Humanitarian Service Project

A Note to our Wonderful Supporters

2012-01-26T15:30:00.002-06:00

We at the Humanitarian Service Project are always so delighted by all of the wonderful ways in which our supporters show how much they care for the needy children and senior citizens we serve. All of the people we serve here at HSP come from very low financial situations, and do not have enough to meet basic needs. However, the ways in which members of the community have worked through HSP to reach out to these people is always inspiring. We want to thank all of our supporters for allowing us at HSP to make such a big impact in the lives of people we so desperately need our help.

As evidenced by the bikes given to Lake Park Elementary yesterday, and our Senior Citizen Project Delivery Day last Saturday, we at HSP, and our supporters, have really hit the ground running this young year to reach out to the needy people we serve in our programs. We want to specifically recognize just a couple of our supporters whose donations this week represent the wonderful things all of the friends of HSP do for those in need.

First, we want to thank United Stationers in Carol Stream for a donation of over 150 Snoopy beanie babies for the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project. United Stationers has been a friend of HSP for several years, and this donation of theirs is sure to bring smiles to a number of needy children. Secondly, we want to thank Carmax in Hillside for the donation of a whole mini van full of non-perishable food for the sake of the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. Marvin, who dropped off the food, said everyone at Carmax is already coordinating other ways to reach the needy through HSP. Again, we just want to thank, not just these great donors, but all of the friends of HSP. It is only through your caring support that HSP has been able to touch the lives of the countless needy families and individuals we have reached through our projects.

A Gift for Needy Children

2012-01-25T15:42:00.002-06:00

We at the Humanitarian Service Project are excited to announce that today, 10 children’s bicycles were picked up from our center in Carol Stream to go to needy children at Lake Park Elementary School in Addison. We are happy to give the bikes to Lake Park Elementary, because we know the bikes will bring joy to very needy children at the school. HSP coordinated with Lake Park Elementary last month, as well, to provide Christmas gifts to the students through our annual Christmas Offering. We know Lake Park will put the bikes to good use, because of the great amount of need at the school. 88% of the students at the school come from families of incomes low enough to receive free school lunch.

We at HSP are always looking for more ways to reach out to those in need in our community. We have been very happy to be able to provide for the needy children at Lake Park, and look forward to doing more for them. However, it is only through the generosity of our supporters that anything we at HSP do for the sake of the needy children and senior citizens is possible. We want to thank everyone who contributes to HSP for helping us reach these needy children at Lake Park Elementary, and everyone else we serve. If you want to know more about our programs, or for ideas about how you can partner with HSP to reach out to someone in need, check out our website at: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

A Spice of Life Donation

2012-01-24T15:34:00.003-06:00

There is an old saying that goes “diversity is the spice of life.” This is a saying that we can get behind here at the Humanitarian Service Project. In order to do everything possible to reach out to the needy senior citizens and children that we serve, we have a number of supporters assist us at HSP in a myriad of ways. With such a diverse group of wonderful volunteers and donors, it is always interesting to see the many different ways they show how much they care for the needy people served by HSP’s Projects.

One donation came in yesterday that we feel truly exemplifies how great it is to have groups from different backgrounds contributing to HSP. This great group brought a youthful energy into reaching out to the needy senior citizens in our senior citizen. In fact, everything about this group is youthful…they’re 10. We want to thank these fantastic young donors from Forest Glen Elementary School’s 5th Grade Ambassadors Group for a donation of 40 personal care kits for the needy seniors in our program. Every young member of the group decorated a bag for one of our seniors and packed it full of items like wash cloths, tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, cough drops,vitamins, Ensure protein shakes, and tissues, to make sure the needy seniors feel good and cared for. We know the seniors will be delighted with the bags, and want all the members of the Ambassadors Group to know that their thoughtfulness will really help a senior in need.

Overseeing a Successful Delivery Day

2012-01-23T15:31:00.001-06:00

The volunteer loaders and drivers for our Senior Citizen Project Delivery Day this past Saturday had a little extra audience. Humanitarian Service Project’s Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer, Floyd Kettering, spotted a curious hawk surveying the event. Our volunteers sure did not fail to give this observer something to watch, as our monthly delivery day went off without a hitch. Our Senior Citizen Project Coordinator, Tierney Hogan, said despite the large snow the day before, road conditions were thankfully clear and safe for our many volunteer drivers. She also said many extra volunteers came out to help load the cars who were a big help keeping everything running smoothly, particularly because we had a few extra donated goodies going out to our needy seniors this month. We want to thank everyone who contributed to our delivery day this month. It is only through your wonderful help that HSP is able to continually make such a big impact in the lives of the needy seniors we serve.

Every month, each of the 120 needy senior citizens in our Senior Citizen Project receives over 90 pounds of much needed groceries including fresh produce, several types of frozen meats, fresh bread, non-perishables, paper products, personal care items, and a gift from their “secret pal.” We are always in need of people interested in driving these much needed groceries to the seniors either on a regular monthly basis, or as a back up for our regular drivers. Please call us at 630-221-8340, if you would be interested in serving needy senior citizens in this way.

Snow? What Snow?

2012-01-20T15:31:00.001-06:00

Forgive the cliché but the weather outside is frightful, but Humanitarian Service Project’s volunteers are so delightful. Today, despite inclement weather, there were several volunteers who came in (many of them on short notice no less) to help us prepare for our senior delivery day tomorrow. First, there was a group of several of our wonderful supporters who made room in their schedules on short notice to help us sort all of the fresh produce for the 120 needy seniors that we will be delivering to tomorrow. Secondly, we want to thank our intrepid volunteer drivers Mike Reich and Tom Hogan, who completely shrugged off the snowstorm to pick up a donation of bread for our deliver day project as well. We want to thank all of these volunteers, Karla Hogan, Christiane Blume, Mike Bolsoni, Steve Stasiak, Marilyn Kinney, Mike, Tom, and the other friends of HSP who took time out of their day today to help prepare us to reach all of the needy seniors we will serve tomorrow.

Every month each of the 120 needy senior citizens in our Senior Citizen Project receive 90 pounds of essentially groceries including, fresh produce, several frozen meats, fresh bread, non-perishables, paper products, personal care items, and a small gift from their “secret pal.” So many wonderful friends of HSP help make this possible in numerous different ways such as, sponsoring a senior in the program, being a “secret pal,” being part of our Monday Food Sorting Team, or volunteering as a loader or driver on our delivery days themselves. If reaching out to senior citizens who are truly in need, in any one of these ways, interests you, you can see our website for more information: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

A Senior Says Thanks

2012-01-19T15:48:00.001-06:00

At the Humanitarian Service Project there are so many people that offer their time, talents, and resources to help us reach out to the very needy senior citizens and families that we serve. It is only through all of these people (i.e. you) that HSP is able to reach so many people in need. For that reason, when we receive a message of gratitude from someone we serve, we figure it would only be fitting for us to share it to all of you as well. So when we received a thank you from a senior today, we thought it only natural to share it with you.

The senior writes, “Many thanks to all of you and all you do. My Xmas was happier because of all your efforts. I appreciate all of the lovely gifts you sent to me, also your monthly donation. That’s what keeps me going.”

Every month each needy senior in our Senior Citizen Project receives 90 pounds of greatly needed groceries including several varieties of fresh produce, frozen meats, fresh bread, non-perishables, paper products, and a gift from their secret pal. So many of you help in so many different ways to make this all possible, we want to you to know you have both the gratitude of our needy seniors as well as our own. Thank you so much for helping HSP really reach out to so many who desperately need assistance.

HSP Welcomes a New Volunteer!

2012-01-16T15:35:00.001-06:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to introduce you to a new face around our office, Nancy Bagdonas. Nancy will be volunteering to help out in the office on Mondays and Fridays. Nancy will be helping in a number of ways around the office, particularly with things at our front desk. If you happen to pop in on Monday or Friday, please be sure to welcome Nancy to the HSP team!

Nancy became involved in HSP through her membership of the Carol Stream Women’s Club. Nancy joined the Women’s Club when she retired from CSX Railroad, because of her desire to give back to the community. She volunteered here at HSP through the club at Christmas time, and decided she wanted to volunteer around here regularly. Nancy is interested in learning more about how things run here at HSP in hopes that she, and the Carol Stream Women’s Club, can find new ways to help HSP reach out to the needy senior citizens and children that we serve.

Nancy’s hobbies include gardening and cycling. Nancy has been heavily involved in service for many years with her family through the MS Foundation. For years Nancy and her family have run a rest stop for the Nation MS Society’s “Tour de Farms” bike ride, and she is excited that this year she will be cycling in the event. We at HSP are excited to have Nancy volunteering here, and look forward to having her passion for service around the office.

Help a Senior: Clean Out Your Basement

2012-01-12T15:27:00.001-06:00

A lot of people see the New Year as an opportunity to clear out their attics or basement and get rid of items they no longer have a use for. Here at the Humanitarian Service Project, we see this ritual, which many people have, as an opportunity to serve the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. The seniors that we serve are all impoverished, and don’t have money to spend on items to make their lives easier. Something that has been collecting dust in someone’s basement could be just what that senior needs. In the past many great supporters have donated items like old microwaves, bread makers, flat screen computer monitors, which we at HSP have been able to use to fill a need in our seniors lives.

Some items that our seniors have let us know that they could really use include microwaves, coffee machines, food processors, or even simpler items like silverware or a shopping basket with wheels. If you have an item like this going unused in your home, we ask that consider donating it to HSP. Please call us at 630-221-8340 to let us know about any items you would like to donate, and we will see if we could use it to fill a need in a needy senior’s life.

Help Us Spread the Word

2012-01-11T15:47:00.004-06:00

There is an old adage that goes “make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and one gold.” We at the Humanitarian Service Project really believe in this old saying. All of our supporters (i.e. you) have been far more valuable than gold to us. Through all of your generosity, be it through a gift of your time, talents, or resources, you have all helped HSP make an impact in the lives of innumerable needy senior citizens, children, and their families.

Since we’ve been able to touch the lives of so many who desperately need assistance thanks to your help, we are always looking to meet more people interested in helping us serve even more. In order to do this, we need the help of our good as gold friends to spread the word. Whether you know it or not, you already are. Our blog is a wonderful way in which we get the word out about HSP. You can help us reach even more golden individuals like yourselves, by sending friends to our blog, or liking our posts on Facebook. By helping us get the word out, you will be (once again) helping HSP reach out to the needy people we serve.

Help a Senior: Be a Driver

2012-01-10T15:47:00.002-06:00

With the holiday season in our rear view mirrors, things have certainly shifted here at the Humanitarian Service Project. Last month, it was the norm to have dozens of volunteers coming in everyday to help us carry the load. However, this time of year this is not the case because our needs at HSP have changed. This is certainly not to say we do not have opportunities for volunteers to help us reach out to the needy senior citizens and children we serve, far from it. Now as much as ever, there are numerous ways you can help us at HSP make a positive impact in the lives of the needy people we serve. You can learn more at our website here: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html, but today we’d like to focus on one opportunity where we could always use assistance, being a senior delivery day driver.

Every month each of the 120 needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project each receive 90 pounds of groceries (including several bags of non perishables, 7 frozen meats, several types of fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, paper products, and personal care items.) In order to make this a possibility, we at HSP have many regular wonderful volunteer drivers who deliver these much needed things to the seniors on our deliveries, one Saturday (usually the 3rd Saturday) every month, as well as substitute drivers who fill in for regular drivers that can’t make it. We are always looking for more drivers who wish to be regular drivers or substitute drivers. Drivers come to our center 465 Randy Road on Saturday delivery days from 8:45 to 11:45 am, and we will pack their cars with the supplies for 1 or 2 needy seniors. We will provide maps to the seniors’ homes. If helping out a senior in need by being a delivery day driver (either regular or substitute) is something you’d be interested in, please call us at 630-221-8340. We ask that our drivers provide two professional references.

Our True Blue Monday Crew

2012-01-09T15:57:00.003-06:00

Garfield creator Jim Davis has made a career of people’s love of mischievous cats, lasagna, and their extreme dislike for Mondays. Monday may be looked upon with disgust by many people, but that is not so here at the Humanitarian Service Project. In fact, Monday is one of the most exciting days of the week here at HSP thanks to some of our most dedicated volunteers; the Monday Morning Crew.

