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| | HR0339 | | LRB104 13523 LAW 25990 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of |
| 3 | | Representatives wish to commend Maria Castro, founder and CEO |
| 4 | | of the nonprofit Love Purse, on her service to women in need; |
| 5 | | and
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| 6 | | WHEREAS, Love Purse is a nonprofit that collects new |
| 7 | | purses, fills them with toiletries, other necessities, and |
| 8 | | supportive notes, and donates them primarily to shelters and |
| 9 | | safe havens for women in need who are often escaping dire |
| 10 | | situations such as domestic violence and human trafficking; |
| 11 | | and
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| 12 | | WHEREAS, Love Purse was created by Pilsen resident Maria |
| 13 | | Castro in 2021 in response to her learning about the spike in |
| 14 | | domestic violence calls since the start of the COVID-19 |
| 15 | | pandemic due to people being in lock down with their abusers, |
| 16 | | with many suffering in silence, and the subsequent influx of |
| 17 | | women in need of help; and
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| 18 | | WHEREAS, Love Purse has grown solely from word-of-mouth |
| 19 | | and social media through the use of the hashtag #lovepurse, |
| 20 | | leading to people reaching out to help, friends challenging |
| 21 | | friends to honor a loved one by giving a love purse in their |
| 22 | | name to a local safe haven, women holding parties to collect |
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| | HR0339 | - 2 - | LRB104 13523 LAW 25990 r |
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| 1 | | and gather purses to donate, the participation of a number of |
| 2 | | individuals and groups, including real estate agents, Girl |
| 3 | | Scout troops, celebrities, and corporations, and an annual |
| 4 | | gala; and
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| 5 | | WHEREAS, Love Purse has donated love purses beyond the |
| 6 | | State's borders, distributing them to those in need in several |
| 7 | | U.S. states as well as Ukraine, Canada, and Mexico; as the |
| 8 | | nonprofit continues to grow, it has expanded to include women |
| 9 | | in hospitals who are going through chemotherapy, mothers who |
| 10 | | have lost a loved one to violence, and migrants who are |
| 11 | | striving for a fresh start in a new country; and
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| 12 | | WHEREAS, Love Purse, since its inception, has donated more |
| 13 | | than 18,000 love purses, affecting the lives of more than |
| 14 | | 18,000 women in need; and
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| 15 | | WHEREAS, Maria Castro, through Love Purse, hopes to |
| 16 | | empower women by putting love on their shoulders, one love |
| 17 | | purse at a time, giving them hope and reminding them that they |
| 18 | | matter; therefore, be it
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| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
| 20 | | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
| 21 | | we commend Maria Castro on her service to women in need through |
| 22 | | her nonprofit, Love Purse, and we wish her continued success |