Regular Hours of Operation - Tuesdays and Thursdays & By APP

April Showers bring… lifted spirits!   

Miss B’s UIC-Hospital physical therapist referred her to the Heart to Heart Lending Closet for a rollator. Delighted to get a sturdy walker with a seat, Miss B patiently waited in the Ministry Center parlor for her PACE bus ride home to the west side.  As we watched the rain, she mentioned her years working at Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Elderly, including when Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s mother Maria lived there. “I got the call when the Cardinal’s mother arrived – the staff wanted me to be there to welcome and care for her!” Miss B reminisced.  

Her welcoming demeanor was confirmed not 10 minutes later, when Jacqueline rang the bell, desperate to borrow a Lending Closet wheelchair. Jacqueline’s teen son, a varsity CPS high school basketball player in the Chatham neighborhood, had been injured in a game. He needed a wheelchair to attend school for the next six weeks and CPS suggested the Lending Closet. Miss B assured the worried mom that her son would do just fine and promised prayers of healing. 

As the rains softened and Miss B and Jacqueline each headed home, I imagined Maria Bernardin and her son Joseph smiling down on such chance meetings that lift all our spirits!  

~ Laurie Hasbrook, Lending Closet Manager

"Siyahamba, ekukanyen' kwenkos', Siyahamba, ekukanyen' kwenkos' We are MARCHing in the light of God, we are MARCHing in the light of God" ~ South African folk song  

Friends from Swedish Hospital called in March -- medical supplies for a field clinic in Ukraine were desperately needed. Could the Lending Closet help? Serving internally displaced refugees, the clinic needed basic items. The Lending Closet sent 12 boxes of donated first aid supplies (gauze bandages, alcohol wipes, aspirin, etc...), delivered directly by a Chicago delegation to the Ukrainian clinic that week.  

Closer to home, a grateful mother stopped by to donate durable medical equipment, including "the Hog", pictured above. A folding Hemi Walker, the Hog, supported her 26 year-old son during his recovery from a motorcycle accident. The mother said she'd spent hours in prayer at her son's bedside. The Hog, no doubt, has been amply blessed for whoever needs it next!  

The generosity of St. Gertrude parishioners and donors from throughout Chicago allow us to meet needs locally, and sometimes farther afield. Thank you for your support!  

~ Laurie Hasbrook, Medical Equipment Lending Closet Manager