Good Luck, Pedro!

Yesterday everyone at Humanitarian Service Project got together to bid farewell to our Accounting Intern Pedro, who completed his internship yesterday. Pedro has been a fantastic presence in the office, and has been of incredible help both as an accountant and in other departments around the office (thanks, in no small part, to his bilingual skills.) HSP Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer Floyd Kettering, who has been working one on one with Pedro throughout Pedro’s internship, said he had a fantastic time working with Pedro because he is so diligent and hard working. At the goodbye party we had for Pedro yesterday, everyone else echoed Floyd’s sentiment.

Pedro has just a few credits left to go for his accounting degree, after which he will be preparing to take his CPA exam to become a full fledged accountant. We all wish Pedro luck in this endeavor, and know that he will do great!

Pedro said he had a great time being an intern at HSP, and was grateful for the opportunity. We at HSP feel the same way about working with Pedro. If being an intern at HSP sounds like an opportunity you, or someone you know, would be interested in pursuing, you can view our opportunities online at internships.com, idealist.org, or many local colleges’ online job posting websites. Or, you can call us at 630-221-8340 for more information.

Hot off the Presses

There is an old adage that says “all press is good press.” However, we at the Humanitarian Service Project know this old saying is inaccurate because some press isn’t good, it’s great! For that reason, we at HSP are excited to announce that HSP was featured in both The Daily Herald and The Carol Stream Press over the weekend.

Both articles were about the toys donated by HSP to the needy children at Lake Park Elementary in Addison.


You can read the Daily Herald article online here: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20111223/news/712239794/

And the Carol Stream Press article online here:
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/carolstream/newsnow/x2084005364/The-big-number-415

We want to thank Beth Mistretta at The Daily Herald and Sara Smith at The Carol Stream Press for the, not good but great, articles getting the word out about HSP. We also want to thank all of our supporters who made the donation for all the needy students at Lake Park, and all the other 1100+ children we served this Christmas, possible. It is only through your heartfelt support that HSP is newsworthy.

Happy Holidays from HSP!

We at Humanitarian Service Project are currently wrapping up our Christmas Offering and looking forward to take a few days off to celebrate the holiday with our families. Before we do so, we wanted to take some time to reflect on the Christmas Offering. Because of the outpouring of support from our donors and volunteers, we managed to reach over 1600 needy children with gifts this year, as well as provide food for the needy families in our Children’s Birthday Project. This includes the gifts given to the 416 needy children at Lake Park Elementary in Addison (which we discussed in the blog yesterday,) a first for HSP’s Christmas Offering. We want to thank all of our fantastic donors and volunteers who put so much love into helping us reach out to all of the very needy people we served this Christmas. Your heartfelt support is what makes all that we do at HSP possible.

If there is a camera that takes photos wide enough to show all of the gifts and food we at HSP gave to needy families for our Christmas Offering this year, we certainly don’t have it, but these photos should give you a glimpse of what was given out this year.

Just a reminder, Humanitarian Service Project will be closed for the holidays next Monday, December 26th, and Tuesday, December 27th. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Quite the Story

A person doesn’t have to be around Humanitarian Service Project for long before they start acquiring good stories to tell. Today, it was Paul Yambrovich, our Community Outreach Coordinator, who got a new story under his belt. We thought it imperative to share this story with all of our supporters, not just because we think it is such a great story, but because all of our supporters had a hand in making it a reality.

Paul’s story is about Lake Park Elementary School in Addison. Earlier this week, we delivered Christmas gifts to all 416 children at the school, and Paul was invited to the school today to witness all of the children receive the toys. He described it as “the coolest thing [he’s] seen since [he’s] been here at HSP. The kids were so happy; many of them were literally jumping up and down for joy.”

Lake Park Elementary is a school with many needy children. Almost 90% of the students come from families so economically needy that they are on the free lunch program. Lake Park’s principal told Paul that for many of the needy students at the school, this would likely be all they would receive for Christmas. It is only through the overwhelming support of all of our supporters that HSP was able to provide gifts to these needy children at Lake Park Elementary, and the over 1100 other children we have reached out to this Christmas. We want to thank all of donors and volunteers for all they have done to make it possible.

