Kohl’s Volunteers help sort and package foods

Today, June 30th, 2010, members from Kohl’s department store came in to volunteer!  The Kohl’s volunteers prepared produce boxes, labeled boxes, unloaded trucks,taped up all boxes, and sorted foods.  They got done with so much that we even had them start preparing and organizing for our Feed the Kids Program.  Thank you for your terrific effort Kohl’s volunteers!

            

We Need Volunteers!!

We are in need of volunteers to help us distribute fresh fruit, produce, and non perishable groceries to the 100 families in our Feed The Kids program. The food distribution day is next Wednesday (7/7/10). We need 6 volunteers, high school age or older, from 9:15am-2pm and 6 volunteers from 2=6:30pm! Volunteers are welcome to stay for both shifts if they'd like!

Also, HSP will be participating in Wheaton's 4Th of July parade this year! We'd love to have friends of HSP walk with us to celebrate Independence Day! The parade starts at noon, but participants would need to meet at 11am in front of Ace Hardware on main street!

Hey Rib lovers! Want to help HSP and have an excuse to attend RIBFEST?? Well, HSP is working the gates again this year at Ribfest on Saturday July 3rd. We need volunteers who can stay for the whole shift from 11am-5pm. Parking will be provided and volunteers will get a FREE t shirt! After your shift is over you can enjoy the festival!

Time is running short to find volunteers for all of these projects, so please call us ASAP at (630) 221 8340 or email us at hsp@humanitarianservice.org if you are interested in volunteering!

Thanks!!!!

Summer is for Helping

When HSP Founder/
Executive Director
Karole Kettering's granddaughter, Morganne came by recently, we put her to work helping us get a mailing out.

Morganne also was a great help too when we were selecting books for the 9 to 12 year olds in our Children's Birthday Project. We were completing a request for books from a First Books distribution and few of us in the center knew what would be good books for children this age. But Morganne, who loves to read, surely knew. Thanks, Morganne!

Morgan Stanley Supports HSP with Volunteer Hours

We couldn't have a better team than those volunteers from Morgan Stanley. Over the course of four days, by our count, we had nearly 30 Morgan Stanley volunteers in our warehouse sorting food and filling boxes for July's Feed the Kids. With 100 families served by this summertime nutrition project, that means we needed a total of 400 boxes completed. Boxes weigh 25 pounds and contain hearty main meals and soups, tuna, pasta and pasta, cereal, canned fruit, pancake mix, syrup, peanut butter and jelly and more. Feed the Kids fills the void that low-income children and their families find in the summer when they do not have access to free or reduced-cost school meals.

It's hard to imagine a harder working team than these folks. Thanks to Marnie Niziolek and Mary Andreotta for their help in organizing the service.

Together in Helping Those Less Fortunate

Melanie Woods and her two daughters, Michelle and Emma helped out today as we prepare for July's Feed the Kids. The Woods drove over from Naperville for an afternoon sorting. Thanks!!!

Morgan Stanley Making an Impact

This has been the third day that volunteers from Morgan Stanley have come in to sort food for Feed the Kids. With their efficient teamwork we will soon have all of our boxes of non-perishables packed! We really appreciate the help with packing but we also need food donations to pack! Donations are always welcome

Help Fill Feed the Kids Boxes (and the stomachs of hungry children)

We have enough nonperishable food for our July Feed the Kids but not enough for the August distribution. We need 2,500 more pounds. That’s enough food for 100 boxes each with a weight of 25 lbs. We are even finding shortages at our best (and most economical) source for purchasing food, Northern Illinois Food Bank.

Can you do a food drive for us? This is a great project for vacation Bible school, summer camps, or even your own neighborhood, club, or church. The children in Feed the Kids depend on us to fill the void left when school is out and they do not have free or reduced-cost school meals to help meet their nutritional needs.

We need any amount of:

main meals & hearty soups,

peanut butter & jelly,

pancake mix & syrup,

pasta & sauce,

canned fruit,

cereal, crackers,

and healthy snacks

A Big THANKS for Helping!!!

by Sheila Noblitt, HSP Staff

Yet Another Fresh Face!

HSP is obviously attracting a lot of young help this year! Welcome our newest intern, Julie Fese from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Julie is a rising junior studying Human Nutrition and Dietetics and should fits nicely with our goal of distributing healthy food to local families. No stranger to non-profit work, some of her volunteer experience includes the Elmhurst Park District, Keep Carbondale Beautiful, and Trees Forever. Julie hopes that her internship at the Humanitarian Service Project will give her some valuable working experience, and we know that she will be an excellent addition here!

