Stock The Shelves is collecting essentials for refugee families in Chicago.
What began as a conversation between friends at a Super Bowl party in Wilmette evolved into “Stock The Shelves,” a community- wide effort to assist newly resettled refugee families in Chicago.
“Stock The Shelves is a way to do good. There is so much abundance here and these people don’t have anything. We are just trying to help them,” Meghan Mills told DailyNorthShore.
Mills, a Wilmette resident, was chatting at a Super Bowl party with her friend Erin Raska when the idea was conceived. Raska is an assistant minister at First Presbyterian Church in Wilmette, where Mills and her family are members. The women were chatting about helping others, and Raska mentioned that three congregations in Wilmette all sponsor refugee families — First Presbyterian Church, First Congregational Church and Congregation Sukkat Shalom. She said there were many essential items that refugee families lacked.
Mills offered to co-lead a committee comprised of members from the three congregations and overseen by church leaders, which would initiate a collection of essential items on a monthly basis for refugee families. Tania Bouwman, of First Congregational Church is co-leader of the committee.
“Our mission is to be the vehicle to fill the void,” Mills said.
The group plans to stock essential items that are not covered by food stamps, such as diapers, formula, paper goods, cleaning products and toiletries.
Many refugee families have resettled in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, living near Warren Park. Already, the Chicago Food Banks sets up a truck in Warren Park where refugees can come and shop for free. Stock The Shelves plans to send a mobile truck to Warren Park the fourth Wednesday of each month, stocked with essentials collected from the North Shore.
May is the first month that Stock The Shelves plans to send a fully stocked truck to Warren Park. Mills said she has a garage full of items the group has collected so far, but hopes to collect more before the May 24 delivery date. Many of the donations were collected through a drive hosted by Romona Elementary School’s student council. Other items were collected through advertisements on social media and word of mouth. For example, Mills posted a collection notice on the Wilmette Virtual Yard Sale which received a warm reception.
Mills said the group is still collecting items and will continue to do so since this is an ongoing monthly effort. Some of the items Stock The Shelves is hoping to collect are bicycles, blenders, microwaves, tea kettles, Ventra cards and baby essentials such as diapers, formula, cars seats, strollers and high chairs. “They are struggling to make a living here. We want to help them and make them feel welcome,” Mills said.
While First Presbyterian is renting the May delivery truck, Mills said the group hopes to get sponsorships from other organizations and individuals.
“This is an effort that is bigger than two churches and a temple. It’s a community wide effort,” she explained. She views Stock The Shelves as something anyone on the North Shore can get involved in, not just a religious effort. “We’ve been blown away just by the support in Wilmette and Winnetka,” she remarked.
Stock The Shelves is in the beginning stages with ambitious plans to help new refugee families resettle in Chicago. “The reason for the name is that we want to stock the shelves of the refugees to get them what they can’t afford and food stamps won’t cover,” Mills said.
Interested in getting involved or donating to Stock The Shelves? Contact Meghan Mills directly at memills70@gmail.com.
Romona Elementary School in Wilmette collected essentials for Stock The Shelves.