A long-time anonymous Hephzibah donor remembers the many challenges of growing up in a low-income, single-parent household. He also remembers with great appreciation the generosity of the Oak Park community that came together to help his family manage during times of great need.
In recognition of the community’s generosity and to help others in similar circumstances, the donor and several friends joined together to anonymously help low-income families in Oak Park who are enrolled in Hephzibah’s Day Care Program—for the past 36 years.
Each year, this very small group has donated nearly $6,000 for the specific purpose of helping children whose families are struggling financially. During the holiday season, members of Hephzibah’s Oak Park Auxiliary use the funds to do “Angel Shopping.” Auxiliary members purchase essential winter clothing for the children, and do the same every summer purchasing new, back-to-school clothing for the children.
“This is such an important experience,” explains Dannyel Kafer, former Oak Park Auxiliary president and the lead Angel Shopper. “[The donor] established this to give back to the Oak Park community that came together for him when he was young.”
The Angel Shopping benefits children enrolled in Hephzibah’s Day Care Program whose families meet state and federal low-income guidelines. This year, many of the families have experienced significant additional burdens due to the COVID pandemic, having lost family members to the illness, and/or jobs as well. To ease some burden during the holidays, each child’s parent/caregiver was invited to complete a form indicating the children’s sizes and favorite colors.
In normal years, several auxiliary members plan shopping excursions to purchase the clothing. However, to minimize any risks to safety and health, this year Dannyel did all the Angel Shopping herself.
Thanks for to her dedicated efforts, more than 21 children received essential winter clothing including a coat, boots, a dress outfit, sweaters, socks, shoes, and casual wear including jeans, sweatpants, sweatshirts and t-shirts. The clothing was individually bagged for each child and then distributed to the parent(s)/caregivers, who presented the children with the gifts at Christmas.
“As a single mother myself, this is a meaningful experience for me,” Dannyel explains, “I think of and am very conscious of the additional challenges these families are experiencing and how important this support is. It’s very special and exciting to be a part of it all.”
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