Damaged nonprofit is in line for grant

Organization hobbled by fire gets $250,000 to help restore services

A Tinley Park nonprofit that helps people facing homelessness is in line for a $250,000 state grant after services such as a food pantry were disrupted by a fire just before Thanksgiving.

The money is coming from the state’s Rebuild Illinois capital program, according to state Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort.

Together We Cope has worked to raise money to pay for losses not covered by insurance following the Nov. 21 fire.

Kathy Straniero, executive director of Together We Cope, said the grant comes “at a time when we need it most” and could help accelerate the timing of the nonprofit’s reopening.

Separately, an elaborate holiday lights display in Tinley Park raised more than $27,000 for Together We Cope.

For now, the food pantry and adjacent resale shop, Nu2u, both at 17010 S. Oak Park Ave., are closed, with a reopening tentatively scheduled for this spring.

The fire was confined to a sorting area for donations for the resale shop, which is a major source of revenue for the nonprofit. While the fire was quickly extinguished, smoke and water damage meant merchandise offered for sale had to be thrown out along with many food items kept in an adjacent pantry, according to Together We Cope.

Hastings said he worked with other legislators in the General Assembly to secure the grant money from the massive Rebuild Illinois capital program, with $45 billion going to infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges.

“Together We Cope is an important social services organization that provides a range of resources to needy families, women, and children who are facing crisis so they can stay in their homes,” Hastings said in a statement announcing the funding.

“The fire that crippled its Tinley Park food pantry just before Thanksgiving is not only a tragedy for them but also for all the needy women, children and families they serve,” Hastings said. “The funding will help them to get their food pantry and resale shop back up and running again so they can continue to help others in the 27 suburban communities they serve.”

It was not immediately clear when Together We Cope will receive the money.

While the money has been set

aside, Together We Cope needs to submit a grant proposal for the funding, which, once completed, will clear the way for the grant, according to a Hastings’ spokesman.

Together We Cope is looking to raise $75,000 to pay losses not covered by insurance following the fire, and has so far received more than $45,000 in contributions.

The nonprofit has not been taking in food donations since the fire because it has no place to store them, and has been looking for a temporary location for the resale shop.

The store helps provide funds for Together We Cope’s aid programs which include paying rent and utility bills for customers at risk of losing their homes.

Separately, a Tinley Park resident whose annual holiday display of lights raises donations for Together We Cope said Monday a little more than $27,000 was collected this past holiday season.

Visited by thousands each year and requiring police help to navigate the influx of traffic, the display spans Dominic Kowalczyk’s home and adjoining properties in the 17300 block of Avon Lane in Tinley Park.

The previous holiday season, from 2021 into early 2022, $35,000 was collected, but that number was helped by a $10,000 donation from a local business, Kowalczyk said.

This year, the business was able to contribute $3,000, he said.

In 2014, he started collecting for Together We Cope, and that holiday season garnered $4,100 in donations.

The charity is also looking, once the food pantry reopens, to make it more like a grocery.

With the assistance of The Greater Chicago Food Depository, the pantry wants to convert to a method of having customers select certain foods they want rather than a prepacked bag of items, according to Together We Cope.