Nonprofit raising funds to replace service van

Engine fire destroyed vehicle on Dec. 17

Paula McWilliams is in desperate need of a new vehicle.

And she is spearheading a fundraising campaign to get it.

Ms. McWilliams, president and CEO of Heritage Community Initiatives, is attempting to replace the organization’s van, which was destroyed in an engine fire on its premises on Dec. 17.

Braddock-based Heritage Community Initiatives is entering its 35th year of providing education, transportation and nutrition to communities in and around the east suburbs. But with its van out of commission, the organization has been scrambling to fulfill its commitment of supplying more than 300 meals a day to children and elderly recipients in the region.

Heritage supplies approximately 100,000 meals a year to its students and youth in surrounding communities. On an average day, the organization provides two full meals and a snack for the students.

In the summer, it supplies nearly 2,000 meals a day for students who would go without because they would not be able to eat at school. The organization also provides year-round food delivery service for low-income senior citizens.

“Our van has served all three of our areas of business, and, certainly, with nutrition, we use it constantly,” Ms. McWilliams said. “To follow guidelines, our food has to be packaged in a certain way to maintain a certain temperature, in hot boxes and in a sanitary environment, so obviously we take this very seriously.”

Without the centerpiece of its delivery system in place, Heritage has had to come up with unique ways of making sure its delivery schedule remains in place.

“Without a van, and to make sure we’re in compliance, it’s very difficult,” Ms. McWilliams said. “Right now we are using employees’ vehicles that can fit the hot boxes several times a day plus making sure we’re doing everything we need for our transportation program.”

Besides operating the 4 Kids Learning Center, the Heritage Out of School Time program and delivering meals, the organization also offers rides for lower-income people in the area at a cost of 25 cents. However, without a replacement vehicle, some of those services could be hampered.

“The van supports everything we do,” Ms. McWilliams said. “It makes it very, very challenging with no vehicle at all.”

To that end, Heritage has been running an emailbased fundraising operation in order to generate an estimated $28,000 for a new van. So far the organization has raised approximately $16,000.

“We were very fortunate that we did have a lot of folks respond to that email and we’re very grateful,” Ms. McWilliams said. “Certainly I’d be remiss to say that we asked dealers if they would donate a vehicle. We understand that it would be a very large ask, but we knew we’d have to try and raise money in the interim because it’s a pressing situation right now.”

And it’s not like Heritage is looking for a brand new custom van off the showroom floor.

“Our last van was used so that’s totally not a problem,” Ms. McWilliams said. “We’ll do whatever we can do to get a vehicle that can accommodate our hot boxes and everything else that we need to transport and that’s safe.

“That’s our goal.”