The Monday Morning Crew comes in every Monday morning and helps us prepare for our Senior Citizen Project delivery days. The group does this by sorting, and preparing bags of non-perishable food, frozen meat, and other much needed items for the needy senior citizens that we deliver to monthly. Once a month, HSP sends out almost 5 and a half tons of much needed groceries to the 120 needy senior citizens in our program, over 90 pounds each (including several bags of non-perishables, 7 frozen meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, paper products, and personal care items.) None of this would be possible without the stalwart support of our wonderful Monday Morning Crew.

We wish to thank every member of our wonderful Monday Crew for all their heartfelt work. Their work helps us make a real impact in the lives of senior citizens who really need it, and they make Mondays around here exciting. If you would be interested in joining our Monday Morning Crew, please call us at 630-221-8340.

HSP Welcomes New Interns

2012-01-05T16:03:00.001-06:00

Earlier this week, we introduced you to Allie and Ian, two new interns to Humanitarian Service Project. Today, we would like to continue the trend by introducing you to two more interns that began this week, so please join us in welcoming Laurie Sanoshy and Navneet Kaur to HSP. Laurie and Navneet are both students at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, who will be completing their practicum by interning at HSP. Both Navneet and Laurie said they are very excited about interning at HSP, and the experiences they will have here. Likewise, we here at HSP are looking forward to working with these two, as they both have already shown how very bright and motivated they are.

Our Senior Citizen Project Coordinator, Tierney Hogan, worked with Laurie all day yesterday, and said Laurie was very enthusiastic about the opportunity to intern here at HSP because she “is very motivated to do whatever she can to help those in need.” Navneet said HSP was her top choice to complete her practicum at, because it would allow her the opportunity to make an impact in the community, a value that Navneet says her parents instilled in her at an early age.

We are thrilled to Laurie and Navneet, and our other new interns Ian, Allie, and Julie (who starts tomorrow) here at HSP. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in helping others and gaining valuable experience in the non-profit world, an internship at HSP is a good way to accomplish both. Please call us at 630-221-8340 for more information.

Time for a Clean Slate

2012-01-04T17:10:00.004-06:00

Many people look upon the New Year as a clean slate; a chance for new experiences and opportunities. At the Humanitarian Service Project we felt a need to have our environment reflect that, so we decided our warehouse ought to look like a clean slate. A daunting task, the clearing of the warehouse was accomplished Floyd Kettering, co-founder of HSP, Bud Newman, and other friends of the project. Bud was asked to help in our warehouse for the month of December, and stayed on a few days after the holiday to tackle the reorganizing of the warehouse. All of us at HSP could hardly believe we were looking at the same warehouse, when the job was done yesterday, as just a couple weeks ago, during our Christmas Offering, there was barely any room to stand in the warehouse. Of course, we don’t expect, or desire, our warehouse to be a clean slate for long. We are looking forward to all the excitement the New Year has to offer, and all of the needed food and other items for the needy people we serve that will pass through our warehouse this year.

No sooner was the warehouse completely cleared than it was back in action. Jon Patton, a Boy Scout of Troop 374, helped us start the New Year off right with his Eagle Scout Project. For the project, Jon, with help from his family, friends, and fellow scouts, made homemade, wooden toilet paper roll holders for all of the needy senior citizens in our Senior Citizen Project. He also donated enough toilet paper to fill all of the holders and then some. We at HSP were impressed at Jon’s workmanship, and are thrilled about his creative donation.

Jon’s donation will certainly help us at HSP get this young year started off right, by allowing us to fulfill a need for the very needy seniors we serve. If you, like Jon, would like to help us at HSP reach out to the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project by making a donation, please call us at 630-221-8340.

New Faces at HSP

2012-01-03T16:48:00.001-06:00

The New Year is starting off bright at the Humanitarian Service Project with new interns joining the HSP team. Today we had the pleasure of having two new interns start on the same day, Ian Lovera and Allie Effrein. Ian is joining HSP to complete his practicum at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, and will be working on interviewing the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. Allie recently graduated with a degree in Non-Profit management from Indiana University, and will be working as our new Grant Writing Intern. Please join us in welcoming both Ian and Allie to HSP.

Both Ian and Allie say they are excited to be interning at HSP. Ian just moved to the area a few months ago, and says he is happy for the opportunity to get to know the community through his service here. He says he was inspired to get involved with helping others because of the example of an old pastor of his, who Ian says lived to help others, not out of obligation, but because he wanted to. Allie was very active in volunteering in college, being a big sister and working with the Boys and Girls Club, so she was happy to find an opportunity using her skills and passion as a writer to help a non-profit like HSP. Allie says she was inspired to become active in the non-profit world by her 2nd grade teacher, who Allie described as “a great humanitarian.”

We are happy to have Ian and Allie interning with us at HSP, and we are excited to have three of Ian’s classmates at Adler starting later in the week to fulfill their Practicum as well. We still have room for more interns so, 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.

Good Luck, Pedro!

2011-12-30T14:24:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-28T17:13:00.005-06:00

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!

2011-12-23T17:19:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-22T17:22:00.002-06:00

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)

2011-12-21T17:30:00.001-06:00

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

2011-12-20T18:12:00.002-06:00

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

2011-12-19T17:27:00.002-06:00

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

2011-12-16T17:31:00.001-06:00

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

2011-12-15T17:22:00.002-06:00

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

2011-12-14T17:24:00.002-06:00

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!

2011-12-13T16:27:00.001-06:00

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

2011-12-12T17:21:00.004-06:00

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

2011-12-09T17:08:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-08T17:00:00.001-06:00

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

2011-12-07T15:14:00.002-06:00

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

2011-12-05T17:10:00.001-06:00

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

2011-12-02T15:43:00.002-06:00

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

2011-12-01T17:28:00.002-06:00

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.

HSP Thanks Some Great Volunteers!

2011-11-30T11:39:00.001-06:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend a big thank you to Heather Kobzarev, Laura Van Dame, and Norma Villasenor, who volunteered time in our warehouse yesterday to help us prepare for the upcoming senior delivery day, and Christmas Offering. The three came in as part of a course they are taking at Elmhurst College. They spent over two hours sorting food non-perishable food that had been donated through a number of fantastic food drives. We want to thank these three for their hard work. We would also like to thank our volunteers Tom Hogan, who helped this group from Elmhurst get acclimated to our warehouse, and Karyn Rizzo, who joined up with the group and sorted onions for the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project.

The work done by these wonderful volunteers will help HSP reach out to the needy families and senior citizens we serve. At Christmas time we will be providing gifts for an estimated 1200 needy children and the 120 needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. 250 of the families in our Children’s Birthday Project will also receive food for Christmas. Considering all of this, on top of the monthly delivery of 90 pounds of groceries to the needy seniors in the Senior Citizen Project, we rely a lot on the heartfelt support of volunteers like these. If you are interested in volunteering on weekdays in the month of December to help out, like these fine volunteers, please call us at 630-221-8340 so that we can reserve you a spot.

The Spirit of Giving!

2011-11-29T14:20:00.001-06:00

Every so often the Humanitarian Service Project receives an exciting donation consisting of something other than food, personal care items, or birthday gifts. HSP would like to thank Ecumenical Support Services for the Elderly (ESSE), Adult Care Center of Faith Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn, for their recent donation of two recliners. These recliners will be delivered to seniors in our Senior Care Program. The recliners were added to last month’s “items donated” list that each senior in the program receives in the mail. The seniors can then call in and request these bigger items if they are in need of them. The recliners are both maroon and in very good condition. One of them has an electric lift that helps you to stand back up after sitting in it. The recliners will be delivered by some of our wonderful volunteers Bud Newman and Larry Erven, this afternoon to seniors George and Rhonda Fox and Della Robinson. Hopefully this donation will make our senior’s lives a little easier and more relaxing for the holidays!

‘Tis the Season

2011-11-29T11:42:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving is in our rear view mirrors, and Thanksgiving leftovers are surrendering more and more space in our refrigerators that they captured late last week, there in no denying that we have entered the rush of the Christmas Season. Christmas is a very busy time here at the Humanitarian Service Project. For Christmas we will be supplying gifts for an estimated 1200 needy children, as well as the120 seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. We will also be supplying food to 250 of the families enrolled in our Children’s Birthday Project on top of the monthly delivery of 90 pounds of groceries to the seniors we serve. So many wonderful volunteers and donors have stepped up to help HSP make this all possible. We would like to thank them all for helping us make an impact in the lives of the needy people we serve, through the myriad of ways in which they support us.

One such group that we would like to thank is the Daisy Troop of Briar Glen School, who conducted a food drive for the sake of the needy seniors and families we serve. They brought the food to our facility in Carol Stream yesterday, packed into the trunks of several cars. The troop got a tour around our facility, so they got a first hand look at how their food drive would help us reach out to those in need. We want to thank these great Daisies for their thoughtfulness and hard work.

If you, like this Daisy Troop, would like to help HSP make Christmas a little more special for the needy people we serve, there are a number of ways you can help out. We particularly have a need for volunteers, high school age or up, to come in during the month of December to help us sort and organize the food and gifts going out as part of our Christmas Offering. However, there are a number of other ways you can help as well, such as providing a giving tree for a needy child, donating toys or food, etc. You can learn more at our website here: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html, or, if you are interested in volunteering, please call us at 630-221-8340 to reserve a spot.

What We’re Thankful For

2011-11-23T14:37:00.001-06:00

We at HSP want to issue a huge thank you to Elk Grove High School, for donating a large amount of food and personal care items through a food drive. Everyone at the school went above and beyond to help the needy senior citizens and families that we serve. The two cargo vans sent to pick up what they had collected came back packed to the brim. With all that Elk Grove High School collected, we at HSP will be able to do so much to make a difference in the lives of those in the area under the burden of poverty. We want to, again, thank everyone at Elk Grove High School so much for such an overwhelming display of compassion. We also want to thank our volunteer drivers Dick Adamo and Joe Dooley for driving to Elk Grove to pick up and deliver the food. Thanks guys!

In this time of giving thanks we at Humanitarian Service Project want to let all of our donors and volunteers know that we are truly thankful for all of the wonderful things they do to help us reach out to the needy senior citizens and families in our programs. With your fantastic support, HSP has managed to make a positive impact in the lives of countless people in need.

Thanks Again to our Long Time Friend: The Rotary Club of Bloomingdale-Roselle!

2011-11-22T16:29:00.001-06:00

The Rotary Club of Bloomingdale-Roselle has been great friends with the Humanitarian Service Project (HSP) for 12 years and has made another outstanding donation of $800 to sponsor a senior in our Senior Citizen Project (SCP).

The club has consistently sponsored Betty S. in our SCP. This afternoon, the club presented HSP with the check for $800 to continue to support their adopted senior with 90 pounds of nutritious food each month along with paper products, cleaning products and personal hygiene items that are donated by volunteers.

Paul Yambrovich, HSP’s community outreach coordinator, was invited to speak at a joint meeting with the Rotary Club of Bloomingdale-Roselle and the Rotary Club of Schaumberg. In total, 45 members were in attendance as Paul gave updates on the good works that have been provided by their funding. Paul also talked about specific information on how Betty’s life has improved with their generous help.

Additionally, one of the members of the club, Tim Jarzemsky, donated $60 to our Christmas Offering. This money will sponsor 1 family and provide them with 2-3 weeks worth of groceries and at least 5 gifts for each child under the tree.

The monetary donations are not the only way that this group helps the needy in their community; the Rotary Club will be coming in on December 9^th to volunteer and help sort gifts that will be distributed to families in the area.

Thanks again to our great friends from the Rotary Club of Bloomingdale-Roselle. Your continued support is truly inspiring and makes a difference in many needy children, seniors, and families in our own community!

Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts Making a Difference!

2011-11-22T13:29:00.001-06:00

Every day here at the Humanitarian Service Project brings in new and different groups that want to help, especially around the holidays. This week we have seen multiple Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops bring in items from toy drives and food drives that they held.

