Volunteer Spotlight: Bernie Stands Against Hunger

Our regular volunteer, Bernie R., shared his thoughts with us on why he volunteers with #hsp. Bernie drives 2 hours just to volunteer with us every week; he's a huge help, a hard worker, and a joy to be around. He often brings us snacks, and he always brings smiles and laughter to us. We cannot thank Bernie and all of our other volunteers enough for all of their support; we couldn't serve the number of clients we do without them!

Go Orange this Thursday

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We hope you all had a relaxing, fun Labor day yesterday! HSP would like to take this time to remind you to GO ORANGE on this Thursday, September 8th, which is National Go Orange Day for Hunger Action Month! Go Orange to raise awareness about the hunger our community faces and take action to help end it. Be sure to send us your photos or tag us in them so we can all take part in National Go Orange Day together!

We also wanted to share a FUNdraising idea to help you take action against hunger with HSP: Keep track if the amount your household spends on groceries in one week, and donate this amount, or a percentage of this amount, to HSP to help us feed our hungry neighbors. Don't forget to challenge your friends to do the same thing!

Hunger Action Month: Staff Testimonial

Happy Friday, everyone! For our Friday Staff Spotlight, we're featuring our Volunteer and Operations Coordinator, Bridget! Bridget said that if she had to go hungry, she wouldn't be able to concentrate on what she's reading or listening to. Bridget is an avid reader and jazz listener, so she understands the importance of how an empty stomach can negatively effect not only your concentration, but also your ability to learn! Help us take action against hunger this September by sending us your own #HAM testimonials!

Join HSP for Hunger Action Month!

Happy Hunger Action Month, otherwise known as HAM! All month long, HSP will be representing HAM through a variety of activities on all of our social media, especially Instagram! We'll be giving you fundraising ideas, donation ideas, and the thing we're all really excited about: highlighting staff and volunteers on how they're taking action to help end hunger! You'll be seeing a lot of these plates over the coming month, and we invite you to send us your own testimonial so we can feature it on here, or make your own plate and tag us in your photo! If you aren't the outgoing type, a simple way for you to take action against hunger is to wear orange, HAM'S color, all month long to bring awareness to food insecurity. Help us take action against hunger and raise awareness for the hunger that affects DuPage and Kane counties this September!

Thank you to the Just Energy Foundation

HSP recently received a generous donation from the Just Energy Foundation to help support children enrolled in our programs. Thanks to their support kids will receive nutritional support through our Feed the Kids program when subsidized meals are unavailable. When birthdays roll around, these low-income children will be very excited to have a fantastic birthday box to celebrate their special day with their families. Thank you to the Just Energy Foundation for ensuring kids with have both their basic and emotional needs met.

Thank You to the St. Charles Kiwanis

Today HSP was excited to be invited to attend a meeting of the St. Charles Kiwanis Club. The St. Charles Kiwanis Club has been sponsoring children in our Children’s Birthday Project since 2009, and renewed their support at the meeting today. HSP’s Executive Director Kristin had the opportunity to speak with the group about how their support has enabled us to make a difference in the lives of the children served through this program. We wish to thank the St. Charles Kiwanis Club for their continued support!

Join HSP for this Great Event for a Great Cause

HSP’s Bowling Event is just a month away! Join the HSP crew for a night of fun, bowling, and food at Fox Bowl in Wheaton! The event will take place from 6-9 p.m. on September 29^th! All funds raised from the event will help us feed low-income seniors, children, and families in DuPage and Kane. Please come out for a night of fun while helping us make a difference for those in need! You can purchase tickets by clicking “participate as an individual” here: https://www.classy.org/wheaton/events/hsp-bowling-strike-against-hunger/e88398.

School Supplies Distributed to Schools in Need

Yesterday, HSP was excited to send school supplies off to three schools with high populations of low-income students. Our volunteer, Bill Fehling, delivered a van load of supplies to Beaupre, Gates, and Oak Park Elementary Schools in Aurora. Each of these schools has over 90% of their student body coming from low-income families. The supplies we’ve sent to these schools will be distributed to these students, so that they have the supplies they need to succeed this school year.

HSP was able to make this difference for these children, thanks to everyone who supported our School Supply Drive this year. We will distribute supplies to additional schools in different parts of our service area in the coming weeks, so stayed tuned!

Help Save a Senior in Need!

HSP is currently running an endowment campaign to add a new senior to our Senior Citizen Project. This program provides healthy groceries every month to low-income seniors who cannot afford the groceries they need to live a healthy life. Our generous friends at Allured Business Media have agreed to match any donations to this program up to $7,500. If we are successful in raising this endowment, the senior will be added to our program in perpetuity. No further funding will ever be needed, and the senior will never have to worry where his or her next meal will come from. Please help us make this huge difference in the life of a low-income senior. You can donate to the campaign here: https://www.classy.org/campaign/senior-citizen-endowment-matching-campaign/c90272.

Thank You UUSG Do-Gooders Club

HSP would like to thank the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva’s (UUSG) “Do-Gooders Club” for volunteering yesterday morning. The group spent two hours in our warehouse sorting non-perishable food for the low-income senior citizens in our Senior Citizen Project. The Do-Gooders Club and the rest of the UUSG have been longtime friends of HSP, and participated in a number of service projects for the sake of the senior citizens, children, and families we serve. We wish to thank them for this support! 

