A Huge Thank You to Our Giving Tree Donors

Today, we have had numerous donors generously bring in toy drives and “giving tree” gifts for the sake of the needy children we will serve this Christmas. We want to thank everyone who has signed up for giving trees and conducted toy drives. Today, HSP will be delivering Christmas gifts to children at St. Charles Head Start, and your kindness has made this possible.

Every day, HSP receives calls from parents who are struggling to make ends meet hoping to get their children placed on our Christmas waiting list. We want to thank everyone who has already signed up to help the children we will serve this Christmas. Anyone who would like to help brighten the holidays for a child or children in need can still sign up for giving trees. Contact HSP if you are interested.

Happy Thanksgiving From HSP!

HSP would like to wish all of our supporters a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving. In recognition of the holiday, HSP will be closed tomorrow and Friday. When we resume operation next week, we will continue preparations for our Christmas Offering. To help us as the holidays draw nearer, our friends at National Van Lines dropped off a trailer which will be used to store gifts for the children we serve at Christmas. We would like to thank National Van Lines for their generosity and years of support!

HSP is Thankful for our Volunteers

Over the past couple of days we have had a number of volunteers who graciously gave their time to help as we prepare to enter the busiest part of our Christmas Offering.  As Hsp will endeavor to distribute more than 25 tons of groceries, and gifts for over 2,000 children during December, our Christmas Offering requires the support of a number of volunteers. Yesterday, six caring volunteers from Vistex effortlessly helped us sort and organize personal care items and food in our warehouse as we prepare for our giving trees to come in the next week. Today, a kind group from St.Pius X church’s Youth Ministry volunteered their time to help us prepare for the fast, approaching, and very busy, month of December. These wonderful volunteers helped us prepare our warehouse for the many gifts we are about to receive. HSP is grateful for all the love and support from both of these wonderful volunteers.  

Food Drive from the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva

Last week, HSP received approximately 100 bags of greatly needed non-perishable food collected by the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva (UUSG.).  This generous donation was dropped off in three stages by our friends at UUSG. HSP would like to thank everyone at UUSG for this amazing donation of food.  Through our annual Christmas Offering, HSP distributes 25 tons of groceries to families and seniors in our programs. It is food drives like this one from UUSG that allows HSP to continually provide much needed services to the poverty-stricken members of our communities. If you too would like to be involved in a food drive, please do not hesitate to contact HSP. 

Volunteer Groups Galore

Volunteers from Young Men's Service League

It has been an exciting week at Humanitarian Service Project as we are deep into the preparation stage of our Christmas Offering program. We will be distributing groceries to hundreds of low-income families and gifts to approximately 2,000 children through this program, so there are many things to prepare. Thankfully, over the last couple of days, we have had a number of volunteer groups from local schools generously give their time to help us keep these preparations going smoothly. We wish to recognize these groups for their amazing support:

Yesterday afternoon, the Rotolo Middle School Builders Club came to visit HSP for a tour and to lend a hand in our warehouse.

Yesterday, evening we hosted a group from the Young Men’s Service League “Panther” Chapter, a volunteer group based out of Glenbard North High School for young men and their mothers, who help sort and wrap gifts for our Christmas Offering.

Volunteers from Pleasantdale Middle School

Today, we had 11 volunteers from Pleasantdale Middle School help sort food in our warehouse, as well as, 10 of our friends from Team AIM at Glenbard North who helped sort and wrap gifts for the children we serve.

We at HSP wish to thank all of these groups for helping us make the holidays brighter for the very deserving children, families, and senior citizens we serve.

DuPage Woodworkers

Yesterday HSP was delighted to be invited to a meeting of our friends at the DuPage Woodworkers Club. Every year, the members of the club handcraft thousands of toys for needy children at Christmas time. HSP is so thankful that the club has, once again, chosen us as one of the agencies to distribute their toys to those kids in need; this year, the club made a total of 1,666 toys. At the meeting last night HSP’s Executive Director, Kristin Senne had the opportunity to talk to club members and thank them for their generous donation. We at HSP are extremely grateful to be chosen as one of the recipients of such beautiful handcrafted toys; the families and children we serve will surely have a joyful Christmas.

