	>	The Storehouse
	>	30 Hour Famine
	>	Team World Vision
	>	Children & Youth Programs
	>	Church and Community
	>	Child Sponsorship
	>	The Hope Initiative

Ways to Give

Get Involved

Upcoming Events

Press Center

Home > Get Involved > Welcome to World Vision in Chicago

Gary Dehne: Chicago Public School Hero

At Bell School, a K-8 school in Chicago, one of the boys’ bathrooms has not had a sink for 12 years. And last year, the school was written up for having cracks in their cafeteria floor. In the 90-year-old building, it’s no surprise that bathroom sinks are missing faucets, ceiling tiles are moldy, and walls are starting to crumble.

The biggest problem, though, is that the school doesn’t have nearly enough budget to make the necessary repairs. So the 915 students have simply become accustomed to these failings.

Enter Gary Dehne, the new engineer at Bell School. “My goal is to make every bathroom, every classroom, a place where I would feel comfortable, where my kids would feel comfortable,” he said. While working at his last school, Gary discovered the Storehouse of World Vision.

The Storehouse of World Vision provides new, donated building materials, school supplies, and personal items to schools, non-profit organizations, and families in need. Gary receives much-needed products like paint, toilets, sinks, faucets, and even coat hooks, to make Bell School a clean, safe environment for the students.

Gary said that in the past, the school has not been able to complete even small fix-it projects because they need to save the budget money for paper towels and toilet paper when they run out at the end of the year. But because Gary finds the products he needs at the Storehouse, in just a few months he has fixed the cracks in the cafeteria, completely remodeled several bathrooms, painted classrooms, and turned an old storage closet into a small meeting room.

Bob Guercio, the principal at Bell, said, “We’re getting materials from the Storehouse that make projects successful. And it fights a mentality of ‘Oh, it’s good enough.’ We don’t accept good enough around here.”

Speaking of Gary, the principal added, “It really is amazing. We sit in here and have an idea that might be impossible. And then we mention it to Gary, and it happens in a day.”

Gary humbly deflects much of the recognition of his diligent and selfless work at the school. And instead he says, “I love World Vision like you wouldn’t believe. Thank you for making my vision turn into a reality.”

>> INTERACTIVE MAP: Learn how the Storehouse works in urban communities
>> HELP CHILDREN IN CHICAGO through World Vision's domestic programs

Who Is World Vision?

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

� 2008 World Vision Inc.

Site Search : Sitemap : Privacy / Security : Contact Info : Careers : Spanish : Korean : FAQs : Links : Donor Service