In 1985 three church members of St. Marcelline Church in Schaumburg, Illinois recognized the growing number of women and children becoming homeless in the northwest region of Cook County. Father Louis Tosto and church members launched a new non-profit to address the need. WINGS was born.

In 1998, I had the very good fortune of meeting Rita Canning who introduced me to Susie Bryant, the Board President of WINGS and the Board hired me to serve as the Executive Director. We were all committed to growing WINGS as we realized that the reason these families were becoming homeless was due to domestic violence. From that day forward, we vowed to do all in our power to help Survivors and their children to escape with their dignity and to give them hope for a brighter future.

WINGS Program, Inc. is now the largest provider of domestic violence services and housing in Illinois. Due to WINGS unparalleled inventory of houses and apartments, customized counseling, mentoring and more, 97% of clients report not returning to the abuse they left or moving forward to another abusive situation.

My goal is to raise $4,000 during the "WINGS 40 Hours of Giving" event, which starts at midnight on Friday, April 25th and runs through 4 PM on Saturday, April 26th. This is a critical moment for us to come together and show our support for survivors of domestic violence.

If 40 people give $100 each, we will hit the goal!

Your contribution will allow WINGS to expand its essential services in Chicago and beyond, ensuring that survivors receive the safety and resources they need to break the cycle of violence. The urgency of this cause cannot be overstated; every dollar counts!

The best part? Thanks to a generous $100,000 challenge grant, all new donor gifts will be matched—doubling your donation! All increased giving from current donors over last year will also be matched! Join me in supporting WINGS, Survivors of domestic violence, and their resilient children. Together we can make a difference!

I will make the initial contribution, so we only need 39 more. (Of course, if you choose to give more, we will knock it out of the park!)

Thank you for always supporting me!

Sincerely,

Rebecca