We would like to thank Cub Scouts Pack 151 from Fairview School and Daisy Troop 41159 from Westbrook School, both in Mount Prospect, for their generous contribution. Together these 2 groups brought in over 80 toys! These toys will be wrapped and given to needy children in the Dupage and Kane counties. Your thoughtfulness to think of others will be much appreciated this Christmas.

We would also like to give a big thanks to a Daisy Troop from Lowell Elementary School in Wheaton and Cub Scout Pack 191 from Carol Stream. The Daisy Troop was able to collect 55 boxes of non-perishable items and also made beautiful Thanksgiving placemats. The Cub Scout Pack had 2 SUV’s full of food that they were able to collect over the course of the food drive. This food will be delivered to seniors also in the Dupage and Kane county area just in time for the holidays.

Thank you again to everyone who helped out with these drives. Your kind donations will make the lives of needy children, seniors and families a lot brighter and filled with joy this season!

Thank You OCC and Glenbard South Key Club

2011-11-21T17:27:00.001-06:00

We at Humanitarian Service Project have been blessed with the friendship of numerous wonderful individuals and organizations, who have been fantastic partners in our efforts to reach out to needy families and senior citizens in the area. We want to take this time to thank two specific groups who came to our center in Carol Stream to help out on Friday of last week. The first group we’d like to thank is a group of 10 volunteers from OCC in Chicago who came in to sort the fresh produce that went out to the seniors in our Senior Citizen Project as part of our delivery day this past Saturday. The employees of OCC have been fantastic friends of HSP. They have, to date, raised over $18,000 for our Senior Citizen Project through employee “jeans days,” employee raffles, and other charitable giving. This group of 10 came, for the second time this year, to volunteer in order to get a hands on understanding of what their generous giving allows us to do for the needy seniors we serve. We want to extend our deepest thanks to these volunteers, Karen, Jon, Ty, Denise, Joe, Carmen, Steve, David, and Valerie and all of the other employees at OCC, for all the support they have given to HSP.

The second group we would like to thank is a group of six students from Glenbard South High School’s Key Club, for also assisting in our warehouse on Friday. The club at Glenbard South has been regularly coming in on the day before our delivery days for years to help sort produce, and do other jobs in our warehouse. All of the wonderful young people who volunteered here at HSP through the Glenbard South Key Club have helped us make a difference in the lives of countless people in need. We want to thank this group of six, and all of those who have come before from the club, for all their heartfelt work. At this time of year, our need for volunteer groups like these really increases. If you, either as an individual or in a group, would like to volunteer some time helping out here at HSP, please call us at 630-221-8340 to reserve a time for the month of December.

Thanks for a Great Delivery Day!

2011-11-21T14:12:00.001-06:00

We at the Humanitarian Service Project want to thank everyone involved in our monthly delivery day to the seniors in our Senior Citizen Project this past Saturday, the 19^th. Thanks to the wonderful support of both our many veteran volunteers and some fantastic new helpers, our deliveries to the 120 needy seniors in the project went off without a hitch. We wanted to thank everyone involved for making the deliveries to our seniors a continued success. This Saturday was the first delivery day for our Senior Citizen Project Coordinator Tierney Hogan, and she wanted to thank all of the volunteers for helping make it a success while she is learning the ropes.

Every month, the 120 needy senior citizens in our program receive 90 pounds of groceries including fresh produce, bread, 7 frozen meats, non-perishables, paper products, personal care items, and a gift from their “secret pal.” In order to make this a possibility, a number of fantastic volunteers and donors help out by doing a myriad of different tasks like sorting food, loading cars, delivery to the seniors, being a seniors “secret pal” etc. If you would like to be involved in HSP’s delivery days to help us make a difference in the lives of these needy seniors, please call us at 630-221-8340. Our next delivery day is on December 10^th.

Food Drives Galore!

2011-11-18T17:11:00.001-06:00

In the past few days the Humanitarian Service Project has seen a wonderful effort by numerous groups who have put together food drives and brought in generous donations of non-perishable items. These donations were contributed by a group of 8^th grade girls with St. John the Baptist Parish in Winfield, Gregory Middle School in Naperville, and Giant Steps Jr. High in Lisle. The food donated to HSP is used in our Senior Citizen Project. This project delivers over 90 pounds of nutritious food to over 120 needy seniors in the DuPage and Kane county area every month. This is especially important and appreciated around the holiday season!

· The girls from St. John the Baptist Parish organized a service project to collect food to be donated to HSP for needy seniors in time for Thanksgiving. The girls reached out to friends and neighbors of Winfield Estates with flyers and empty grocery bags. The flier said “we are passing out these grocery bags with the hope that your generous hearts will be touched by those truly in need,” in anticipation that their friends and neighbors would fill them with food to be donated. The young girls received a tremendous response and brought in dozens of bags of donated food! The girls were so enthusiastic to help that they immediately started unloading and sorting the food in the warehouse.

· In addition, Gregory Middle School made their food drive a school wide effort! All staff and students were asked to bring in any non-perishable items that they could between November 3^rd and 17^th. HSP’s volunteer driver, Pete Laabs, picked up the donation from the school yesterday and the end result was an entire van full of food!

· Last but certainly not least is the Giant Steps Jr. High Group. These special needs students came in this afternoon with a very personal donation. Each student was able to individually put their contribution in the warehouse and see where a donation actually goes and how it is sorted to be delivered. The students also got a tour of HSP’s building and were able to see all the different projects that go on under our roof.

HSP would like to thank all 3 of these groups for their generous and hard work! Your kindness will make a difference in many people lives, especially during this holiday season!

HSP Welcomes a New Intern!

2011-11-18T13:02:00.002-06:00

Humanitarian Service Project is excited to introduce you to our new intern, Kelsey Rhoney. Kelsey recently graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in communications, and will be helping us out with public relations and marketing. Kelsey says she applied for the internship here at HSP, because she thought it would offer her both an opportunity to gain worthwhile experiences as well as to help others. Kelsey is very involved in service; she works with Operation Support Our Troops on weekends and was active with Big Brothers Big Sisters in college.

Kelsey says she became very involved in service in college. When she entered college she was considering a future in teaching, so she became very involved volunteering with children. As far as some other facts about Kelsey, she is in the Illinois Army Reserves and she often competes in triathlons. We’re sure Kelsey’s fondness for service and fast paced activities will serve her well here at HSP. We are happy to have Kelsey on the team! Please join us in welcoming her.

Thank you Girl Scout Troop 157 and Max Hyman!

2011-11-17T14:47:00.002-06:00

With the holidays fast approaching, the Humanitarian Service Project is seeing many generous donations from groups and individuals in the surrounding area. HSP would like to recognize the 17 girls from Girl Scout Troop 157 for their outstanding donation of 20 senior care kits that will be delivered to the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project this Saturday, November 19^th. The girls were eager to donate and spent their free time putting the kits together. These special packages come in decorated shoeboxes, gift bags or baskets, and include items such as facial tissues, tea packets, chapstick, coffee, hot chocolate, and numerous other items. The girls were very excited to help out and enjoyed working on this project together. In addition to putting together the kits, the Girl Scouts included personal notes into each package for a special touch. HSP would like to give a big thanks to all the girls that contributed and let them know that their kind donation will be greatly appreciated this holiday season!

The Humanitarian Service Project not only aids needy senior citizens but needy children as well! Recently, Max Hyman of Highland Park, IL dedicated part of his Bar Mitzvah to helping serve these underprivileged children. Rather than the guests bringing a gift for him, Max asked everyone that attended to bring an item of sports equipment to donate. By the end of his celebration, Max was able to collect six bags of equipment from his guests that he then donated to HSP to be used as gifts for needy children. The donation consisted of soccer balls, volleyballs, basketballs and various other items is sure to bring a smile to children’s faces during the holiday months. This thoughtful donation is an admirable example of how one person can make a difference in our community. If you are interested in donating or volunteering in any way, please call 630-221-8340 or check out our website at humanitarianservice.org for more information. Every donation and volunteer makes a difference!

Thank You St. Petronille and Favia!

2011-11-17T11:10:00.003-06:00

These days we at the Humanitarian Service Project are getting busier and busier. With our Christmas Offering fast approaching, the needy senior citizens and families that we serve rely on us to not slow down. For this reason we would like to extend a big thank you to a group of ten youth and their chaperones from St. Petronille Parish in Glen Ellyn and a very youthful at heart group of 15 from the Favia group, a financial planning firm in Villa Park, for volunteering their time and youthful vigor in our warehouse this past Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. These groups donated hours of their time sorting food for the needy families we reach out to out Christmas time. We want to thank these fantastic volunteers from St. Petronille and the Favia Group for the hard work they did. We also want to thank our faithful volunteers Tom Hogan and Larry Erven for supervising them in our warehouse. The generous, “can do” spirit we have seen reflected in this group, and our other volunteers and donors, is what makes all that HSP does to make a positive impact in the lives of the needy seniors and families we serve possible.

We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, we at HSP are always so thrilled with the wonderful support we receive from our volunteers and donors. This Christmas, HSP will be providing gifts for an estimated 1200 needy children and the 120 seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. We also provide 3 weeks worth of groceries, including fresh produce, frozen meats and non-perishables, for 100 of the families in our Children’s Birthday Project and a turkey with all of the makings of a holiday meal to 150 more of the families in the project. This is all on top of the normal, monthly delivery of 90 pounds of groceries to the seniors we serve. Without the support of our wonderful volunteers and donors, we at HSP would not be able to do all of this for the needy people we serve. We still have room for volunteers in the month of December. If you are interested in participating, please call us at 630-221-8340 to reserve a spot.

Thank You NNNC

2011-11-16T17:31:00.001-06:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend our deepest thanks to the Naperville Newcomers and Neighbors Club (NNNC.) HSP was the club’s chosen charity of the month, and they donated a trunk full of toys to benefit the needy children we serve through our Children’s Birthday Project and Christmas Offering. HSP was represented yesterday at the club’s yearly “Make, Bake, and Buy Luncheon,” the club’s largest annual fundraiser, but out Community Outreach Coordinator Paul Yambrovich and speaker team member Anne Henricksen. Paul and Anne got the opportunity to speak to the group to discuss how the group’s fantastic support has allowed HSP to make an impact in the lives of the needy seniors and families we serve.

Paul said he was happy to be able to speak with the group because they have been such a wonderful friend of HSP. The NNNC has been helping HSP reach out to needy children in the area by sponsoring children, and providing toy drives (like the one they just donated) for sixteen years. We want to thank everyone in the Naperville Newcomers and Neighbors Club for all of their heartfelt support over the years.

Helping Us Get a Leg Up

2011-11-16T13:13:00.003-06:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to thank a group of six volunteers from McDonald’s corporate office in Oakbrook for coming to our center in Carol Stream on Monday. The group of six helped us out by wrapping gifts for the children in our Children’s Birthday Project. We were impressed by what fantastic wrappers all of them were, and we most certainly appreciated all of them taking time out of their schedules to help us make birthdays a little more special for the needy children we serve. We at HSP have received a lot of great support from McDonald’s corporate office over the past several years; most recently by participating in school supply drive this summer. We want to thank these fantastic volunteers for the terrific job they did, as well as everyone at McDonald’s corporate office for being such good friends of HSP.

At this time of year, we at HSP are constantly thinking about Christmas because of all the extra things we do to reach out to the needy seniors and families we serve. That is one of the reason’s we were so delighted to have this group from McDonald’s come in and help out with our Children’s Birthday Project, a very important year round service we do around here. With the heartfelt work done by this group of volunteers from McDonald’s they provided us with an extra leg up on the Project so we that we can give our upcoming Christmas Offering the attention it deserves.

If you are interested in helping HSP reach out to the needy senior citizens and families we serve through our programs (like this fantastic group from McDonald’s did) you can learn more about volunteer opportunities at our website here: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

Thank you St. Walter Church!

2011-11-14T17:26:00.001-06:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to issue a big thank you to the confirmation group at St. Walter Church in Roselle, for conducting a large food drive to benefit the needy senior citizens and families in our programs. Parents of the children in St Walter’s confirmation class have been swinging by our center in Carol Stream all day with food collected for the drive. A total of ten cars with trunks full of food have been by already, and the Youth Minister at St. Walter, Karen Campe who organized the drive, says even more are on the way. We at HSP are so excited to receive this drive, as it will allow us to provide for so many senior citizens and families in the area that desperately need it. We want to thank all everyone from St. Walter Church who participated, especially the confirmation children who ran it and the parents who have taken time out of their day to deliver the food. It is this sort of heartfelt service that allows HSP to continue to make a big impact in the lives of the truly needy in our community. Thank you so much.