Thanks to Zurich NA Volunteers

Today, HSP welcomed 22 volunteers from our friends at Zurich North America. They spent 2 and a half hours at HSP doing various activities to help the needy children, families, and seniors in our programs. Half of the group helped us box non-perishable food for 150 of the needy families served by our Christmas Offering. The other half helped restock our pantry with non-perishable food for our seniors, as well as created “snack bags” for the families in our Christmas Offering. We would like to thank them all of them for coming out and for all of their hard work today. Their high energy, enthusiasm, and eagerness to serve was much appreciated. Additionally, we would like to thank them for the generous monetary donation they presented HSP with to aid the children we serve. They were wonderful volunteers, and we would be more than happy to have them here again next year!

Thank You to Our Friends at Motorola Solutions

HSP would like to extend a huge “Thank You” to our volunteers Lisa Zak, Dann Hauber, and our friends at Motorola Solutions for a very creative contribution. Lisa and Dann, who regularly lend their time to HSP as volunteers, entered a costume contest with a few friends and won a cash prize. Instead of splitting the winnings, they decided to donate to our organization and help the many seniors, children, and families we serve. As a bonus, Lisa’s workplace, Motorola Solutions, matched the amount Lisa won and donated. Based on the photo HSP received of Lisa, Dann, and company decked out in costume as the cast of The Wizard of Oz, it looks like they had a lot of fun.  We are so grateful they found this unique way to help HSP serve the impoverished seniors, children, and families. We thank them so much for their brains, hearts, and, of course, their courage!

Thanks for Another Successful Delivery Day

This past Saturday was HSP’s monthly Delivery Day for our Senior Citizen Project. We would like to thank all of the amazing volunteers who came out and helped us this weekend. This program would not be possible without all of your hard work and dedication. On the Friday before the event, we welcomed 7 volunteers from UPS, who spent their time here sorting fresh produce and bread. The volunteers are here on the day before every senior Deliver Day, and we are so appreciative of their support. We would also like to thank all of the wonderful people who volunteered on Saturday to load and deliver groceries to the 133 seniors in our program. The continued success of the Senior Citizen Project is thanks to the generosity and support of these volunteers. We hope to see you again next time!

Secret Pals

This Saturday is the monthly Delivery Day for HSP’s Senior Citizen Project. Along with the nutritious groceries, many of the impoverished seniors in the program will receive a gift from our dedicated “Secret Pal” donors. These wonderful volunteers always make sure the gifts to our seniors fit their personalities and needs; each gift is thoughtful and comforting.

 The seniors in our program look forward to receiving secret pal gifts and are always filled with joy and delight upon receiving their gifts. During the month of December the seniors we serve will receive gifts through Christmas Offering program instead of the Secret Pal program, making this Saturday’s delivery the final Secret Pal gift distribution of the year. We at HSP would like to thank all of the faithful Secret Pals who are making the difference in the lives of the seniors we serve. When the program starts back up in January, we have many seniors who need pals. If you would be interested in learning more about, or joining, the Secret Pal program please contact HSP at 630.221.8340 or email us at hsp@humanitatianservice.org. 

Elmhurst College and BMW Volunteers

Over the past couple days, HSP has welcomed amazing volunteers from two different groups who took time out of their schedules to help us get ready for the holidays. Yesterday afternoon we were joined by 4 volunteers from the Sigma Kappa Sorority at Elmhurst College. They spent their time here sorting gifts and making gift packages for the children we serve at Christmas.

Today, for the third year in a row we welcomed back volunteers from BMW. They helped us prepare for the holidays by boxing up nonperishable items for the families we serve at Christmastime. This Christmas, 150 low-income families will each receive a 250 pound grocery package, and BMW spent five hours sorting through nonperishable items and making boxes for each of the families. We are very appreciative to both groups for giving up so much of their time to come and help the deserving people we serve. HSP wishes to thank each and every one of them for their kindness and support, and we would be glad to welcome them here again.

