Orland Park resident Tony Heim, a veteran of the Korean War and member of the “Frozen Chosin” Marines who fought in the iconic battle of Chosin under freezing conditions, was surprised on his 89th birthday earlier this month by a parade along 144th Street that included more than 100 vehicles.
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Military vehicles, cars filled with family, friends and well wishers and motorcyles, many driven by fellow veterans, were among the parade participants for Heim, who was awarded two Purple Heart medals while fighting with the 1st Marine Division.
Evergreen Park students hold drive-thru food drive
Evergreen Park Community High School’s Student Government sponsors a food drive every year to benefit the Evergreen Park Village Food Pantry. Sponsor Brian English and his students felt the event had to be held once again this year because the need was much greater. So they changed it to a drive-thru event.
The food drive was advertised and activity director Amy Kazin discussed it on the EP Podcast with Chris Lanuti. And late last month, community members lined up in their cars and school staff members were able to fill three large vehicles with all the items for the food pantry.
“We are so grateful to everyone who donated to support those in need in our community,” said Kazin. “It is this type of generosity that reminds us what a special community Evergreen Park really is and how fortunate we are to be part of it.”
Oak Forest student creates ‘ear-savers’ for frontline workers
Oak Forest High School freshman Joshua Slaviero has been staying busy and doing good by using his own Flashforge Finder 3D printer to make an item he calls “ear-savers” for frontline workers.
Slaviero says he purchased the printer with graduation money from last summer and that “graduation gift has helped a lot of people.” The idea came after Slaviero heard District 228 and many other groups had been using 3D printers to create useful items for frontline workers, such as masks and face shields.
Slaviero was specifically interested in creating the ear-savers as a way to take the pressure off of people’s ears while they are wearing masks. After securing a source file online and making a few adjustments to it, Slaviero made some prototypes and got in touch with a family friend who works at the New Lenox Fire Protection District to set up a donation.
So far, Slaviero has donated 60 “ear-savers” to the New Lenox Fire Protection District. Initially, a family member had donated funds to get Slaviero started on the project. Recently, Slaviero says he has received a donation to cover the rest of his materials so he can continue making the ear-savers for frontline workers.
Slaviero’s ear-savers are designed to be worn behind the head and have sides to attach to the mask itself instead of ears. Slaviero has also personalized his ear-savers to say “Heroes.”
Before creating these ear-savers, Slaviero says he was designing different personalized keychains for himself and others, and had even printed a new mouthpiece for his saxophone.
Crisis Center gets donation of 26 mattress sets from Aaron’s
The Crisis Center for South Suburbia, a local organization helping victims of domestic violence has been providing a safe haven in the south suburbs for over 40 years. But moving people from a shelter into other housing programs while they continue to heal from trauma has its own set of challenges. One of those challenges includes furnishing apartments for these families for the next stage of independence.
Donations of gently used dressers, kitchen sets, couches and tables certainly help in furnishing transitional apartments and other homes that clients are moving into, but securing new mattresses has not been easy. That changed after Robbie Kamerschen of Aaron’s, Inc., a retail furniture company headquartered in Atlanta, reached out to Crisis Center Development Director Lorri Nagle.
Kamerschen read an article about the challenges facing some of the families who were being moved out of the domestic violence shelter in March during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a partnership that developed into a monthly mattress donation for the Crisis Center.
The first donation of 26 sets of full and twin mattresses, which arrived last week, will accommodate all of the families moving into apartments through the end of May, Crisis Center officials said. It will also leave a few extras on hand in case they are needed in an emergency. Aaron’s is expected to donate and deliver between six and nine mattress sets each month beginning in late June.
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