$35K Granted To Charities By Downers Grove Junior Woman's Club

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — Three local charities were given grants totaling $35,000 by the Downers Grove Junior Woman's Club (DGJWC) for Giving Tuesday 2022, which took place on Nov. 29.

The charities and their respective grant amounts were:

• The Kids Equipment Network: $20,000
• Family Shelter Service Metropolitan Service DuPage: $7,500
• NAMI DuPage: $7,500

These grants made up the biggest single donation DGJWC has made since its inception in 1959, a news release said.

“Our DGJWC members are deeply moved by the mission of each of the three finalist organizations and the impact they each make in unique ways for our community,” Kristen Avery the organization's chair of philanthropy said in a statement.

The Kids Equipment Network plans to use its funds to provide adaptive and durable equipment for children who have special needs. Since 2005, he network's initiatives have helped equip thousands of local children with wheelchairs and other mobility devices.

“We’re very proud of what we do. This organization is a labor of love for so many people,” The Kids Equipment Network's founder Tim Caruso, a longtime physical therapist, said in a news release.

Caruso added,"They say it takes a village - and so we welcome Downers Grove Junior Woman’s Club into our village, and we thank you for the opportunity to be a part of yours."