Project Linus Donates Homemade Blankets for Impoverished Children

          Last Friday, HSP received a generous donation of new, homemade blankets from the Oak Park Chapter of Project Linus! Sharon Kurth, the Chapter Coordinator, brought in four dozen blankets for our Children’s Birthday Project. These fun and colorful blankets will reach needy children as part of the birthday boxes that HSP provides to the impoverished children enrolled in the program. Each box is filled with gifts of toys, games, books, school supplies, stuffed animals and party supplies to help the child celebrate and make the birthday memorable.

          Project Linus is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that has chapters nationwide. They collect homemade blankets to give to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. Over the years, they have donated 2 million blankets to children all over the country.

          Each handmade blanket thoughtfully donated by Project Linus shows love and care to the impoverished children we serve. We are so appreciative of Project Linus’s kindness and generosity.

Junior League of Kane & DuPage Counties Birthday Donation!

Today HSP received a very generous and exciting donation from the women of the Junior League of Kane and DuPage Counties.  League member Sue Wilson brought in 31 “Party in a Bag Kits” that the wonderful ladies of this organization prepared for the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project.  The beautiful kits contain birthday cake mix, candles streamers, balloons and decorative plates, cups and napkins.  All the necessities for throwing a great birthday party are included! 

From Left: HSP co-founder Floyd Kettering and Assistant Executive
Director Kristin Maxwell with Sue Wilson of the Junior League

The Junior League of Kane and DuPage Counties is an organization of women striving to address needs of the community including food, healthcare, housing, education and cultural enrichment.  The ladies have been longtime supporters of HSP and in the past have volunteered their time wrapping gifts for CBP and have also donated other beautiful birthday kits and school supplies for the children.  HSP is tremendously grateful for their continued support!

 If you are interested in supporting the Children’s Birthday Project or would like more information about our other projects please visit our website at http://www.humanitarianservice.org/ or contact us at hsp@humanitarianservice.org.  

HSP Partners with Head Start to Reach More Children

          This week, HSP is excited to drop off the first of our Children’s Birthday Project boxes to Valley View Head Start in St. Charles. This new partnership with  Head Start will allow us to serve roughly 30 needy children at the school by giving them birthday boxes filled with new toys, books, games, and party supplies. This month, we will start by dropping off a box for each of the three children with birthdays in September and October.

          Valley View Head Start in St. Charles provides Pre-K education for needy children in the St. Charles area. This is our third Head Start partner, since we also provide gifts to the impoverished children at Two Rivers Head Start Aurora East and Aurora West.

          We would like to thank all our supporters who donate gifts, wrap presents, and deliver the boxes to make the Children’s Birthday Project possible. Their continued generosity and thoughtfulness enables HSP to reach these needy children with our services for the first time.

Toy Drive from the Young Men’s Service League

Yesterday HSP was very lucky to receive a generous donation from our longtime friends at the Young Men’s Service League of Carol Stream.  YSML donated a whole carload of toys they collected in a drive.  The toys will go to needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project Program and Christmas Offering Program. 

            Young Men’s Service League is an organization of young men and their mothers who volunteer together in their local communities.   The group is a faithful supporter of HSP and regularly volunteers their time and collects much-needed items for our seniors and children.  Recently they have also helped with our Feed the Kids Project and have volunteered as produce sorters in preparation for our Senior Citizen Project grocery delivery day.  We are so very grateful for their continued support!

            If you are interested in working with HSP or would like more information about our programs visit our website at http://www.humanitarianservice.org/ or contact us at hsp@humanitarianservice.org.  

Fall Fun for a Great Cause: Entertainment Books for Sale

With Fall officially here, we’re sure many of you are planning fun autumn outings or events to get the most out of the season. What if we told you HSP has a way for you to save money on these plans, and help us support an impoverished senior at the same time? HSP is currently selling Entertainment 2014 coupon books for the South & West Suburbs, with all proceeds going to supporting the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project.

