Members & Volunteers

Be An Angel 4 This Cause

Pat Stryszak
President and founder
Pat's life long dream has become true.
She has wanted to work with kids and animals
her whole life. After dreaming she finally decided to
stop dreaming and just DO IT!

Ed Stryszak
Treasure and Devoted Husband
Ed has devoted his love and compassion not only to
his family but to the animals that enter our rescue.
A dream that has been his wife's has become his. He loves
to spend time with his family with the animals to give them knowledge
and responsibilities

Julie & Tom Esposito
Vice-President

Julie and Tom Esposito have been associated with Angel4CauseRescue since its inception, and are both members of its board of directors.

Julie, growing up in Rural Illinois, has always had a passion for animals and in particular

Pitbulls. Since she seems to have a “thing” for strays with a bad reputation, it was a natural that she rescued Tom from his bachelor existence of 47 years in 2003.

Tom on the other hand is a product of an East Coast urban environment whose perception of animal rescue and pets is “rescuing” a never ending trail of turtles from local pet stores and lavishing them with a life in his bedroom comfortably housed in a plastic habitat which includes an artificial palm tree, multi-color gravel and all the turtle food they can want.

Julie and Tom have expanded their horizons to fundraising in legitimate pet rescues through playing Santa at Petco and posing as a pirate on a float in the LaGrange Pet Parade.

Julie being more practical and less theatric, spends a fair amount of time weekly caring for the dogs and screening potential adoptive and foster families.

Both Julie and Tom find supporting Angel4Cause interesting, if not rewarding in many ways and hope that you will too.

Dianne Andrews
Secretary

For many years I have had a great passion for dogs. I am an Executive Director for a non-profit organization. When I first met Pat I became aware of her dream to have a non-profit organization regarding animal rescue. With my non-profit experience I was able to assist her with forms and applications to make her dream a reality. Since then I have become active in her group and my passion for “rescue” has no limits. Her work has proven positive and provides a bright future for many dogs! I am honored to be a part of this group.

Sharon and Jenna Marcinkowski Photographer and Volunteers

Mother and daughter team for Angel4CauseRescue have been involved
working with our rescue for over 2 years. They are very caring, loving, and awesome
volunteers that go above and beyond to help our rescue become better everyday.
So when you see these beautiful and creative photos of our furry Angels Sharon is behind
the scenes making them grab at peoples hearts to want to adopt and save a life instead
of buying from a breeder. Sharon is extremely artistic, painting for our events to capture the eyes of what people don't know what happens in rescue and opens the eye to the public that we need more help to help save lives. Not only Jenna but her family as well gets involved
with the dirty work to do what ever it takes to take care of the every day to day work with
food, unloading, and cleaning as well.

Barb Prange
Director and Event Coordinator
Volunteering has been a big part of my life since High School which started with underprivliged children on the South Side of Chicago. I have also worked with local organizations including the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and now Angel4CauseRescue.

Bringing home stray cats and dogs was another activity that started when I was young and passed onto my daughter, who took animals to another level. We have rescued several birds,squirls, rabbits and racoons! Animals bring so much joy and unconditional love to our lives I knew I would have to help those animals less fortunate find loving homes. Organizations like ours is "grass roots" and depend on volunteers and donations to operate. My goal is to help build a successful group of volunteers and help raise money through private donations, grants and local fundraisers.

Brian and Colleen Beres

"My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already thinks I am" This is a quote that myself and my wife Colleen have come to embrace with our 3 dogs: Ali, Marley and Kira. All of which are rescues. Ali and Marley are Pit Mixes and Kira is German Shepard. They are our family, our everything. We had the honor and privilege of meeting Pat a number of months ago through a work associate. Since then, we have all become the best of friends. We love coming to Angel4Cause and working the dogs, seeing how happy they are to see us makes our day. We love making a difference in their lives, just as they make a difference in ours.

Tim and Tammi Phelan Volunteers

I'm so thankful for the family & friends I have and the support I get from each and everyone of them. Thanks

Tammi and supportive husband Tim always manages to get herself into everything helping others. Tammi is a great organizer
and always manages no matter the job big or small gets it done. They are a great team to helping others no matter what
it is. Tammi's biggest volunteer work besides all the other things she does is helping the Cancer Society. Anything that we have asked or needed Tammi is one to step up to the plate and help. They have 2 wonderful dogs of their own that are their kids. Always a pleasure to have them with Angel4CauseRescue.

Please look for up coming Events on our website for Tammi's events as well to help the Cancer Society!

Gloria Kamps

How one woman went from "NO WAY are you bringing home a pit bull" to loving pitty owner and foster mom. Gloria is one of
the most caring, loving, compassionate person we have ever met. She is not afraid to speak for the ones that can not
speak for themselves. She's not only a wonderful volunteer but helps raise donations to keep these little babies warm with fresh blankets, collars and special treats. She is a great person to have on your side. When the saying goes "nothing like getting in the playpen" she really does get in the play pen and will sit the entire time in the play pen with puppies at our events til it's time to go. Talk about dedication!

Thanks Gloria for having such a BIG heart and showing the love these babies need.

Elena Tanta
Adoption Event Coordinator for Skokie Petsmart
Helping animals is my passion. I have been working with animals all my life and have been a dog trainer at Petsmart in Skokie since 2004. Nick and I have been fostering and volunteering for Angel 4 Cause Rescue since they openned their doors in 2007. We plan on continuing to support the Rescue fully because we believe in the idea that dogs and puppies do better in a home environment than in a cage.

Victoria Ball
"I was rescued by my beloved Homer in a completely random event! I was shopping at Petsmart w/ my recently gotten German Shepherd "Leo" -when I met Homer's (formerly known as Schroeder) foster mom (Elena) and him in the rear of the store where she had been giving training sessions ...and that's when I spotted him. From then on I knew that I had to have him, I filled out the adoption paperwork and the rest is history! He is a puppy from the very first rescue - Diva and he brings happiness and laughter to my life every day!

I love helping others achieve happiness by helping out with adoption events. It is a completely rewarding experience that I equate the hours spent at an adoption event as a mini vacation day- you leave feeling relaxed, happy and hopeful. Angel 4 Cause Rescue has blessed me with my angel ! I hope that they can help give you wings as well!"

Amanda Foradori

I was not a dog lover until my family, against my will, brought home our first and only puppy, Bailey. From the moment our eyes met and he growled a little squeak, he truly had me at hello. I melted. I now swoon more over dogs and puppies than I do seeing a little newborn! It’s the curse of man’s best friend! After losing our beloved Bailey to kidney failure a week before his 9^th birthday and moving to Chicago for work, volunteering with Angels 4 Cause has given me the opportunity to open my heart to canines in need of love, and seeing their happiness and gratitude has in turn helped warm mine!

"Hi, I'm Gineen.... the one in the grey shirt. A wise person once said, "Everything happens for a reason." Growing up, my parents never let me have a dog. At the time, it seemed like a horrible punishment that I couldn't take a puppy from a friend's litter home, but it wasn't until years later that I would be thankful for not acting on impulse. Volunteering through Angel 4 Cause Rescue has exposed me to a numerous amount of breeds and personalities, has helped me to feel comfortable around our four legged friends, and has revealed what type of dog best suits me. Thank you for exposing me to this enriching experience!"