Oak Lawn's Sarah Dynia Named 11th District's 'Unsung Heroine'

OAK LAWN, IL — An Oak Lawn woman has been recognized as a Peggy A. Montes Unsung Heroine, an annual award given to 18 women, one from each district of Cook County and one countywide, whose contributions to their communities, families and professional endeavors have been vital, but seldom recognized.

When she was in eighth grade at St. Linus School, Sarah Dynia founded her own non-profit organization, Stuffed Love, in 2010. Dynia, at a tender age, recognized the importance of service and wanted to contribute to her community. Enlisting the help of her friends, Dynia lovingly hand-stitched heart pillows to share that “little bit of hope” with all those who needed a positive boost. She kept up her mission while excelling as a student at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts School, where she was named a Catherine McAuley Honors Scholar awarded to the most academically gifted students.

Now, 10 years later, Dynia continues to distribute thousands of hand stitched heart pillows to veterans, nursing home patients, people with developmental disabilities, and those facing economic difficulties. In 2012, Dynia was profiled in Oak Lawn Patch while a freshmen at McAuley and was chosen for Huffington Post's Greatest Person of the Day feature.

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Currently, Stuffed Love’s biggest project is with Conquering CHD, a national organization that provides support and advocacy for patients and their families affected by congenital heart defects. The heart pillows are distributed to 14 states in the Conquering CHD kits and are used to prop up IVs, provide comfort after heart surgery and as a treasured memento for the difficult time the family has survived.

Dynia continued to make heart pillows even as a busy pre-med student. She works as a clinical assistant for a fertility clinic and plans to start medical school in the fall. Dynia has been accepted to Rush Medical College, Loyola Stritch School of Medicine and a few others. She will be making her decision in the next few weeks.

The awards were presented by President Toni Preckwinkle and the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues to the 2021 Unsung Heroine recipients during a virtual breakfast held March 4.

In his nominating remarks, Cook County Commissioner John Daley acknowledged that Stuffed Love has provided more than 12,000 heart-shaped pillows.

“Sarah is a great representative of 11th District and demonstrates through her work the efforts we are all making to improve the lives of others around us,” Daley said.