Chicago area Hooters locations collect 72 purses, fill them with essentials for women in need

Chicago area Hooters locations collected 72 purses to fill with essential hygiene items in a donation drive in support of women in need and domestic violence survivors.

Managers from the area's eight Hooters locations — at 660 N. Wells St. in River North, at O'Hare International Airport, and in Aurora, Downers Grove, Joliet, Oak Lawn, Schaumburg, along with the Hoots Wings in Cicero — gathered along with Hooter Girls at the Downers Grove location on Monday, March 30, to fill the purses.

Hooters conducted the drive along with the nonprofit Love Purse.

Maria Castro, founder of the nonprofit Love Purse, based in Riverside Illinois. Love Purse collects purses under $20, along with feminine products, deodorant, soap, body lotion, hand sanitizer, dental hygiene and hair care products, slippers and socks, compact mirrors, chocolates and mints, and other items.

Each purse also includes a handwritten inspirational note, Hooters said.

The purse donations benefit Metropolitan Family Services and WINGS Program Inc. to support domestic violence survivors and other women in need.

"It truly was an amazing day, for everyone to come together from our Chicagoland Hooters locations to help women in our community," HMC Hospitality Group chief marketing officer Denise Williams said in a news release. "Purses can sometimes hold our most precious items, and we want to continue to help local women feel special and loved." 

Joliet Hooters general manager Nicole Sancen spearheaded Hooters' collaboration with Love Purse in 2022, collecting 37 purses at the Joliet location alone and delivering them to organizations that helped domestic abuse victims, Hooters said.