This food drive has come in at a very important time for Humanitarian Service Project. Humanitarian Service Project provides around 90 pounds of groceries to the 120 needy senior citizens in our Senior Citizen Program every month and, around the holidays, we also provide much needed food to 250 of the needy families with children in our Children’s Birthday Project as well. As you can imagine, we at HSP rely a lot on the help from donations, like this great food drive from St. Walter Church, to make it all possible. If you would like to learn ways you can help HSP reach out to the needy people we serve, you can learn more at this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

It’s a New Record

2011-11-14T14:42:00.001-06:00

We at the Humanitarian Service Project are not really in the business of judging world records, but we think we may have just witnessed one. When we opened up today, Rich Knecht from the Give Back Club of Wheaton and Warrenville came in to pick up eight bags full of gifts for the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project for the group to wrap and return to us. Considering this was only at 9 this morning, we were all a little confused when Rich was already back a little before 11am. The Give Back Club had wrapped eight bags, which have anywhere from 6-15 toys and four books each, in less than two hours! We want to thank the Give Back Club for helping us reach out to the needy children we serve by wrapping the gifts for us, and we are still in shock at the speed in which they did this. We especially want to thank Rich from the club for picking up and dropping the bags off, as well as Lori Belha, from the group, for spearheading, what we assume is, the world’s fastest wrapping party.

At the Humanitarian Service Project our donors and volunteers help us make birthdays and Christmas special for needy children whose families are under the poverty line. For their birthday, each child receives a 20-25 pound box full of gifts and party supplies, to help give them a fantastic birthday. Of course, we at HSP would probably have to win the lottery to pay for the wrapping paper necessary for all 700 children in the program. Thankfully we have wonderful groups and individuals, like the Give Back Club of Wheaton and Warrenville, who donate their time, wrapping paper, and ribbon to help us reach out to these needy children. If you think wrapping gifts for the children in our program sounds like a fun volunteer opportunity, please call us at 630-221-8340 to let us know.

Huge Thanks to District 88’s Transition Group & Citra of Downer’s Grove Park District

2011-11-11T16:31:00.004-06:00

Here at the Humanitarian Service Project we are chugging along at a decent pace for our Christmas Food sorting! We would like to extend a huge thank you to the DuPage High School District 88’s Transition Group for playing an important part in our process! The did great work earlier today in helping us sort out the food donations that we had received earlier in the week from the Naperville Newcomers and Neighbors group that we featured in our previous blog post as well as food that they brought in as their own donation! The Transition Group did a wonderful job, and we at HSP greatly appreciate all the effort that they put into sorting the food as well as the donation of food!

DuPage High School District 88’s Transition Group

We would also like to extend our thanks to the Citra service group from the Downer’s Grove Park District. These five young adults helped build one-hundred new boxes and sort a variety of food into them for one-hundred families that HSP will be distributing food to this Christmas season. The Citra group did a fantastic job, and we thank them for taking time out of their week to lend a helping hand.

Citra service group of the Downers Grove Park District

A third huge thank you goes to Tom Hogan for volunteering all day in order to supervise the two other volunteer groups! He did a wonderful job in keeping track of the sorting process! Thank you again, Tom.

Finally, we would also like to thank Pete Laabs, Bud Newman, and Larry Erven for the work delivering food to us and the effort they put into helping HSP keep everything moving forward.

Thanks again to everyone that came in today to volunteer. HSP would not be able to provide our services without your continued support! If you, or anyone you know, would like to help make a difference in the surrounding community by volunteering here at HSP, you can learn more by visiting this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html

Thank You Joint Commission!

2011-11-10T17:22:00.001-06:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Joint Commission of Oakbrook Terrace. A group of 8 volunteers from the Joint Commission came to our office in Carol Stream today to help out in our warehouse. Not only did the group sort non-perishable food in our warehouse for over three hours, but they actually donated the food they were sorting. They brought twenty two boxes full of non-perishable food to go out to the needy families we serve at Christmas time, and went right to work sorting it. We want to thank the Joint Commission for the donation of the 22 boxes of food, and the group of eight that came to sort it. This type of overflowing, heartfelt support is what enables HSP to reach out to the needy families and senior citizens that we serve. We also want to issue a big thank you to our longtime volunteer Kristin Maxwell for helping this group from the Joint Commission out in the warehouse.

The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies healthcare organizations and programs based on the quality of care they provide. Their “vision statement” is for “all people [to] always experience the safest, highest quality, best-value healthcare across all settings.” You can learn more about the group at their website: http://www.jointcommission.org/.

The Joint Commission’s donation of both time and food will help HSP accomplish the goal of providing food to 250 families this Christmas. On top of the food for the families, Humanitarian Service Project is also provides Christmas gifts for 1200 needy children, as well as the 120 needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. Our wonderful donors and fantastic volunteer groups, like this one from the Joint Commission, are what make this all possible. We still have plenty of need for volunteer groups in the month of December. Please call us at 630-221-8340 if you are interested in reserving a spot.

Thank You Naperville Newcomers and Neighbors!

2011-11-09T17:06:00.003-06:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to issue a huge thank you to the Naperville Newcomers and Neighbors Club (NNNC.) A group of 13 women from the club came to work in our warehouse to help us sort non-perishable food items for our upcoming Christmas Offering. According to Larry Erven, a regular volunteer of ours who graciously came in to help acclimate the group to our warehouse “these ladies were among the fastest, most efficient volunteers that [he had] ever seen.” We are inclined to agree with Larry; these women from the NNNC even helped unload a shipment from the food bank that was picked by our volunteer driver John Jaska. The hard work put in by this group has really helped us at HSP prepare to serve all of the needy families and seniors we serve at Christmas, and we want to thank them for their help. We, of course, also want to thank Larry for coming in to help with the group and John for being our volunteer driver. Thanks guys!

The Naperville Newcomers and Neighbors Club has been an important friend of HSP for a while now. They’ve helped HSP reach out to countless needy children through multiple sponsorships of children in our Children’s Birthday Project every year since 1995. They have also run toy drives to help benefit the needy children we serve at Christmas for 16 years, and also will be doing so this year. Of course, this group of gung-ho women from the club provided fantastic service as well. If you are interested in helping out in our warehouse for our Christmas Offering, like this great group, we still have many slots for groups, or individuals, to come in during the month of December. Call us to reserve a spot at 630-221-8340.

Philanthropy out of the Mists

2011-11-09T12:13:00.005-06:00

Last night our Community Outreach Coordinator, Paul Yambrovich, was a visitor at the meeting of the DuPage County chapter of the 100+ Women Who Care to express Humanitarian Service Project’s gratitude for the donation of over $11,000 that we received from them recently. Paul was impressed with how the group operated calling them the “100+ Women of Brigadoon.” For those unfamiliar with that classic Gene Kelly film, Brigadoon is the name of a town the magically appears out of the mists for one day once every hundred years. The 100+ Women Who Care group is reminiscent of Brigadoon, because of their unique fundraising method. They meet only four times a year and only for about 45 minutes each time, but at each meeting they raise over $10,000 for a worthy local charity. They then "magically appear out of the mists" to bestow this amazing donation on the unsuspecting, but very grateful, organization!

Paul said it was “an amazing experience to see the women raise over $10,000 for another worthwhile non-profit,” and he described the method which the 100+ Women Who Care use as “the most effective, efficient, and fun philanthropic endeavor” he has witnessed. In less than five years, the group has donated over $220,000 to local charities. As the HSP can attest, this money makes an immense difference in the lives of our neighbors in need that are served by these organizations!

Humanitarian Service Project was the recipient of the funds raised at the 100+ Women Who Care’s August meeting. The money they donated has allowed HSP to sponsor 100 needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project and 8 impoverished seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. We want to thank the group for helping us reach out to those in the area who are burdened by poverty. You can learn more about the DuPage Chapter of the 100+ Women Who Care at this link: http://100wwc.weebly.com/index.html or, if you are interested in helping HSP reach out the needy families and senior citizens we serve, you can learn more at this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

Thanks (Again) Willowbrook High School

2011-11-08T17:14:00.001-06:00

It seems that yesterday was Willowbrook High School day at Humanitarian Service Project. Not only did we receive the food the School’s Key Club collected for the needy people in our programs, which we posted about earlier today, but we also had a group of nine students from the school’s special education program come in to help out in our warehouse. The students spent two hours with our volunteer Tom Hogan sorting food for the needy senior citizens and families in our projects. These nine students and their chaperones sure put their all into helping us organize our warehouse and getting prepared for our busy holiday season. We want to thank the students, their chaperones Margaret Wealton and Anthony Lucas, and our volunteer Tom, for all their hard work.

With our Christmas Offering Project getting ever closer, November and December are months where activity really picks up around HSP. Not only do we have the normal monthly deliveries of 90 pounds of groceries for the needy senior citizens in our Senior Citizen Project for the months of November and December, but we also have food to sort for 250 of the needy families in our Children’s Birthday Project, Christmas gifts for 1200 needy children, and gifts for the 120 seniors in our program coming in and going out in the next couple of months. Suffice it to say, we depend a lot on volunteer groups, like these fantastic students from Willowbrook High School, to make this all possible. We still have a lot of room for groups, or other volunteers, to come in for a few hours any time from 9:30-5:30 on weekdays in December to help us make an impact in the lives of the needy seniors and families we serve. If you are interested in volunteering, please call us at 630-221-8340 to reserve a time.

Thank You Willowbrook High School

2011-11-08T11:01:00.001-06:00

After having discussed the generous donation by a group of high school students from Downers Grove North yesterday, we at the Humanitarian Service Project are happy to continue with that theme today. HSP would like to thank the Key Club at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park for donating a large amount of food for the needy people in our programs through their annual food drive. The food was picked up at Willowbrook by our volunteer drivers Bud Newman, Joe Dooley, and Mike Reich yesterday, and the food donated filled an entire van. We at HSP want to thank everyone involved with the Willowbrook High School Key Club for their continued assistance in helping us reach out to those who are affected by poverty. The club has been assisting HSP through its annual food drive since 1997.

The food collected by Willowbrook High School’s Key Club will go directly to the needy seniors and families that we at HSP serve. Every month, the 120 needy senior citizens in our program receive over 90 pounds of groceries, including food from all food groups, to make sure their basic dietary needs are met. This is also the time of year in which HSP takes on the extra goal of providing a large amount of food to many of the needy families in our Children’s Birthday Project for the holidays. We want to thank the Willowbrook High School Key Club and all of our other donors, for helping make this possible. We would also like to thank our drivers Bud, Joe, and Mike, and all of our other great volunteers, who help keep things moving at HSP. If you are interested in helping HSP make a difference in the lives of those in the area affected by poverty, you can learn more at this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

Not a Trick, but a Real Treat

2011-11-07T17:22:00.001-06:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend our deepest thanks to the Direct Action Club at Downers Grove North High School, for donating ten boxes full of non-perishable food for the needy seniors and families in our programs. The club went door to door on Halloween trick or treating, not for candy, but canned goods. The club even delivered all of the food they had collected to our center in Carol Stream. We at HSP are thrilled to have the support of these fantastic high school students, who have shown real dedication in helping others. We want to thank everyone in the club for their wonderful support.

The food donated by these thoughtful students will help HSP reach out to needy senior citizens and families in the area. Every month, the 120 needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project receive 90 pounds of groceries to help alleviate the burden poverty has placed on them. We are also entering the time of year in which we take on the task of providing food for 250 needy families that are enrolled in our Children’s Birthday Project. If you are interested in supporting HSP with a food drive, like this one from Downers Grove North’s Direct Action Club, you can learn more at this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/fooddrive.html or call us at 630-221-8340.

