan said.
Arlene Kuhn of Lake Zurich was among Saturday’s volunteers.
“People need help, people have lost everything,” Kuhn said. “It’s bleak, so any little thing that we can do that would help somebody at least maybe get through an hour or a minute…I want to help, so that’s why I’m here.
“We need to serve one another,” Kuhn added.
Joanne Luce of Hawthorn Woods was also among the helping hands.
“It just makes me feel good,” Luce said.
Of even one bottle of fresh water, “That’s one they didn’t have before,” Luce said.
Evan Garrow, 13, an eighth-grader from Lake Zurich, helped to bring items to the back of the large truck, removing a sweatshirt in the process on the sunny day with temperatures approaching 70 degrees.
Evan belongs to Boy Scout Troop 309 of Lake Zurich.
“I have cousins down in Florida,” Evan said. “But I know it’s really bad down there right now, I guarantee it.
“It’s important for us to give back,” Evan added.
Volunteer Ben Iwanski, 10, a fifth-grader from Long Grove said about the hurricane situation and those impacted, “I’m really worried.”
The parish plans on hosting another donation drive before the end of October to benefit those in Asheville, North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene.
Father Ryan invites people to contact the church for donations by calling 847-726-4723. This phone number does not accept text messages. The website is https://www.stfrancislzparish.org. The parish is located at 135 S. Buesching Road. The email is also parishoffice@stfrancislz.org.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
