Please join the Library in supporting Marillac St. Vincent Family Services with a holiday donation drive. Marillac House in East Garfield Park is seeking
new, unwrapped toys to assist families in providing gifts through their Christmas Store. One of the great things about the toy drive is that it gives families choice and agency – in non-Covid years, families in their programs came to shop at a Christmas store in person. This year volunteers will fill specific wish lists and have the presents packed and ready for pickup. Either way, gifts are tailored to the children and families in their social service programs to make their holidays special and personal.
Gifts should be donated in new, unwrapped condition and we’d like to gather them all here in the Richardson Library by December 10th so they can be transported to Marillac House in time for volunteers to organize them for the Christmas Store starting the 14th. For an idea of what toys are requested, look over the Amazon Wish List. If you choose to order from Amazon, feel free to ship to yourself and then bring presents in to the Richardson Library by December 10th at noon, ship to Matt Krause at the John T. Richardson Library (2350 N. Kenmore Ave, Chicago, IL 60614) to arrive by the 10th, or ship directly to Marillac House by the 14th.
If you are interested in helping out at the Christmas Store December 14th to 17th, contact volunteers@marillacstvincent.org using the subject line “Volunteering at the Christmas Store”.
We chose to work with Marillac St. Vincent Family Services this year because of our current and historical intersections. DePaul University was honored with the 2021 Outstanding Community Partner Award at the Beacon of Hope luncheon in October for the many partnerships between the University (students, staff, and faculty) and the Lincoln Park (St. Vincent de Paul Center) and East Garfield Park (Marillac Social Center) locations. The Daughters of Charity founded these social service programs over 100 years ago, starting with kindergarten and settlement house services, and continuing to provide vital programs and services in the areas of early childhood education, youth services, and community outreach services. Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul founded the Daughters of Charity in 1633 in Paris. Special Collections and Archives holds archival collections on the Daughters of Charity as well as a collection of documents and photographs detailing the history of the St. Vincent de Paul Center.