Open Collective
Open Collective
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Thank you from the RP Free Store!
Published on December 22, 2022 by Jung M.

Hi there from the Rogers Park Free Store! We wanted to give a quick update and thank everyone for all your support, labor, and love in 2022. 

We're so grateful for all of your donations this past year - whether it was one-time or monthly, $1.50 or $150 - which we used to buy supplies for weekly open hours distribution and (starting in the fall) to pay rent in our new space at 6525 North Clark. And thank you so much to everyone who volunteered for open hours, supply shopping, translation, fundraising, social media, trainings, volunteer coordination, and more. It's hard to believe that our final weekly distribution of the year will be on Friday December 30! Time has flown by!

This past year, we grew a lot, both in size, knowledge, and values. Most importantly, we learned that we take care of each other in so many ways and forms. We also learned a ton about the logistical systems that help RPFS run - from weekly inventory tracking to ongoing finances to the multilingual wisdom that helps us reach as many neighbors as possible. We've also been learning how to keep caring for each other as the pandemic keeps going, with continued masking, physical distancing, and virtual meetings.

Keep up with us through our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for 2023. We're excited to keep looking for a new, more permanent storage and distribution space that provides shelter from winter weather and physical accessibility for all our neighbors. We'll be fundraising throughout the year, and welcome fun ideas from community members to mobilize support for us too! And we're excited to keep building solidarity with each other through our autonomous collective model.

If you'd like to get more involved or ever have questions for us, just drop an email to [email protected]. Wishing you lots of warmth, rest, and love.