A Shout-Out to Our Awesome Volunteers!

By Karleen Hubbard
HSP Intern

Because I am astounded by the compassion, perseverance, and ingenuity of our awesome volunteers, here's an ode to a few who have gone the extra mile...

Mary Beth, one of our dedicated food sorters, surprised us with a generous food drive donation this week. As an explanation, she simply explained to us, “I looked at the bare shelves and worried that our seniors wouldn’t have enough food.” She's right, our shelves are pretty sparse, many of our staff have never seen them so empty.

So Mary Beth took matters into her own hands, and organized her very own food drive by asking around in her neighborhood. She said, "I wrote a letter and asked people to give a can or two, but most gave a sack."

Three overflowing grocery carts later, Mary Beth can say she and her Wheaton neighbors made a difference. One woman, man, or child can do so much. You may be equally surprised at how willing your friends and neighbors are to help.




Shortly after Mary Beth's donation came one from the Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard. We were delighted to hear that they had asked the members of their congregation who attended their Yom Kippur service to bring along a bag of non-perishable foods. Yesterday, we picked up two van-fulls and will be on our tomorrow to pick up another!



Finally, a story about a dedicated high schooler who woke up at 6 am on several Sundays in a row to collect school supplies for HSP. Talk about dedication! He decorated a box which he set out after each of his Church's services to ask people to bring school supplies to fill up the box. Last week, when he brought back what he had collected, it took nearly four of us to carry it inside and must have weighed in at over a hundred pounds!



To all who continue to help us help the needy, we appreciate your creativity and passion when it comes to donating and volunteering. Keep it coming!



I've also included the link below, for those who need a little help getting started on a food drive:

http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4305.htm

Thanks for all you do,
Karleen & The HSP Staff

How to Help: Host a Food Drive!

By Karleen Hubbard
HSP Intern

'Tis the Season! Christmas may not be on many of your minds yet, especially with us being in the last few hours of summer. But here at HSP, we are already gearing up to provide a holly-jolly holiday for 150 local needy families.

Our most crucial need during this time is food, which we will send to the families along with toys and other gifts. Each of the 150 families will receive three weeks worth of fresh produce, meats, breads, and non-perishables to carry them through this holiday season.

This is where you all come in. Because we need so much food, food drives are crucial to the Christmas Project. Without the generous donations we receive each year, we would be forced to shoulder this large expense ourselves. By gathering a group of coworkers, a youth group, churches, rotary clubs, neighbors, school students, and so on (the possibilities are endless!) you can help us meet this need by hosting a food drive for us.

The collection of the food is up to you, you may gather extraneous non-perishable food items or choose one item from our list to attempt to fulfill. For example, this year we will need 300 Jars of peanut butter, 1500 soups, and 600 cans of corn.

If you're interested, give us a call at 630-221-8340 for more information, to arrange the timeline of your food drive, and for the list of food items we need!

Thanks in advance and happy collecting!

Karleen & the HSP Staff

How To Help: Entertainment Books!

By Karleen Hubbard


For those who would like to help HSP succeed in our mission to provide for the local needy, I will be posting "How to Help" updates periodically to let you know what needs are most prevalent for the organization and how you can act as a volunteer or donor to help us meet those needs.






Currently, we are on the lookout for sponsors. Specifically, we need donors to sponsor a needy senior citizen. Through monetary donations, seniors will receive monthly deliveries of fresh produce, meats, non-perishables, and personal care items.






One creative way to donate is through Entertainment coupon books. Fresh off the press, the 2010 coupon books are stocked at our offices in Carol Stream waiting to provide you with pages upon pages of savings. Coupons include discounts of up to 50% on restaurants, take out, attractions, shopping, travel, and more. Save on pizza, plane tickets, skydiving, and everything in between!





Call us at 630-221-8340 to request a West/South Entertainment Book for $20. If you can't make it to HSP (465 Randy Rd. in Carol Stream), mail order is available for an additional $3.





Thanks in advance for helping us meet our current biggest need! Enjoy your books!


Karleen & The HSP staff

Recent Happenings

by Karleen Hubbard
HSP Intern

This summer brought the return of Feed the Kids here at HSP. This year was a great success, and 259 families were provided with a month of groceries. Through June, July, and August, grocery packages were distributed to families. Each package included fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, meat, snacks, and non-perishables. Many grateful families send their thank-you's to the volunteers who donated the food. Especially appreciated were the fruits and veggies, which are vital for nutrition but too expensive for many families to purchase.

Still in full swing is the collection of school supplies for young students in the area. HSP, with the help of volunteers, is meeting the needs of both families and schools who do not have the means to purchase supplies to kick off this school year.

HSP is still receiving requests for school supplies, so donations are greatly appreciated. Volunteers may collect supplies and visit us in Carol Stream to drop them off. Any supply will do, including pens, pencils, crayons, notebooks, backpacks, markers, colored pencils, erasers, and so on.

I'll leave you with a quote from a grateful mother and recipient of our School Supply Project...

"I am a single mother of 2 children and struggling, but thanks to your kindness
they had what they needed for school the first day! Words cannot express
grateful I am to all of you that made this possible! I prayed for a miracle and
my prayers were answered. May God bless you all!"

Thanks again to our amazing volunteers for their involvement in the School Supply Drive and Feed the Kids program this summer!

Until next time,
Karleen & The HSP Staff


PS Our address below if you'd like to donate school supplies:
465 Randy Rd.
Carol Stream, IL 60188

Or give us a call at: 630-221-8340

Welcome to the HSP blog!

by Karleen Hubbard
HSP Intern

As HSP's newest college intern, my first assignment is to create the first ever HSP blog. In hopes to keep you updated on our activities, I will be periodically posting news and statistics, ways to get involved, and thank you's to our spectacular volunteers. Expect pictures, videos, heartwarming personal stories, and quotes from volunteers and clients alike.

For those of you who may not know us, Humanitarian Service Project is a non-profit organization whose goal is to serve local needy families of DuPage and Kane counties through several different programs. Feed the Kids keeps the pantries of needy families stocked through the summer with fresh produce, nutritious snacks, meat, and non-perishables. The Senior Citizen Project reaches out to seniors in need with groceries, personal care items, and fun gifts from "secret pals." The Children's Birthday Project provides the children of needy families with a birthday to remember, including books, birthday games, party supplies, and of course gifts! The Christmas Offering helps 150 families with food and gifts for their children, and CBP kids and our seniors also receive giving tree gifts. Finally, HSP collects school supplies for those who cannot afford them, distributing them to both schools and individual families. Keep an eye out for blog posts on upcoming events at HSP and how you can get involved with us!

I sincerely hope you enjoy HSP's new blog. In the meantime, feel free to visit our website (http://www.humanitarianservice.org/) and check out our facebook page.


Karleen