The Last Fling

With Labor Day weekend coming up it’s almost time for the Naperville Jaycee’s “The Last Fling”. Proceeds from “The Last Fling” support a number of local charitable causes including HSP’s Feed the Kids program. It’s a fun event for the whole family in downtown Naperville. Entertainment consists of a Family Fun Land, a carnival, and big name bands performing all weekend. Daughtry will be performing on Saturday, at 8:00 pm and Chevelle will be performing on Sunday, at 8:00 pm. On Monday you can also see the Labor Day Parade from the event sight. If you are looking for a fun activity for this weekend we recommend “The Last Fling”, it’s a great time for everyone as well as a chance to help support a lot of worthy causes.

Thanks for a Successful School Supply Drive

Since the school year has begun, our School Supply Drive is almost over! HSP wants to thank the dozens of donors who contributed to this program. Thanks to you, over 3,000 needy kids will receive school supplies. We also wanted to thank everyone who contributed monetary donations to the program. As we prepare to deliver supplies to schools with high populations of needy students next week, HSP supporters, Larry and Evelyn Erven, have taken this money and purchased additional needed supplies. Again we wish to express our gratitude for everyone who has helped us equip local children with the supplies necessary to have a successful school year.

Seal Volunteers

This morning HSP hosted 8 volunteers from the School of Expressive Arts and Learning (or SEAL). SEAL volunteers regularly give their time on an almost monthly basis, to help the needy seniors we serve. The smiling faces and eager attitudes of the volunteers made for a fun-filled morning.  This was their first volunteer visit of the school year; we are happy for their support. What a great way to start the school year off! The SEAL volunteers spent an hour and a half sorting non-perishable food for the 132 seniors enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project.  We at HSP thank them for all their hard work!

Thank you! McDonald's Working Mothers Council!

 The McDonald's Working Mothers Council continued a summer time tradition, making 50 Party in a Bag Kits in support of our Children’s Birthday Project (CBP). Party in a Bag Kits are an essential part of the birthday boxes we send to the 925 children enrolled in our CBP. The kits include everything a family needs to have a party and make their child’s birthday a memorable experience. The Working Mothers Council is a group at McDonald’s, where mothers and their children engage in community service projects.  This donation was graciously dropped off by McDonalds’ associate and HSP volunteer Margret Minn on Saturday.

Allured Matching Campaign

HSP is currently in the midst of a matching campaign with Allured Business Media of Carol Stream; this campaign will run until October 16^th, 2015. The goal of this campaign is to raise a $16,000 endowment to permanently add another senior to our Senior Citizen Project (SCP). Allured will match every dollar donated from community members up to $7,500. This endowment will provide a deserving senior with a monthly grocery delivery for life. Every month, the 132 seniors enrolled in SCP receive fresh and nutritious groceries. We encourage anyone who is able to donate to help us permanently support a local senior in need. 

Two New Interns Join HSP

Today, HSP was blessed to welcome not one, but two new interns to our team. These interns are the first to join us for the fall. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to them.

First we have Keena Kupoluyi, who is joining us from Concordia University. Keena is working to complete her Master’s Degree in Human Services. In the future, Keena intends to use her degree in Human Services to help those in need as a Child Welfare Specialist. Keena said she is very excited to be joining HSP in order to learn the “ins and outs of a Human Services Agency.” Keena will be applying her studies in Human Services by interviewing the seniors enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project, updating our knowledge of their needs, in addition to other projects.

Second, we would like to introduce Tom Redfield, who is currently studying Finance and Economics at Elmhurst College. Tom intends to enter a career in financial analysis after graduating, but wished to join HSP as an intern due to his passion for community service. He says his past experiences as a member of Key Club in High School, and volunteering for PADs has inspired him to give back. As a Community Outreach intern, Tom will contribute to the success of HSP’s programs ensuring we are meeting the needs of the seniors, children, and families served by our programs.

Please join us in welcoming Keena and Tom to HSP. 

Thanks to our Friends from UPS

Today was an exciting day at HSP as we prepared for our monthly Senior Citizen Project Delivery Day. Tomorrow volunteers will deliver 100 lb. groceries packages directly to the homes of the 132 low-income seniors enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project. To help us get ready, 7 volunteers from UPS Supply Chain Solutions in Carol Stream graciously gave their time to help us sort fresh produce and bread to be delivered as part of the seniors’ food packages tomorrow. Our friends at UPS Supply Chain Solutions volunteer every month to help us prepare for our Delivery Days, and we are grateful for their steadfast support!

A Goodbye and Thank You to Alinda

This week, HSP is bidding goodbye to a wonderful intern/volunteer Alinda Lord. Alinda joined the HSP team at the beginning of this year choosing HSP as the site to complete her “community service practicum” for her studies at Adler University. In this capacity, Alinda interviewed many of the seniors enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project to update us on their needs and current circumstances. Alinda then wrote “updates” on these seniors, showing these seniors’ sponsors how their generous donations have impacted the lives of the senior they support. Upon completing her practicum in June, Alinda opted to stay on at HSP as a volunteer, to continue working with our seniors. As she prepares to move forward in her education, Alinda’s last day at HSP will be tomorrow. Alinda’s bright personality and passion for helping others was a joy to have around the HSP office, and she will be deeply missed. We wish to thank Alinda for her support, and wish her the best as she moves onto a new phase in her post-graduate education.

