COVID-19 affected Will County nonprofits in unique ways. Here’s how Hearts With Compassion in Minooka addressed it.

Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment of an eight-part series.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected nonprofits in a variety of ways, especially nonprofits that provide health and human services.

For instance, the need for their services increased – up to 300% in some cases – while nonprofits’ ability to fundraise to meet the need decreased.

Capacity restrictions and mitigations to keep staff and clients safe while providing the much-needed services added to the challenges.

In a December 2020 Herald-News story, United Way of Will County spokesperson Sarah Oprzedek said 30% of people in Will County were just over the poverty line, which meant they made too much to receive assistance and not enough to pay for necessities.

Although society largely has reopened, that doesn’t mean families and nonprofits have recovered from the past year.

The Herald-News recently asked eight Will County nonprofits a number of questions, such as “What was your biggest need pre-COVID?” “How did COVID affect your ability to serve your clients – as well as your ability to fundraise?” “What strategies did you implement?” and “What is the biggest challenge for your organization in 2021?”

Here is how Hearts with Compassion in Minooka answered those questions.

Kim Przybyla is the executive director of Hearts With Compassion in Minooka, a nonprofit children’s clothing closet and baby hub that runs on an exchange program and by appointment. Przybyla said finding funding and a location for the nonprofit’s Children’s Clothing Closet and Baby Hub was its biggest need before COVID-19.

Przybyla had acquired the space in March 2020, but COVID delayed the actual opening of Children’s Clothing Closet and Baby Hub until July 2020 – and then COVID-19 safety restrictions limited the amount of hours and days the hub could be open.

Clients also had to make appointments and Przybyla had to limit the number of clients in the store at one time, Przybyla said.

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

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

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

Hearts with Compassion also had to cancel a fundraiser at Skooters in Shorewood for 2020, and Przybyla said it had to think “out of the box” for other ways to raise money.

For instance, Hearts with Compassion held a cookie dough fundraiser, registered with Amazon Smile and created a PayPal a PayPal account that helps with some revenue as well, Przybyla said.

“We also have a local business that makes candles exclusively for Hearts With Compassion and we receive a percentage of sales from those,” Przybyla said in an email. “We also make our own hair bows to help bring in some revenue as well. We are scheduled this year to host our big fundraiser at Skooters on July 31st.”

Przybyla said the nonprofit’s biggest need is still funding.

“We have grown out of our current location and would love to expand,” Przybyla said in the email. “But the funding is not there.

For information or to make an appointment, visit heartswithcompassion.org or Hearts With Compassion Children’s Clothing Closet and Baby Hub on Facebook. The Facebook page has information about its fundraiser on July 31 at Skooters in Shorewood.