Sycamore Boy Scout earns Eagle award

4Pay-It-Forward House reaps the benefit of his work

SYCAMORE - This spring, Sycamore High School Senior Paul Koehring was looking for a project to finish his qualifications for Eagle Scout when area resident Amy Polzin suggested he help the local Pay-It-Forward House associated with Kindred Hospital. Koehring, a volunteer who coordinates the nonprofit organization's database, put him in touch with Executive Director Mary Lou Eubanks, who expressed a need for an inventory-at-a-glance shelving unit that would serve as an important supply organizer. "Mrs. Eubanks talked with me about the organization and what type of consumable supplies they used on a regular basis. Then she explained how important it was to quickly assess what items were needed such as toilet paper, facial tissue, paper napkins and things like that. A large shelving unit located in the garage seemed like the perfect thing to sort and track those type of donated items," Koehring said. Once Koehring created a sketch of the shelving unit and received approval from the Pay-It-Forward House and Boy Scout authorities, he raised funds for the materials, drew up the final plans and coordinated the construction of the unit with help from troop members Mike and Bruno Frankowski, Tom and Anthony Barone and Eric Lillstrom. In early May, the unit was installed and ready for use at the Pay-It-Forward House. "Paul's work was such a blessing. The community has been fabulous about donating consumable items, but we were having such a hard time keeping them organized. Now we have a specific place to put things and can quickly identify which ones are running low. This is a tremendous asset for a volunteer-run organization that relies on the generosity of others," said Pay-It-Forward House Volunteer Coordinator Gracia Polarek. The Pay-It-Forward House maintains a "Perpetual Needs List" outlining items that must be replenished on a regular basis. To receive a copy, stop by 719 Somonauk St. between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday or call Polarek at (815) 758-5107. Kindred Hospital is a 69-bed long-term acute care facility providing intensive medically complex services to ventilator and wound patients who are too ill to be transferred to a nursing or rehabilitation facility, but do not need to remain in a short-term acute care facility. The hospital offers a team-based approach to meet individual patient needs and is JCAHO-accredited and Medicare certified. Pay-It-Forward House is a charitable and benevolent nonprofit corporation that provides low-cost, temporary respite for family members of patients at Kindred Hospital in a comfortable, home-like setting. Located adjacent to the hospital, it is designed to simultaneously accommodate three family units, or a total of 11 people, and rooms will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission to the house requires a referral from a Kindred Hospital social worker or case manager, but nobody will be refused a room due to inability to pay. For more information visit www.payitforwardhouse.org.