Northwest Suburban Woman's Club collects items for Drive-thru Baby Shower
Not only does it take a village to raise a child, it takes a lot of diapers too!
Over 4,000 diapers, 500 packs of baby wipes, 150 assorted baby outfits, 130 bottles, tubes and containers of baby shampoo, lotions and ointments (including the much-ballyhooed Boudreaux Butt Paste), 75 sets of towels/burp cloths, 50 safety items, 30 bottle brushes, cotton balls, sippee cups and more were donated by the Northwest community and suburban woman's clubs.
GFWC Northwest Suburban Woman's Club was responsible for gathering, sorting, and delivering these items. The destination was the Hines VA, where a Drive-thru Baby Shower was held on Saturday, Sept. 18, for veterans and the spouses of male veterans who utilize the Northern Illinois VA clinics.
This was a collaborative effort.
The Women Veteran's Health Program and the Center for Development and Civic Engagement at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital coordinated the Drive-thru Baby Shower.
The collection of baby items to be put into the baskets was the responsibility of Northwest Suburban Woman's Club. Personal gifts for the mothers-to-be and larger items such as car seats and Pack & Plays were handled by other organizations.
The collection began at the end of July and continued through the beginning of September. Trickster Cultural Center in Schaumburg was a central drop-off location. Illinois State Rep Michelle Mussman's Schaumburg office was the storage and preliminary sorting area. A contingent from the Schaumburg Army Recruitment Station transported the items from Rep. Mussman's office to Fisher House/Hines VA.
The day before the event, Northwest Suburban members went to Fisher House to pack and organize the baskets. On the day of the event, members volunteered to help distribute the baskets during Drive-thru Baby Shower.
Northwest Suburban Woman's Club is a member of the General Federation of Woman's Clubs and is a 501c3 organization. For more information contact: Carly Dillard at gfwcnorthwest2018@gmail.com