A Donation Stuffed Full of Care

Late last week, Humanitarian Service Project received a donation that was both thoughtful and unbearably cute. St. Raphael Catholic Church, in Naperville, made and donated 160 soft and cuddly teddy bears for the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project. The bears, which came in the form of regular teddy bears, panda bears, and koalas, were made by St. Raphael’s parishioners as part of a church-wide weekend of service last month. These adorable teddy bears are only the most recent donation from the members of St. Raphael, who have been very active and generous in helping us fulfill the needs of the impoverished seniors and children served by our programs. Last month, as part of the same weekend of service, the parishioners from the church wrapped the gifts for 25 of the needy children in our Children’s Birthday Project and made kits full of personal care items, for the needy seniors we serve.

            These donated teddy bears will become part of the 20-25 lb. “Birthday Boxes” received by the 900 needy children in our project. Each box contains 6-10 new gifts, 6 books, school supplies, numerous smaller “filler gifts,” a “party in a box” kit full of party supplies, and, of course, a stuffed animal. HSP wishes to thank St. Raphael Church for these bears, and their continued support in helping us make birthdays special for needy children. If you too are interested in our Children’s Birthday Project, you can learn the many ways you can lend a hand on our website: http://humanitarianservice.org/whatwedo/bdayproject.html.