Charitable Group Celebrates Donation To The Solutions Center

A group of women from the Fond du Lac area recently celebrated their donation of more than 100 “Books and a Blanket” bags in addition to cash and food donations to the Solutions Center of Fond du Lac. The items will be distributed to children in need in the Fond du Lac community.

The project was developed by Marilyn Zangl of Fond du Lac when she decided to celebrate her 55^th birthday this year by helping children in the community who have needs that otherwise might go unfulfilled. She reached out to many women in her life – from family to friends to colleagues – and proposed to nurture children intellectually and physically by creating “Books and a Blanket” bags for Fond du Lac children who currently have no permanent addresses. Each bag includes a blanket and a few books. Many children arrive at the shelter carrying their personal belongings in nothing more than a garbage bag, said Maggie McCullough, outgoing executive director of the Fond du Lac Solutions Center. These bags, books and blankets become something they can keep and call their own.

“The idea came to me last summer when I saw two girls on the Today show who were doing something similar in their school,” Zangl said. “I thought it was a great idea and figured my birthday was a perfect time to bring together a group of women who I thought would love the idea as much as I did.”

She said she decided to partner with the Solutions Center because the Center assists children “who pass through on their way to hopefully better lives.”

“I thought of schools, but I didn’t want to pick one and not support the others,” Zangl said. “I also didn’t want to focus on elementary schools and not consider the middle and high school-aged children. Unfortunately, there is no age limit on homelessness.”

McCullough said that approximately 125 children come through the Solutions Center’s shelter annually.