Homeless Little Boy With Cat Takes On Powerful Political Figures

[Naperville, IL, 10/17/16] The bedraggled little boy clutching a cat that almost matches him in size faces strong competition, but it’s

Charlie
© Pat Van Doren

really no contest. In the end, Charlie will win, inspiring compassionate deeds on behalf of millions of America’s children and youth in homeless situations. 

HEAR US, a Naperville-based national nonprofit organization giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth, is launching The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids, a 24-page guide to anyone wanting to make life a little better for the millions of mostly-invisible homeless kids in every community. 

The cover of this little book bears Charle’s iconic picture, taken by Naperville photojournalist Pat Van Doren back in the days of the Aurora-Naperville struggle to get homeless kids into school. This little boy, whose image she captured outside the shelter at Hesed House in Aurora, became the poster child for the successful 1994 “Charlie’s Bill” campaign, making Illinois the first state to guarantee the rights to education for homeless students. (Ret.) Congresswoman Judy Biggert led the successful effort to enact this law on the national level in 2002. More than 1.3 million students without homes benefitted from this law last year.

The Charlie Book, written by national homeless education expert Diana Bowman for HEAR US, reflects tried-and-true practices from across the nation. HEAR US founder and president Diane Nilan edited the book and provided photos from her vast collection of images she’s amassed in her past 11 years of cross-country travel to chronicle children and youth homelessness. Beth Adams, a local graphic artist, volunteered her layout and design services. 

Charlie, aka Charles, is real. He and his wife and 3 children now live in West Virginia, where he works. He and Nilan connect occasionally. She’s sending his family several copies of this book. 

The book is suitable for schools, shelters, scout troops, faith communities, service groups, and well-intentioned individuals wanting to make a difference for children in their communities. It sells for $10 (+s/h).

Information and ordering instructions are on the HEAR US website, www.hearus.us. Proceeds from the book support the continuing work of this well-regarded organization. 

Nilan is loading up hundreds of copies of The Charlie Book in her van/home/office. She heads to Orlando on Thursday for a national conference of homeless student educators, many of whom have expressed great interest in this unique book. 

Who is the competition Charlie (and his book) face? None other than the national presidential candidates who occupy the media with their campaign fodder. When the dust settles, the goodness Charlie and his followers accomplish will touch lives of millions of kids without homes, a story worthy of widespread media coverage. 

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George and Charlie to Help Homeless Kids in Naperville and Beyond

Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 3, 2016


[Naperville, IL] Launching The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids at the October 13  George Winston HEAR US Benefit concert will bring together the perennially popular musician George Winston with the iconic Charlie, the homeless boy who opened school doors for millions of homeless kids nationwide. Mr. Winston will play at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Naperville.

HEAR US Inc., the Naperville-based national nonprofit giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth, uses the image of Charlie in its logo. Naperville photojournalist Pat Van Doren photographed the little boy holding a cat, an image that became the poster child for the campaign to pass the first statewide law guaranteeing homeless kids access to school, legislation now in effect across the entire nation.

The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids, written by Diana Bowman, a nationally prominent expert on homeless children, contains photos by Diane Nilan, former shelter director at Hesed House in Aurora, one of the people responsible for the homeless education laws. Nilan founded HEAR US 12 years ago and has been on the road since then, living in a small camper, chronicling homeless children and youth.

HEAR US will sell the books for $10, with proceeds supporting this unique nonprofit’s efforts to expand the common perception of homelessness to include children and youth. The 24-page Charlie Book gives practical suggestions to help kids and families. Nilan said, “This is a perfect tool for shelters, faith communities, scout troops, community organizations and individuals who want to make an impact in their community. When I ran the PADS shelter I would have loved to be able to hand the book to people who expressed sincere desire to help families and youth.”

This is the 3rd concert George Winston has done to benefit HEAR US. Nilan met up with George in Seattle recently at one of his performances. “I’m awed a musician of his prominence gives so generously to causes of homelessness and hunger,” she said. Winston has asked those attending the concert to bring donations of food for Loaves & Fishes Community Services, a Naperville-based agency providing food and services to those in need.