A Great Group of Volunteers from Meadows

Today, HSP was delighted to once again host a group of volunteers from Meadows. The five volunteers spent over an hour helping us sort paper products; facial tissues, toilet paper, and paper towels, for the seniors enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project. Meadows is an Intermediate Care Residential Home that creates a supportive living experience for disabled adults. The volunteers from Meadows have always been full of smiles, and bring a great deal of enthusiasm for service. We wish to thank them for their support!

Matching Campaign with Allured Business Media

This year, HSP is again blessed to partner with Allured Business Media for an endowment campaign. This is the fourth consecutive year that Allured has worked with HSP on a campaign to support our Senior Citizen Project (SCP). Allured will be sponsoring a donation matching campaign, where they will match every dollar donated from community members towards the endowment campaign up to $7,500. The goal of this campaign is to create a $16,000 endowment to permanently enroll a new senior in the Senior Citizen Project. This endowment will provide a monthly grocery delivery to a senior for life. The campaign will run from August 17^th to October 16^th, 2015. The 132 seniors enrolled in SCP receive groceries on a monthly basis as well as other essential items they need. We at HSP are excited for this opportunity to work with Allured Business Media and the community to save another senior from hunger. 

A Fun Filled Weekend at Veggie Fest

HSP volunteer Georgeann Georges manning the HSP
booth at Veggie Fest this weekend

Over the weekend, HSP was delighted to attend Veggie Fest Chicago. This event, sponsored by the Science of Spirituality, featured a whole weekend full of fun events including live music, food demos, and plenty of activities for the whole family. Several members of the HSP team and volunteers had a great time representing HSP at the event, meeting with event patrons and spreading the word about HSP. We want to thank all the volunteers who helped man the HSP booth, our friends at the Science of Spirituality for inviting us, and of course everyone who stopped by to meet us at the event!

A Fond Farewell to Erik & Olivia

Today, HSP said goodbye to our last two summer interns, Erik Maranto and Olivia Riemer. Erik has led many volunteer groups and worked diligently on outreach for HSP. Erik connected with local clubs and service groups to educate them on HSP’s programs and ways they can get involved. He also dedicated a considerable amount of time to help plan an HSP fundraiser, for which we will have more information available soon. We want to thank Erik for all his hard work this summer, his easy-going personality and strong work ethic will be missed.  

Olivia juggled many important tasks in her time here at HSP. Primarily, Olivia kept in communication with the families enrolled in our programs to facilitate the success of Feed the Kids and the Children’s Birthday Project. She also helped with community outreach, and led volunteer groups. Olivia was quick to befriend everyone at HSP and we will miss her cheerful and kind personality.

Join HSP at Naperville’s Last Fling

HSP is gearing up for fun as Naperville’s Last Fling fast approaches. Last Fling is an annual charity event sponsored by the Naperville Jaycees. This event takes place during Labor Day weekend, and will feature concerts, carnival rides, and many other fun family activities. We here at HSP are excited for this fantastic event, but we are looking for more volunteers to represent us on Labor Day weekend. The more volunteers who represent us at Last Fling, the more funding we receive to help support and serve low-income families.  Last Fling is the Jaycees’ biggest annual fundraiser to support non-profits in the community, including HSP’s Feed the Kids program. For more information about Last Fling, visit their website, lastfling.org.

Goodbye to Jamie, Anna, and Morganne

This week, HSP is saying goodbye to the stellar members of our summer intern team. These bright young people were a joy to have around the office. This summer the interns helped HSP by working with volunteer groups and using their many talents to help us serve needy seniors, children, and families in the community.

Yesterday and today we bid farewell to three of our interns. Jamie Baumgartner served as our PR intern this summer. She helped to get the word out about HSP’s programs, contributed to our social media sites, monthly newsletter, and was very involved in leading our School Supply Drive. Anna Lapso, our Grant Writing intern, helped HSP find new funding sources for our programs, and assisted with outreach in the community. Last but not least, Morganne Yambrovich worked with us on our senior updates. She brightened the days of the seniors in our Senior Citizen Project by speaking to them about their lives and writing updates. These updates allow HSP to better serve our clients and understand how our programs and donor support has impacted their lives. We wish our new friends the best of luck in the future and we hope to see them again soon!

Food Donations

Last week, HSP celebrated the successful completion of our summer program, Feed the Kids. In total, 100 low-income families received about 27 tons of groceries. We at HSP would like to thank everyone who made this possible. With Feed the Kids completed for the year, HSP is taking this time to restock our pantry shelves. The Senior Citizen Project distributes groceries to senior citizens monthly and as we look toward the upcoming holiday season, HSP will also be distributing groceries to low-income families through the Christmas Offering. A great way to help us at this time is through a food donation. Currently, our most needed items are:

 

·         Boxed Stuffing

·         Canned Meat and Fish

·         Cereal

·         Canned Fruits and Veggies

·         Peanut Butter and Jelly

·         Tuna

·         Pasta Meals

If you are interested in donating or have any questions please contact HSP by calling 630-221-8340 or by emailing hsp@humanitarianservice.org.

