We can't pay back all the kindness

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MARY LOU EUBANKS, JOYCE MATHEY

Editor: A year ago, on March 24, 2005, the Pay-It-Forward House opened its doors on Somonauk Street in Sycamore. After months of an amazing outpouring of community support to furnish and decorate the empty shell of the house located next to Kindred Hospital, we were ready! The house looked wonderful. The cookie jars were full with fresh-baked treats. The refrigerator was stocked with pop and water. The cupboards were filled with canned soup and other microwavable items. The linen closets were stuffed with brand-new sheets and towels, all waiting to be used by the family members and friends of patients transferred to Kindred from hospitals all over Illinois. The very next day all three bedrooms were full, and since then, the nights when there has been an empty room have been few and far between. We are pleased to tell you that in our first year, we offered 1,218 nights of rest to people who came from as far away as Florida and Hawaii to visit a loved one. This nonprofit hospitality house is almost always full. Some guests' visits are short, just for a day or a night or two. Others move in for weeks. The ages of our guests range from 13 months (with mom, of course) to 87, and they come from all walks of life. What they have in common is their need to be close to their loved one who is seriously ill. They are generally fatigued and stressed when they arrive. Thanks to the generosity and support of the DeKalb-Sycamore community, these people find themselves welcomed into the peaceful and comfortable home-away-from-home setting of the Pay-It-Forward House. We could not have offered this hospitality to so many without your help! From the toilet paper donations to the financial contributions to the more than 3,000 hours of volunteer time devoted to everything from cleaning to offering Kleenex to a crying guest, together we have touched the lives of more people than we will ever know. We rejoice each time a guest leaves us to go to follow their patient to rehabilitation or home, but even more, we rejoice daily because we live in such a wonderful community that has made this dream become a reality! Thank you for all your kind words and demonstrations of support! We will never be able to pay back your generosity and kindness. We will continue, however, to pay it forward to strangers who need a place of rest and respite! MARY LOU EUBANKS Executive director JOYCE MATHEY Board president Pay-It-Forward House