‘Evan’s Elves’ help families in need with gifts in memory of Downers Grove boy Evan Melau

DOWNERS GROVE – Evan Melau was a young man who brought happiness to everyone he knew, says those who knew him best.

That spirit is carrying on this holiday season.

Friends of Melau, the 15-year-old Downers Grove boy struck and killed by a car in June, have started the charity organization “Evan’s Elves” in his memory. Just like Evan was a little guy with an ever-present smile, they’re putting smiles on the faces of families in need at Downers Grove South High School and O’Neill Middle School, schools Melau attended, with gift cards and other Christmas presents.

“That’s what the holiday season is all about, is giving back and making people happy the way Evan and his family make people happy,” said Julie Waterman, whose son Justin was a good friend of Melau’s and played basketball with him at O’Neill and Downers Grove South. “The Melaus are in our thoughts a lot. We wanted to do something special for them and honor Evan’s memory.”

The idea started with six families, friends of Evan Melau and friends of the family, who wanted to do something in his honor over the holidays. They first considered a toy drive, but because of COVID-19 families do not want those kinds of donations as much. They reached out to Downers Grove South assistant principal Vince Walsh-Rock, who said the school definitely had families in need that would love to get gift cards. They also contacted O’Neill assistant principal Haley Vermeer and were given a list of actual needs and items to purchase.

Nina Kuhlman, whose son Freddy was a friend of Evan’s who played basketball and football with him, said they were “blown away” by the amount of donations in a short time.

Ironically, on one of the first days of donations, the total dollar amount brought in was $555 – Evan’s jersey number in baseball was No. 5.

“I did the totals that we brought in and it was $555 – I got the chills,” Kulhman said. “I checked it and rechecked it and thought it could not be. It was amazing. It was lovely and Evan’s mom loved it too.”

In less than two weeks, through the Evan’s Elves Facebook page and word of mouth, they received $3,100 in monetary donations, which were used to buy gift cards from Jewel, Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon in $100 increments for families at Downers Grove South. They’ve also raised $2,400 to purchase gifts for families at O’Neill.

“The outpouring of support from the community was amazing,” Waterman said. “We were overwhelmed with their generosity in such a short time. It was wonderful to see the community give back.”

Wonderful, too, were the friends of Melau’s able to spend time together for the project.

They did a wrapping night, outside, with 15-20 kids, with pizza provided by Jet’s Pizza in Darien.

“I feel like it is probably helping the kids to do things like this,” Kuhlman said. “Working through their feelings for Evan, it’s been hard. I know for my son it’s been hard.”

Indeed, Melau’s friends are all athletes who haven’t been able to be together as much as normal during this tough time, with the pandemic canceling sports events. So it’s meaningful to have any time as a group, like last week when they delivered the gift cards to Downers Grove South and presents to O’Neill.

“It’s hard for the teenagers to process such a sudden and tragic death; my son says that the boys have trouble talking about it,” Kuhlman said. “But when we create opportunities like this, it allows them to talk about him, and they love it. I think it means a lot. Not only are they keeping Evan’s spirit alive but they’re also dealing with their grief. Any chance that they can be together is good, and the fact that they are doing things and honoring Evan means a lot.”

They’re hopeful to carry on in his memory with events like this one, and the baseball tournament in Melau’s name that was held this past August.

“Evan’s mom [Jamie] is truly a remarkable woman that continues to persevere, and she loves projects like this,” Kuhlman said. “She is an amazing person. She never wants Evan to be forgotten and we will help her with it.”