            The Entertainment books have thousands of coupons for local restaurants, stores, entertainment hotspots, and even travel destinations. HSP is selling the books between now and Dec 1^st, but the coupons are valid all the way until Dec 30^th of NEXT year. The money raised will be used to provide nutritious groceries for seniors suffering from severe poverty. This delivery includes 100 lbs of nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, bread, and paper products that the seniors need to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

            Please consider taking this great opportunity to help us care for our needy seniors!

Thank you, Monday Food Sorters, for Your Faithful Support!

          Today we would like to salute a group of steadfast supporters of the Humanitarian Service Project – our Monday Food Sorters! These volunteers contribute by giving their time week after week in order to help our needy seniors. For about 2-3 hours each Monday, they sort non-perishables, meat, and paper products for our seniors. With more than 6 tons of groceries being delivered to these needy seniors every month, it takes a lot of time, effort, and care to make sure all 123 seniors in the program are getting the nutrition they need. These wonderful volunteers are integral to HSP’s success in serving these seniors with grocery deliveries month after month. HSP would like to recognize these volunteers for all they work they do! HSP couldn’t do it without their generosity.

            If you are interested in joining the Monday Food Sorters, we’d love to have you! Call us at 630-221-8340.

            

Giant Steps Help Out

HSP has been very lucky to receive help from our longtime friends and supporters at the Giant Steps school in Lisle not once, but twice this week!  Today the students brought in “party in a bag kits” full of party supplies for the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project. These gifts will go a long way in helping to provide birthdays to the roughly 900 children we serve!  Additionally, a group of students stopped by yesterday to deliver canned food they had collected to benefit HSP’s Senior Citizen Project. 

            Giant Steps aims to provide educational and therapeutic programs for individuals affected by autism. Their programs are designed to develop communication, academic, and daily living skills for children, ranging in ages from elementary grades all the way through high school.

                    As always, HSP is extremely grateful for the thoughtfulness and generosity the students have dedicated to our programs.  If you or your organization is interested in partnering with  HSP give us a call at 630-221-8340 or email us at hsp@humanitarianservice.org for more information.

FOOD DRIVE COLLECTIONS BEGIN

The summer has come and gone and the holidays are right around the corner. While it is still September, HSP uses this time to begin collecting food for our Christmas Offering Program. One of the goals of our annual Christmas Offering is to provide 150 families with 250 pounds of nutritious groceries at Christmas. During this time, we also continue to collect food for our Senior Citizen Project which helps serve 123 needy seniors on a monthly basis.

            Here at HSP we are busy reaching out to our friends in the community for their support in our efforts to be able to serve needy seniors and children. With their help, and yours, we can accomplish our goal of collecting enough food to serve our needy families and seniors through the holidays. If you are able to donate any items, your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Items that are needed include:

¯     Cereal

¯     Pasta

¯     Chili

¯     Soups

¯     Canned Vegetables

¯     Canned fruit

¯     Tuna

¯     Peanut Butter

¯     Jelly

...and other items as well.

If you are interested in donating items, hosting a food drive, or volunteering at HSP, please visit our website at humanitarianservice.org or give us a call at (630) 221-8340.

Lexis Nexis Volunteers!

Today HSP was very fortunate to have nine volunteers from Lexis Nexis helping to sort paper products for our Senior Citizen Project and non-perishables for our Christmas Offering!  

The employees of the Lexis Nexis in Lombard are longtime and regular supporters of HSP and we are always very glad to have their help!  In preparation for next month’s SCP delivery day, the volunteers sorted paper product donations including paper towels, toilet paper and Kleenex that will eventually be bundled and delivered to our 123 seniors.  The volunteers also helped to prepare for our Christmas offering by sorting non-perishable food that will distributed to needy seniors and families in the month of December.  We are so grateful for the 2 hours of hard word the group dedicated to the program.  Their contribution makes a huge difference in the lives of our seniors!

We are extremely grateful for all of our volunteers and would not be able to serve our seniors without their selfless contributions! If you are interested in volunteering for HSP or would like more information about our programs visit our website at http://www.humanitarianservice.org/ or contact us at hsp@humanitarianservice.org.  

Bountiful Beanie Boos from Ty Inc.

