Mercy thanks the Gazette 

Dear Editor: 

God bless you and the Gazette for supporting Mercy Home for Boys & Girls' Shamrocks for Kids. Your outstanding placement of our program on the cover of your March issue helped to make this year's program an overwhelming success and will help Mercy Home continue to provide a solution for kids in crisis.

            Mercy Home for Boys & Girls is truly blessed by your continuing friendship. As you know, Shamrocks for Kids is a critical fundraising and awareness-raising effort that makes our work possible. Your involvement during this campaign will support our life-saving mission year-round. Thank you for helping us save kids and bring more public attention to the ever-growing number of young people in our community who desperately need a home like ours.

            Because Mercy Home is almost entirely privately funded, we rely upon the kindhearted investment of our faithful community in making our home available to children who are hurting. It is because of your involvement that we are able to give our young men and women the tools they need to build happier and healthier futures.

            Please accept my deepest gratitude on behalf of my co-workers and our young men and women. May God grant you continued success and return the blessings you've shared with us throughout the year!

            Blessings,

            Rev. L. Scott Donahue
            President & CEO
            Mercy Home for Boys & Girls

 

‘Editorial right on’ 

Dear Editor: 

Your editorial of April 4th on Montefiore School was right on!  And, the cynic in me wants to also add that privatization was a benefit for the Mayor to get around the Shakman Decree and patronage. 

            There's always a way for people on the make and close to the "powers that be" to make money.

            Keep up the good work.

            Leo Miller 

 

Parrillo lauded 

Dear Editor:
As a former University Village Association (UVA) executive director and as a current resident of the community with my family, I am happy for Charles Parrillo, and saddened at the same time about his retirement from the Chicago Police Department.

Chuck was a model of consistency in a community which has gone through so much change.  Ever reliable, Chuck's presence alone mitigated problems many other communities suffer from. His broad acceptance from both the community and businesses made him a community asset hard to replace in deeds and in personality.

Chuck was also a tireless and passionate critic of me and the UVA during my tenure. While he would shun comparisons to his friend Florence Scala, he was like her in that Chuck spoke for the little guy who lived in this community because he was from here and he maintained real ties here. He knew the small businessman trying to keep things afloat and more often than not, he fought for those who felt unconnected and voiceless. 

He was a great source of information. Assuredly he made me a better listener over my four years as executive director and more responsive to the community because of the time I spent with him. His advice on major issues of the day was spot on and served to assist me in ways too numerous to list.  I learned much from him and accordingly framed many of our more successful initiatives due to his comments. 

Lastly Chuck was approachable, honest, and resourceful as a police officer. While Beat 1213 may seem to be the perfect beat for a police officer to have, it was Chuck who helped to make it a livable, walkable, and vibrant community for businesses, students, and residents. The new commander in the 12th Police District will have to dig deep into his ranks to find an officer who can match these skills in the "Chicago Way" that Ofc. Charles Parrillo did.

Brian A. Bernardoni
UVA Executive Director 1998 to 2002
Resident

 

Help end abuse of children 

Dear Editor, 

A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in 50 children younger than age one were victims of nonfatal child abuse or neglect in the United States. Even more disturbing was the finding that one-third, or about 30,000 of these cases, involved infants who were a week old or younger.

            These are startling statistics that further highlight the need for preventive services and programs for families at risk of abuse or neglect.

            Healthy Families Illinois and Parents Too Soon are programs that coach new parents to help foster their children's development and growth. These programs help prevent child abuse and neglect in highly at-risk families through community-based home-visiting programs. Unfortunately, these services do not reach all the families who want and need services.

            That is why Kids Hope United, a human service organization dedicated to protecting children and strengthening families, encourages the passage in the Illinois State Legislature of House Bill 5570/Senate Bill 2235, which would appropriate $10 million from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Human Services to expand these crucial programs.

            Support for this bill would help curb these alarming statistics and secure the futures of these young, vulnerable children.

            Sincerely,

            Mark McHugh
            Executive Director
            Kids Hope United

 

Amazing Ingrid 

Dear Editor: 

I picked up a copy of the April Gazette; what a nice article about Ingrid Washinawatok. I was amazed to read about her life, and all that she accomplished at such a young age! Jean Lachowicz did a great job telling her story.

            Irene O’Neill