With Snow on the Way, 100 Volunteers Still Needed for Senior Snow Removal Program

January is about to turn into January, with the spring-like temperatures we’ve been enjoying taking a powder starting Thursday.

The National Weather Service is forecasting two to four inches of snow Thursday, with temperatures dropping down to 22 degrees by evening. The snow is expected to start falling after 9 p.m.

Temperatures will continue to drop for the next few days and by Friday night are expected to reach a frigid 12 degrees.

The Chicago area’s first major snowfall means that Oak Lawn’s volunteer senior snow shoveling program will be kicking into high gear.

For the past two years, the village has matched volunteers with seniors and the disabled who have no family in the area to help them with snow removal.

Trustee Alex Olejniczak (Dist. 2) originally spearheaded the program when he saw seniors in his district who needed help shoveling their walks and driveways. The program has since expanded village-wide.

“During last year’s blizzard a senior was sitting in his front window waving and smiling and saying thank-you,” Olejniczak said. “So many people who weren’t part of the program got out and made a difference in their neighborhood.”

So far, 197 seniors have requested help with snow removal and many more have been placed on a waiting list. For some seniors who need to be able to get out of the house to reach doctor appointments or have health conditions that make shoveling snow dangerous, the volunteer program may mean the difference between life and death.

The village still needs 100 volunteers. Students looking to fulfill community service hours for school, scout troops, church groups or anyone who wants to help out a very grateful senior should contact Sgt. Jim Pacetti by email at jpacetti@oaklawn-il.gov or call him at 708-499-7880.

Correction: The Village of Oak Lawn's mandates that only businesses are required to remove snow from the public way 24-48 hours within snowfall, as two readers correctly pointed out. Patch regrets the error.