Chi Town Blankets is trying to keep the homeless community warm one blanket at a time
It's winter in Chicago. Most of us know how to deal with the cold conditions. We dress in layers, heavy winter jackets, hats, gloves, boots. We also spend a majority of our time inside. What if your life makes that an impossibility. What if you are spending the day outside? What if you're sleeping outdoors? How do you keep warm?
That's the quandary people in the homeless community face daily. Dominic Hillesheim found a way to help.
One day on his way home from work, he saw a homeless man on the street. He had an extra blanket at home, rushed to get and brought it back to the man. It gave him an idea. In a story broadcast on the NBC5 News, Hillsheim said,
"I just figured with roughly 80,000 people in Chicago, there's probably a bigger need. So I decided to keep it going."
That one blanket grew into a charitable organization called Chi Town Blankets. The original goal was to get one hundred blankets out into the street and into the hands of the homeless community by Christmas. Christmas came early as the blanket number one hundred was delivered on December 8th.
The new goal is to get out two-hundred and fifty blankets by the end of the winter season. They get their blankets through donations and you can reach them at their website, Chitownblankets.com. Chi Town Blankets also has a big presence on social media. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
I like to say that the problem of homelessness can be solved one person at a time. Chi Town Blanket is helping to do their part one blanket at a time.
This is another story in the ongoing series Face of Homelessness. You can find the series by clicking on either link.
Related Post: How can you tell someone is homeless?
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