May 15, 2024
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This Shorewood woman knows how to be a good neighbor

Tami Wadas created 90 Mother’s Day gift baskets for the women at The Timbers of Shorewood

By Denise M. Baran-Unland
Helen Minnick was one of 90 women at The Timbers of Shorewood who received a gift basket on Mother's Day from Tami Wadas of Shorewood.

Helen Minnick was one of 90 women at The Timbers of Shorewood who received a gift basket on Mother's Day from Tami Wadas of Shorewood. (Photo provided)

Tami Wadas said she once read an article that said 40% of residents in long-term care facilities never have any visitors.

Whether or not that percentage is true, the article stuck with her, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic further isolated some residents.

So Wadas decided to donate 90 gifts baskets to all the female residents at The Timbers of Shorewood for Mother’s Day.

“I noticed some other towns were doing something similar, like sending flowers to each resident,” Wadas said. “And I thought, ‘you know, I could do something like that.’”

Beverlee King was one of 90 women at The Timbers of Shorewood who received a gift basket on Mother's Day from Tami Wadas of Shorewood. (Photo provided)

Wadas doesn’t know anyone at The Timbers, not any of the residents or staff. But Wadas, an auditor for the state of Illinois, does know about The Timbers because of all the events it hosts for the community, she said.

So Wadas asked for donations from local businesses and through social media. Some of the businesses that donated included Darcy Motors, Walgreens, Jewel-Osco and Jim Delaney of Allstate Insurance, Wadas said in a news release from The Timbers.

How did Wadas arrive the number 90? Wadas said she called The Timbers of Shorewood and asked how many female residents it had.

Wadas then bought 90 baskets from a dollar store and placed the following items inside them: crossword puzzle book, post-it notes, nail file, lip balm, hand cream, face mask, scratch-off lottery ticket, pens, playing cards, magazines, a deck of cards, a greeting card made by one of two Girl Scout troops and a note that said, “From your friends and neighbors.”

The note did not say, “From Tami Wadas.”

“It’s not about me,” Wadas said.

The released said Wadas filled the baskets assembly-line style, walking through that assembly line 90 times. She packed a jeep and an SUV to deliver them, the release said.

“There are not enough ways to thank Tami Wadas,” Amy Odell, director of activities at The Timbers of Shorewood, said in the news release. “The residents at the Timbers were all so surprised and grateful to receive such beautiful baskets for Mother’s Day. We know the baskets were filled not only with wonderful gifts, but also kindness and love.”