Come see us at Veggie Fest!

HSP will be at the 10^th annual Veggie Fest this weekend, hosted by Science of Spirituality. Veggie Fest is one of the largest vegetarian food and lifestyle festivals in North America. It is taking place from 11:00 am- 8:00 pm on August 15^th and August 16^th at Benedictine University,5700 College Road in Lisle. At Veggie Fest, there will be live music, talks by health experts, children’s activities, meditation classes, over 100 vendors, and more! HSP will also be at Veggie Fest, so make sure to come see us. We will be giving out information about how you can get involved with us, and answering any questions you have about our programs. If you are available this weekend, we encourage you to visit Veggie Fest and see all that they have to offer as well as visit HSP to learn more about what we do.

If you have any questions please contact HSP by calling 630-221-8340 or emailing hsp@humanitarianservice.org. Go to www.veggiefestchicago.org for more information on Veggie Fest.

School Supply Drive Marches On

The DuPage Regional Office of Education’s back to school fair took place on Wednesday August 5th.  As noted on Tuesday, HSP was able to send a van load of school supplies to the fair thanks to our gracious donors.  Our School Supply Drive has now entered its next phase, as we gather supplies to send to local schools in DuPage and Kane counties with high populations of students living in poverty.  As many children enter the new school year they are not equipped with the supplies they desperately need to be successful in the classroom.   

One group that assisted us in this very important endeavor is FedEx Freight.  

Several FedEx Freight facilities collected supplies which they dropped off at our center today. The participating FedEx Freight facilities were Des Plaines, Schaumburg, Bolingbrook, Summit, Chicago Heights, and Elmhurst. They collected supplies at local centers and generously donated two pallets of school supplies to HSP weighing 825 lbs. We are incredibly grateful for the tremendous support of the FedEx Freight employees and to all the wonderful donors we have had through all phases of our School Supply Project.   

Thank You, Midwestern University

Today, HSP had the pleasure of hosting some wonderful volunteers from Midwestern University. Students from Midwestern’s freshman class of the College of Osteopathic Medicine visited HSP’s center to help us wrap gifts for underprivileged children enrolled in our Children’s Birthday Project. Midwestern University splits up the entire freshman class of medical students so that they may work on several different service projects in the area. HSP has welcomed volunteers from Midwestern before, as part of the students’ orientation to the school. We are pleased to continue receiving Midwestern University’s support, and to host some of their wonderful students. We want to thank these young men and women for taking time out of their schedules to help us wrap gifts for children in need.

A Fun Finale for Feed the Kids

We here at HSP were feeling full of energy and excitement as we conducted our third and final Feed the Kids distribution day of the year. HSP’s Feed the Kids program, which takes place during the months of June, July, and August, serves 100 families whose children receive free or subsidized meal plans at school. Since these children do not have the opportunity to receive these meals during the summer, HSP steps in to provide their families with 175-200 pounds of non-perishable food, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, and a variety of meat.

We would not be able to serve these families in such a way without the help of all the wonderful volunteers who give their time and energy to this program. We welcomed back volunteers from the Carol Stream “Panther” chapter of the Young Men’s Service League and the National Charity League who have assisted at all three of our Feed the Kids distribution days.. We were also excited to welcome our friends from the Rotary Club of Bloomingdale-Roselle. It was their first time volunteering for our Feed the Kids program, having volunteered for and supported our other programs in the past. HSP would like to thank all of these wonderful volunteers for their help in serving our community, and for making HSP’s Feed the Kids program possible.

School Supply Drive and Feed the Kids

Today was a busy day at HSP with two major events transpiring. With the help of our wonderful volunteer, Bill Fehling, HSP delivered a van load of school supplies to the DuPage Regional Office of Education’s Back to School Fair. Supporting this fair is one of the big activities of our School Supply Drive through which HSP equips needy children with school supplies. We will still be collecting school supplies and sending those out to schools with large populations of impoverished children once the school year commences.

 HSP was also preparing for the last Feed the Kids day of the summer. Five fantastic volunteers from the UPS supply chain solutions in Carol Stream came in to help us sort produce and bread in preparation for the 100 families who will pick up their food tomorrow. HSP would like to give a wholehearted thanks to all the volunteers who have helped us get ready for these events that serve the impoverished members of our community.  

Happy Birthday to Alex!

Today, HSP was excited to celebrate the birthday of one of our staff members; Alex Gordy, our Database Administrator. Alex supports our database, runs the Stamp out Hunger event, and plays an integral part in running our five programs. Alex works hard every day to make sure the seniors, children, and families enrolled at HSP receive the services they need. The whole HSP team all enjoyed being able to have lunch and cake together today, to celebrate. We wish you a very happy birthday Alex!