Residents Donate Coats, More Than 40 Cases of Food to Local Mission

Thirty days ago, Joliet resident Marty Mercer began a food and coat drive that ended on Dec. 27. Patch joined in on Dec. 4 and local organizations like the Plainfield Public Library and TownePlace Suites and Hampton Inn locations in Joliet helped us to collect items.

In 30 days, the original collection locations — Cantigny VFW, St. Joseph's Academy and Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell, all in Joliet — collected 40 cases of food and 16 bags of coats and blankets. All of the items were donated to MorningStar Mission in Joliet.

In addition to the original locations, Plainfield Public Library, which was collecting only coat donations, collected two big moving boxes and five bags full of coats.

MorningStar Mission, which is located at 350 E. Washington St. in Joliet, is a humanitarian organization that provides housing for those who are homeless and feeds anyone who needs to eat three times a day on weekdays and two times a day on weekends.