(Mark Welsh/Daily Herald) Ann Long.

Many times opportunity is just around the corner, or in this case, just down the street. Ann Long had taken a break from volunteering, but in 1999 she decided she needed a new challenge in her life. She had volunteered in area thrift shops previously, and since The Shelter, Inc. Thrift Shop was right down the street from where she lived in Schaumburg, she decided that maybe that is where she was meant to be. “The proceeds go to a very worthy cause, I enjoy the work, being with the people, and we have lots of fun here,” Long said. Long has volunteered more than 1,800 hours in the thrift shop during the past seven years. She is scheduled to work two days a week, but is always available to work additional shifts to cover for absent volunteers and when extra help is needed. Her duties include sorting and pricing the clothing, books, household goods, furniture, and all types of other items that are donated, but she also straightens shelves, assists customers, and cheerfully does whatever else is needed to assist potential customers. Volunteers ranging in age from teenagers to senior citizens staff the shop each week of the year, and some even pick up donations from area homes.

Lori Salerno-Gillis, Shelter, Inc.’s Thrift Shop Manager, said, “It is quite remarkable to see Ann dedicate so much of her time and energy to Shelter. She has made an incredible difference in our shop, and the other volunteers enjoy the camaraderie she fosters.” Another dedicated volunteer, Dorothy Breitenstein, said, “I volunteer at the shop because I am not only helping the children – I come here for socialization, and have met many wonderful people.”

The proceeds from the shop support the programs provided by Shelter, Inc. a non-profit child welfare agency based in Arlington Heights, whose mission is to help and protect children living in the northwest suburbs, age birth through 17, by providing community-based emergency and longer-term care and housing. Shelter’s goals also include creating community awareness and education to reduce child abuse and neglect, and to help first-time parents learn valuable parenting skills through Shelter’s Healthy Families home visitation and parent education program. Services offered also include emergency, traditional, and home of relative foster care and three group homes, including the emergency Jennings Home for Girls in Schaumburg, the Boys Group Home in Palatine, and the longer-term Older Adolescent Group Home in Arlington Heights for boys ages 16 and 17. Because of Shelter’s community base, children and adolescents can remain in their own school which provides them with some stability during traumatic times in their personal lives.

Long was honored recently for her many hours of volunteer work by being named as Schaumburg’s Volunteer of the Year. Her employment history includes working as a bookkeeper for eight years at Illinois Bell. She is a proud member of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, and she previously volunteered at the information desk and in the gift shop at Resurrection Hospital in Chicago, as well as at Little City, Palatine IL, where she taught a class on audio awareness. She has resided in Schaumburg since 1989, and her leisure activities include spending time with her two children who live close by, as well as hiking, biking, and travel, especially cruises.

“Our volunteers are very special people who make a difference in the lives of abused and neglected children and first-time parents living in the northwest suburbs,” said Carol D. Brown, Director of Development for Shelter, Inc. “Volunteers seeking challenging, exciting opportunities to be of service to others are always welcome and needed at Shelter, Inc.’s thrift shop, as are donations of clothing, household items, and furniture in good condition.”

For information about how YOU can become involved in helping people in need who live in your area, contact The Volunteer Center of Northwest Suburban Chicago (all ages) at 847-228-1320, or the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of Northern Cook and Northern DuPage Counties (seniors age 55 or better) at 847-228-1006 or check their website www.volunteerinfo.net.

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