News Briefs: Wilmette, charity join forces to aid migrants; HP library to preview renovations on Feb. 27; Loyola welcomes new vice president

As the Village of Wilmette continues its efforts to support migrant families arriving locally, it is partnering with a Highland Park service organization on a new initiative: Take Care Packages.

Service and Learning Together, or SaLT, has been creating Take Care Packages for weeks, and the partnership with Wilmette is a “tangible expression of (the) community’s care for others,” according to a Village release. The village is hoping that residents will submit items to help make the transition easier for those arriving from Texas or beyond.

The initiative replaces Wilmette’s previous effort that collected donations in the Metra train station.

Those who are arriving will receive a package that contains essential items such as water, nonperishable food, personal hygiene products, first-aid kits, winter clothing, baby items, and children’s comfort items such as books/games/stuffed animals.

Dropoff sites in Wilmette and Kenilworth are: St. John’s Lutheran Church, 1235 Wilmette Ave. (9 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon-Fri); SALT Fitness, 410 Green Bay Road, Kenilworth (8-11 a.m. any day); Body Science PFT, 642 Green Bay Road, Kenilworth; and North Shore Music, 405 1/2 Linden Ave., Wilmette (3-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 3-6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday).

The effort is ongoing and the village is hoping to keep a minimum of 200 packages available at all times, the release says.

To volunteer, see a list of needed items or to set up your own “Take Care” event, visit SaLT’s website.

Residents can see plans to renovate Highland Park library on Feb. 27

The Highland Park Public Library will hold a community meeting to preview the expansion plans for the library from 7-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the lower-level meeting room.

The plans are part of the library’s 2025-2026 expansion project. During the meeting, community members can view design images, learn about the services and changes the expansion will offer, and have time to ask questions.

“The Highland Park Public Library’s expansion project is based on the results of a needs assessment, strategic planning, and resident feedback,” Executive Director Heidi Smith said in a press release. “The expansion design plans will address the community’s desires for expanded spaces, improved accessibility access, and enhanced services,“

Those who cannot attend the event in person can watch a recording of the meeting online at the Imagine HP website.

The Highland Park Public Library also offers online updates on the expansion project via email.

For more information about the project, call (847) 579-6819 or email Library-Administration@hplibrary.org.

Loyola brings on vice president of mission, ministry and identity

Alice Kearney Alwin, a graduate of Yale Divinity School and Marymount School of New York, has been appointed by Loyola Academy as its new vice president of mission, ministry and identity.

Kearney Alwin will supervise Loyola’s campus ministry as well as oversee programs for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and adult faith formation.

“Catholic education needs committed mission-building partners who appreciate how celebrating diversity is the key to creating unity,” Kearney Alwin said in a statement. “Our mission is more than the beautiful words of our mission statement, Jesuit mottos and slogans. The mission is what sends us into the world with a purpose that is distinctively formed by all that Loyola Academy is, has been and will be.”

In her new role, she will also guide the development of Loyola’s Lay Ignatian Training program for faculty and staff.

“Being an Ignatian-formed lay person gives me a special insight into designing a Lay Ignatian Training program for all faculty and staff,” Kearney Alwin said. “I look forward to leading a collaborative process that will help all the adults in our community build discernment skills, encourage a deeper understanding of living a faith that does justice, and celebrate our Jesuit identity.”

Kearney Alwin is a member of Loyola’s class of 1998 and returns to Loyola after a career spent in ministry and lay leadership positions at Marymount School of New York and Fairfield Prep in Fairfield, Conn.

She holds degrees in philosophy and divinity and is working on achieving her doctorate in ministry from Fordham University.

A native of Northbrook, Kearney Alwin and her husband, Scott, live in Chicago with their two daughters.