Staff and supporters help in a time of need

Sandra Pilger is helping Little City through the COVID crisis in innovative ways. As a Support Services Coordinator at the Countryside Center, she knows how to get people and supplies where they need to be on time. 

Her skillset has proven to be invaluable during the pandemic as she has branched out to nearly every facet of Little City to make sure people have what they need. Sandra has coordinated a food pantry by connecting with local grocery stores and receiving donations to supply every single Little City home both in the community and on campus with food they may otherwise not receive. 

Instead of bussing clients to and from the Countryside Center, the 16 drivers under her supervision are delivering the food to each and every home.

 In addition to bolstering the food supply and lessening the financial strain of grocery shopping, Sandra has also coordinated a robust team of volunteers and staff to create masks. Every Monday, a new batch of over 100 masks is delivered to Little City to make sure all direct care providers and residents are protected. 

“Prior to the COVID crisis, I hadn’t had an opportunity to work with Sandra and now I am so dependent on her,” said Tina Lowry, Little City Director of Health and Wellness. “Any instructions I had she took and ran with more than I could have asked for. She is a superhero in my eyes.”

 Like Tina, Sandra said this experience has allowed her to work with more people she had never previously interacted with. From Tina and her team of nurses, to the kitchen staff and residential teams, Sandra said it is the collaboration and team work that has made her coordination so successful. 

The Friends of Countryside parent group has been especially helpful in gathering supplies for and sewing masks, she said.

 “So many people have stepped up, including my team of drivers who have helped sew masks, used their part-time hours to help with maintenance and have just been really good about stepping up and being flexible,” Sandra said. “It’s been difficult and a lot of stress, but getting to work with so many people has been real nice and made me feel more connected to it all. It’s been rewarding.”

While Sandra has been a shining example of how Little City employees have gone above and beyond during the pandemic, community organizations and individuals have also played a big part in helping Little City.

Groups like Community Keepers, Monika B Events, Marlene’s Baby Angels and The Masks Now coalition have donated materials and masks while business like the Palatine Jewel-Osco have been instrumental in helping with the food pantry. 

Individuals such as Amy Rehbock, Kim Della-Peruta, Cassandra Stephens and Nicole DiPaola have been incredibly helpful and even professional seamstresses have been involved in the community wide effort. 

Nancy Baraglia, a professional tailor who has worked everywhere from David’s Bridal to big Las Vegas productions, said she knew she could use her skill to help and thought Little City was the perfect place to support after hearing about it from her daughter.

"In my 56 years it never dawned on me I would be making masks. But you realize the need and feel so helpless and you want to do something,” she said. “I knew I could make them and I knew someone needed them. And to find out who that someone was, was a really good feeling for me.” 

Little City has been blessed by the outpouring of support from the countless staff, volunteers and community organizations who have gone above and beyond. While there are too many name, Little City thanks everyone who has shown extraordinary support in these unprecedented times.