Nilan will be in the Naperville area for a short time before taking off for Florida to present at the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth’s annual conference on the new HEAR US effort, Yay Babies! According to Nilan, most people have no idea that over 1 million homeless babies and toddlers, mostly with their families, struggle to survive without enough formula or diapers. Her 2-minute Yay Babies! public service video calls attention to this little population.

Naperville was “ground zero” for the birth of this important civil rights legislation that guarantees access to school for over 1.3 million children and youth without homes. Naperville area legislators, educators, and activists were involved in this campaign in 1993-94, including Nilan. “We’ve got ‘skin in the game’ on making sure this law works and that policymakers pay attention to the needs of families and youth in homeless situations,” stated Nilan. She’s coming back to make good on that promise. 

Information about ticket and book sales: www.hearus.us  

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Homeless Kydz and Nilan to Make Doorstep Delivery To Mr. Ryan

[Naperville, 8/28/13] If she could, Diane Nilan would amass 3,000 children outside the Janesville

district office of Mr. Paul Ryan, the powerful chair of the House Ways and Means committee. But she’ll only have about a dozen with her early Friday morning, Aug. 30.

This silver-haired advocate, with decades of experience working with homeless families nationwide, will park her unmistakable motorhome Tillie— her living quarters, office and vehicle—outside his office at 20 S. Main Street to represent not only the 3,000 homeless students in Ryan’s District 1, but also the 1 million+ homeless students in the U.S. She’ll deliver hundreds of petitions signed by people across the country urging Ryan to listen to what kids say about their homelessness.

“These kids are the tip of the iceberg, the canaries in the mine shaft, embodying the soaring poverty and homelessness among families and youth in our country,” lamented Nilan. “I can’t let him propose such draconian cuts in ignorance.” Billions would be slashed from vital programs that feed, house and heal homeless families if Ryan’s budget passes.

To make her point, Nilan will present Ryan, or his staff, with My Own Four Walls, an award-winning, poignant documentary she made featuring kids talking about their experiences of homelessness and what school means. She’ll also deliver the recently released American Almanac of Family Homelessness and hundreds of petitions signed by voters across the country.

Frustrated by the lack of hopeful signs at the hearing Ryan held a month ago, “War On Poverty: A Progress Report,” Nilan started planning. The hearing’s only credible witness, according to Nilan, was Sister Simone Campbell, the head of NETWORK, who has worked with people in poverty. She was given little time to make the case against offsetting the cost of war and tax cuts by ravaging the nation’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens.

Since Janesville isn’t far from the western suburbs of Chicago where she parks in between her filming and speaking engagements, Nilan decided to make the trip. She invited the Congressman to ride with her for a tour of his district’s poverty and homelessness, but realizes his schedule might not permit.

For the past 8 years, this intrepid activist has traveled over 167,000 miles of mostly backroads, filming kids and families sharing what it was like to be homeless. She started HEAR US Inc., her nonprofit, in 2005 following a long stint of running shelters and working with schools to make sure homeless students were properly enrolled, fighting on their behalf if they were not. Nilan worked hand-in-hand with Republican (retired) Congresswoman Judy Biggert to enact the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act. So it’s not partisan, she’s quick to emphasize.

To fuel her fire, Nilan will spend Thursday evening with homeless families in Madison, filming their stories. “These kids and parents have a lot to say about their plight and promise, but lack the opportunity to share their wisdom,” she pointed out. “I’m their instrument.”

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 Contact Diane Nilan for more information: 630.267.5424

Gas Prize Opens New Doors for Homelessness Awareness

[Naperville, IL, Sept. 12, 2012] Last December, outside the Naperville Citgo station on Hillside and Washington, HEAR US president Diane Nilan gassed up her motor home and sped to a Congressional hearing on child homelessness organized by Congresswoman Judy Biggert in Washington.

Nilan's gas was sort of on the house. Her one-woman nonprofit organization, with its small board, pulled off the improbable victory in Citgo's Fueling Good contest, winning $5,000 in gas cards, among a dozen winners out of over 700 agencies nationwide. On 9/20 she heads to Houston, Citgo's national headquarters, to personally thank them, sharing her videos and message about invisible homeless families and youth with Citgo employees.

