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the mokena messenger | March 26, 2020 | 3
‘It takes a village’
3
Mokenians band
together to offer
assistance to
residents
Jon DePaolis
Freelance Reporter
Amidst a backdrop of
uncertainty and anxiety, a
group of Mokena residents
have banded together with
the intention of helping
those in the community
who are in need.
Terry Germany, a Mokena
resident, and other
like-minded community
members have formed
Mokena Strong, a 501c3
nonprofit designed to help
their neighbors during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Germany said the idea
formed around March 12,
after he read a post on
Facebook from a woman
who wanted to help the elderly
by going to the grocery
store for them. The
woman wrote that she also
would take out garbage or
do other helpful services
for any older resident who
needed help.
“I was on the road, thinking
about it and thinking
about it,” Germany said.
Later, Germany called
up a friend, Village of Mokena
Trustee Joseph Siwinski,
and asked for his
input on putting together
some sort of community
volunteer group. As they
talked over options, they
decided to loop in another
Mokena resident, Tim Ozinga.
The three of them met
on March 14 to hammer
out some of the details. By
the end of the day they had
reached out to the Village,
the fire department and the
police to let them know
what they were thinking of
doing.
“With their blessing,
which was very nice to
hear by the end of that
Saturday night, the next
step was to get [the group
together] to discuss what
we could do legally,” Germany
said. “Can we pick
up pharmaceuticals? How
do we do that without getting
ourselves into a situation
where you try and
help and do something you
shouldn’t have done?”
What they determined
they could do was take
nonemergency calls from
community members in
need and determine from
there if it was something
the volunteers could handle.
If not, they would
direct the resident to the
fire department, police or
emergency personnel.
“It’s been happening
naturally, which is heartwarming,”
Germany said.
“It’s bringing us together,
which is what we need in
this country. We need to
be brought together, instead
of being divided. It
naturally has brought us
together communitywide.”
Germany said the group
has created a database to
log all the calls and requests.
As the requests
come in, the volunteers
filter them into 19 designated
areas in which
they have divided up the
Village. Each area has a
dedicated number of volunteers.
From there, the
request gets sent to one of
the area’s volunteers to be
handled.
He gave the example of
someone requesting assistance
picking up groceries.
He said the group
would ask where the groceries
were purchased,
where they needed to be
delivered to and any other
specifics about where to
place the groceries upon
delivery.
“There will be no [physical]
contact between the
person who needs help
and the volunteers,” Germany
said. “They will
come place [things] on the
porch, call the homeowner
… and deliver with a mask
and gloves on. Safety will
always be a priority.”
He said all volunteers
will need to be 18 years
or older, and background
checks will be performed
on every volunteer before
they can assist or help.
Germany said before
the group even officially
launched, seven requests
had come in. Currently, he
said Melissa Fedora, the
executive director of the
Mokena Chamber of Commerce,
was volunteering
her time to help answer
some of the requests.
He also said that Mokena
Strong’s services
would not just be for senior
citizens. He said the
group can assist those who
have sustained injuries and
cannot leave their home,
as well as others who are
immunocompromised because
of health conditions.
The group will not deal
with medical assistance or
emergencies in any form,
however, as those calls and
requests should be made
of emergency personnel,
the fire department and the
police.
For more information,
call (708) 400-3434, or
visit mokenastrong.org.
There is also a Facebook
page for the group at @
mokenastrong.
800-421-3220
dykstrahomeservices.com
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