We received a very exciting donation today at HSP from Ty inc., in Westmont. Ty graciously donated a pallet full of stuffed “Beanie Boos” and decorative erasers for the needy children served by our Children’s Birthday Project. With 1,620 monkey “Beanie Boos” and 1,440 erasers graciously donated by Ty, HSP will be able to give one of each item to every impoverished child in the birthday project as well as give them to more needy children as Christmas gifts. HSP would like to thank Ty for this marvelous, generous donation.

Danielle and Jim Spence

            HSP would also like to recognize two people who made this donation possible, Danielle Spence, a former HSP intern, and her father Jim Spence. When giving her father a tour of the HSP Center, Danielle inspired Jim to help us serve the children in our projects. Jim suggested we contact Ty about a donation, and he and Danielle coordinated the donation. Thanks to their efforts and Ty’s generosity, over 1,600 needy children will be receiving these gifts as an extra special birthday, or Christmas, surprise.

            Through our Children’s Birthday Project and annual Christmas Offering, HSP provides memorable birthdays and holidays for needy children in DuPage and part of Kane County. With preparations beginning for the Christmas Offering, this wonderful donation from Ty came at a great time. If you too would be interested in assisting HSP in providing gifts to needy children, you can learn more at our website: http://humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/toydrive.html.

Thank You G&M Die Casting!

Mark Hirsch with Tissue Donation

          This weekend we received a very generous donation of facial tissue from G&M Die Casting. Mark Hirsch, the owner of the company, came in to deliver the donation. G&M has been a faithful supporter of HSP for 5 ½ years. They have graciously donated and purchased thousands of boxes of facial tissue for needy seniors over the years. This time, they donated sixteen cases, or 480 boxes, of tissues.

          Donations of paper products are very important for our seniors. Last Saturday was our September delivery day. Each month on delivery day, we give each senior two bags of paper products, including 6 rolls of toilet paper, 2 rolls of paper towels, and 2 boxes of tissues. The seniors are always thrilled to receive the paper products, as they cannot afford to buy the paper products for themselves. We are so thankful for donors like G&M who make our monthly deliveries possible. 

Thank You, United Stationers!

          Today has been an exciting and busy day at Humanitarian Service Project as we prepare for Senior Citizen Project Delivery Day tomorrow! We were blessed by a group of volunteers from United Stationers. They have been steadfast supporters of HSP, and have helped our organization in a variety of ways. Today, they sorted fifteen varieties of produce and different kinds of bread into boxes to be delivered to the seniors tomorrow. They worked enthusiastically for 2 hours and filled all the boxes of produce, one for each senior in the program. We couldn’t have done it without them, and their generous efforts ensure that the needy seniors in our program will receive the nutritious food they need.

          

          Tomorrow at Delivery Day, more volunteers will load these boxes of produce, as well as non-perishables, seven frozen meats, paper products, a gift from the senior’s “secret pal,” and a personal care kit into the cars of our volunteer drivers. Volunteers are absolutely essential to the success of the Senior Citizen Project, and we want to thank everyone for helping out.

            In addition to this excitement, we also delivered a supply of bread to Lake Park Elementary School. The school is in an area with high levels of poverty; about 90% of the children at the school come from low-income families that qualify for subsidized lunches. HSP donates loaves of bread whenever we can to give to the needy children to take home. 

School Supply Drive Drop Off Day #2

Today is the second day that HSP delivered school supplies to schools in need.  This morning the supplies were delivered to Gates Elementary, Krug Elementary and the Early Childhood Center all of which are located in Aurora School District 131.  Our amazing volunteer drivers Pete Laabs and Mike Bolsoni delivered an entire van’s worth of supplies between the three schools.  HSP would like to extend a big thank you to Pete and Mike for helping us with the delivery!

                Many of the supplies that were delivered today were purchased with the monetary donations (of over $1000!) that were made during the school supply drive.  Our wonderful volunteers, Larry and Evelyn Erven shopped around for the best deals and purchased the largest amount of supplies possible with the donation.  We are so grateful for their contribution to the drive!

