Former Palos Heights, Orland Park and Palos Park resident Don Averill had a job to do for a little while on the morning of Nov. 17.
It was to stuff rolls of toilet paper into knit hats.
It wasn’t a tough job, but someone had to do it.
It was an unusual job, but important.
Averill and roughly 40 other residents of the Smith Crossing retirement community in Orland Park were part of morning and afternoon shifts to fill several dozen comfort bags with clothing and toiletries for the holidays.
Every month, Smith Crossing officials sent peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the Daybreak Center – a shelter operated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Joliet, for distribution to those in need.
This month will be different. On Nov. 21, the sandwiches will be delivered along with comfort bags.
“It’s fun stuff,” Averill said of merging toilet paper with the hats. “These are all good people.
“We’re retired now and we try to contribute to the community. We have the time and it’s rewarding.”
Resident Denise Wilkin, who also lived in Orland Park, was running the show and directing the action in assembly-line fashion.
She got the comfort bag idea before the pandemic when she visited friends in Phoenix, and she saw a similar event. She brought the idea back home to Smith Crossing but COVID-19 hit and the project was finally able to get off the ground this year.
She was happy to see the wheels in motion.
“This is a good thing because I hope it will make the lives of the people who receive it easier and warmer and that they will feel better,” Wilkin said. “It’s also a good community builder for us.”
She said a resident volunteered to give her money to buy all of the socks, but she nixed that.
“I said that it was a wonderful thing, but the idea is for each of us to do a little bit,” Wilkin said.
“We had 70-80 people who contributed to this. Some of it is handmade. Most of it is brand new.
“A lot of people here don’t have cars. They find a way to buy the new items. But they brought it and now we’re packing it and it’s wonderful.”
