DGJWC Donated over $66,000 to Local Charities from September 2022 to January 2023

The Downers Grove Junior Woman’s Club (DGJWC) has donated over $66,000 to local charities and organizations since September, an unprecedented level of giving for the volunteer women’s organization.   

Included in the Club’s record amount of giving are teacher grants and holiday season support to impact District 58 teachers, staff and families.    

DGJWC was proud to donate nearly $9,000 to provide several District 58 families in need with support for a happy holiday season.  

For Thanksgiving, DGJWC delivered full Thanksgiving meals to six District 58 families.  

For the holiday season, members raised over $5,400 at its annual Elf Shelf meeting in November. DGJWC members also purchased an additional $2,000 in requested gifts from Target. Both of these efforts allowed DGJWC to sponsor four District 58 families with holiday gifts. The Club also made a donation to Blessings in a Backpack, District 58’s initiative to provide food to local food insecure students. The donation helped support these students over the winter break. 

And this month, DGJWC has proudly awarded 26 teacher grants totaling $10,000 to educators in District 58 and District 99.  The Club’s teacher grant initiative has more than doubled since 2020, both in number of teacher recipients  and amount of funding. This increase is credited to the generosity of the Club’s members and sponsors. 

The grants will support supplies to benefit students, or will support an educator's enrollment in a specific program, course, or workshop to benefit their students. 

“The Downers Grove Junior Woman’s Club is thrilled to provide funds to the incredible teachers in our community who are so invested in our kids’ education,” said Becky Bettinger, Education Committee Chair for DGJWC.  “We are honored to have an opportunity to help teachers and benefit the kids of our community.” 

The grant recipients are: 

  • Christina Gamboa (El Sierra) K-6 - Professional Development- Dyslexia Specialist Cert $250

  • Ana Guihan-Islas (El Sierra) 4-5 -Bilingual Books $500

  • Meg Rohlfing (El Sierra) 5th- Biography reading materials$250

  • Julie Batkiewicz (Henry Puffer) 6th - Diverse Reading Materials $500

  • Heidi Carlson (Henry Puffer) Preschool-6 - Spotify Membership $70

  • Cailtin Choinski (Henry Puffer) PreK-6 - Emotional Coping Kits $500

  • Amber Schweigert (Henry Puffer) 5-6 - Professional Development- The Gifted Program $399

  • Zac Craft (Highland) K-6 - Zones of Regluation Tools- SEL $475

  • Sandi Hudecek (Highland) K-4 - White Board Film and Standing Desk $467

  • Cathleen Relias (Highland) K-2 - Reading Materials- Fundation Books $420

  • Michele Crowley (Highland/Lester) K-6 Professional Development- SEL $500

  • Janice Conboy (Indian Trail) PreK-6th - SEL Cooperative Play Activities $498

  • Kristin Fuchs & Matt Dennis (Kingsley) 5th -Guided Reading Novels $500

  • Nichole Szlembarski (Kingsley) Kindergarten- Personal space rug $370

  • Jen Conyac (Lester) 5th - Generation Genuis Subscription $175

  • Lauren Snyder (Lester) 5th Flexible seating- bench/table combination $200

  • Christine Torres (Lester) 2nd - Sensory Processing Learning Tools $500

  • Catherine Boyce (Pierce Downer) 1st - Bridges Math Tools $255

  • Sabrina Breault (Pierce Downer) 1st- Multi-sensory reading tools $354

  • Monica Eilers (Pierce Downer) 5th - Generation Genius Subscription $175

  • Beth Kamano (Pierce Downer) K-6 - Decodable Phonics Books for Beginners $267

  • Genevieve Hahn (Herrick) 8th - Discovery Learning Hands-on Kits $500

  • Katie Gorvett (O’Neill) 7-8 - Movable Art Display $500

  • Nicole Ferrule & Stephanie Potter (O’Neill) 7-8 - Library Books $500

  • Barry Kincaid, Kelsee Gilleylen & Charlie Caton (O’Neill) 7-8 - Emotional Calming Kits $500

  • Cristina Krein (DGN) 11-12 - Advanced Self-Defense Instructor Course $375

During this year of unprecedented giving for the woman’s organization, the Club made the largest single donation in its history on Giving Tuesday in November. DGJWC presented three local charities with grant funding totaling $35,000: The Kids Equipment Network ($20,000), NAMI DuPage ($7,500), and Family Shelter Service Metropolitan Family Services DuPage ($7,500). 

DGJWC’s approximately 150 active members have also donated hundreds of volunteer hours to dozens of local charities throughout 2022.   

DGJWC’s giving efforts are made possible by the generosity of the organization’s members, sponsors and fundraising events. DGJWC’s Black & White Gala, its largest annual fundraising event, will take place on March 4, 2023. The public is welcome; tickets are available at www.dgjwc.org. 

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