Putting Students on the Trail to Success

2011-11-07T11:18:00.002-06:00

We may be far removed from the season of “back-to-school” shopping, but we at the Humanitarian Service Project know that students do not suddenly stop needing school supplies after the beginning of the school year. We at HSP hope to have chalk meeting chalkboards and pens meeting paper throughout the entire school year. However, there are a lot of needy students in the area whose families have a hard time affording all of the supplies necessary for a successful school year. That is why HSP is happy to announce that last week, a large amount of school supplies were picked up from our center for needy students at Army Trail School in Addison. The supplies were picked up by Linda, an employee at Army Trail School, who said that there are a number of needy students at her school who desperately needed the supplies. Linda also said the school would be working with Army Trail’s sister school, and the other schools in the same district, to make sure some of the supplies got into the hands of students in need at those schools as well.

The supplies were donated to HSP by a number of donors as part of our School Supply Drive. Thanks to the generosity of these donors, Humanitarian Service Project was able to get school supplies out to over two thousand needy children this year, both directly through their families and through donations to schools like this one. We at HSP want to thank everyone who participated in the drive, and we want you to know that your generosity has made an impact in the lives of many needy children.

HSP Welcomes a New Intern

2011-11-02T13:04:00.002-05:00

Continuing the trend of introducing new faces, we have another new member of our team we’d like to officially welcome to the Humanitarian Service Project, Joel our new Grant Writing intern. Joel recently received his bachelor’s degree in history from DePaul University, and he will be start working towards a master’s degree in writing at DePaul, in a few months. Joel was interested in interning at HSP because he thought the internship would be a good way to practice writing for his education, and he wanted to learn more about the non-profit world.

Joel has been involved in service since he was in Junior High. Prior to coming to work for us, most of his service experience has come through being active in his church, where he often helped pack up boxes of food for the needy. Joel has many talents and interests. Joel is a recreational runner, and he plays drums. In the future, he would like to be a college professor. We at HSP are excited to have Joel here, and we look forward to working with him.

Welcome Tierney!

2011-11-01T17:32:00.003-05:00

You may be familiar with the expression, “change is the only constant.” It is an expression that gets said a lot here at the Humanitarian Service Project. We look at this as a positive thing, and it certainly has proven to be positive in this case. Right as we are welcoming Bridget our new receptionist, we are welcoming another new member to the HSP team as well. We are very excited to welcome Tierney, the new coordinator for our Senior Citizen Project. Tierney is recently out of Loyola University, where she double majored in environmental studies and anthropology. Tierney says that becoming very involved in outreach in college inspired her to pursue a career in the non-profit world. We at HSP are excited to have her!

Tierney has been involved in service throughout her life. Her father, who is a regular volunteer here at HSP, is a large influence in her life, and she even attended some of the delivery days for our Senior Citizen Project with him when she was younger. Outside of service, Tierney loves music and crafts. She plays the piano and is teaching herself accordion. She loves to knit and is looking into quilting. Tierney is looking forward to working with the seniors in our project, and making sure we at HSP do all that is in our power to reach out to them. Please join us in welcoming Tierney onto the HSP team.

HSP Welcomes Bridget

2011-11-01T14:49:00.001-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project is excited to introduce all of you to Bridget, our new receptionist. As the new receptionist Bridget will be the face of HSP, so to speak, so we’re sure she will be getting to know a lot of you. Bridget only started yesterday, but she’s already proven to be a quite the quick learner. Bridget says she felt the desire to work at HSP because of her desire to serve and interact with people, as well as all the great things she heard about us from her father, who often volunteers his time here at HSP. Prior to coming to work for us, Bridget was a fourth grade teacher for fifteen years.

Bridget says service has been a big part of her life ever since she was a child. She’s been involved in a number of service projects throughout her life, so we know she’ll fit right in working here. Bridget also loves to travel, and loves to read. We at HSP are thrilled to have Bridget here working for us. We want to welcome her to our team, and if you come by our center in Carol Stream, please be sure to welcome her as well.

Open Doors at HSP

2011-10-31T16:06:00.001-05:00

It seems that our front door is always swinging open at the Humanitarian Service Project. Between the needy families in our Children’s Birthday Project and our dutiful volunteers, we get a lot of visitors everyday. However, today there is a special kind of visitor that we at the HSP would like to recognize. Every so often we get a visitor lugging a big box, with grocery bags dangling from their arms, or toys at their hips. The bags and boxes hauled in by these visitors are always fantastic items for the needy seniors and families that we at HSP serve. Thoughtful donations like these, are always exciting at the HSP, as they allow us to make life a little easier or brighter for those affected by poverty in the area.

Last week, we had a number of thoughtful donors coming in with donations for the people we serve that we would like to thank. There were six fantastic stuffed animals and some book covers and folders brought in by Lillian Majewski, there was a bag toys and personal care items brought in by Nella Fioretta, a computer for a senior graciously brought in by John McGeever, 5 bags of sugar from Diane Riley, three bags of new winter clothes and a bread machine from Neal and Nancy Hickock, 16 “Party-in-a-Bags” made by Elle Holland and her friends, 6 bags and 2 boxes of dolls, sports equipment, games, plush toys, and gift cards from the Young Man’s Service League, and some great puzzles from Jim Gruden. Whew! That is quite the list, isn’t it? We at HSP appreciate all of these wonderful donations that come through our doors to help us reach out to those in need. If you have an item you would like to donate, please call us at 630-221-8340 to see if we could use it to fill a need.

Rising Stocks

2011-10-27T17:34:00.001-05:00

In the economic climate we are living in, a lot of people are wary about the stock market. It seems there is nothing to invest in that is consistently gaining ground. However, we at the Humanitarian Service Project have something we would love to invest in (if only it was something you could actually invest in.) That something is coloring books. Think about it, coloring books are always in demand, and always popular. Unfortunately, until they start trading in coloring books on Wall Street, don’t expect any stock tips from us here at the HSP. However, the enduring popularity of coloring books is something we witness first hand at the HSP as they are something we consistently need more of, for the younger children in our Children’s Birthday Project. If you’ve been looking for a way to brighten up the lives of needy children, donating some new coloring books would be a great way to do that.

There are also items, that we are always in short supply of for the older kids in our program as well. Like the coloring books for the younger children, the items in short supply for the older kids tend to be craft items. For girls ages 8 to 11 we have need for: art sets, craft items, journals, small picture frames, small photo albums, bath sets, lip gloss and nail polish. For boys 8 to 11 we could use art sets, craft items (like science kits), legos, and for the less artistically inclined items, nerf footballs/ soccer balls, junior size normal footballs, electronic games, and action figures. A donation of any of these items would go directly to the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project, to help make their birthdays special. With the help of donations like these, HSP is able to reach out to children whose families are burdened by poverty. You could say that helping others is what we really put our stock in.

From Classroom to Warehouse

2011-10-27T14:21:00.002-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend our thanks to a group of sophomores from Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, who volunteered in our center as part of the school’s sophomore service day. The students at Montini participate in service days as a way to get active in the community. The Montini students also have a community service requirement of ten hours every year, and the service days better acquaint the students with places like the HSP where they can fulfill that requirement. We think it is fantastic to see young people mobilizing to make an impact in the community, and these students from Montini certainly did a great job.

These students from Montini were working in our warehouse getting food organized for the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project, with a great volunteer of ours, Tom Hogan. The students liked working back in the warehouse with Tom so much that they have asked if they can bring a much larger group next year. Considering the fantastic job they did, we are really happy that they enjoyed the work so much. As the Christmas season gets closer and closer, HSP has more need for groups and individuals to do work in the warehouse, to help organize food and gifts for the needy seniors and families we serve. We especially have need in the month of December for adult or high school aged volunteers. If you would be interested in volunteering, please call us at 630-221-8340.

We’re Heating up While the Weather is Cooling Down

2011-10-26T17:33:00.001-05:00

It seems with today’s cooler weather that it is finally time to wave goodbye to the unseasonable warmth we’ve been experiencing. However, here at the Humanitarian Service Project, we’ve had our mind on colder weather for quite some time now. With so many needy families coming in to our center to pick up boxes full of toys, books, and party supplies for their little ones with November birthdays, it serves as an extra reminder that the holiday season is just around the corner.

The holidays are a time in which we at HSP really reach out to the needy seniors and children in our projects, and we have several ways in which we have our wonderful volunteers and donors get involved. We especially have need for adult volunteers to come in during the month of December, which is the crunch time in getting the toys and food for our Christmas Offering sorted and organized. We also have more information about volunteering and donating possibilities for the needy seniors and families we serve on our website: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

Thank You Little Blessings Preschool!

2011-10-25T13:28:00.002-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend our thanks to Little Blessings Preschool in Naperville for the donation of 43 bags full of party supplies for the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project. Holly, who dropped the bags off at our center yesterday for Little Blessings, said they made the bags as part of a service project they do every year. She says each classroom set out to do 2 bags each. The bags look really fantastic, and they are full of a lot of great things that will surely help several needy families hold fantastic birthday parties for their little ones. Again, we want to thank everyone at Little Blessings Preschool for their support, and if you want to learn more about them, check them out here: http://littleblessings.org/.

The bags will go to the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project, who get several new toys, books, and party supplies to make their birthday special every year through the program. There are a number of great ways you too can help us reach out to needy children on their birthdays, be it through a sponsorship, by donating time and wrapping paper wrapping gifts for us, or any number of other activities. You can learn more about the project here: http://humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/bdayproject.html.

Thank you St. Francis High Schoolers!

2011-10-24T17:24:00.002-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to thank the student government and “J. Kyle Braid” students at St. Francis High School in Wheaton for donating several large boxes of school supplies. The students have brought in four large boxes so far over the last couple of weeks, and there are still more forthcoming. Jake Tibble, a senior at St. Francis, said a number of the students had a friendly competition to see who could collect the most school supplies to help needy students. That is some competition we at HSP can get behind, because we know there are many students whose families have a hard time affording all the school supplies necessary for a productive school year.

The boxes from St. Francis that came in earlier have already gone out to students who needed them, and the box that came in today will also get into the hands of needy children later this week. We want to thank the students at St. Francis, who have helped HSP reach out to so many needy children. HSP would also like to thank all of the other donors who helped with our School Supply Drive this summer and fall. Because of your generous support, HSP has succeeded in getting school supplies to hundreds of children in need of them this school year.

2011-10-24T10:47:00.003-05:00

Pepperidge Farm

Saves the Day!

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend our heartfelt thank you to Pepperidge Farm for a very generous donation of three pallets of assorted bread products. Our project has been blessed to be able to receive such a large quantity of a very much needed dietary staple. The donation, which was received on Friday, had only a few loaves left over by Monday morning! With such a vast donation, HSP was able to spread the wealth to several different organizations. The grateful recipients include Lulu Holquin and the West Chicago Resource Center, Wesley Elementary School in Addison and The People’s Recourse Center.

The bread is such a wonderful donation that provides an essential nutrient to our children and seniors. We at HSP are always thrilled to receive a donation such as this one, because food is always in demand. We would like to thank Pepperidge Farm for the fantastic donation, and all those who help us in our mission to help needy children and seniors in the area. If you would like to make a donation, they can be dropped off at the Humanitarian Service Project Office:

465 Randy Road

Carol Stream, IL 60188

Phone: 630-221-8340

A Tech Savvy Gift

2011-10-20T17:19:00.001-05:00

Computers serve an integral role in our daily lives. We probably do not have to tell you that, considering you are reading this on a computer right now. Many people use computers as both a primary means of communication and information daily. Computers are so omnipresent in our society, not owning a computer can be rather inconvenient. However, computer equipment can be expensive, and it is a luxury that the seniors in our Senior Citizen Project can not afford. That is why we at Humanitarian Service Project are so excited to have received a donation of 15 flat screen computer monitors from DSV in Itasca to go to the seniors in the project. These great monitors will help HSP make the lives of the seniors in our program much easier. Thank you so much, DSV!

DSV donated the monitors to us at HSP through Lorena Mazariegos, who heads the local branch of DSV and just so happens to be one of the fantastic volunteer drivers for our Senior Delivery Days. When her company determined they needed a different style of monitors for their computers, Lorena immediately thought about the needy seniors in our project and thought that the outgoing, but still very new, monitors could serve them well. We at HSP want to thank Lorena and DSV for their thoughtful donation. If you have an item that you think would improve the life of a needy senior, please call us at 630-221-8340 to see if we could use the item to fulfill a need for one, or more, of our seniors.

