Kendall County kids blanket PADS guests with kindness

By Tom Siebert
Assistant Director for Community Relations
Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS) of Kendall County

As the season of giving coincides with cold weather and early darkness, Kendall County youth are showing warmth and brightness to the area’s homeless community.

Students from Parkview Academy and members of a local 4-H Club, both in Yorkville, recently donated colorful fleece blankets to PADS’ temporary shelters.

Jennifer Kaufman, leader of the Stagecoach Trailblazers and Cloverbuds 4-H Club, identified the need for thicker blankets when volunteering at the PADS site at Church of the Good Shepherd in Oswego.

“They have one room that gets really cold, and the guests would ask for extra blankets,” said Ms. Kaufman, whose son Thomas, 15, spearheaded the project.

She said the materials were purchased at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store, which offers a discount to the 4-H club, and later woven into double-tiered blankets by the Trailblazers, ages 8 to 15, and the Cloverbuds, 5 to 7.

“It made me very happy that we were able to help,” Ms. Kaufman added.

Another blanket drive was conducted by students at Parkview Academy, which houses one of the seven overnight shelters that PADS operates during the colder months.

In addition to donating the decorative blankets, the Parkview students made greeting cards and a festive banner saying “To Our Friends At PADS” that welcomed homeless guests to the school gym on a recent Wednesday evening.

“All of the blankets were amazing,” said Peggy McNamara, PADS site coordinator at Parkview. “I got teary-eyed when I saw them. Those kids reached out to us!”

This is the tenth year that Kendall County PADS has been providing safe havens and nutritious meals to the local homeless community. Social work interns from Aurora University also assist guests with employment, personal issues, and permanent housing.

Each shelter is open one overnight per week from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. through April 18, 2020. The nights and sites are as follows:

• Sundays: Cross Lutheran Church, 8609 Route 47, Yorkville
• Mondays: Yorkville Congregational United Church of Christ, 409 Center Parkway, Yorkville
• Tuesdays: Harvest New Beginnings church, 5315 Douglas Road, Oswego
• Wednesdays: Parkview Christian Academy, north campus, 202 East Countryside Parkway, Yorkville
• Thursdays: Trinity United Methodist Church, 2505 Boomer Lane, Yorkville
• Fridays: Church of the Good Shepherd, 5 West Washington Street, Oswego
• Saturdays: St. Luke's Lutheran Church, 53 Fernwood Road, Montgomery

PADS of Kendall County is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit group funded by gifts and grants as well as donations from individuals, organizations, and businesses. Those who wish to donate, volunteer, or learn more about helping the homeless may call (630) 334-8180 or visit the website at kendallcountypads.org.

“Our shelter sites are now filled with fleece blankets,” said Anne Engelhardt, executive director of the homeless support group. “PADS has been the recipient of many donations in the past few weeks. The spirit of Christmas is strong at this time of year, as seen by the monetary contributions and other goods.”