St. Francis de Sales Parish hosts donation drive to hurricane relief in Tampa

Posted November 11, 2024 12:44 pm

Submitted by Susan Thomas, Archdiocese of Chicago

On Saturday, Oct. 19, in the parish parking lot, parishioners and students from St. Francis de Sales School and the parish’s religious education program packed up and loaded items for pickup on a 53-foot tractor-trailer truck. Matt Dulen, president of Contract Installations, reached out to his contacts in Tampa and asked what was immediately needed after Hurricane Milton. He then coordinated with his parish, St. Francis de Sales to accomplish the local donation drive.

Parishioners and families of St. Francis de Sales School and the parish’s religious education program donated 26 pallets of bottled water and nonperishable food such as energy and granola bars, baby formula, baby bottles and diapers.

An employee at Contract Installations loads donated water in the company’s warehouse for it to be moved onto a trailer headed to Tampa. Courtesy of Cynthia Flores-Mocarski/Chicago Catholic

Dulen is a parishioner at St. Francis de Sales Parish, where his children attend St. Francis de Sales School. He is president of Contract Installations, a Lake Forest-based commercial office furniture and related services company. In addition, he is a member of the Knights of Columbus Queen of Peace Council. Dulen offered his company’s fleet of semitrailer trucks to deliver the items to the nonprofit ECHO of Brandon (Emergency Care Help Organization) to distribute the items in the Tampa area.

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