20 Hours is Less Than You Think!

2011-10-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

About two weeks ago, we at the Humanitarian Service Project began welcoming students from College of DuPage, who were volunteering to do at least 20 hours of work here as part of the college’s Service Learning Program. Well 20 hours goes by quickly, and we already have to get ready to say goodbye to some of them. The Service Learning students have been a huge help around the office and warehouse, and we’ve done our best in giving them a crash course in everything. For example, Doug, who finished his hours yesterday, did a myriad of different tasks around our warehouse and helped us get ready for the next few months of our Children’s Birthday Project. We are also excited to announce that Jill, one of the service learning students who has already completed her twenty hours, will still be helping out around the office. We want to thank Rebecca, Jill, and Doug, the Service Learning students, for all of their hard work, and, if these three are any indication, we are excited to have more Service Learning students starting soon.

The goal of College of DuPage’s Service Learning Program is “to offer students a chance to master coursework content while making a real difference in the community.” The Service Learning students have definitely been useful in helping HSP make a difference in the lives of the people we serve. We hope the Service Learning students who’ve started already, and those that start soon, will find the experiences gained by volunteering with the HSP rewarding. If you are interested in getting an in the trenches look at the non-profit world, we encourage you to volunteer here at the HSP just like these students. You can learn more about our volunteer opportunities here: http://humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

Making the Grade and Making a Difference

2011-10-19T17:26:00.001-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project is excited to announce that a large amount of school supplies was picked up, at our center in Carol Stream, to go to needy children at Wesley Elementary School in Addison. There are a number of needy children at the school who did not have the necessary supplies for this school year, so we were happy to get the supplies out to them. The boxes full of school supplies sent to the students yesterday included such things as; filler paper, notebooks, glue sticks, glue, pencils, pens, crayons, markers, color pencils, scissors, book bags and composition books. We will continue working with Wesley Elementary to further help needy children at the school receive the supplies they need to have a fun and productive school year.

These items were donated to HSP to help these needy students by a number of generous donors for our School Supply Drive. This summer, we were able to get school supplies out to hundreds of children directly through their families thanks to the wonderful donations of our supporters. Throughout the fall, we have continued to reach out to students in need of school supplies by making donations to schools, like this one to Wesley. We want to thank everyone who assisted us with our School Supply Drive, your generosity has allowed us to really make an impact in the lives of these needy school children.

HSP Hosts Rotary Club of Villa Park

2011-10-19T13:25:00.002-05:00

Last night HSP was delighted to host the Rotary Club of Villa Park’s board meeting. We were happy that board members Susan, Buzz, Karen and Dave took us up on our offer to hold their meeting here, as well as enjoy a VIP tour of our facility. The club has been a supporter of HSP since 2002, so we were excited to have the opportunity to show them just how their support has helped us and the needy senior citizen they sponsor through our Senior Citizen Project. The Rotarians did have quite a drive to get to our center in Carol Stream, but they all left with a smile. We were glad to host them as one way to thank them for the fantastic support they have shown us through these years.

Groups like the Rotary Club of Villa Park have provided so much over the years for the needy seniors and children that we at the HSP serve. If you, or a group you belong to, would be interested in supporting HSP, you can learn more following this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html. Also, if you would like a speaker to address your group about HSP, or are one of our supporters who would like to host a meeting here, please call us at 630-221-8340.

Welcome Brownie Troop #54

2011-10-18T17:31:00.003-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project had some very special visitors this afternoon, Brownie Troop #54 of Wheaton. These gung-ho, young volunteers came in with three very well decorated “Party-in-a-Box” donations for the needy kids in our Children’s Birthday Project. These enthusiastic, little supporters got a chance to learn more about our operation through a tour of our facility. We think it is really cool to see young people interested in helping others, so we want to thank Brownie Troop #54 for their support.

Through donations, like this one from these great Brownies, HSP reaches out to needy children in the area to help make their birthdays special. The kids receive new toys, books, and all the makings of a fun birthday party. There are a number of ways to get involved like these girls did. You can learn more about the project on our website here:

http://humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/bdayproject.html.

Great Feedback on Great Food!

2011-10-18T13:19:00.001-05:00

Just yesterday, we at the Humanitarian Service Project wrote about how thankful we were to all of the volunteers that made the Delivery Day to our seniors this past Saturday, and all of our previous Delivery Days, a success. We wanted to take this opportunity now to show that the seniors we serve are also very appreciative to the volunteers and donors who make the deliveries for the seniors in our Senior Citizen Project a possibility. Just last week, we received a thank you note from a senior explaining how big of an impact the deliveries made for her. We want to again, just thank all of the donors and volunteers that help us at HSP make this impact in the lives of the needy people we serve.

The grateful senior wrote to thank everyone at HSP for being so kind, and especially for the produce she receives as part of her deliveries. She says the produce has “improved [her] diet 100%.” The seniors in our program do not have the income necessary to afford a healthy and diverse diet, but thanks to your support, we at HSP are able to help them get the nourishment they need. If you are interested in either becoming a donor or volunteer to help us make our Senior Citizen Project a continued success, you can learn more at this link: http://humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/index.html.

Riding in Style

2011-10-17T17:29:00.002-05:00

Very dedicated readers of this blog may remember a post roughly two weeks ago in which we thanked LexisNexis in Oak Brook for the donation of 10 shiny new bicycles for the needy kids we at the Humanitarian Service Project serve. We are very happy to say that, thanks to that wonderful donation, several kids were riding instead of walking out of our office in Carol Stream last week. Four of the ten bikes donated by LexisNexis were given out to kids from needy families. We again want to thank LexisNexis for helping us make an impact in the lives of these families.

The children and senior citizens that we serve at the HSP come from insecure financial situations. Poverty places a burden on those it affects, and we at the HSP try our best to alleviate the burden. Don’t get us wrong, we at HSP are devoted to meeting the basic needs of those we serve, but we also see the beauty in providing someone in need with items that may make their life a little easier or more fun. If you have such an item you would like to donate, please call us at 630-221-8340 to see if we could use the item to enrich the life of someone needy.

Thanks for a Great Delivery Day!

2011-10-17T12:46:00.002-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to thank every one involved in making our Senior Citizen Project Delivery Day a success this past Saturday. Every month the needy seniors in our program receive over 90 pounds of groceries including fresh produce, frozen meats, non-perishables, paper products and personal care items. For us to be able to provide all of that for all 120 seniors in the program, we at HSP rely quite a bit on many wonderful volunteers to make it possible. We would like to thank all of those who helped out in any of the myriad of areas we require volunteer assistance, be it as a driver, a loader, a food sorter, or a secret pal donor or volunteer. Without your help, we would not be able to reach out to all the needy seniors we serve, who desperately need support.

As many of us at HSP are learning new Delivery Day responsibilities, we are very grateful to our many long time volunteers, who have been invaluable in helping us continue to have successful and fun Delivery Days. We are also always thrilled to see new faces devoted to helping us reach out to those in need. If you are interested in helping out with our Senior Citizen Project Delivery Days, you can learn more about the project here: http://humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/monthlydelivery.html.

Hermes Elementary Says Thanks!

2011-10-14T16:23:00.002-05:00

They say the world is quickly becoming paperless, with email and other things (like this blog for example) paperless-ly bringing you information you might have gotten via paper ten years ago. However, people who work in an office (like us here at the HSP office) know that there is still plenty of room for paper, and some of the most important documents still come primarily in paper form. In fact we just got some very interesting papers delivered to us here at the Humanitarian Service Project that we thought we should share with you. The papers are thank you cards from 26 grateful students from Hermes Elementary School in Aurora. These young paper savvy students sure know their way around markers and crayons, having hand written some very colorful thank you letters.

These students from Hermes sent these letters thanking us for sending them some of the school supplies from our School Supply Drive. Over the summer, Humanitarian Service Project was able to get school supplies to hundreds of students who needed them directly through their families, and managed to reach many more needy students by sending more supplies directly to schools, like Hermes Elementary. Since HSP could not have done any of this without all of the wonderful school supply donations we received from our supporters, we figured these thank you letters were as much yours as they are ours.

One of the students writes, “I am a student at Hermes Elementary School. Thank you for donating all those school supplies that we needed. I really appreciate it. We are doing something called bucket fillers. Each of us have an invisible bucket, and you just filled my bucket.” We want to thank all of the generous supporters that helped HSP “fill the buckets” of so many students in need this year. With your help, we succeeded in equipping those students who needed our help this school year.

Thank you, St. Athanasios Church!

2011-10-13T11:45:00.001-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend our deepest gratitude to St Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church in Aurora for donating a large amount of non-perishable food through a food drive. The drive was picked up at the church, and delivered to our center in Carol Stream yesterday. The generous amount donated from the church was even more than they had estimated, totaling a whopping 387 pounds! The food donated will go to help the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. Every month, the needy seniors in the program receive over 90 pounds of groceries of every major food group to help alleviate the financial burden they are under. We want to thank everyone at St. Athanasios for their generous assistance in helping HSP provide for our seniors.

The generous people at St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox church have been helping HSP reach out to those affected by hunger in the area for over eight years. Without support like theirs, HSP would not be able to make an impact in the lives of the needy people we support. As the holiday season begins to approach, HSP begins looking for more and more food drives like this one from St. Athanasios, because we look to provide food to not only the seniors in our project, but also to needy families around the holidays. If you have any interest in running a food drive to help HSP reach these needy people, you can learn more at our website: http://humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/fooddrive.html, or call us at 630-221-8340.

Speaking Up

2011-10-12T15:40:00.002-05:00

At the Humanitarian Service Project we like to make sure those who put time and effort into helping us, get thanked properly. Another thing we also like to do (on the rare occasions that time permits) is unwind. So when we have an opportunity to do both at the same time, it really is a fun time for us. We were able to do just that last night, as we hosted several members of our fantastic speaker team for our Community Outreach/Speaker Appreciation Dinner. Several members of the team; Christine Potthoff, Julie Michael, Anne Henriksen, Jan Yong, Marilyn Sweeny, and Beth D’Anna were able to attend, and joined us to celebrate the wonderful fruit that their work has produced for the HSP. We want to thank all members of our speaker team, both those who attended the dinner and those who could not, for utilizing their talents to help HSP serve needy children and seniors in the area.

Our speaker team represents HSP in front of large groups, helping spread the word about us in the community. The speakers on the team really are excellent advocates, because their support has generated not only lots of sponsorships for both children and senior citizens in our projects but also; food drives, toy drives, school supplies, new volunteers, new wrappers, many “Party in a box” boxes, and donations to our general fund. We had a great time with our speakers last night, and we want them all to know just how big of a difference they make. If you want to know more about being a speaker for HSP, you can check out our website: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/speakers.html.

UPS lends a hand (or 24)

2011-10-12T12:39:00.001-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to thank a group of 12 volunteers from everybody’s favorite brown-clad delivery people, UPS, for volunteering in our warehouse yesterday. The volunteers came from the Carol Stream UPS center, the UPS in Bensenville, and from the UPS in Elk Grove Village. For more than two hours, the twelve volunteers helped us unload and organize the food we received from the food drive from Congregation Etz Chaim this weekend. We want to thank all twelve of the volunteers for the fantastic help they provided for us.

The food donated from Etz Chaim and organized by the volunteers from UPS, will go to help the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. Every month the seniors in our program get over 90 lbs of groceries in order to make sure their basic needs are met. It is thanks to volunteers, like these great helpers from UPS, that HSP is able to reach these needy seniors. Again, we want to thank the volunteers from UPS and all of the other great volunteers that make all that HSP does possible. If you are interested in volunteering with our Senior Citizen Project, you can learn more about the project and volunteer opportunities at our website here: http://humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/seniorproject.html.

HSP welcomes Service Learning Interns from College of DuPage

2011-10-10T15:17:00.002-05:00

The Humanitarian Service Project is excited to welcome several students from nearby College of DuPage who will be helping out around the HSP office as part of the school’s Service Learning Program. As Service Learning Interns, the students will be helping HSP in a number of ways; primarily assisting us get a leg up on the fast approaching Christmas season (which can get a little hectic here at HSP.) We are glad to see so many students eager to make a positive impact in the community. In fact, some of them are so eager, like Rebecca who came in Friday and Jill who is in today, that they responded to calls last week asking if they wanted to come in earlier than they previously expected to. There will be a few more Service Learning students starting their hours in the next few days. We are happy to have you all here!

