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NILES — A nonprofit dedicated to securing resources and to provide educational and life-enrichment programs and activities received a significant boost after a donation from a local business.

Katie Lynch Lindgren, Brand Director of Green Stem Provisioning, presented a $10,000 check to the Ferry Street Resource Center last Wednesday through its Green Stem Gives Back program.

The Ferry Street Resource Center, which assists area residents in securing resources and to provide educational and life-enrichment programs and activities, has found a temporary home in the lower level of the Nile District Library to continue its goal of bridging existing educational, cultural and societal gaps that exist within the community. 

The donation was a pleasant surprise for FSRC Director Ric Pawloski, who along with his team continues to push the nonprofit ahead two months after a fire destroyed the historic Ferry Street School it once called home.

“Green Stem has been a consistent supporter of Ferry Street for three or four years now,” he said. “This means we have the ability to continue to do the good work for the clients that come to see us on a day-to-day basis. We put those donations to very good use. Our foot traffic is back up to pre-fire levels, so we’re excited about that. We get to continue to do what we do and that is very encouraging to us.”

“When we started the company, we knew we wanted to integrate ourselves into the community,” Lindgren said. “Giving back has been a big part of our family. Not being originally from Niles, we wanted to sink our hands into areas we can help, and Ferry Street Resource Center was the clear space we wanted to be able to assist.”

According to Lindgren, giving back to the community has long been a part of Lindgren’s family’s philosophy. Since opening its doors to the community, Green Stem has donated $30,000 to FSRC.

“This embodies the continued support of our family’s values,” she said. “It’s part of our morals and ethics and this is a good way for us to do that. We couldn’t be happier about it; Knowing what that organization means to the community, weren’t gonna be able to not continue to help. They need this love now more than ever and we’re just happy to be a part of it.”

For the past two months, FSRC has found a temporary home in the lower level of the Niles District Library. While Pawloski appreciates the library’s hospitality, he shared that FSRC will soon be moving to a new temporary location on Seventh Street, across the street from the site of Ferry Street School.

“It’s a house we’ve been looking at for other things,” he said. “We’re excited because we’ll be right back in the neighborhood there. It will be a space where we can put down more permanent temporary use. We can settle in for a while while we work on our ultimate final destination.”