               

HSP is extremely grateful for all of the donations made during the drive and for the hard work of our volunteers!  We would not have been able to help these 3 schools, plus the two from yesterday without your help!  If you are interested in hosting a school supply or food drive of your own or would like more information about becoming a HSP volunteer contact us at hsp@humanitarianserviceproject.org.  

School Supply Drive Drop Off Day #1

Our volunteer Jeff with the school supplies delivered today.

Today at HSP we delivered supplies to needy children at two different schools in the area. The supplies were delivered to Marquardt Middle School in Glendale Heights, and Lincoln Elementary School in Addison, where teachers and administrators will distribute them to kids in need.

HSP would like to extend a big thank you to our wonderful volunteer driver, Jeff Marker who helped load up and drive a van full of donated school supplies to these schools this morning. The truck was full of binders, notebooks, folders, backpacks, pencils, pens, paper and much more of the supplies needed to help these children thrive in school! This was made possible by the support of volunteers and all of the gracious donations of school supplies and monetary offerings that were donated through our School Supply Drive!

But it doesn’t stop there! Tomorrow we will deliver to 3 more schools, all which are located in Aurora School District 131. In these schools, 80% or more of the student body lives under the poverty level. Luckily, this was not our first batch of school supplies that we were able to donate to children in need. Early last month, we were also able to donate 2 vans full of school supplies in support of the DuPage Regional office of Education’s Back to School Fair for needy families.  Your donations have enabled HSP to make a difference in the lives of the needy children who would not be able to afford their own school supplies! We can’t thank you enough for all of your hard work and generosity!

Allured Garage Sale Extended Another Day

Allured Business Media is extending their 2nd Annual Charity Garage sale to this Friday September 13th. The charity sale was a success this past Friday and Saturday with a profit of $6224 and many great items left to sell. With an addition $1276 left to raise and close to reaching their goal, Allured has decided to extend

the sale to this Friday September 13th from 9 AM to 4PM at 336 Gundersen Dr. Suite A, Carol Stream IL 60188. They will be accepting ALL OFFERS! Allured is matching all money coming in to the sale up to the $7500 goal and profits made will go towards permanently sponsoring a needy senior in our Senior Citizen Project, which helps to provide nutritional groceries for the needy elderly in DuPage and Kane Counties.

HSP would like to give thanks to the generosity of everyone that was able to donate and to those who supported this great charity sale, as well as Allured Business Media for their contribution in running the charity sale and supporting HSP.

HSP Receives Care Kits from Shinnyo-en Temple’s Family Service Event

Humanitarian Service Project would like to thank Shinnyo-en USA Chicago Temple for their help making care kits for needy seniors! The temple hosted their Six Billion Paths to Peace: Family Service Event on Sunday, September 8^th, for members to serve several non-profit organizations in the area. Both temple members and families in the community could come do hands on service projects and learn more about ways to get involved in the community. This is the temple’s second year hosting the event and this year 80 people attended. 

            At the event, a station was set up for each charity with one project at each station. Families could stay at one station the whole time or rotate between stations and help with a variety of projects. Kristin Maxwell, HSP’s Assistant Executive Director attended the event and helped with HSP’s project.

            At HSP’s station, the volunteers made a total of 32 bags of items for care kits for the Senior Citizen Project. Each bag included lotion, a puzzle book, a pack of pens, a bookmark, a wooden fan, and a greeting card. The families personalized each care kit by decorating both the bags and the bookmarks. These items will be delivered with the care kits to the seniors in our program at the next delivery day, this Saturday, September 14^th.       

     Thanks so much to everyone who participated and to Shinnyo-en USA Chicago Temple for holding this service event!

Two Wonderful Volunteer Groups Visit HSP

We would like to extend our gratitude and thanks to our two volunteer groups today: Niven Marketing and Mrs. Heggen’s class, from Glenbard South High School.

For their Corporate Day, Niven Marketing had each department pick an organization to perform volunteer services with, and we were fortunate to have their Finance and Administration department come out and volunteer for us. Six volunteers came for three hours to wrap gifts for the needy kids in our Children’s Birthday Project.