This is Nilan's 8th year of backroads cross-country travel, "giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth." Her 150,000 mostly backroads miles have given her opportunity to film documentaries and conduct presentations to a variety of audiences from Congress to California. The film she produced, on the edge: Family Homelessness in America,  aired on PBS. My Own Four Walls, her first film, continues to inspire educators, agency staff and the public about invisible homeless kids.

In December's race to DC, she stopped and picked up an 11-year-old boy, Rumi, and his mother at the Safe Harbour shelter in Carlisle, PA. This articulate child testified to Mrs. Biggert's committee, earning 2 appearances on CNN with Nilan. He shared the heartache he and his mother experienced as they've tumbled from one place to another following an outburst of violence from his father.

Citgo is promoting their Fall 2012 Fueling Good contest. On their website is a 90-second promo video featuring HEAR US. "This company has grasped the somewhat illusive concept of ripple effect," observes Nilan. "They've connected the dots between supporting the work of a nonprofit organization like HEAR US, which rarely gets grant funding, and the work that we do on awareness-raising."

Validated, she'll use the remaining gas cards to continue her mission of making sure homeless kids are not forgotten. Funding her unconventional effort continues to be a challenge. To donate on the secure HEAR US website, http://hearus.us/about-us/donate.html.

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Homeless Kids Offer Reality Check to Congress

Photo (C) Pat Van Doren, HEAR US

[Naperville, IL 12/13/11] Domestic violence. Poverty. Poor housing conditions. Disaster. These and other critical issues will be front and center on Thursday to members of the U.S. House of Representative's Financial Services Subcommittee, chaired by Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-13,IL) as members consider barriers for homeless families and youth seeking help.

Children and youth who have experienced homelessness will be the key testifiers as the committee considers the implementation of new HUD regulations that many advocates feel will cause even more hardship for homeless families and youth. HEAR US Inc., a national Naperville-based nonprofit, will participate in the event. Diane Nilan, HEAR US president, invited an 11-year-old boy to share the story of his family's nomadic existence.

Mrs. Biggert has championed the cause of homeless children and youth since being elected to Congress in 1998, leading the way for passage of comprehensive legislation, based on the IL Education for Homeless Children Act, that removes barriers commonly encountered by homeless kids trying to get an education. She's introduced HR 32 to change the way HUD defines homelessness. She and Nilan have worked together on this issue for over a dozen years.

Since November 2005, Nilan, under the banner of her nonprofit HEAR US, has been on the road chronicling homelessness, concentrating on non-urban families and youth. She and Professor Laura Vazquez, NIU School of Communication, have made several documentaries on this issue. Nilan will again set off, stopping in DC on Thursday, then heading south for her 7th cross-country journey. Nilan lives in, works out of and travels solo in her road-weary motorhome.

An uncharacteristic amount of attention is being focused on the soaring growth of homelessness and poverty. The National Center on Family Homelessness released their report homeless families indicating at least 1.6 million children now experience homelessness. 

And Thursday, 12/15, the U. S. Conference of Mayors issues their assessment of homelessness and hunger. Nilan led a campaign to strengthen this highly-cited report, which according to her, relies on abysmally inaccurate data that complies with the very narrow HUD definition of homelessness. "It will be the same old, same old report," she fears.

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Homelessness Film Heading to National Broadcast, Scheduled for Aurora Screening

[Naperville, IL, 11/28/11] Take a good film and make it better! The award-winning documentary on the edge, heading for national broadcast, required local filmmakers to hone their already-acclaimed film. The enhanced version will enjoy a Fox Valley premiere screening on Dec. 5, 7 pm at Aurora's Rosary High School in the McEnroe Auditorium.

Film producer Diane Nilan, who previously ran the homeless shelter at Hesed House, has been invited to Rosary as part of their Human Rights week activities. Nilan has been on the road for the past 6 years, living in and working out of her modest motorhome, traveling over 130,000 miles of mostly backroads chronicling homelessness. Her Naperville-based national nonprofit organization, HEAR US Inc., gives voice and visibility to homeless children and youth.

