Kids & Family

Downers Grove Residents Fill 7 Buses with Tornado Relief Supplies

Randall Park neighbors thought they could fill 2 school buses with tornado relief supplies to send to Washington, Ill. Boy, were they off.

Downers Grove residents in the Randall Park neighborhood set their sights at sending two school buses packed with tornado relief supplies to Washington, Ill. 

They didn't fill two buses—they filled seven. 

Donations began pouring in at 11 a.m.—two hours before the start of the Nov. 22 drive—and didn't stop until 6 p.m. 

"It was amazing how so many came together to help thousands of others!" wrote effort coordinator Christie Benish. 

Several schools, including school districts 99 and 58 of Downers Grove, St. Joseph, St. Mary of Gostyn,  Benet Academy, El Sierra, St. Joan of Arc and even Palatine High all collected donations and delivered supplies by the bus loads to the donation site.  Companies such as Pepsi Co. donated two palettes of water.  

Neighbors and friends came together to collect and load up the buses donated by Cook Illinois Corp. with Westway Coach buses donated by John Benish. Bus drivers with Westway Coach donated their time on Saturday and drove the supplies and delivered to Liberty Baptist Church in Pekin and to a warehouse in Washington.  

"We want to thank everyone in Downers Grove, our neighborhood, Randall Park and all our friends who worked so hard with the relief drive!! This event exceeded our expectations and thank just doesn't express our gratitude to everyone involved!" Benish wrote to Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here