By Esther Bower
Medill Reports

ELLAS pop-up shop in Pilsen provides apparel for the community at discounted prices, with all funds supporting women with breast cancer.

The thrift shop is located inside The Resurrection Project and is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9-5 p.m. ELLAS hopes to extend business hours soon, according to Juanita Arroyo, a shop worker. The shop started on the sidewalk but moved to its current storefront location after strong community support.

All profits at ELLAS go to provide resources, including items  women with cancer need during and after treatment.

“The proceeds of the store is to help other survivors going through treatments,” Arroyo said. “If they need any help with special bras, prosthetics, transportation; those are the [resources] we give women that are going through treatment.”

ELLAS, — which stands for En La Lucha A Sobrevivir or  ‘In The Fight To Survive’ in English — consists mostly of women who have beaten cancer and now want to give back and support others going through similar battles.

“In the Spanish community, it’s taboo to talk about cancer sometimes,” Arroyo said. ELLAS tries to bridge that gap for women and remind them that they don’t have to deal with cancer on their own. The group has meetings and outreach events to spread this message.

In January, ELLAS is planning to travel to the south side to give out bras, resources and information to the community about breast cancer.

For more information about the group and how to get involved, you can visit their Facebook page.