A Marathon We Are Happy to Run (metaphorically)

We at the Humanitarian Service Project are still in the throes of our marathon Christmas Offering distribution. We have had over 75 needy families who requested to be on our Christmas Offering waiting list come to our center in Carol Stream today to pick up Christmas gifts for their children age 3-15. However, we still aren’t calling it quits after this crop, we will have dozens of more needy families from the waiting list coming in the next two days. We want to thank all of our wonderful volunteers and donors who have made it possible for us to reach so many needy families this Christmas. This Christmas HSP has been able to provide for roughly 1600 needy children (400 more than last year.) We want to thank all of our supporters from the bottom of our hearts, because it is only because of all of you that we have been able to make a positive impact in the lives of so many people who need it.

We want to bring special recognition to one of the groups who have helped us recently make our Christmas Offering possible. Last night, 42 members of the UIC College Prep Marine Corps JROTC came in with over 200 toys and with hearts ready to work. Our Toy Room organizer Jan Thompson said, “It was one of the biggest thrills of my life, watching 42 marine cadets stream into that tiny room and sort all of those toys so fast.” We want to thank the UIC JROTC, and all of our other wonderful donors and volunteers, for making our Christmas Distribution days this year such wonderful successes.

Status Report

This post will be shorter than usual, because our Christmas Offering Distribution is still, at this very second, going on. However, we wanted to take a quick time out to thank everyone who made today possible. Specifically we want to thank the volunteers and donors who have made our Christmas Offering this year such a success. We have had almost 240 needy families come in today to pick up food and Christmas gifts for their children aged 3-15. Also, thanks to the overwhelming support of our donors, we will be serving over 140 more needy families this week with Christmas gifts, who called in requesting help for Christmas as well.

We want all of our donors and volunteers to know that it is only through your fantastic support that we at Humanitarian Service Project have been able to make such a positive impact in the lives of so many needy families this holiday season. We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts, as well as, wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Distributing Cheer

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend a humongous thank you for the over 70 volunteers that made the first stage of our Christmas Offering Distribution a success this past Saturday. Thanks to these hardy volunteers we succeeded in providing 100 of the needy families enrolled in our children’s birthday project with Christmas gifts for all children age 3 to 15 in their family as well as over 250 pounds of food (including fresh produce, seven frozen meats, bread, a turkey, and six boxes of non-perishables.) Our second distribution day is tomorrow, in which over 230 needy families from our children’s birthday project will be receiving Christmas gifts, as well as food, to help make Christmas special for them. With all the wonderful support we have received from our donors and volunteers, we are prepared for another successful distribution tomorrow. We want to thank each and every one of our supporters from the bottom of our hearts, it is only through your heartfelt assistance that HSP is able to make such a positive impact in the lives of so many needy people in the area.

We are also happy announce that because of the overwhelming support we have received for our Christmas Offering this year, today HSP was able to donate Christmas gifts to every student at Lake Park Elementary School in Addison today (totaling 416 students.) Almost 90% of the students at Lake Park Elementary come from families with low enough economic backgrounds to qualify for free school lunch. If it were not for the wonderful support we have received from our generous donors and steadfast volunteers, we would never have been able to reach out to this very needy school.

Sweating for a Good Cause

According to the Mayo Clinic, regular exercise not only helps control your weight and keep fit, it has numerous other positive affects on your mood, energy levels, and sleep cycle. Of course, when that exercise is taking place in our warehouse it has a much larger positive benefit; all the exercise done in our warehouse helps make an impact in the lives of the needy families and seniors we serve.

We want to thank all of our volunteers for exercising both their bodies and hearts to assist us in reaching out to the needy families we are serving this Christmas. We specifically want to acknowledge the groups who came in today to volunteer. A group of 5 from Kohl in Downer’s Grove, a group of 12 students from Midwestern University, Wheaton North Key Club, and a group of four girl scouts from Metea Valley High School. These fantastic groups, and a number of other fantastic volunteers, have generously given their time and energy to help us sort food and toys for the needy families we will be serving tomorrow at our Christmas Offering Distribution. We want to thank all of you for your help in making Christmas special for the very needy families that we serve.

It Sure Beats a Partridge in a Pear Tree

This time of year, it is unlikely for any to go the entire day without hearing a song about Christmas. Everyone is sure to have their own favorite, but a very popular one likely to be heard by all this year is “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Many of the gifts described in this classic Christmas song are somewhat peculiar (when was the last time your true love gave you three French hens?) In fact, unless you are a really big bird person or are really into watching lords leap, the gifts included in the song are downright impractical. However, we at the Humanitarian Service Project have been blessed to receive far more practical gifts this Christmas; the gift of wonderful volunteers.