Young Men’s Service League

Yesterday HSP had a visit from 5 wonderful volunteers from the Carol Stream “Panther” chapter of the Young Men’s Service League (YMSL). This is a group for young men and their mothers to engage in community service projects. These young men and their mothers generously gave time out of their day off to help organize toys and create gift packages for the needy children we serve. YMSL is a very prolific volunteer group at HSP who give so much time and energy for the sake of assisting those we serve. We enjoyed having them and wish to extend a hearty thank you to YMSL for their love and support.

Looking to Spread Holiday Cheer This Christmas?

HSP is in the midst of preparing for its annual Christmas Offering, where we will serve over 2,000 needy children with gifts. This means we are in need of a lot of toys and books. We have an especially large need for gifts for older children ages 8-15. If you wish to help spread holiday cheer to these deserving children, please consider running a toy or book drive. Alternatively, if you would like to provide gifts for specific children or senior citizens, contact HSP to sign up for a “giving tree.” Your generosity will help make the holidays merry for so many deserving families.

Thank you Glencrest Middle School!

Today, HSP had a volunteer group come in from Glen Crest Middle School in Glen Ellyn. This student group, along with their leader Craig Hoffman, helped sort and prepare 150 bags of frozen meat for the families we serve in our Christmas Offering. Students from Glen Crest have volunteered at HSP for many years, and we want to thank them for their continuous support!  

Girl Scout Troops 40215 & 2008

This week HSP hosted two wonderful Girl Scout groups who generously volunteered their time to help us support the seniors, children, and families we serve. First, on Monday afternoon we had 5 volunteers from Troop 40215 who spent two hours organizing paper products for the seniors enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project.  Secondly, yesterday, 9, volunteers from Troop 2008 helped prepare bags of personal hygiene products for our seniors. These troops truly understand the Girl Scout motto, “A Girl Scout is ready to help out wherever she is needed”.  We at HSP thank Troops 40215 and 2008 for staying true to Scouts Honor by helping the deserving seniors, children, and families enrolled in our programs. 

Want to Help Create a Merry Christmas for Those in Need?

Yesterday, HSP’s amazing volunteer Bill Fehling picked up a food drive from Benjamin Middle School in West Chicago. The students and staff at the school collected several boxes of nonperishable food for the impoverished seniors, children, and families we serve.

As the holidays draw nearer, we are preparing to provide groceries to over 400 families in need. We would like to thank everyone at Benjamin Middle School for helping us toward our goal. However, we are still looking for people interested in helping us make the holidays merry for so many deserving families. Items we are in need of include the following: tuna, boxed stuffing, pasta/rice meals, main meals (hearty soups and ravioli, chili). If you or a group you are involved in would be interested in conducting a food drive, please contact HSP. 

Care Kits from the Chicago Shinnyo-En Temple

Over the weekend the members of the Chicago Shinnyo-En Temple assembled “Personal Care Kits” for the seniors we serve. Every three months each of the 133 seniors in our program receives a full kit that includes items such as 1  Shampoo; 1 Conditioner; 1 Lip balm; 1 Toothbrush; 2 Toothpastes; 1 Dental Floss;   1 Hand Sanitizer; 3 Lotions; and 4 Bars of soap or body wash. These kits provide the seniors with the hygiene items they need to care for themselves and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The Shinnyo-En members have been supporting our seniors with these kits as an annual service project for 4 years. Our longtime volunteer, Georgeann Georges, graciously represented HSP at the event and delivered the kits to HSP yesterday. We at HSP are extremely grateful for the love and support Chicago Shinnyo -En Temple has shown to the seniors enrolled in our programs. 

Tis the Season for Giving Trees!

HSP is looking for donors interested in providing gifts for children or seniors in need by signing up for “Giving Trees”. Each Giving Tree donor is given the name of a child or senior, as well as the age and gender of the child. Additionally, donors receive gift ideas for the child or the wish list of the senior. The donors then purchase and wrap at least one new toy or gift for each child and/or senior. The gifts are delivered to our center by December 4^th so that we can distribute them to the families and seniors. If you or someone you know would be interested in brightening the holidays for a child or senior in need, please contact HSP.