Toiletry Drive raises awareness for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

To honor National Domestic Violence Awareness month, the Southwest Suburban Juniors (SSJ) sponsored their first annual Soap for Hope toiletry drive to benefit the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, which provides emergency shelter and other essential services for individuals and families victimized by domestic violence. During the month of October, members of SSJ worked with local businesses to collect donations for the drive. Alana Dugan, Vice President of SSJ, stated “it took us roughly 5 months of planning and organizing, but I’m amazed by the overwhelming support we received from the South Suburban community. On October 24th we donated over 1,100 items to the Crisis Center through our Soap for Hope drive.” Each member was responsible for placing donation boxes at their work, school, gym, etc. In addition to collecting for our toiletry drive, Dr. Zoladz of Frankfort Smiles Dental asked her 4-year-old son to donate his birthday presents to other children that aren’t as fortunate as him. These presents will benefit the children at the center for their birthdays and during the winter holidays.

We would like to thank the following businesses and organizations for helping us support the Crisis Center through our Soap for Hope toiletry drive: Walmart in Orland Hills, Sam’s Club in Tinley Park, Costco in Orland Park, Meijer’s in Orland Park, Zaibak Center for Dentistry in Tinley Park, Frankfort Smiles Dental in Frankfort, Orland Bowl in Orland Park, iLoveKickboxing in Orland Park, Benchmark Fit Club in Oak Lawn, New Horizons Family Chiropractic in Frankfort, Millennium Elementary School, KSD140 in Tinley Park, Orland Junior High District 135 in Orland Park, St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Oak Lawn, and Tinley Park VFW Post 2791.

SSJ is a not-for-profit local chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), founded in 1890, a service organization of over 5,000 women in Illinois alone. SSJ can only achieve its goals with the assistance of generous donations from members of our community. If you or anyone you know would like to volunteer in our local community, please attend our SSJ monthly meeting on the 3rd Tuesday of each month (Sept-May) at the VFW located at 17147 Oak Park Ave, Tinley Park at 7pm. Or check out our website for more information about our upcoming events www.SSJuniors.org.