We have been so lucky to have a number of groups and individuals who, to show their “true love,” instead of sending away for a partridge in a pear tree have taken it upon themselves to donate their time and energy to help us reach out to needy families at Christmas time. We want to specifically thank the groups who came in today to work in our warehouse. Firstly, we want to thank the Transition Group from Glenbard North High School who helped us set up to prepare for the first stage of our Christmas Distribution, which is this Saturday. We would also like to thank a group of 5 from Kohl’s who helped us sort gifts, as well as sort and weigh potatoes and onions for the needy families coming on Saturday. Last but not least we want to thank a group of four from the Roselle Lyons Club who, among other things, helped us organize gifts in our warehouse. We want to thank these groups, and all of our other wonderful volunteers. We wish them a joyful 12 days of Christmas.

Unambiguously Generous

Way back in 1964, the late children’s poet and author Shel Silverstein published one of his most popular works, a book entitled The Giving Tree. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the classic children’s book, it is the story of a tree who continually gives whatever is asked of him by a little boy, in each stage of the boy’s life. What makes this story somewhat unusual amongst others in children’s literature is that interpretations about the moral and themes of this story vary widely from person to person. Some see the story as sad, whereas others see it as a story about unconditional love. However, we at the Humanitarian Service Project have our own “giving trees” around here which are much less ambiguous. Our “giving trees” are gifts provided by donors (who are as generous as Shel Silverstein’s giving tree) to make Christmas special for needy children, or senior citizens. Unlike Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, we think the verdict on our giving tree donors is much more cut and dry; they are amazing!

With the senior giving tree gifts having been delivered to the needy seniors yesterday, and the first families coming to pick up the children’s giving trees this Saturday, we wanted to take this opportunity to extend our thanks for the wonderful generosity of all of our giving tree donors. All of the drivers who delivered the gifts to the needy seniors yesterday said that the seniors were overjoyed to receive all of the wonderful gifts generously donated by their giving tree donors. Steve Stasiak, who delivered the giving tree gifts to all of the needy seniors we serve in Bensenville (plus 2 others,) said “it was very clear that these gifts were making a big impact in [the seniors] lives.” We want to thank all of our fantastic giving tree donors for devoting their time and money to make such a big impact in the lives of the needy seniors and children we serve.

Bravo Ginna!

During award shows, like the Oscars or Emmys, the orchestra plays an important, but somewhat awkward role. When the recipient of an award is going on and on, the orchestra has to begin playing and interrupt the award winner to let them know they are taking too much time. We don’t have this problem at the Humanitarian Service Project (which is good because we couldn’t afford an orchestra anyway.) The people we want to recognize are always so very deserving, and humble, you would never be able to characterize any of them as long winded. Such was the case today, as we showed our appreciation for a volunteer of ours that more than deserves special recognition, our volunteer Secret Pal Coordinator Ginna Ericksen. Ginna has been helping with our Secret Pal Program for quite some time now, and volunteered to help us a lot more this season to organize, not only the Secret Pal Program for the seniors, but also the giving trees going to the seniors. Ginna stepped up right at a time when we really needed her, and has performed well above and beyond the call of duty. We were very happy to take a little time out to recognize Ginna today, to thank her for all she has done for the sake of the needy seniors we serve!

We thought today would be the perfect day to thank Ginna, as today represented the culmination of all of her hard, and generous, work. Today was the gift delivery day to the 120 needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. All of the generous gifts provided by the seniors’ secret pals, and other bighearted, giving tree donors went out the door to make the holiday season a little more special for the seniors. We want to thank all of the wonderful volunteers and donors who made it possible for us to reach out to all of our seniors this Christmas. Your generosity has made a huge impact in the lives of those who desperately need it.

Party Time

Imagine walking into a room and seeing a pile of 10 gifts lying on a table. You would naturally assume that a party is going on in that room. Who wouldn’t? A grouping of gifts is an international symbol that says, “Party over here.” Of course, we at the Humanitarian Service Project are not the kind of people who do things small so, when we held a party yesterday, it wasn’t a collection of ten gifts that signified it was a party, but several thousand. Yes, yesterday was our annual boxing party, for the sake of the needy families and senior citizens we serve. We had a group of almost 100 volunteers who came to the party to help sort gifts for the estimated 1200 children and 120 seniors we will be reaching out to with gifts at Christmas time. We want to thank all of these fantastic volunteers for taking time out to help us get organized for Christmas. There heartfelt work will help us at HSP make Christmas a little more special for all the children and senior citizens that we serve.

