Wauconda High employee launches blanket drive to help homeless
With cold weather on the way, a Wauconda High School employee is collecting blankets for homeless people living in Chicago.
Stephanie Provenzano, who works as Principal Dan Klett's administrative assistant, said she hopes to collect 500 new or used blankets by Nov. 17.
Working with an outreach program in Chicago, Provenzano and her husband, Jason, plan to personally deliver the blankets to homeless people on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Provenzano, who joined the school staff last year, was inspired by a guest speaker at the Living Waters Assembly of God Church in Grayslake who works with the homeless, drug addicts and others in need.
"While he was speaking, I just knew I was supposed to do this," Provenzano said.
Provenzano said she feels blessed to live in relative comfort, a life that includes shelter and "enough food in my cabinets." She knows plenty of people aren't that fortunate.
"In the winter I'm able to come home from school and put on a sweatshirt and my slippers and sit with my husband in a warm house," she said. "I can't imagine what it's like sleeping on a street in the dead of winter in Chicago."
Klett praised Provenzano for heading the project.
"Stephanie is a caring individual who looks to help students and staff," Klett said. "She is always volunteering her time for projects like this that benefit others."
Blankets can be dropped off in the main office of the school, 555 N. Main St. Anyone can participate.
Wauconda High seniors and their families have an extra incentive to donate blankets. Participating students will be entered in a drawing for four extra tickets to the 2018 graduation ceremony.
Provenzano said she isn't seeking financial donations - just blankets.
"In a world that is full of chaos and trauma and what seems to be never-ending violence toward each other, why can't we just make sure that someone stays warm?" Provenzano said.
For more information, email Provenzano at coveredinlove17@gmail.com.