‘Come take what you need. We do not ask for ID’

Last week, the Herald-News ran a story on Our Caring Closet, a free “store” in Wilmington.

Here’s a fairly new one in Minooka: Hearts with Compassion, a nonprofit children’s clothing closet and baby hub that runs on an exchange program and by appointment.

Clients bring in new or gently used children’s clothing (sizes newborn to juniors) in exchange for the next size up.

Kim Przybyla, executive director, acquired the space last March but delayed its grand opening in July because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Przybyla informally began the program in 2013 after the first Coal City tornado.

Przybyla was at home recovering from cancer surgery, watching the newscasts and wishing she could do something – anything – to help.

So she called on family and friends to help her organize a toy drive for the kids, collecting 300 toys in all, Przybyla said. From there, Przybyla found more people in need and more ways to help, and it snowballed from there, she said.

In 2018, Hearts with Compassion became an official nonprofit, Przybyla said.

The cancer was caught before it spread to other tissues, so Przybyla is fine. But having cancer helped drive the idea for the nonprofit.

“It made me realize that life was about more than just every day. I needed to help people,” Przybyla said. “God gave me a second chance. So I needed to do something productive now, something meaningful with my life, something to help others.”

Clients aren’t just from Minooka. They come from Morris, Mazon, Verona, Gardner and even Park Forest, Przybyla said. Because the space is small, clients are limited to one every half-hour by appointment each Thursday, Przybyla said.

But Przybyla will meet people at the store during off-hours if someone has an emergency, she said.

“Sometimes people have a house fire, or a mom just left an abusive relationship and needs clothes or diapers for her baby,” Przybyla said. “They just come to the store and I meet them.”

Przybyla said Hearts with Compassion is also a resource center for an agency that provides a network of support to families in crisis.

“When they get a child placed in their care, they reach out to us,” Przybyla said. “They just had a little 3-year-old girl who just came into care. She got 10 outfits and boots.”

Przybyla said Hearts with Compassion also does “little projects throughout the year.”

These have included making and donating chemo bags for adult cancer patients and care bags for moms with babies in a neonatal intensive care unit. Volunteers also crochet baby caps for local hospitals, host food drives for area micropantries and reach out to families in need during the Christmas and Easter holidays.

Through all these efforts, Przybyla said she’s learned that all people in need aren’t necessarily homeless. She’s learned people can have a home one day and lose it the next through a house fire.

“So many people have said to me, ‘I never realized it until you brought it to light,’ ” Przybyla said.

Przybyla said people also ask, “How do you know they really need it?” when they help people. Przybyla said she responds, “That’s not up for me to know. I’m doing what I need to be doing.”

“We have no qualifications,” Przybyla said. “Come take what you need. We do not ask for ID. That’s how we work here.”

So if Hearts with Compassion is free, how does Przybyla pay for the rent and utilities? Well, Przybyla and her husband, Tom, paid for the first year’s rent. Przybyla also is hoping she can hold a large fundraiser in July.

In the meantime, local merchants have placed some items in the store that Przybyla can sell to help pay the bills. These include candles and hair bows.

“The proceeds go to help run the store,” Przybyla said.

For information or to make an appointment, visit heartswithcompassion.org or Hearts with Compassion Children’s Clothing Closet and Baby Hub on Facebook.