However, our annual boxing party certainly doesn’t mean we are all partied out. Every day from now until December 23^rd will be a busy day here at HSP as we continue to get things ready for our Christmas Offering. In fact, we had groups from The Kiwanis Club of Willowbrook/ Burr Ridge, Plymouth Tube in Warrenville, and Cabela’s in Hoffman Estates volunteering in our warehouse today, to continue the work from the boxing party. We want to thank them, and all of our other volunteers, for making all that we do for the needy families and individuals we serve possible.

The Great Cardboard Castle of the HSP

The Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, all of these are likely to spring to mind while contemplating the man-made wonders of the world. While it may not last as long as these (in fact, we’re counting on it) we at the Humanitarian Service Project have, what we feel, is a worthy submission to be counted among these legendary constructions; the Great Cardboard Castle of the HSP. With walls and towers of cardboard boxes, and a moat of black plastic bags, the Great Cardboard Castle of the HSP is a fortress built both for (and of) the gifts for the estimated 1200 needy children and 120 needy senior citizens. The Great Cardboard Castle of the HSP is the only seasonal castle that any of us at HSP know of. It is an annual labor of love built by the goodwill of our donors and volunteers, for the sake of the very needy people we serve.

We also want to specifically thank the volunteer groups that came in today to serve in the castle, (formerly known as the warehouse,) for the sake of the needy people we serve.

We want to thank the Interact Club of Lyons Township High School who spent over 4 hours sorting gifts, and food in the for the needy people we serve.

We also want to thank a group of seven from the Rotary Club of Bloomingdale/ Roselle who’s hard, and heartfelt, volunteer work made them integral members of our castle’s retinue.

And last but not least is a group of 4 students from Glenbard South High School’s Key Club. This fantastic club comes in every month the day before our Senior Delivery Days to help us prepare to send over 90 pounds of groceries to the 120 needy senior citizens in our Senior Citizen Project.

On top of these groups, we want to extend our deepest thanks to all of our supporters who help us at HSP in a myriad of different ways. It is only through your support that we are able to reach out to all of those in need that we serve. You are the foundation for which we have built The Great Cardboard Castle of the HSP.

Strength in Numbers and in Heart

Many people who study ants (that’s Myrmecologists for you trivia buffs) became fascinated with ants because of their ability for team work. A group of ants can move objects many thousands of times heavier than any individual ant by working together. Many people consider this a marvel of the animal kingdom. While we at Humanitarian Service Project do not wish to offend any ants, or any myrmecologists, we think the teamwork that ants are capable of does not hold a candle to the work our volunteers can accomplish by working together. Through all of their hard work, they have accomplished tasks infinitely more impressive than anything observed by any Myrmecologist. It is only through them that HSP manages to reach out to all of the needy families and senior citizens we serve both for Christmas and year-round.

HSP has had so many groups coming in recently to help make our Christmas Offering run smoothly. We want to thank each and every one of them, for their heartfelt service, as well as call attention to the groups who have been in, in the last few days:

A group of 5 from General Mills, who helped sort Christmas gifts as well as a number of other tasks in our warehouse.

A group of 12 students and their chaperones from Geneva High School who, among other tasks, helped us prepare for our monthly Senior Delivery Day this Saturday during which the 120 needy seniors in our Senior Citizen project each receive 90 pounds of groceries.

The Direct Action Club of Downer’s Grove North High School who came in with a very generous donation of gifts for 150 needy children and 25 needy senior citizens, which they themselves sorted in our warehouse as well as assisting in our toy room, and other tasks.

5 volunteers from Kohl’s in Wheaton, who helped sort and organize toys in our upstairs toy room.

9 volunteers from longtime friend of HSP, United Stationers who helped organize our warehouse to store all of the gifts for the needy children we will be serving this Christmas.

And, last but not least, 14 pharmaceutical students from Midwestern University who did a number of tasks in our warehouse including organize the toys already brought in by our wonderful donors for the needy children we serve.

Again, we want to thank, not only these groups, but all of the volunteers who help things run smoothly around here at HSP. Without you, we would never be able to make Christmas a special time for all of those we serve.

The Christmas Rush

One of the interns around here has a unique Christmas memory. When he was in 4^th grade, his class put on a Christmas concert for their parents. However, his teacher felt a certain aspect of the Christmas season was not being represented in the show, which included such standards as “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” so she added a song that she felt encapsulated the underrepresented side of Christmas. The song was called “The Christmas Rush.”