College of DuPage says the goal of their Service Learning Program is to “offer students a chance to master coursework content, while making a real difference in their community.” Students in the program accomplish this by volunteering for one of the program’s “Community Partners,” like the HSP. If you, like the Service Learning Interns from College of DuPage, want to make a positive impact in the community by volunteering at the HSP, you can learn more about our volunteer opportunities from our website here: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/volunteers.html.

Another Fantastic Food Drive!

2011-10-10T11:07:00.001-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend a huge thank you to Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard, for donating a large amount of food through a food drive on Saturday. We received two vans full of non-perishable food (an estimated three hundred grocery bags) for the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. Etz Chaim conducted the food drive for Yom Kippur. Etz Chaim has been assisting HSP in our mission to reach out to needy senior citizens in the area, through food drives like this one, for more than seven years. We want to thank the congregation for their fantastic support in helping us make a difference in the lives of senior citizens who must look to the kindness of those who support HSP, like Etz Chaim, for food every month. You can learn more about Etz Chaim here: http://www.congetzchaim.org/index.aspx.

Humanitarian Service Project provides over 90 pounds of groceries for the 120 needy senior citizens in our Senior Citizen Project, to help them meet their basic needs, every month. Through the deliveries, the seniors receive fresh produce, several kinds of meat, fresh bread, and bags full of non-perishables, as well as, paper products, and personal care items. Humanitarian Service Project could not provide all of these things to our seniors who desperately need them without the wonderful support of our donors, like Etz Chaim, and our volunteers. If you are interested in assisting with the project, follow this link to the Senior Citizen Project section of our website: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/seniorproject.html.

HSP Welcomes a New Intern!

2011-10-06T17:19:00.001-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project is very excited to welcome our new marketing intern, Vanessa. Vanessa is studying finance at Lewis University, and is considering a major in marketing. She will be testing the waters of marketing here, where she hopes her experience will let her know more about the field. Vanessa says she was drawn to HSP because she was interested in gaining new experiences. She says she was inspired to explore the non-profit world because of her mother, who is always helping people.

Vanessa’s biggest hobby is dancing. She loves to salsa, but says she really enjoys all different types of dancing. We’re sure Vanessa’s skills on the dance floor will transfer well to working here at HSP, which also requires a certain amount of grace. We at HSP are thrilled to have Vanessa here! We still have room for more interns, who are looking for experiencing what the non-profit world has to offer. For more information you can call us at 630-221-8340.

Thank You Gregory Middle School!

2011-10-06T11:45:00.001-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to extend our deepest thanks to the student council of Gregory Middle School in Naperville for donating 100 toys to our Children’s Birthday Project. The students brought in the toys as part of an “It’s not your birthday” party. The party was just like any other birthday party; the kids played games, and ate cake. However, since it was an “It’s not your birthday” party, all of the gifts brought were donated to us to get out to needy children. Laurie Zalanik, the student council advisor, said “we like doing projects for the HSP since the students can have fun socializing and do great things for the needy.” We at HSP love doing projects with Gregory Middle School too, and want to give them our deepest thanks. It’s great to see young people engaged in reaching out to those in need.

The toys donated will go straight to the needy kids in our Children’s Birthday Project. As part of the program, the children in the Children’s Birthday Project get a 25 pound box full of toys and other goodies on their birthday, as well as, gifts at Christmas. This generous donation comes in at a great time, as we are just starting to get ready for Christmas. If you would be interested in conducting a toy drive, like the great kids in the student council of Gregory Middle School, you can learn more at our website: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/toydrive.html.

Volunteer Spotlight: Sue

2011-10-05T17:29:00.002-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, it is your lucky day, because today we have a second serving of our Volunteer Spotlight. Today we wanted to recognize a wonderful volunteer, Sue Keenan, who has been helping out at HSP for over a decade now. Sue began helping out here around the office about ten years ago, and after starting her own business, she began helping us in a different way, by picking up gifts for our Children’s Birthday Project and wrapping them for us. For years Sue has been providing expertly wrapped gifts for the children in our project. We at HSP would like to thank Sue for all the heartfelt work she does for us.

Sue is a woman of many talents. She is the founder of the Village Theater Guild in Glen Ellyn, which is going on its 50^th year. Through the guild she directs and acts. Professionally, Sue is a personal concierge. You can learn more about her business at http://www.run-around-sue.com/.

Sue enjoys volunteering as a wrapper because it is a volunteer opportunity she can do in the comfort of her home. Sue claims she was drawn to HSP because she “likes helping people, and has a soft spot in her heart for children.” Sue has turned this soft spot into a labor of love lasting over 10 years. If you would be interested in donating your time to pick up and wrap some gifts for us, like Sue, you can learn more under the “Wrap Gifts for Children” heading here: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/volunteers.html, or call us at 630-221-8340.

Volunteer Spotlight: Drivers

2011-10-05T11:21:00.001-05:00

At Humanitarian Service Project we have been blessed with many wonderful volunteers who put their time and energy into helping everything run smoothly around here. For this week’s volunteer spotlight (or should I say headlight) we at HSP wanted to recognize a specific type of volunteer around here, our volunteer drivers. At HSP we have a people volunteering to drive to help us in a number of different ways. First there are the many drivers who come to our center and pick up groceries to deliver to our needy seniors every month for delivery day. There are a number of other drivers who come and help us by driving in other days, by doing such tasks as taking our vans out to food banks to pick up food for our seniors. We wanted to extend our deepest thanks to all of our drivers who really keep things moving around here. May all of your lights be green and all of engines run smooth.

There are many people who donated their time and energy to help HSP in our mission to alleviate the pain poverty brings to the needy in DuPage and Kane County. We want to thank, not only our great drivers, but also everyone else who makes everything HSP does possible. If you are interested in a volunteer opportunity, you can learn more at this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/getinvolved/index.html.

Riding the Road of Generosity

2011-10-04T16:51:00.001-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to issue a huge thank you to the Oakbrook division of the international company LexisNexis for the donation of 10 brand new bikes for the children in our Children’s Birthday Project. The bikes, which were dropped off at our center in Carol Stream by Bart, Raffi, and Scott from LexisNexis, were brought in fully assembled and complete with helmets for the children. The bikes were purchased, assembled, and delivered by LexisNexis as part of one of their “RE cares days” (the RE comes from Reed Elsevier, the owner of LexisNexis.) Again, we want to extend our thanks to LexisNexis.

The bikes will get out to needy children through our Children’s Birthday Project. Through the project, the children are granted toys, books, and party supplies on their birthday, as well as gifts at Christmastime. We are always looking for more great donations from our generous donors like LexisNexis, especially for older children’s gifts (ages 8-11.) If you are interested in the Children’s Birthday Project you can learn more by looking at our website: http://humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/bdayproject.html.

Happy Birthday Karole!

2011-10-04T10:53:00.005-05:00

If our Children’s Birthday Project didn't clue you in, we here at Humanitarian Service Project are fans of birthday parties. That’s why yesterday we were happy to celebrate a very special Birthday here at HSP, that of our Co-Founder and Executive Director Karole. Karole began the Humanitarian Service Project out of her spare bedroom in 1979, and has been expanding the project ever since. We hope all of our supporters will join us in wishing Karole a happy (albeit, by now, somewhat belated) birthday.

Our party yesterday included not only HSP staff, but also interns and volunteers and as well. Karole commented how nice it was to have to have volunteers at the birthday party, because they do so much great work to help out around HSP, and deserved to be around for our celebrations. Again we want to say happy birthday to Karole, but we also want to wish all of supporters who have helped Karole run the project over the years a deep thank you, and a happy birthday (whenever they may be.)

Keeping us Cut Clean

2011-10-03T17:29:00.001-05:00

Those of you who have seen the film Forrest Gump may recall a scene in which Forrest makes a great deal of money by investing in Apple Computers. When his friend Lt. Dan tells him he won’t have to worry about money anymore, Forrest says “well that’s nice! You know, one less thing.” Considering we’re in the non-profit world, Humanitarian Service Project won’t ever be at the point where we won’t have to consider money anymore, but thanks to the generosity of one of our supporters we do have “one less thing” to worry about around here, our lawn. For this reason we at HSP would like to thank Chuck Strayve of Chuck Strayve Landscaping for his continued donation of his time and talent, to keep our lawn looking beautiful. Chuck’s crew was out here just this morning, and the lawn looks great!

Chuck has been donating his services to HSP for roughly a decade and we are thrilled to have his services. If our lawn could talk, we’re sure it would tell you the same thing. Chuck owns his own landscaping company out of West Chicago, which serves Chicagoland. You can check out the company’s website at http://www.chuckstrayvelandscaping.com. We would again like to thank Chuck for his continued support, as well as, all of the other volunteers and donors that use their talents to help HSP in many diverse and wonderful ways!

The Drive to Provide

2011-10-03T12:03:00.004-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project is excited to announce that a very large food drive has come in sponsored by the Rotary Club of Carol Stream. The food drive was a community-wide drive, in which hundreds of people participated. The drive was conducted this Saturday, and it benefitted two other local charities (Interfaith Food Pantry and Feeding Northwest Dupage) as well as HSP. Luanne Triolo Newman of the Rotary Club, who was responsible for organizing the event, said everything collected fully covered 12 “double cafeteria tables both on top and underneath.” We at HSP unloaded the two vans crammed full of non-perishable food items, paper products, and some personal care items earlier this morning, and we were delighted with how much the food drive provided to us. Our rough estimate is that HSP received somewhere between 3500-4000 pounds of items through the drive.

All of the items received through the drive will be used by HSP to provide for the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Program. Every month, the seniors in our program receive 90 pounds of groceries through our program. On top of non-perishables, paper products and personal care items provided through this drive, they also receive fresh fruits and vegetables, several kinds of meats, and bread. We would like to thank everyone involved in the food drive, and all the other supporters of our Senior Citizen project. Without all of your generous help, we at HSP would not be able to reach out to those who are in need. If you want to learn more about our Senior Citizen Project, you can do so by following this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/seniorproject.html.

HSP receives a Thank You from a School!

2011-09-30T16:00:00.001-05:00

Today, HSP received a beautiful thank you card from Hermes Elementary School. As mentioned in the previous post, we were happy to reach the students most in need at several schools in our community. The school supplies have made a tremendous difference!

Thank you to all the donors who made this possible!

It warms our hearts have received such a beautiful thank you card.

HSP helps Elementary Schools!

2011-09-30T10:59:00.001-05:00

The academic year has started. Here at HSP, we have been busy providing school supplies to families asking for help. Due to the support of our amazing donors and volunteers, we were able to gather enough school supplies to help over 2,000 children.

First we sent two cargo vans full of school supplies to the DuPage Back to School Fair. Then, we helped individual families with a total of over 450 children by getting all those young students ready for school. Most recently, by working directly with schools, we helped provide even more low-income children with everything they need to start the academic year. We reached the students most in need at Marquardt, Bensenville (picking up supplies on the picture), Hermes, Fullerton, Burr Ridge, Lake Park, Brady, Beaupre, Gates, Bardwell, Oak Park, and Krug elementary schools.

We thank each and everyone one of our kind donors and volunteers who made it all possible. Your support is greatly valued and appreciated by school districts, needy children, parents, the community, and all of us here at HSP! You have made a difference!

You Can’t Rain on our Parade (or Parties)

2011-09-29T17:21:00.002-05:00

As this is being written, the sun seems to have broken free from the clouds. However, this has been a rather dreary week; we have seen a lot more rain drops than sun rays. Still, on the inside of the Humanitarian Service Project office things remain on the sunny side. This week, and every other week, there have been a lot of families coming in to pick up boxes filled with toys and party supplies as part of our Children’s Birthday Project. Any parent can tell you that a child’s birthday can be very expensive, and it can be quite hard for families below the poverty line to afford all that goes in to a birthday party. However, thanks to the support of all our donors and volunteers, HSP is able to make birthdays a little brighter for the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project. These children are provided gifts and all of the makings of a fantastic birthday party. The mother of one of the children who received a birthday box said that her daughter was very excited for her birthday, and she wanted everyone involved in the project to know just how big of a difference they were making. We at HSP would also like to thank all of the supporters of the Children’s Birthday Project. Without your generous support, it would not be possible for HSP to reach all of the needy children that we help through the program.

