Orland Township Provides Gifts and Meals for Over 200 Families
Generous community supports Holiday Program. Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady and the Township board distributed food and toys to more than 200 needy families during the Township’s annual Holiday Program
Through many acts of kindness and generosity, the holidays were made a little brighter for local families experiencing financial difficulties, according to the office of Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady.
The Orland Township Holiday Program has been assisting local families in need for more than 30 years. In years past, the Holiday Program has provided for 100 to 150 families. Due to pandemic shutdowns and job losses, the need was greater this year, with over 200 families signing up for the program.
“In a year with so many challenges and uncertainty, the Orland Township community came through and made sure every family and every child who signed up for the Township’s Holiday Program received a holiday meal and gifts,” said Supervisor O’Grady.
Informational flyers about the Holiday Program and the Giving Tree, which contained tags with the gift wishes of local children, were available in late October when the Township served as an early voting site. Orland Township began receiving donations for the Holiday Program in early November.
After weeks of sorting, gifts were organized by the number the family was assigned (for anonymity purposes) and a mass distribution was held on Saturday, Dec. 19. Students from Andrew and Sandburg high schools, firefighters and cadets from the Orland Fire Protection District and many regular Food Pantry volunteers assisted with the distribution, loading bags of gifts and food into residents’ vehicles.
Supervisor O’Grady, Township Clerk Cindy Murray and Township Trustee Antonio Rubino attended the distribution, helping direct traffic, hand out gift cards and load vehicles.
“The abundance of the donations for the Holiday Program – gifts, clothing, gift cards and food – was a heartwarming demonstration of community spirit,” said Supervisor O’Grady. “It is just one of the many reasons I am proud to be a part of this community and to be the Orland Township Supervisor.”
For more information on services available through Orland Township, please visit the website, orlandtownship.org, or call (708) 403-4222.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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