Welcome to our new intern Kristy Nguyen!!

Kristy graduated from Loyola this past May with her degree in Psychology and Biology. Kristy would like to go to med school to become a neuropsychologist. Her first choice for med school was Rush, but she's thinking she might like to go somewhere warmer to escape the harsh Chicago winters.
Kristy volunteered at HSP a long time ago and never forgot the great work that is done here, that's why she came back to be an intern. Kristy said, "I want to give my time to this organization because of what it does."

Welcome Kristy!! We are so happy to have you!

Meet our new intern! Dave Supik is a medical student at Midwestern University. He graduated from Miami of Ohio in 2007 and gained experience there raising money for the Children's Miracle Network. The Humanitarian Service Project appealed to his desire to donate his time to non-profit organizations and he says "I identified with the mission statement of HSP and became eager to join the team." In his free time he enjoys spending time with family and outdoor activities.

A new walk-in freezer for HSP!!!

A HUGE THANK YOU to the Wheaton Rotary Club for the beautiful walk-in freezer!! Not only is this awesome freezer good for HSP, but it's also good for the environment as it is 1200 cubic feet, but uses no more electricity than 3 standard upright freezers. WOW!

Thank you to all of the Rotary Club members who helped build the freezer, including Roger Tully, Jeff Pringle, Kent Stoneburner, Frank Jeffers, Steve Johnson, Dahx Marrs, Chuck Mattingly, and Dan Rasper! We are truly grateful for all of your hard work! A special thank you to Roger Tully of TULLY ELECTRIC for stopping by HSP today to finish getting the freezer ready!

Thanks again, guys! The freezer is going to be a huge help to us!!

Tiger Trot Raises $6238!!

Wiesbrook's Tiger Trot race took place on May 22nd and raised $6238 for the Humanitarian Service Project! Our volunteer Lesley Ronson spoke at Wiesbrook and then stopped by our center yesterday to drop off the donation. Thank you to everyone who organized and took part in the race- your donation will go very very far in the lives of our needy families!

Feed The Kids 2010 Kicks Off!!

By: Melissa Ericksen, Intern

Today is our first pick-up day for Feed The Kids! 100 families are arriving at our center today to pick up meat, produce, and non-perishables for the month of June.  Lots of volunteers have been hard at work today distributing food and making the process go smoothly!

 

New faces and returning friends!

Alia Azmat is HSP's newest summer intern and is greatly looking forward to getting her feet wet in the non-profit community. She recently transferred to Arizona State from College of DuPage and will be starting this fall as a junior majoring in anthropology. Alia has volunteered with us in the past and we look forward to working with her in the future!

We were also glad to see Matt Feulner drop in for a visit this morning - he was an intern with Humanitarian Service Project during the summer of 2008 and has since gone on to do some pretty amazing things! After graduating from Northern Illinois University, Matt had further schooling in Prague, Czech Republic where he also worked as a freelance English teacher. More recently, Matt has been working for VMI Inc in Oakbrook, Illinois, a company that manages the marketing and sales campaigns for Fortune 500 and 100 companies. Great job Matt, we appreciate the time you spent with us and look forward to hearing more great things from you in the future!

HSP Given Top Rating by Charity Navigator!

by: Melissa Ericksen, intern

"We are proud to announce Humanitarian Service Project has earned our sixth consecutive 4-star rating for its ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances. Only 3% of the charities we rate have received at least 6 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Humanitarian Service Project consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way, and outperforms most other charities in America. This "exceptional" designation from Charity Navigator differentiates Humanitarian Service Project from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust. "

Wow! We are so honored to have this distinction for the 6th year in a row.

Visit Charity Navigator on the web at http://www.charitynavigator.org/

Happy Birthday, Emma!

 
 
Happy Birthday, Emma! Emma, her mom, and brothers came to HSP on Friday to pick up Emma's birthday present... a brand new BIKE!! Emma was so excited and grateful for her fun gift! We hope that she enjoys her gift for many years and gets a lot of use out of it!

Congressional Candidate Ben Lowe and Supporters Sort Food for HSP

by: Melissa Ericksen, intern

Democratic Congressional candidate (6th District) Ben Lowe (a graduate of Wheaton College!)and friends from his campaign helped HSP today by sorting food for our Feed the Kids program! With their help we will be ready to distribute food to 100 needy families next week to help them through the month of June. Thanks, Ben!