Des Plaines Park District camps Collect For The Closet

Just one can, just one jar, just one package can make a difference in the life of another kid. That was the message. The Des Plaines Park District summer campers responded with over one hundred pounds of non-perishable foods and household items for the Self-Help Closet & Pantry of Des Plaines. "Our campers and their parents made Camps Collect For The Closet a great success," said Karyn Roth, Recreation Supervisor for the park district. "The kids really got it. They understood that there are many less fortunate than they are, and, if they each gave a little, many families would be helped." The program will be a permanent part of the park district's summer camps, and Roth is looking to expand it to other programming areas as well.

Roth delivered the food and household items collected in the Pantry's well-known Red Barrels that had been placed at each of the district's 10 summer camps. A variety of other makeshift containers were needed to accommodate all of the cans and jars and packages, and all were taken in happily by longtime Pantry volunteers Lee Eilken and Don Turner. "It's a start," said Roth, after looking at all of the still empty shelves. "But clearly, there's much more to be done."

Donations to the Self-Help Closet & Pantry of Des Plaines can be delivered on Mondays and Tuesdays, from 9:00am to 11:00am, and on Saturdays from 9:00am to 10:00am. More information about the most needed foods and household items is available at www.selfhelppantry.org