As I see organizations looking for help that we can provide as we shelter in place, I’d love to use my blog space to highlight them.
First up is Beacon Place in Waukegan. My daughter Annie and I volunteered last year for their summer lunch program and were so touched by the Beacon Place community.
Beacon Place is a community center in southeast Waukegan with programs for kids and adults. It was established in 2012 by a group of dedicated and inspired individuals who recognized a significant need and decided to do something about it. They acquired an abandoned home and turned it into a community center focused on delivering programs around food and nutrition, overall health, academic support, and life skills development.
When the shelter in place went into effect at the end of March, the Beacon Place staff got to work providing emergency support for their local families.
Beacon Place is providing weekly Emergency Support Packages for the families enrolled in their programs, representing 325 children and adults. These weekly support packages include fresh and shelf stable food, education support for school-aged children, and support activities for the families as they manage this crisis of isolation.
While Beacon Place’s food shelves are fully stocked, they are very much in need of the following items:
Cleaning supplies:
- Bleach
- Household cleaning spray
- Handsoap
- Wipes
- Paper towels
Games and activities:
- Activity books
- Puzzles (all ages)
- Board games (new or gently used)
- Gallon bag of washed assorted Lego’s
- New, unused craft kits
- Sketch pads, pencils, paints and markers
NEW games and activities can be ordered and shipped directly to address below:
- Clumsy Thief
- Clumsy Thief Jr.
- Sums in Space
- Sum Swamp
- Proof
- Phase 10
- Exit – Escape Room Game
- Hula Hoops
- Rainbow scratch and sketch
Please email admin@beacon-place.org for information on where to deliver donated items, or if ordering and shipping directly, please send to the following address:
611 Oak Knoll Drive, Lake Forest, IL 60045
