Illinois Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) recently pledged to donate her pay raise to two local organizations: SIUE’s Cougar Cupboard and the Edwardsville branch of I Support the Girls.

Both organizations have benefited Edwardsville and surrounding communities by conducting and participating in donation drives; Cougar Cupboard is known for its food pantry and I Support the Girls collects feminine hygiene products and bras for women in need. Stuart said she chose to donate her raise money to these two organizations because of their positive impact on the community and how she resonated with them.

“I wanted to make sure that I was supporting groups that were supporting people negatively impacted by COVID-19,” Stuart said. “I’ve always been really impressed by the work that both Cougar Cupboard and I Support the Girls have done.”

Stuart has a past participating in events and plans with Cougar Cupboard and I Support the Girls.

“I have done various supply drives for I Support the Girls before and have tried to help Cougar Cupboard with its most recent drive to collect a thousand items in response to COVID-19 [by helping] them spread the word on social media,” Stuart said.

A bill that is currently being reviewed may amend the General Assembly Compensation Act, which would prevent Illinois legislators from getting a pay raise. However, Stuart still plans to donate $1,800, the Illinois legislators’ planned pay raise for 2020, between the two organizations, whether she actually receives that pay raise or not.

Founder of the Edwardsville chapter of I Support the Girls Alicia Alexander said Stuart’s affiliation with the organization goes a long way back.

“[Stuart] has probably really supported us since after my first year,” Alexander said. “In 2018, she did her first collecting for [I Support the Girls] at her office. She and her staff started doing collections at different points … they would do a month long collection of new underwear and menstrual hygiene [products]. There have been a few different collections each year.”

According to Alexander, Stuart’s donation would go toward new products, but the main focus of I Support the Girls remains a communal project.

“Something that we try to do is not use a lot of our financial donations on actual products,” Alexander said. “The focus of the organization is it’s a community project. Other people are giving to support those in need in our community.”

Assistant Director for Community Engagement Carolyn Compton said even though she has only been affiliated with Cougar Cupboard for about a year, she has already seen Stuart’s active participation with the organization. uture ideas for Cougar Cupboard donation drives were canceled due to COVID-19.

“We’ve had some talks about what it would look like to start doing an annual or biannual food drive for [Cougar Cupboard],” Compton said. “Then, COVID-19 happened, so we readjusted that. Moving forward, [Stuart will] be helping with that and being supportive of food drives in the future on a regular basis.”

To find more information about Cougar Cupboard and I Support the Girls – Edwardsville, visit their websites.