Let us tell you, that particular facet of the Christmas Season is certainly not underrepresented here at the Humanitarian Service Project. All week we’ve been hurrying and scurrying alongside our donors, and volunteers, embracing the Christmas rush, in order to make Christmas a special time for all of the needy senior citizens and families that we serve.

We want to thank all of the donors and volunteers who have taken time out of their own personal Christmas rush to share in ours. A few specific groups we want to mention by name are the Carol Stream Women’s Club for going above and beyond to provide for a very needy family in our program, Lesley Ronson Brown and everyone at Yoga by Degrees in Wheaton for providing Christmas gifts for 19 needy seniors citizens, and the Bengali Association of Greater Chicagoland for bringing in a carload of food for the needy families and seniors we serve. We want everyone of our supporters to know that it is only through their help that we at the HSP can make a positive impact in all of those we serve who desperately need it. We wish you a Happy Holidays, and best of luck with your Christmas rush!

Kohl’s Cares

We at the Humanitarian Service Project don’t have uniforms, but that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate a good uniform when we see it. One positive aspect of wearing uniforms is how well they can convey a message. That being said, uniforms also carry with them a responsibility; to live up to the message they present. Earlier today, we at Humanitarian Service Project had a group of uniform-clad volunteers who certainly did not shirk this responsibility. Their actions more than backed up the message written in plain english on their uniforms. That message was “Kohl’s cares.” Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend a big thank to a group of 5 volunteers from the Kohl’s store in St Charles; Craig Stiles, Stephanie Krauss, Pam Serrano, Max Jansky, and Lori Casey, and their district manager, Sheryl Mark, for volunteering in our warehouse today, and showing how much they really do care.

This group spent three hours sorting food for the sake of the needy families and senior citizens that we serve both at Christmas time and throughout the year. Pete Laabs, one of our seasonal warehouse supervisors, commented that these volunteers from Kohl’s were incredibly hard working. The care and passion that they put into working here will help HSP make Christmas a very special time for the needy families and seniors that we serve.

If you too wish to show how much you care for those in need of others, there are a number of ways you can do so. You can learn about our Christmas Offering at our website here: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/christmasoffering.html, or you can call us at 630-221-8340 to schedule a time to volunteer.

It’s Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Hat Weather

The grass may be holding onto its green hue now, but, with winter weather already here, soon enough it will turn a wheat-like brown. When that happens, we at Humanitarian Service Project will surely be breaking out our winter hats and gloves to combat the cold. However, for many of the needy children and senior citizens we serve, good winter clothes are hard to come by. If you would like to help keep a needy individual warm this winter, we would be thrilled to accept donations of new winter coats, hats, gloves, or scarves.

At Christmas time we at Humanitarian Service Project get into the spirit in order to make Christmas special for all of the needy individuals and families we serve. We will be serving an estimated 1200 children with Christmas gifts, as well as the 120 needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. We will also be providing food assistance for 250 of the needy families in our Children’s Birthday Project. If you would like to help us reach out to these people in desperate need, by donating new winter clothes (gloves, hats, coats), toys, or food please call us at 630-221-8340 for more information or swing by our center at 465 Randy Road in Carol Stream.

Cold Weather, but Warm Hearts

With the mercury dropping lower and lower and the sun setting earlier and earlier, it is clear that winter is upon us. People are bound to be cold from head to toe at this time of year, but we at that Humanitarian Service Project have experienced first hand that the same can not be said for the hearts of our volunteers and donors, which are as warm now as they are at any time of year. We have had so much wonderful support recently to help us reach out to the needy families and senior citizens that we serve at Christmas time. We want to thank everyone who has donated or volunteered; it is only through your heartfelt assistance that HSP is able to make such a positive impact in the lives of those that truly need our assistance.

We would like to recognize a few donations that came in today that came some very warm hearts:

· We want to thank Barnes and Noble in Oakbrook for the donation of 1658 new books through a book drive to give to the needy children in our Children’s birthday project. We also want to thank our volunteers Mike Baumgartner and Steve Stasiak for setting aside time to pick up and load the books.

· We also want to thank United Stationers in Carol Stream for the donation of several large boxes of food collected through a food drive for the needy seniors and families we serve at Christmas time. United Stationers has been a huge supporter of HSP for the past 5 years, and we are incredibly grateful for their partnership.

· And finally we want to thank Accurate Personnel in Bensenville for the donation of a van full of toys for the needy children we serve at Christmas time. The donation was so generous; we were temporarily overwhelmed in our warehouse with where to put it.