Help HSP Strike Against Hunger

HSP is very excited to announce that we will be holding our second, annual Bowling Event this year on September 29^th! This event will be an evening of fun, food, a raffle, and, of course, bowling! This year the event is coinciding with Hunger Action Month. All of the funds raised by the event will be used to provide nutritious food for local, low-income seniors, children, and families suffering from food insecurity.

At the event we will be “Scotch Bowling,” a partner event where pairs take turns bowling. If you don’t have a partner who can attend, don’t worry, we can pair you up with a partner at the event. Please consider joining HSP for this fun event, to raise funds for our cause! You can purchase tickets for the event here: https://www.classy.org/wheaton/events/hsp-bowling-strike-against-hunger/e88398

When: Thursday September 29, 2016 from 6-9pm

Where: Fox Bowl in Wheaton: 1101 Butterfield Rd, Wheaton, IL 60189

Price: $25 per person; raffle tickets $5

Why: Have a great time with the HSP team, while fighting hunger.

Feel free to contact HSP with any questions: 630-221-8340 or hsp@humanitarianservice.org.

Goodbye to an Amazing Intern

Last week, HSP bid farewell to the final member of our summer intern team, Natalie Sherburne. Natalie spent the summer helping HSP with a myriad of projects to help HSP serve the low-income senior citizens, children, and families who rely on our programs. Natalie brought with her to HSP a heart ready to serve, dedicated professionalism, and gads of creativity. We wish to thank Natalie for all she did for HSP, and wish her well as she moves on to new exciting chapters in her education.

Thank You UPS!

Today, HSP sends a huge thank you to a group of volunteers from UPS Supply Chain Solutions in Carol Stream. This group volunteers with us every month to sort fresh produce and bread before our monthly Delivery Day. Because of their efforts, 133 seniors will receive nutritious food tomorrow through our Senior Citizen Program. HSP is so thankful for this group because without them, our program would not be possible!

Thank you to the Cruisin' Tigers GTO Club

HSP had a great time this past weekend at the Cruisin’ Tigers GTO Club “Indian Uprising Car Show”. HSP had the honor of being one of the chosen charities of the event. The club generously donated $2,500 raised from the event for the low-income children who rely on HSP’s programs for vital nutrition and other support. We wish to thank the Cruisin’ Tigers for inviting HSP to this wonderful event, and for their generous donation.

Please take a look at this article about HSP's current Senior Citizen Endowment Campaign: http://goo.gl/HpZ9IC! We are currently raising funds to add a new senior to our Senior Citizen Project, and our friends at Allured Business Media are generously matching donations. You can see more info on the campaign here: https://www.classy.org/…/senior-citizen-endowment-ma…/c90272.

Thank You to Divine Savior

HSP would like to thank our friends at Divine Savior Parish for a wonderful food donation for the seniors who rely on our Senior Citizen Project for vital nutrition. Every two months, the parishioners at Divine Savior collect food to be donated to HSP. This month what they collected filled an SUV.

HSP distributes over six tons of nutritious groceries to the 133 seniors enrolled in our Senior Citizen Project every month, so HSP wishes to thank Divine Savior for their continual assistance in helping to make this possible.

Help HSP Reach Another Senior in Need!

HSP is excited to announce that we are running a donation campaign to add a new senior into our Senior Citizen Project (SCP)! This campaign is being run thanks to the generosity of our friends at Allured Business Media, who will be matching donations up to $7,500 for this campaign. This is the fifth consecutive year that Allured has helped HSP by sponsoring a campaign. 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, no further funding will ever be necessary! The campaign will run from today, August 15^th, until October 14^th, 2016. The 133 seniors enrolled in SCP receive nutritious groceries on a monthly basis as well as other essential items they need. You can donate to the campaign online here: https://www.classy.org/campaign/senior-citizen-endowment-matching-campaign/c90272 or contact HSP for more info 630-221-8340.

More "Wishes of Wisdom"

This week, HSP is excited to have fulfilled two more “wishes of wisdom” for our seniors. The Wishes of Wisdom project, launched this summer, aims to enrich the lives of seniors in our Senior Citizen Project by providing them with gifts and experiences. Earlier this week, a senior was gifted a power lift chair to increase her mobility. Today, another senior will receive a table and chairs so that she will be able to enjoy meals with her grandchildren. HSP is thrilled to have the opportunity to grant the wishes of our seniors, and we can’t wait to see the impact this project will have in the future!

Visit HSP at the Car Show!

If you’re looking for a fun, local event to attend this weekend, look no further than the 26^th Annual Indian Uprising GTO Car Show sponsored by the Cruisin’ Tigers GTO Club. The club has chosen HSP as one of the charities that will receive a portion of the event’s revenue. A few of HSP’s team members will even be manning a booth, and we are excited to be a part of this wonderful tradition. The event will be held at Pheasant Run in St. Charles from 8:00-9:00 on Saturday and 8:00-3:00 on Sunday, so come visit us and enjoy the car show!

Thank You to Lions Clubs International

HSP would like to thank our friends at Lions Clubs International in Oak Brook for supporting our School Supply Drive. The office ran the drive for two weeks, and collected a great deal of amazing supplies for low-income children. Our volunteer Mike Reich went and picked up this donation yesterday.

While the local Back to School Fairs have ended, HSP will continue collecting supplies to be sent directly to local schools with high populations of low-income students once school begins. In this way, thanks to donors like Lions Clubs International, we will ensure many children throughout our area will have the supplies they need to succeed this coming school year.