TEMPORARY PAUSE ON ACCEPTING DONATIONS FOR NEW ARRIVALS
We are pausing accepting donations for new arrivals at our office. Due to the overwhelming generosity and support from our neighbors, we are running out of storage space at our local churches. We are currently organizing, sorting, and distributing our current donations. Thank you, and we will update you once we can accept donations once more. Please call St. Mary’s of the Lake (773-280-7700) before you drop off any additional items (they may not have room).
Chicago continues to receive migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from the southern border looking for shelter and aid, and my office continues to work alongside our 19th District Migrant Support team to assist these new arrivals. Here is how you can help:
- Meal Support: We need assistance from residents to drive meals purchased by donations to the police station and to cook or purchase breakfast each day. You can find more information and sign up here.
- Volunteer Support: There are a variety of different ways volunteers can work to give their time to support our new neighbors. Please sign up here to share different ways you are able to support.
- Physical Donations: You can find the full list of items and location for drop-off here. You can find the full list of items below: Highest Priority Items (needed the most!) in ALL sizes:
- New underwear (men’s, women’s, children’s)
- Sports bras
- Sleeping bags, yoga mats, air mattresses
- Adult and Children’s Cold/Flu Medicine
- Winter coats (men’s, women’s, children’s)
- Winter wear – hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, socks (men’s, women’s, children’s)
- Sweatpants, sweatshirts, sweaters (men’s, women’s, children’s, toddler, baby)
- Blankets, pillows
Ongoing Needs:
- Backpacks
- Toothbrush, toothpaste
- Carry-on luggage (not full-sized)
- Deodorant (men’s and women’s)
- Lip Balm
- Shampoo, Conditioner
- Body wash
- Pads
- Flushable wipes
- Razors
- Shaving Cream
- Baby Formula (prefer Enfamil Gentlease or soy-based)
- Baby Diapers
- Unlocked phones (please wipe storage before)
- Monthly CTA passes
- Monetary Donations: Donations are being collected to continue to purchase immediate needs for our new neighbors, including meals and transit cards. If you can contribute, please do so here.
Important notes:
- The police station is NOT a drop-off location, items dropped off will likely be discarded
- Please limit your donations to the items listed below
- Please ensure donations are gently used and recently washed
See our Amazon Wishlist here or make a monetary donation here.