Batavia Township Democrats’ Good Trouble Club hosted a “shopping event” to support the fixed-income seniors of Heritage Woods in Batavia. Held on April 11, the initiative provided essential supplies and a sense of community to the residents. The Good Trouble Club is a subgroup of BTD whose members engage in positive community activism, such as participating in local and nationwide protests, fundraising to elect Democratic candidates and providing resources to our local community. The Good Trouble Club draws its name from the late civil rights leader John Lewis, who famously advocated for getting into “good trouble, necessary trouble” to improve society. BTD’s Good Trouble Club has 17 members who are dedicated to working together to make our community a better place. Some members refer to the meaningful work of the Good Trouble Club as “living our Democratic values.”
In organizing their first community resource event, the Good Trouble Club identified fixed-income seniors at Heritage Woods as an underserved group to support. For the Heritage Woods event, Good Troublemakers developed a list of needed household and personal care items with staff and residents at Heritage Woods. The Good Trouble Club connected with community partners to participate as sites for the donation drive of those specified household and personal care items. Community partners included Limestone Coffee and Tea (both locations!), Sturdy Shelter Brewing, Cinco de Mayo Grocery Store, Messenger Public Library and the Kane County Sheriff’s Department. Members of BTD also offered their homes as donation sites. Additionally, Cinco de Mayo Grocery Store hosted special shopping hours where Good Troublemakers distributed flyers to patrons. This effort was remarkably successful, with nearly every patron who received a flyer choosing to contribute to the drive!
Over the course of several weeks, items were donated by the generous members of our community. Good Troublemakers sorted all of the items and transported them to Heritage Woods for distribution. Every one of the 145 residents received a foundational kit including toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. After receiving essentials, residents were invited to “shop” for four additional items of their choice from the collected donations. The event also featured raffle prizes, and all remaining items were donated to the facility to be used as prizes for resident bingo games. Many residents expressed gratitude to the Good Trouble volunteers on the day of the event. About the event, Good Troublemakers said “I think it was a great experience for the residents and definitely for us,” and, “A lot of hard work, coordination, and good laughs resulted in a great day. I am touched by the wider net of the Batavia community beyond our GT club.”
” It was a great day. It’s hard to say who was more grateful or delighted, the residents as they shopped, or the Good Trouble Club members as they assisted. I’m very proud of all the work that the GTC did in the months leading up to the event, a perfect example of Democrats living our values.”
-Jody Kanikula, BTD Vice Chair
The Good Trouble Club would like to extend their thanks to all community partners who made this event possible: Heritage Woods, Limestone Coffee and Tea, Sturdy Shelter Brewing, Cinco de Mayo Grocery Store, Messenger Public Library and the Kane County Sheriff’s Department. Thanks also to candidates for Kane County Board District #11 Julie Forbes and Leslie Juby, who contributed to the event as sponsors.
