Staff from Windsor Estates Nursing & Rehabilitation receive balloons that were donated as part of the Mother’s Day Card Project.

Thanks to an outpouring of love and support from community members, 800 women at risk for isolation received a special card on Mother’s Day.

The Southland Gratitude Room Mother’s Day Card Project, established by Patricia Jackson, Community Health Worker with Advocate Aurora Health, exceeded expectations, with organizers receiving more cards than anticipated.

“We wanted to remind women from the community that they are loved and appreciated – that they are not forgotten,” said LaShondria Purnell, Faith Community Nurse with Advocate Aurora Health. “There were smiles and expressions of warmth when women opened their cards. It was something much needed for the community.”

Along with Advocate, Claretian Associates and the South Chicago Neighborhood Network sponsored the project.

A special thank you to the individuals and organizations that helped make this project a success, including:

• Cracker Barrel in Hammond, Indiana, for allowing Luz Sanchez, Community Connector with Advocate Aurora, to use an isolated area of the restaurant to prepare cards for distribution.
• Renee Ruffin, CEO of Faithful Meals in Motion, and a member of the Advocate Partners of Faith & Health Network, for donating 100 colosseum balloon arrangements, which were given to residents of Windsor Estates Nursing & Rehabilitation and congregation members who were ill and homebound.

Many thanks, also, to volunteers who purchased or created cards, including those from:

• Southland Gratitude Room on Zoom
• Advocate Trinity Hospital diabetic team, led by Advocate Nurse Rosie Bernard
• 4^th District Police Department
• Unity Squad, Claretian Associates’ youth organization
• Roosevelt University Student Association, led by Chantel Bailey
• and several organizations affiliated with the South Chicago Neighborhood Network.

Volunteers distributed the cards to women affiliated with 11 Southland community organizations:

• Montclair Senior Suites
• Victory Centre of South Chicago
• Salud Center of South Chicago
• Villa Guadalupe Senior Housing
• Casa Kirk
• Colfax Manor Assisted Living
• Senior Suites of Hegewisch
• Parents of Extraordinary Children
• Trinity AME Church
• Living Stones
• Windsor Estates Nursing & Rehabilitation