Natalie Mareci: Providing HUGS and granting wishes to the community

Shorewood resident Natalie Mareci decided shortly after she moved in to find a way to give back to her new community.

Through a friend, the stay-at-home mother learned about and joined Shorewood HUGS with the hope of meeting new people and being of service to others.

“I thought this would be a wonderful way to give back to my community and meet a great group of ladies since we were new to the area,” Mareci said.

According to former Shorewood HUGS President Molly Babyak, Mareci has had many jobs – including treasurer, wishes chairwoman and HUGS member – during the past five years.

Shorewood HUGS began in 2010 in hopes to help those in the Shorewood, Joliet, Minooka, Channahon and Plainfield areas through their “Hugs and Wishes” program. Anyone can go online and submit an application for a wish to be granted, and the committee works to make it happen. Babyak said that as of August, the program has offered 476 wishes since its inception.

“Since Natalie has been the wishes chairperson, she has organized about 400 wishes,” Babyak said. “We have a dedicated wishes committee in charge, but it was so crucial to have someone like Natalie to keep track of everything and be the point person.”

Babyak said Mareci reads the wishes that come in, assigns people to fulfill the wish, takes care of the finances of the wish, and buys gift cards and other items needed for the wish.

Mareci said she has been a part of this organization for the past five years due to the passion of fulfilling wishes, which has been her main focus. She said she loves to hear the stories that come in, and it has been fun to help in a positive way.

She said she has a favorite wish and she was able to involve her sister, who was not a part of the HUGS organization.

Mareci said her dad died a few years ago from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. A couple of weeks later, she had a call about a family who had a young father who was diagnosed with the same disease and asked whether HUGS could help with the fundraiser.

“I talked to my sister Donna Ciesielski and said we should match whatever HUGS donated from the money from the funeral. It touched home and it got my sister involved in what we do at HUGS. I hope we made our dad proud,” Mareci said.

Babyak said there have been times where HUGS gets a call for an immediate need, and Mareci has dropped everything in her busy life to come to another’s aid.

“A couple years ago, we had a rough winter and there was a trailer park on the east side of Joliet where residents had their pipes freeze over and over,” Babyak said. “She took that one on herself and delivered water and supplies and even contacted local businesses to donate items.”

Mareci said she has to work around her children’s schedules and does paperwork when they are in bed, but they all know that sometimes HUGS will change the plans.

“My kids and husband are awesome and patient,” Mareci said. “They fully understand what we are doing and know we are doing good things for others. Plus, my kids like to shop, so it works.”