State Street Market in Elgin aids winter cause
By Romi Herron For The Courier-News January 30, 2012 1:42PM
Hats and gloves on a tree at State Street Market Shops as part of the Care & Share event to collect mittens/gloves/hats and toiletry items for the Elgin Crisis Center Saturday afternoon. January 21, 2012. | John Konstantaras~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:25AM
ELGIN — Though the current winter season has been milder than normal, to those without coats, it’s too cold.
The Elgin Community Crisis Center has given out thousands of outerwear items in the past three months, and a longtime business — Elgin’s State Street Market — recently helped contribute to the effort.
The Community Crisis center in Elgin’s Gifford Park neighborhood, provides 24-hour assistance, including temporary shelter, to those with challenges resulting from violence and economic challenges.
“Anyone who is cold and doesn’t have any resources can get a coat or mittens, scarves and hats here,” said Gretchen Vapnar, executive director of Elgin Community Crisis Center. “We’ve given out nearly 500 scarves, 1,000 hats, 1,200 pairs of gloves and about 1,500 coats.”
To lend a hand, the managers at State Street Market, which sells a variety of goods including jewelry, antiques, handmade items and apparel, collected donations for the crisis center.
Sally Farmer, Colleen Michbach, and Pat Madden are the front desk managers for the store, which is open Tuesday through Sunday at 701 State.
“We’ve been here about 30 years and every year we do some kind of donation,” said Farmer. “This year in December we just put a sign out asking for mittens, hats, scarves and toiletries.”
Vapnar said donations, including monetary contributions, make a big difference.
“We get about 50 percent of our funding from local, state, and township sources,” Vapnar said. “We also get support from United Way and raise a significant amount of money every year.”
State Street Market collected winter wear accessories and toiletry items, Farmer said. The team called Elgin Community Crisis Center to arrange a delivery time for the goods, and Vapnar said limited space affects what the crisis center can store.
“Other than coats and hats, we don’t collect clothing because we don’t have room,” Vapnar said. “If people have something to donate they can give us a call.”
The organization’s resale shop, called Reruns, located at 1341 Manor Court, is an opportunity for donations of household goods, collectibles and recycled items, she said.
To raise much-needed cash, Elgin Community Crisis Center will host its 25th annual charity auction March 10 at the Q Center in St. Charles. More than 300 items will be auctioned at the event, and Elgin Crisis Center is still hoping businesses will donate experience opportunities, like vacation packages or entertainment tickets. Terry Dunning will handle the auction, and tickets are $100 each.
More information about Community Crisis Center is available at www.crisiscenter.org.
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