How a Lake County nonprofit helps low-income families

The Mothers Trust Foundation covers fees for children to attend summer camps throughout Lake County, including this one at Mundelein Montessori School.
Courtesy of Mothers Trust Foundation

A homeless 17-year-old Waukegan High School student who needs an eye exam.

An11-year-old from Zion who didn’t make the middle school basketball team but still wants to be involved in extracurricular activities by joining the wrestling club.

A 37-year-old single father of three — including a teenager who uses a feeding tube and wheelchair — trying to accumulate warm clothing for his family for the winter.

“Yes” is often the resounding answer to requests like these at the weekly service committee meetings of the Mothers Trust Foundation in Lake Forest.

The meetings — inside an office at the Gorton Center — resemble the original confabs at the kitchen table of founder Barbara Monsor, a retired social worker who, at the age of 75, got together with friends and neighbors to help people they knew in need.

Since the nonprofit’s inception in 1998, some 53,000 children and their families have received financial support totaling nearly $6 million. That includes nearly 2,900 kids and $688,619 over the last year.

“Barbara set the mission up, and the mission hasn’t changed,” said Lisa Cervieri, the organization’s executive director. “The crux of it is just helping kids that are in dire situations, and she hit the nail on the head because of her years in social work: It’s the little things that make the biggest difference to these kids.”

Mothers Trust Foundation is one of five recipients of a grant from the Neighbors in Need campaign, a Daily Herald and McCormick Foundation partnership that helps fund agencies that address hunger, homelessness and health care disparities in the suburbs.

Mothers Trust assists low-income children in Lake County via requests from social workers at a host of social service organizations, school districts and government agencies. Support includes clothing, eyeglasses, car seats, cribs and fees for summer camp, sports clubs and other activities.

Officials say applications for all services increased by 41% in 2023, but the biggest demand today is seen in requests for housing assistance, which grew by 65%.

Jeanette Lincoln, the group’s service manager who reviews and vets requests before bringing them to the service committee, said the organization originally didn’t pay for rent, security deposits and utilities.

But the need has grown. Mothers Trust will now pay up to $1,000 for housing assistance, up from a $300 maximum pre-pandemic.

At the Wednesday morning committee meetings, Lincoln details each case: a description of the family (how many parents and kids), the amount of monthly rent and family income, whether they’re receiving housing vouchers or other assistance, and other supporting information provided by social workers.

Committee members — a group that includes retired social workers, teachers and a CPA — follow a set of guidelines, often directing Lincoln to gather more information before releasing funds.

“We’re not giving money away in an unsustainable situation,” said Susan Perlman, who now serves on the committee after a career working for one of the partner agencies. “But we’re looking out for the child.”

There are certain things the organization doesn’t provide — including food, diapers, formula and school supplies — that other groups do. Lincoln will often bring cases to the board table to gauge ideas and alternatives where they can steer people.

“If we can’t help, we can be a resource,” Lincoln said. “The bottom line is to help the child.”

Checks are cut the day after the weekly meetings and sent to the social service agencies. However, the six-member staff — one full-time employee and five part-timers — plus members of the volunteer service committee and board of directors don’t often come into contact with the recipients.

The rare exceptions are twice a year at the nonprofit’s Pop Up Prom Shoppe at the University Center of Lake County, where teens can shop for formal attire, and the annual coat drive at Foss Park in North Chicago. Hundreds received coats there Saturday.

Students from Warren High School receive prom attire at the Mothers Trust Foundation’s Pop Up Prom Shoppe in 2023.
Courtesy of Mothers Trust Foundation

“You’re actually seeing and handing out the coats and the gloves and hats and boots and everything they need,” said Marly Subido, the office and events manager. “It really is full heart and happy tears.”

Suzi Gantz, a member of the nonprofit’s board and service committee, said she became familiar with students’ stories of poverty as a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools for 35 years. She’s reminded of the daily struggles of many families through her involvement with Mothers Trust.

“I will be sobbing at meetings sometimes because you don’t realize how fortunate everybody is around this table at what we have and what we take for granted,” Gantz said. “You take it home because it hurts your heart. But at the same time, you know you did something really good that day because you helped these families.”

• The McCormick Foundation matches donations to the Daily Herald’s Neighbors in Need fund at 50 cents on the dollar. To donate, visit dailyherald.com/neighbors.