Collection for Palatine families displaced by condo fire off to good start

People Helping People and Christ Lutheran Church collaborated Monday to organize and host a drive-through collection for items to help the families displaced by a fire in the Windhaven Condominium Complex in Palatine on March 19.

The donation drive continues from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at Christ Lutheran Church, 41 S. Rohlwing Road in Palatine.

The Windhaven fire broke out shortly after 5 p.m. in a three-story building on East Dundee Quarter and quickly spread to a neighboring building. By the time firefighters brought it under control more than three hours later, 22 units were left uninhabitable and dozens of residents were made homeless.

The Red Cross said 50 to 60 people were displaced by the fire.

A half-hour after starting to accept donations Monday the box truck and part of the chapel started to fill and the line of cars hadn't slowed.

"Oh, we're elated," with the turnout said Cathie Johnson, president and founder of People Helping People in Palatine.

People Helping People is a charitable organization founded in May of 2020 to help displaced people with food insecurities. It works with schools districts to provide hygiene kits, and also Public Action to Deliver Shelters and Little Sisters of the Poor.

"So we've helped an array of people," Johnson said.

The group is accepting gently used clothing, shoes, new socks and underwear, hygiene items and food, shelf stable foods, as well as cash donations and gift cards.

"A lot of the Palatine community and surrounding areas are just generous people," said Kirsten Petersen, outreach coordinator at Christ Lutheran Church.

Palatine-based Partners For Our Communities also has launched a donation drive to help families left homeless by the fire that gutted two buildings in the Windhaven complex.

"So it just made sense to collaborate on this effort," Johnson said.

Several online fundraisers have been created at GoFundMe for individual families left homeless by the fire.