Mrs. Heggen’s classes, from Glenbard South High School, have volunteered for HSP before and continue to come lend their helping hands as part of the “community-based instruction” which is part of her curriculum. This program is a transitional program for ages 19-21 where they want to focus on teaching skills such as vocational job and multi-tasking skills, while helping those in need. Eight students from her class came to sort paper for the needy seniors enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project from 11:30-1:30.

HSP would like to thank these great volunteers for helping in being able to carry out our projects for seniors and children successfully!

If a group that you are involved with would be interested in volunteering at HSP, please give us a call at (630) 221-8340 or visit our website at humanitarianservice.org.

Delivery Day Loaders Needed!

Hey HSP friends,

Kelly, volunteer loader and former HSP intern,
loads secret pal gifts into a volunteer's car.

 We’re looking for a few more volunteer loaders for our Senior Citizen Project Deliver Day on Saturday, September 14th. Each month we deliver 100 lbs of groceries, including fresh produce, meat, bread, and paper products, to each of the 123 needy seniors enrolled in the program. Seniors also receive a gift from their secret pal. We would love to have some more volunteers to help us organize and load the groceries and gifts into the cars of the drivers, who will deliver to the seniors. Loaders should come to the HSP headquarters at 465 Randy Road in Carol Stream at 8:00 am and plan on serving until about 11:30 am. The help of volunteers is what enables us to feed our needy seniors each month. If you are interested, please give us a call at 630-221-8340. Thank you so much for all your help!

 

HSP Welcomes Two New Interns!

This week HSP is thrilled to welcome two new interns to the team!

            The first is Alex Carpio.  A senior at Elmhurst College, Alex is majoring in Sociology.  After graduation next May, she hopes to continue her education and earn her masters in Social Work.  This semester she hopes to learn more about project coordination and the ins and outs of non-profit organizations as a Project Management intern.  Her love for volunteering and helping others is what prompted Alex to join the HSP team.  In the past, she has volunteered with her church, St. Isidore, and previously worked for Outreach Community Center helping to provide various services to those in need. 

            At Elmhurst, Alex is involved in Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority.  Through the sorority, she supports the Susan G Komen Foundation and the American Cancer Society.  We are very excited to have Alex join the HSP team!  

            The second HSP intern to join the team this week is Danielle Torres.  Another Elmhurst student, Danielle is a senior, majoring in psychology and minoring in social work and communications.  She is excited to join the HSP team as a Project Management intern.  Danielle hopes to gain experience into what it is like to work for a non-profit and to see if she would enjoy working for a non-profit after she graduates in May.

            At Elmhurst, Danielle is an active member of Sigma Kappa sorority.  Through her sorority’s philanthropy and service opportunities, she has helped to raise money for Alzheimer’s disease research, participated in fundraiser walks, volunteered at nursing homes and helped to prepare care packages for senior citizens. 

             HSP is very excited to welcome both Danielle and Alex!

2nd Annual Garage Sale Benefitting Senior Citizen Project

Above: Allured Garage Sale 2012

ATTENTION!!! Allured Business Media’s 2^nd annual Garage Sale on behalf of the Humanitarian Service Project is coming up THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY!!! All of the profits made from this event will go to add, and permanently support, a needy senior in our Senior Citizen Project. In addition, Allured will match every dollar spent at the garage sale up to $7,500.

Don’t miss out! There will be many items to choose from including but not limited to toys, dishware, clothing and accessories, sporting goods, household items, electronics and many more.

The garage sale will run Friday September 6^th and Saturday September 7^th from 9 AM to 4 PM at Allured Business Media: 336 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, IL

HSP would like to give a big thanks to everyone who donated items to this great event. We truly appreciate your generosity and willingness to help our programs. And we would also like to thank Allured Business Media for hosting another garage sale this year. We know that it will be a great success. If you have any questions feel free to contact HSP at (630)221-8340 or e-mail us at hsp@humanitarianservice.org. You can also visit the Allured Garage Sale Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AlluredGarageSale. Help us spread the word by telling your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. We hope to see you there J.