Charity asks for help after Christmas gifts destroyed in Schaumburg fire

A not-for-profit group dedicated to helping domestic violence victims and their children is struggling to make up for the loss of Christmas presents for its clientele that were destroyed in a fire Tuesday.

Officials at Palatine-based WINGS, which stands for Women in Need Growing Stronger, are asking the public to donate gift cards and money to help replace the smoke-damaged presents.

Although a monetary estimate of the lost presents wasn't available Wednesday, firefighters estimated the total damage of the fire at 1246 Remington Road in Schaumburg to be about $150,000.

The space WINGS was using in the one-story brick building is donated by the landlord of the complex each year for the organization to store and wrap its Christmas presents, WINGS Public Relations and Marketing Manager Cherae Robinson said.

"There were gifts for a couple hundred families," Robinson said. "They came from people who adopted families and do it every year."

For information on WINGS and how to make a donation, visit the Web site wingsprogram.com or call Robinson at (847) 908-0910, ext. 15.

WINGS is a registered not-for-profit agency that operates 24 homes and apartments for domestic violence victims throughout the Chicago area. Every night, WINGS provides housing to more than 100 woman and children.

The fire at the office building was reported at 7:35 a.m. Tuesday. No one was inside at the time, and no one was injured.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.