Local Groups Accepting Donations After Oswego Apartment Fire

OSWEGO, IL — The Kendall County Health Department and several local groups are organizing donations for victims of an apartment fire that left two dozen families without homes in Oswego earlier this week.

The fire broke out on the second story of a multifamily apartment complex in the 1400 block of Light Road shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday, officials said, leaving the complex "uninhabitable."

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"Our top priority is to ensure that everyone affected by this fire becomes stabilized with a place to live as soon as possible," health officials said in a news release.

Donations of food, clothing, bed linens, towels and personal care products can be made to Kendall County Community Food, located at 208 Beaver Street in Yorkville. The items can be dropped off at the Red Door Room 24 hours a day, seven days a week, officials said, or in person Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and Thursdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

New and gently used Christmas gifts and furniture can be donated through the Caring Hands Thrift Shop, located at 1002 S. Bridge Street in Yorkville. Items can be dropped off Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For furniture donations, call first at 630-553-1847.

The 3:11 Project, a local nonprofit, is accepting cash donations for victims, in addition to some item donations. Families' immediate needs, they say, include clothes, shoes, socks and underwear, as well as hygiene items like deodorant, shampoo, tooth brushes and tooth paste. But cash is usually the best thing to donate, officials say, since it can be used for deposits on new places to live in addition to being spent on immediate needs.

The American Red Cross said local nonprofits like the 3:11 Project are working to meet the families needs, but the national group is also coordinating with the Kendall County Health Department to help the displaced families, according to WSPY News.

If you’d like to donate to Oswego fire victims, you can send money via PayPal to the311project@the311project.com. To make sure the money goes specifically to the fire victims, officials say to add a note reading "Oswego Fire."

For more information, call the Kendall County Health Department 630-553-9100.

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