Valerie Baudo has never forgotten where she came from.
The Palos Heights resident, former Worth School District 127 student and former Worth Police Department dispatcher recently helped bring a school supply drive to life, giving local students a little extra help as they head into a new school year.
Baudo teamed up with Worth police Sgt. Mike Cozzi, Pawfficer Louie, the Worth Police Department’s community therapy dog, and Laki and Val Hatzelis of RE/MAX 10 to collect school supplies for students in the district. The drive has now wrapped up, with the donated supplies headed to local students and families.
Baudo’s connection to Worth goes back to her childhood. She attended school in the district before later working as a dispatcher with the Worth Police Department from 2000 to 2001.
“I enjoyed helping others,” Baudo said, recalling her time with the department.
That desire to help people has stayed with her. Baudo continues to volunteer at Worth community events and regularly looks for ways to give back.
“I love to give back to the community,” she said.
The school supply drive started when Baudo and Cozzi reached out to Laki and Val Hatzelis to see if RE/MAX 10 could help. The company welcomed the idea and hosted the collection at its Oak Lawn office at 9909 Southwest Highway.
The RE/MAX 10 team also got behind the effort, donating school supplies and encouraging others to contribute.
“RE/MAX 10 has nine locations where they were more than willing to help out the students,” Baudo said.
The collection day brought another community member into the effort. Martin Lorenzen provided lunch for those who spent the day gathering and organizing the donated supplies.
The school supplies collected will go directly to students in Worth School District 127. The donations will help provide children with some of the basic items they need when they return to the classroom.
Baudo said she is grateful to everyone who pitched in, especially the RE/MAX 10 team, the Hatzelises, Lorenzen and the Worth Police Department.
Her involvement in the drive is part of a larger pattern of giving back to a community that has remained important to her even after moving away.
Baudo may no longer live in Worth, but she continues to show up when there is an opportunity to help.
This time, that meant gathering notebooks, pencils and other school supplies. More importantly, it meant bringing people together to help local children start the school year with the supplies they need.