Laura Vazquez, the film's director, teaches at Northern Illinois University in the communication department. She and Nilan have worked together on several homelessness-awareness films over the past 6 years. Her film expertise combined with Nilan's knowledge of homelessness has gained national attention and respect, opening doors of Congress for film screenings and leading to on the edge being selected for the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts, First Place Faculty Division this April. At September's Naperville Independent Film Festival, a record crowd of nearly 300 people attended the on the edge screening.

Technical improvements, including closed-captioning, will make the film eligible for airing on public television stations nationwide. Nilan promises a huge grassroots campaign to get the film shown on PBS affiliates nationwide. She points out, "The seven women in this film speak for millions of others in similar situations, mostly invisible, struggling with homelessness, trauma and poverty. They must be heard!"

The screening at Rosary will be a joint fundraiser for Mutual Ground, the Fox Valley's domestic violence shelter, and HEAR US. Free-will donations ensure everyone can afford to attend. For more information, visit the HEAR US website (http://hearus.us), or call 630/225-5012.

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Award Winning Film Maker to Show As yet Unreleased Film at Dickinson College

Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Pat LaMarche
717.249.2200 Cell 207.671.0190

Award Winning Film Maker to Show As yet Unreleased Film at Dickinson College

Documentary Highlighting the Lives of Homeless Families to Debut in Carlisle, PA

Award winning filmmaker, author and homeless advocate, Diane Nilan will be visiting Cumberland County Pennsylvania this week as part of her nationwide tour promoting the needs of homeless children and their families. Nilan is also the founder and director of HEAR US, a national advocacy group for homeless kids. Learn more at www.hearus.us.

Five years ago Nilan ventured out of suburban Chicago on what she thought would be a six month cross country trip to gather film footage of our nation’s homeless youth in order to produce her now critically acclaimed documentary, My Own Four Walls. Five years later she is still traveling the 48 contiguous United States, testifying before Congress, and working to end homelessness among the nation’s most precious and vulnerable population, homeless kids. Her film is a tool used by schools and agencies across the U.S. to acquaint communities and educators with what life is like for so many who live below the poverty line and below the radar.

The DVD film jacket reminds us that “More than 1.5 million children, families and youth are homeless in America today. Not since the great depression have we seen so many homeless families on the streets of communities of all sizes and compositions.”

And for kids with parents in jail, the film also includes a training video for incarcerated parents, their children’s caregivers, law enforcement personnel, human service providers and educators to help navigate the sketchy world in which these children live.

Nilan’s book, Crossing the Line: Taking Steps to End Homelessness, is an autobiographical expose giving vividly detailed accounts of the lives of the homeless folks that Nilan encountered in her nearly 20 years as a homeless shelter director and homeless advocate.

Wendell Hollinger, President of Safe Harbour, Cumberland County’s largest homeless shelter and host to Nilan’s visit commented after reading Nilan’s book, “If concerned folks don’t read another word of another book, they must read pages 32 and 33 of Diane’s book. She has detailed the most concise and accurate listing I’ve ever seen of the causes of homelessness in our country. We are very excited that Diane has come to Carlisle to give us a sneak preview of her newest documentary.”

Susannah Bartlow, Director of Women’s Studies at Dickinson College said, “We are honored but not surprised that Nilan has chosen Cumberland County as a place to stop along her journey to eradicate homelessness and lead a community wide discussion. The communities of Cumberland County have long supported the needs of the disadvantaged here among us.” Bartlow continued, “Dickinson is proud to provide the necessary space for this discussion. Dickinson hosts the ‘Night Without a Home’ every November during national hunger and homelessness week: a sleep out featuring area grade school children which raises money to benefit Safe Harbour. We are excited to be a part of bringing this courageous woman to our community.”

Nilan’s new documentary, On The Edge, will be shown Monday April 12th at 6:30 pm in Dickinson’s Denny Hall. Denny Hall is located at the corner of High and West streets. The community is invited to attend and invited to stay after the 68 minute documentary to join in a discussion of the film as well as a discussion of the issues of homelessness and poverty.

Diane Nilan will be joined by area homelessness advocates as well as Carlisle High School Senior, TJ Rivera, a homeless youth who has lived many years homeless and spent nearly a year living in a store room using boxes for furniture and trying to finish school.

