Suburban mosque hosting community meeting on earthquake relief
The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago's Syrian/Türkiye Task Force will host a community meeting Thursday in Willowbrook to discuss earthquake relief.
The death toll from the massive Feb. 6 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has surpassed 45,000 and millions of people have been left homeless, according to Turkey's disaster management agency.
The meeting will take place at The Mecca Center, 16W560 91st St. Task force leaders will inform community members about the ongoing needs of affected families in earthquake stricken areas and how they can support efforts undertaken by CIOGC-affiliated relief agencies.
The meeting, from 6 to 8 p.m., will provide a platform for these agencies to share their work and solicit support to help earthquake survivors.
Women's month
Educators across the state will be honoring Women's History Month with lesson plans highlighting the women who have shaped our world.
State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders used his weekly message to emphasize one way to honor young girls is by providing menstrual hygiene products in school bathrooms, as required by law.
In 2017, the General Assembly passed the Learn with Dignity Act, requiring feminine hygiene products to be provided for free inside all restrooms in school buildings serving grades 6-12. In 2021, state Rep. Barbara Hernandez of Aurora updated the law, replacing the term "feminine hygiene" with "menstrual hygiene" and expanding the age range to include grades 4-12.
Implementation of the law hasn't been without problems, Sanders said.
Members of the Girls Committee, part of the Illinois Council on Women and Girls, recently met with Hernandez sharing stories about empty dispensers or having to go to the nurse's office or certain teachers for supplies.
"I recognize there have been instances of vandalism with the products in boys' bathrooms," Sanders wrote. "The novelty and newness of seeing tampons and pads in school bathrooms will soon fade."
Women's supplies
Aurora City Hall's employee resource group has launched a monthlong Women's History Month campaign to collect needed supplies for homeless women in the community.
The P.O.W.E.R. Women's Group - an acronym for Presenting Opportunities Where Everyone Rises - is hosting the Empower Bag Collection Drive to collect 100 purses and backpacks filled with toiletries, feminine hygiene products, and basic necessities.
Community members and businesses can donate new or gently used backpacks, along with unused toiletries, feminine hygiene products, undergarments, socks, towels, toilet paper, laundry detergent, baby supplies, and small reusable containers.
Donations can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday through March 31, in collections bins at these locations:
• Aurora City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place.
• Aurora Animal Care & Control, 600 River St.
• Customer Service Center, 3770 McCoy Drive.
• Development Services Center, 77 S. Broadway.
And all seven days of the week at:
• Aurora Police Department, 1200 E. Indian Trail Road.
• Aurora Central Fire Station, 75 N. Broadway Ave. =
• Aurora Fire Station No. 5, 730 Hill Ave.
• Aurora Fire Station No. 7, 824 Kenilworth Place.
• Aurora Fire Station No. 8, 3770 McCoy Drive.
• Aurora Fire Station No. 10, 2390 W. Illinois Ave.
Early learning advocate
Andrea Vargas of Elgin recently joined the Elgin Partnership for Early Learning as its community and family engagement coordinator.
Vargas previously worked as a community outreach liaison for Greater Family Health of Elgin and as a community navigator for the Kenneth Young Center in Elk Grove Village.
A graduate of Elgin Area School District U-46, Vargas attended Elgin Community College and received a Bachelor of Arts in applied psychology with a minor in urban studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
She now works with community partners and leads EPEL's family resource specialists to build awareness about the importance of early learning, access to resources, and early care and education opportunities.
Donations sought
Wesley United Methodist Church in Aurora is collecting donations to help an Aurora family start a school called The Precious Academy in Pithoragarh, India.
Church members Lynnette and Khem Singh started the academy. They now are working on setting up a library and computer lab and adding playground equipment.
Donations may be made online through GoFundMe at bit.ly/3ZysvHH. Checks to help support the school may be made out to Wesley UMC with "Precious Academy" in the memo line and sent to Wesley UMC, 14 N. May St. in Aurora, IL 60506.
For more information, call (630) 896-1033.
Young heroes
Online applications are being accepted for the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes 2023 awards.
Submissions are due by April 15 and winners will be announced in September.
Established in 2001 by author T.A. Barron, the prize honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment.
Fifteen top winners will receive $10,000 each to support their service work or higher education.
Over the past two decades, the Barron Prize has awarded more than $500,000 and recognized more than 500 young heroes. Awardees have helped the hungry and the homeless, invented lifesaving technologies, protected oceans and endangered species, and addressed climate change, among myriad other initiatives. They collectively have raised more than $26 million for their causes.
Apply online at barronprize.org.
• Share stories, news and happenings from the suburban mosaic at mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com.