Park Ridge mother-daughter pair nationally recognized for volunteer work

When Kim Quintero and her daughter Kate lost almost all their belongings in a major fire last year, they benefited from Park Ridge community members’ donations of clothing and household items as they started to put their lives back together.

“We found ourselves out at night in pajamas with the clothes we had on our back,” Kim, 55, said of the fire. “The Red Cross was there, which was amazing. And one of the churches here stepped up and did a big clothes drive for us and we shopped at a free store.”

A free store is more or less what it sounds like: an array of household goods and other items arranged like a market, but available at no cost to “shoppers.”

“If you’ve ever needed something like that, it just really hammers home how important it is to spend your time doing that for someone else,” Kim, 55, said.

The experience gave a deeper meaning to the Quinteros’ regular volunteering with a free store in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.

The pair recently received the Daily Point of Light award for that work from the Points of Light nonprofit organization, founded by former President George H.W. Bush.

They have volunteered through the local nonprofit the Honeycomb Project since Kate, now 15, was 7. Since getting involved, the Quinteros have worked on projects geared toward animal shelters, hospitalized youth, environmental issues and aiding the homeless.

But their favorite project is the free store, they told Pioneer Press.

The free store offers clothes, toiletries, toys and household goods ranging from furniture to car seats and dishes, the Quinteros said.

Part of the reason they enjoy volunteering at the free store, they said, is because they interact with the people who benefit from the work as well as other volunteers.

When they set out goods, they put the housewares next to the toys. Kate said the locations of the two tables leads to one the most rewarding parts of helping at the free store.

“It’s my absolute favorite thing to see kids start jumping up and down and looking over toys and picking out what they want,” Kate said.

The Honeycomb Project emphasizes parents and children volunteering together. Director Kristina Lowenstein said the Quinteros were a “standout family” and cheered their selection for the Point of Light award.

“They’re really just a great team,” Lowenstein said. “Watching them work together and collaborate and really just have fun is just so inspirational for all of the families in our organization.”

Kim said volunteering is an important way for her to spend time with Kate: “There’s never enough [time],” she said. “They grow too quickly.”

“We argue over what we’re going to do together,” Kim continued. “We look forward to it. We always find something around our birthdays. We always find something around Mother’s Day — That’s my absolute favorite.”

Lowenstein added that Kate, who now participates in a special Leadership Corps group for the Honeycomb Project, makes an impact as a teacher and mentor to younger volunteers.

“She’s super hands-on about engaging with young people,” Lowenstein said. “She’s so passionate about service, it’s contagious, and to see her engaging with young children is truly inspiring.”

Kate, for her part, recounted memories of watching young children dive into work at the free store.

“I remember we once had a 4-year-old who was trying to pick up a bunch of chairs and carry them around for us,” she said.

She told Pioneer Press one of her favorite things about volunteering with younger children was watching them understand the value of volunteering while working alongside them.

“I think any kid has a potential to fall in love with [volunteering] if they’re exposed to it from a young age; I think they can become really attached to it,” Kate said. “So many of these kids are just so excited to help.”

Kim told Pioneer Press she’s seen volunteering become an invaluable part of other families’ lives, even if it isn’t a major time commitment.

“Just spending time with your kids is priceless,” she said. “Even if you don’t have a cause that’s near and dear to your heart, just do something and do it with your kids because it’s time well spent.”