TJ will discuss the difficult road he traveled getting him where he is today, enrolled as he is now at Carlisle High School within months of graduating. TJ hopes his next step is College. A current resident of Safe Harbour, TJ is thriving. “I doubted I’d be this close many times over the last few years, but I never stopped hoping I’d make it. It says on one of my blogs ‘you are the architect of your destiny’ and I kept that in mind and just didn’t give up.”

It will be an emotional moment when he meets Nilan this week. Among the many accomplishments Nilan has to her credit, co-writing the landmark legislation that mandated schools accept homeless children is one of her greatest. And TJ’s excited to meet the woman who put his educational needs ahead of her own comfort.

Diane Nilan is available for interviews prior to the event on Monday the 12th. Members of the press who would like to meet with her and see or travel with her in the RV she has called home during her five year struggle to help the nation’s poorest children is asked to contact Safe Harbour’s Pat LaMarche who will be handling her schedule while she’s in town.

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Contact: Pat LaMarche 207.671.0190 717.249.2200 work

George Winston to Play to Help Homeless Kids

Venue Contact: Diane Nilan, 630/267-5424

Artist Contact:  Jennifer Gallacher 831/429-5085 x 215

GEORGE WINSTON to Perform SOLO GUITAR at a Benefit Concert for HEAR US
 on March 28, 2010 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Naperville

Tickets Information: 630/225-5012

February 23, 2010—George Winston, best known for his solo piano performances, has announced that he will perform a SOLO GUITAR CONCERT (no piano played during this concert) to benefit the Naperville-based nonprofit organization HEAR US Inc., a national organization that helps homeless children, youth and families.

A food drive to benefit will be held in conjunction with this concert.  The audience is encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations to the show in support of People’s Resource Center in Wheaton.

For many years, George has been studying and recording the masters of the Hawaiian Slack Key guitar, the solo finger-style guitar tradition unique to Hawai’i, which dates back to the early 1800s (and predates the steel guitar by about 60 years).  “I experience such beauty and inspiration in the music of these masters,” says George, producer or co-producer of 36 slack key albums on the Dancing Cat record label.  “When I first heard some of the great Hawaiian slack key guitarists in the early 1970s, such as Keola Beamer, Led Kaapana, Ray Kane, Leonard Kwan, the late Gabby Pahinui, the late Sonny Chillingworth, the late Atta Isaacs and others, I realized right away that my priority was to help make this tradition better known, and ultimately more available to people.”

George’s performance will feature Hawaiian Slack Key as well as traditional American music, including Appalachian fiddle tunes, ragtime, popular standards and more.

So far he has two recordings with solo guitar:

1. First, the soundtrack for the Japanese story Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. The story was originally produced as a half-hour film directed by George Levenson for his non-profit media organization, Informed Democracy.  He also recorded the solo guitar, piano, and harmonica soundtracks for the Informed Democracy children’s videos Pumpkin Circle, about the cycle of the seasons unfolding in a backyard pumpkin patch, and Bread Comes to Life.

2. Second, REMEMBRANCE – A MEMORIAL BENEFIT, a 6-song CD of piano, guitar, and harmonica solos.  All artist proceeds from this CD are being donated to benefit those affected by 9/11.

This will be the second concert George has performed for HEAR US. His support enabled this organization to become an influential force helping homeless children and youth across the country. Materials—videos and books—developed and marketed by HEAR US, and Diane Nilan’s presentations, have given homeless children and youth voice and visibility, enabling educators, college students, and the public to hear directly from those affected by homelessness. Greater awareness means increased access to school, according to Nilan, instrumental in improving Illinois and federal legislation to remove barriers to education for the over 1.5 million homeless children in America.

The HEAR US award-winning documentary, My Own Four Walls, (on DVD) has been seen by thousands of adults and children across the country. “Audience reaction is tremendous,” states Diane Nilan, the former director of the PADS homeless shelter at Hesed House in Aurora. “My Own Four Walls and our other videos and books have created more awareness than we can ever calculate. I’m humbled by the courageous kids who agreed to participate in this project, and so deeply grateful for George Winston’s generous support.”

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George Winston Solo Guitar Concert to Benefit HEAR US

HEAR US Inc. is delighted to announce that musician George Winston will return to Naperville to do another solo guitar concert to benefit HEAR US! His last HEAR US concert was in October 2006.

