Happy Birthday, Michelle!

          Today at HSP we had the opportunity to celebrate a very special birthday, that of our staff member, Michelle Heron. Michelle joined HSP’s staff in June as the Senior Citizen Project Coordinator. She is an incredible member of HSP’s team, and does so much to coordinate every aspect of the Senior Citizen Project (SCP). The project is a complicated one, but Michelle picked up the ins and outs of organizing it very quickly. In addition to everything she does with the SCP, Michelle also has responsibilities with both Feed the Kids and the Christmas Offering. We are so happy to have Michelle as part of the HSP team. She brings so much great energy to the SCP and her cheerful personality brightens the office every day!

          The HSP staff and interns celebrated Michelle’s birthday by decorating the café, having lunch together, and enjoying a delicious homemade cake. HSP is so thankful for Michelle and was delighted to be able to celebrate with her. Please join us in wishing Michelle a happy birthday!

            

Girl Scout Troops Collect Food for Impoverished Families

          Yesterday, Girl Scout troops 1197, 4880, and 4895 from Norton Creek Elementary in West Chicago brought an extremely generous food drive donation to our center for the Christmas Offering! The girls and their troop leaders came to the center for a tour and to drop off the food they collected. They spread the word about their food drive by canvassing their neighborhoods with flyers and putting an article in the school newsletter. Their drive was enormously successful! They brought in over 50 bags of non-perishables! We want to thank these girls for putting so much spirit into helping the 150 impoverished families we serve through the Christmas Offering. Each family receives 3-4 weeks worth of groceries, including fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, meat and non-perishable items, to help them get through the Christmas season. 

          The girl scouts were also very excited to go on the tour and learn more about HSP. Many of them had come last year and were incredibly enthusiastic to help again! HSP would like to thank them for putting this food drive together and helping us serve needy families at Christmastime.

Power PAWS Volunteers

           Yesterday HSP had a group of 5^th graders, the power PAWS, along with their parents from Weisbrook Elementary in Wheaton volunteering for us. There were 18 students and parents altogether helping sort non-perishables as well as organizing boxes and other things for our Senior Delivery Day coming up this Saturday. The Senior Citizen Project delivers nutritious food to the needy elderly in the areas of Dupage and Kane Counties.

            

          Power PAWS is the school’s way of achieving one of its goals which is to have all students participate in a community service activity for college and career readiness. The volunteer opportunity was arranged and led by one of our regular volunteers, Kristin Dixon, whose daughter was in the group. The power PAWS were also able to take a tour of our building and learned more about our programs here at HSP.

            

         These young volunteers were really happy and enthusiastic about volunteering, and they helped out a ton! HSP is happy to have had this great group of volunteers with us yesterday.

Senior Care Kits Needed!

HSP is still in major need of personal care items for the 123 impoverished senior citizens we serve. We are committed to providing each of these seniors with personal care essentials to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle, every three months. The next time we are set to deliver these items is December 7^th, but currently, we only have enough items for 60 of the 123 needed kits. Once again, we need the help of our wonderful supporters in completing this task! 

Personal Care kits are distributed every three months and include:

·        2 Shampoos ·        2 Conditioners ·        1 Lip Balm ·        1 Toothbrush ·        1 Toothpaste

·        2 Dental Floss ·        3 Lotions ·        6 Bars of Soap ·        2 Hand Sanitizers

         

          Presently, the specific items we have the greatest need for are conditioner, dental floss, lotion, hand sanitizer and bar soap.  Any and all donations of individual items or complete kits are greatly needed and appreciated.  Please let us know if you are able to help us in providing this service to our seniors!

Two Phenomenal Volunteer Groups Visit HSP

Already in the spirit of giving, we’ve had volunteer groups from Philips Healthcare, based in Roselle, and the DuPage division of Junior Achievement of Chicago donate their time to HSP.  They helped us prepare boxes of non-perishables that will be delivered to impoverished families in DuPage and Kane Counties through our Christmas Offering.

           

            Yesterday we welcomed a group of 16 volunteers who graciously gave their time because of Philips’ inter-company service program.  Requiring every employee to give back to the community, regional managers and office staff from Philips offices all over the Midwest came out to help HSP get ready for Delivery Day.  Drawing on their slogan of “Innovation that matters to you”, our volunteers from Philips Healthcare certainly did work that matters to people in need.

            Our second group of volunteers work for a non-profit that aims to teach kids valuable business skills, financial literacy, and work readiness.  Thanks to business professionals who donate their time, Junior Achievement of Chicago provides their services free of charge to children in grades K-12.  Serving the same DuPage County community as HSP, one of their staff thought it would be a good idea to get out of the office and do some volunteer work themselves.  Just like HSP, Junior Achievement is always looking for volunteers, so if you have any business know-how visit them online at www.jachicago.org

            HSP would like to again thank these groups for their dedicated service and valuable time!

            During the Christmas season, we here at HSP are always looking for volunteers, specifically during the first few weeks of December, so if you or your group would like to come help at our center, please give us a call at (630) 221-8340 to set up a time to volunteer.

High School Students Help Needy Families and Seniors

          Recently, HSP has had several volunteer groups and donations from local high schools that are helping us with the Christmas Offering and our other programs.

          Last Friday we were once again blessed to have Ms. Heggen’s class from Glenbard South volunteering with us. The eight students sorted meat that will go to the needy seniors in the Senior Citizen Project on delivery day this Saturday. The class has recently begun volunteering regularly, and we are thankful for all the work they do to help the needy seniors and families that we serve.

          Also on Friday, we received a vanload of food from Hinsdale Central High School. They hosted a food drive for our Christmas Offering. Through the Christmas Offering, we provide 150 families with 3-4 weeks’ worth of groceries, and the non-perishables that Hinsdale Central collected will go to those families.

          Not willing to let Hinsdale Central have all the fun, the Business Professionals of America Club from Hinsdale South High School volunteered with us today. These 12 students contributed by packing food boxes of non-perishables for the Christmas Offering.

          HSP would like to thank each of these groups for volunteering or donating to help us serve needy seniors and families in the community!

“Good Night, Sleep Tight”

Piper with a few sample "bundles"

Yesterday, we received 77 “Good Night Bundles” for the needy children enrolled in our Children’s Birthday Project. These bedtime bundles were donated by a local high school freshman, Piper Winkler, who started the project named “Good Night, Sleep Tight” with her friend, 8^th grader Ana Powell. Each bundle includes items such as pajamas, books and either a stuffed animal or a blanket and socks depending on the age of needy child the bundle was made for. They even went the extra mile and themed these wonderful bundles. For example, the “Monkey Bundle” contained monkey print pjs, a monkey stuffed animal, and a Curious George book. In addition to giving these items to HSP, Piper and Ana also donated bundles to impoverished children at Hesed House in Aurora.

This project is aimed to provide needy children with “added warmth and comfort for the cold winter months ahead, because every child should go to bed comfortably and peacefully.” After Piper realized that many children don’t have this luxury and reading about her high school’s (Rosary High, in Aurora) long history of service, she was inspired to create the project. 

Piper received much support from her parents, Chris and Michelle Winkler, as well as the congregation at First United Methodist Church in Geneva. Piper said that one of the most valuable things that she learned is that “service helps bring people together” and is very thankful for the opportunity to serve those in need as well as the chance to be able to grow closer to those that supported and helped her with this project.

HSP would like to thank Piper, Ana, and everyone that helped contribute to her “Good Night, Sleep Tight” project. As the holidays approach and winter rolls around, these bedtime bundles will come in handy and bring joy to the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project.