If you are interested in getting involved in the Children’s Birthday Project there are a myriad of ways in which you could help. The lifeblood of the project is the sponsorship by our generous donors who graciously fund the project, but there are also a number of ways to participate for those that aren’t necessarily looking to give a monetary gift. One great way to help out is by wrapping some gifts for the project. Those who volunteer to help wrapping pick up a few unwrapped gifts at our center, take them home, wrap them all up, and drop them back off in a week or two. These are just a few of the ways our wonderful volunteers and donors help HSP keep needy children smiling and full of cake on their birthdays. You can learn more by looking up the Children’s Birthday Project on our website: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/bdayproject.html.

Keeping up the Momentum

2011-09-29T09:52:00.001-05:00

It seems like only a couple days ago that we at the Humanitarian Service Project were writing about how happy we were to have school supplies go out to schools with needy students (that is because it WAS only a few days ago,) but there is something to be said for striking while the iron is hot. Yesterday, HSP was delighted to have shipments of school supplies be picked up at our center in Carol Stream by representatives of two area schools, so they could quick get into the hands of children who need them. The supplies went out to Burr Ridge Middle School in (you guessed it) Burr Ridge, and Lake Park Elementary School in Addison. Both schools expressed deep thanks for the supplies, saying that there were many needy students who could really use the supplies.

The supplies were graciously donated to HSP by numerous corporate and individual donors during our Summer School Supply Drive. The drive was conducted in order to benefit families in Dupage and Kane Counties who were unable to afford all the supplies necessary for their children this school year. During the summer, HSP was able to provide hundreds of needy school children with supplies directly through their families, and, because of the overwhelming support of our donors, we’ve been able to reach many more kids through deliveries to schools. There will be a couple more shipments like these going out in the next couple days, as well! How’s that for momentum? HSP wants to thank all of those who supported HSP initiative to equip needy children in the area with what they need to succeed in school this year. We want you to know that your generosity really has made a difference.

An Apple a Day…

2011-09-28T15:21:00.003-05:00

Humanitarian Service Project would like to thank 1^st United Methodist Church in Bensenville for the donation of between 350 to 400 pounds of apples for the needy seniors in our Senior Citizen Project. The donation was delivered to our center in Carol Stream by Julie, from 1^st United Methodist, around noon today, and was large enough that it took several of us here at HSP to unload all of them. The apples are from a local orchard, and there are several different kinds of apples. The donation is sure to keep our seniors munching for quite some time.

The apples will go to our seniors as part of the monthly deliveries they receive through our Senior Citizen Project. Every month the seniors receive over 90 pounds of groceries including around fifteen different kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables, several types of meats, bread, non-perishables, paper products, and personal care items. Donations and support like this wonderful donation from 1^st United Methodist Church are what allow HSP to get all of these necessary supplies to all 120 seniors every month. We at HSP would again like to extend our deepest thanks to everyone at 1^st United Methodist in Bensenville for the support. You can learn more about the church at http://www.firstumcbensenville.org/ and if you are interested in learning more about HSP’s Senior Citizen Project at you can do so at http://www.humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/seniorproject.html.

Volunteer Spotlight: Judy and Cindy

2011-09-28T09:58:00.002-05:00

It’s time for another volunteer spotlight, where we at the Humanitarian Service Project give thanks to a couple of the wonderful volunteers who have donated their time and energy into making everything around HSP run smoothly. Today we at HSP would like to thank Judy and Cindy, two longtime volunteers for our Senior Citizen Project. Judy’s relationship with HSP goes back fifteen years when she became interested in our Senior Citizen Project. She began helping out at HSP around the holidays that year, and for seven years has been coming every Wednesday to help organize our seniors’ “Secret Pal” gifts, as well as helping organize food in our warehouse. Judy must have been overjoyed two years ago, when Cindy began volunteering helping with those same tasks every Wednesday. Judy and Cindy’s work helps HSP and our “Secret Pal” donors reach out to the needy seniors in our program through small gifts and other donations. HSP is only able to reach needy seniors and children in the area through the loving work of volunteers like Judy and Cindy, and for that they deserve a big thank you.

HSP’s Senior Citizen Project reaches out to 120 needy senior citizens in the area not only by providing them with food, but also by showing them how much people care. Our Secret Pal Program is one important way our supporters can express how much they care to the seniors by providing them with small monthly gifts. If you wish to learn more about the Secret Pal Program, you can do so by following this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/secretpals.html.

Come and Join Us!

2011-09-27T17:31:00.000-05:00

When the outgoing summer interns were training this incoming intern on writing blog posts, they said, “When you absolutely can’t think of something to write about, doing an intern update is always a fun blog.” However, these days that really wouldn’t really take too much time. That’s not to say the interns around here are not busy, it’s just that we still have a lot of room for more interns to join our projects. Interns at Humanitarian Service Project get an in the trenches look at all that HSP does. We offer both a general internships and focused internships working with our Senior Citizen Project, Public Relations, Grant Writing, and in Marketing.

New interns aren’t the only new faces we are looking for this fall. HSP is also looking for people to fill positions in our staff. We are currently looking for an experienced, team oriented person to be our new Senior Citizen Project Coordinator, as well as, a friendly, organized person to be our new receptionist. Our positions require individuals who are computer literate (knowledge of basic MS Office programs Word and Excel is a must!)If you, or someone you know, would be interested in the experience of being an intern or to take the plunge as a staff member at HSP, please call us at 630-221-8340 for more information or send a resume and short message detailing which position you are applying for to hsp@humanitarianservice.org.

Spread the Word

2011-09-27T11:28:00.001-05:00

Whether you have been reading HSP’s postings for a year or just a few days, chances are you have read a line that went a little like this, “HSP would like to thank all of its donors and volunteers, without whom, HSP would not be able to fulfill its mission of reaching out to those in need.” That line makes its way into so many of our posts because it is both very true and deserves repeating. Humanitarian Service Project really is run by the strength of support received from volunteers and donors who help in a myriad of different ways. Of course, we know not everybody is in a position to make a donation, nor necessarily has the time or resources to volunteer, but that does not mean they can’t be invaluable supporters of HSP. In fact, you are supporting us right now, whether you know it or not.

By taking the few minutes it takes to read our online postings, you are helping HSP by arming yourself with information. With social media sites like Facebook having become such a mainstay in our society, they have become an important tool in keeping our supporters abreast of what goes on at HSP. They also serve a role in reaching people who may not know anything about HSP, or those who are curious to know more about what we do. For this reason, if you have a friend or family member that you think would be interested in knowing more about HSP we encourage you to direct them to our facebook or blog. By the simple click of the “like button” or a hit on our blog page, Humanitarian Service Project is getting the word out to more and more supporters. If you only know our Facebook page, our blog page can be found at this address: http://www.humanitarianserviceproject.blogspot.com/ for those who may not have a Facebook. Our blog page and our Facebook are updated with the same information, so you don’t need to worry about patronizing both. Of course, if you, or someone you know, would like more comprehensive information on HSP, there is always our website at http://www.humanitarianservice.org/.

Thank You from a Senior

2011-09-26T17:17:00.001-05:00

We at Humanitarian Service Project received something in the mail today which we thought would be important to share. A senior from our Senior Citizen Project sent in a thank you letter saying how grateful she is for what she receives through our Senior Citizen Program. It is through the generosity of our donors and volunteers who help in a myriad of different ways to make what HSP does for the seniors in the program possible, so we felt it would be appropriate to share the thank you with all of our supporters. Instead of simply summarize the letter; we thought it best to let it speak for itself (see upper right corner.)

Every month HSP provides over 90 lbs of groceries for our seniors. They are also provided gifts from our “Secret Pals,” access to items they need through donations, and needs that are met in a variety of other ways as well. Without help from volunteers and donors, HSP would not be able to reach out to these seniors in need, so (like this grateful senior) we thank all of those who make our Senior Citizen Project a success. If you follow this link: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/SPthankyou.html you can read even more thank you cards HSP had received from our seniors showing the wonderful impact the project has made in their lives. If you are interested in helping HSP reach these seniors there are a number of ways you can help. We are always accepting donations of food, personal care items, and paper products. Please call us at 630-221-8340 to see if we there is a need you could help us fill.

Generosity 101

2011-09-26T11:27:00.001-05:00

It may be cloudy outside, but, thanks to all or the support we receive, we at the Humanitarian Service Project continue our mission to make things a little sunnier for children in need. HSP is happy to announce that a shipment of school supplies went out from our center in Carol Stream to two different schools today, in order to provide for students who are in need of school supplies. The supplies, delivered by volunteer drivers Rich Patera and Ted Kummerer, went to Marquardt Middle School in Glendale Heights and Hermes Elementary School in Aurora. This delivery was made possible by the overwhelmingly generous support from both individual and group donors for our School Supply Drive this summer. Because of this wonderful support, HSP was able to reach hundreds of children in need of supplies directly through their families this summer, as well as, continuing to reach more needy children through deliveries to schools such as this one. We at HSP would like to thank everyone who participated in the drive for making this all possible, and volunteers Rich and Ted for delivering the supplies to the schools, despite the weather today.

Humanitarian Service Project reaches out to needy children and senior citizens in the area through a variety of projects, the School Supply Drive being one of them. We are grateful for all the support we receive from donors and volunteers, who make our endeavors possible. If you would be interested in supporting HSP, you can learn more about our different programs at our website: http://www.humanitarianservice.org/.

Everything is Falling into Place

2011-09-23T13:26:00.001-05:00

Friday the 23^rd marks the first day of fall 2011, though it already seems like the summer heat fled long ago. As was mentioned in a post a few days ago, fall is a time when the Humanitarian Service Project is moving full steam ahead to prepare for our various holiday initiatives. However, we’d like to take this time out to reflect on summertime and to thank all of those that made summer 2011 such a great season around the HSP. Through our summer programs Feed the Kids and the School Supply Drive, donors and volunteers helped Humanitarian Service Project reach hundreds of families who needed assistance this summer. Likewise, our yearlong Children’s Birthday Project and Senior Citizen Project chugged along with a lot of fantastic assistance. We had a lot of bright, summer help in the form of our summer interns, and a lot of wonderful support in a myriad of ways from our volunteers and donors. We want to extend our thanks to everyone who supported HSP in the summer.

As mentioned previously, fall is a time transition here at HSP, and we look forward to making it just as wonderful of a season as summer was. We still have room for new fall interns if you are, or know, someone who is looking for such an experience. We also have a number of ways to get people involved around here in the coming months. You can look at our website at http://www.humanitarianservice.org/ if that appeals to you, or call us at 630-221-8340 to inquire about opportunities. Hope you had a great summer and here’s wishing you a fabulous fall!

Volunteer Spotlight

2011-09-23T09:19:00.001-05:00

The Humanitarian Service Project could not run without all of the volunteers who donate their time and utilize their talents to help us run smoothly. Today we wanted to give a special thanks to one of the volunteers who dedicates a lot of time and effort to help out around here, Marion. Now if you’ve visited the HSP office in the past month or so there is a good chance that you have met Marion, she’s been coming by several days a week recently helping take care of a number of important things. Marion has been helping out at HSP in a number of capacities for over a year; first as a substitute driver for our Senior Citizen Project Delivery Days, then she began assisting with food sorting for the Senior Citizen Project, and for the past couple of months helping out around the office.

Marion came to be a volunteer at HSP because of her desire to give back to the community. Marion says that “senior citizens are very near and dear to [her] heart,” which is what initially attracted her to HSP. She says when she learned more about all of the other programs HSP has going on to help the needy, she was more inspired to help out. In turn, we at HSP are inspired by all of the love and hard work Marion puts into volunteering around here. We know that thanks to the efforts of Marion, and other volunteers like her, Humanitarian Service Project has been able to touch the lives of many needy senior citizens and children in the area. We at HSP want to thank Marion and all of the other volunteers for all that they do around here.