On Sunday, March 28, 7:30 p.m., at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 1313 Mills Street in Naperville, George will play half Hawaiian Slack Key guitar music and half Appalachian guitar music.

HEAR US Inc. is a national nonprofit organization that gives voice and visibility to homeless children, youth and families. The HEAR US videos and books foster greater awareness and understanding of the over 1.5 million homeless families and teens, a mostly invisible problem nationwide.

Suggested donations for tickets is $20. They may be obtained through the HEAR US website's donation page. Or mail checks payable to HEAR US (indicate it's for the concert), 1163 E Ogden Ave. 705-329, Naperville, IL 60563. For information, contact Diane Nilan, HEAR US president, diane@hearus.us, or leave a voice mail message at 630-225-5012.

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California Dreaming for Homeless Kids

[Naperville, IL, July 24, 2009] Scattered across America in backwater towns, nondescript cities and dusty rural communities are 75 young people who have had an astounding impact on millions of people nationwide. "My Own Four Walls," the acclaimed documentary chronicling these courageous homeless children and youth filmed and produced by HEAR US Inc., will be screened this fall at the prestigious Paso Robles Digital Film Festival

"This festival provides a tremendous opportunity to let faces of children and youth without homes be seen and their voices heard," exclaims Diane Nilan, whose unconventional approach to making this documentary began with selling her home and possessions in 2005. Nilan's Naperville-based nonprofit organization, HEAR US Inc., is devoted to giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth. She's made 4 solo cross-country trips in her road-weary RV to find, film and empower invisible homeless families and teens.

As many families prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, participants of the Paso Robles festival will join with organizers who created an event that is in Paso Robles, CA.

"...deeply dedicated to shedding light in the darkness of the millions of homeless, runaway and missing children and youth in these

United States of America..."

Festival producer Benford Standley contacted Nilan, HEAR US president, with the invitation for My Own Four Walls, a 20-minute glimpse of the plight and promise of children and teens who, along with more than 1.5 million other young people in America, experienced homelessness.

Nilan ponders the November event and offers her thoughts, "My dream would be to bring the stars of this show to this festival, to honor the young people who resolutely stood up to share their poignant stories with the rest of the nation and world, and let them serve as the powerful reminder that our nation's commitment to children, the hope of our future, needs rekindling."

This intrepid RVer is making preparations for her most ambitious cross-country journey ever, an endeavor called, appropriately enough, Learning Curve Express, to inform and inspire lawmakers and the general public about invisible homelessness.

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Contact Diane Nilan, 630-267-5424

In time for HURRICANE SEASON--a children's book--with a twist

With the opening of hurricane season, a powerful children's book blows in, addressing the often-ignored issue of homelessness. A Family of Five or Six by Naperville (IL) author Pat Van Doren tells the story of Michael and his family--their house destroyed in a hurricane--and their experiences coping with homelessness.

Even before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Pat had been working on this, her second children's book addressing homelessness. Her first, Where Can I Build My Volcano?, a self-published book that has sold over 6,000 copies since first released in 1998, has won national acclaim including the 2006 Outstanding Media award from NAEHCY, the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.

The unusual twist to this book comes from Florida, a group of 5th and 6th graders at Carrollwood Day School in Tampa, and their "energizer bunny" teacher Mrs. Barbie Monty, who guides her students' learning process but lets them have at it. She had received a copy of Volcano and her kids wanted to convert it into a play for their major end-of-the-year performance. She contacted HEAR US, who gave her Pat's info, and a bond was formed.

Pat ended up getting more help than she initially asked for--as the kids provided illustrations for the inside of the book. They also shared their hurricane experiences so Pat would get the details right. They had a weekly conference call which meant the kids had to give up their lunch to participate. They met that requirement plus worked on deadline, providing artwork that tells this children's story with obvious input from children.

Pat's organization, It's About the Children, a part of HEAR US Inc., continues to use children's books and powerful photos of children in homeless situations to convey the realities of over 1.5 million homeless children and youth in America.

The books sell for $15 plus postage. Contact Pat at patvandoren@earthlink.net, 630/355-5859, to purchase books or for more information.

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