In late 2017, when Fred and I were discussing the possibility of starting CAASH CHARITY of us I am sure neither one envisioned what could be going on in the world during 2020, let alone Northwest Indiana. However, with this new pandemic came new reasons for why CAASH was started. I believe it was the middle of March and the world was already topsy-turvy with how to combat this new virus and just what needed to be done for the individuals that needed to continue to work to keep some semblance of normality going. In Northwest Indiana we had a few groups that were running around the clock and literally putting their health on the line.
Fred, Jan Dirindin, Milan Kruszynski and Pat Montalbano had first hand knowledge of the problems some groups were experiencing as Fred was still trying to help the mills continue to run and stay healthy. Milan not only was trying to keep the city going through the Marina but his wife, Carolyn, was being run ragged at the hospital as a nurse. Jan was one of the workers assisting Milan in the day to day operations at the marina while also helping Fred stay sane fulfilling orders at the mill. Those three brought Pat into the mix as the President of CAASH and they called me to see if we could handle a pledge to the 1st responders of $1000 for needed safety supplies.
Together we jumped on the text line and got our Board together to make this happen. That is when the explosion happened (in a good way). Once we had the $1000 in hand we went right to FaceBook and explained what we were trying to do. Fred had already secured Gloves, Bonnets, Some Lysol Wipes and Spray and together the 4 of them had made our first delivery to the Hammond Police, Fire and Hospital to let them not only know what we were doing but to let them know that were cared that they were put their health and perhaps their lives on the line. With that 1st FaceBook post with pictures of what was happening you, our Facebook Friends stepped up to the plate and began to make donations on facebook.
The first wave of donations doubled our pledge and Fred was on Fire. With Jan and Pat they secured Spray bottles to put a Bleach mixture in to help clean the areas of the Squad Cars, Fire Truck and machines and even were able to help supply HAVEN HOUSE for BATTERED ADULTS in Hammond with much needed paper products and Wipes and Bleach of their own. With each passing day and each post showing the new pictures and comments by the Fire Department and Police Department the Donations kept pouring in.
By the end of the third week we had nearly 5 times as much money as the original pledge and right before Easter we were able to present 4 different Police Departments (Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago and Burnham, Ill), 3 Fire Departments ( Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago), The Post Office, Stracks Employees in Robertsdale, the Hospital and others with snacks and drinks (water and Pop) just to say THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO AND STAY SAFE from the folks at CAASH CHARITY. We are NOT done yet except that it has become hard to find product to purchase.
The response has been fantastic and overwhelming and quite HUMBLING at what can be done when WE ALL WORK TOGETHER. Back to when Fred and I were discussing the possibility of starting this CHARITY, I can honestly say that it was the thoughts of days like these that made us take a GIANT LEAP and say “enough talk let’s do this and see if we truly can make a difference!!”
It has been a rather short run so far in the big scheme of things but I can SAY IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN WORTH IT !