Christmas Spirit

What would you do to save the life of a child? Climb a mountain, you say; cross a river; rush into the burning building…

But how about making a simple phone call and buying a toy?

Yes, a simple toy could make all the difference. Do you remember your first Christmas? Waiting and waiting to open up those gifts in the morning; joy overwhelming you while you’re unwrapping that box. Dreams coming true, the feeling of being a kid with all possibilities in front of you wide open rushing in. Ah, the precious memories that even to this day make warm feelings flow through your body. (And what a perfect time for warm feelings it is, considering how quickly the cold winter has settled in!)

Life is full of memories, you know, – happy and sad, heroic and scary, loving and hateful. Helping give a poor child happy memories saves that child’s life. It encourages that child to grow up strong, to dream big, and to remember that everything is possible – just like getting a simple toy on a cold winter day when all the middle-class kids got theirs.

At the Humanitarian Service Project, we and our friends and people just like you who want to share joy and bring Christmas spirit forth – are all committed to making a difference.

We are a phone call away: 630-221-8340. Don’t hesitate, and call us. Save the life of a child living in poverty by giving that child a simple, pure, happy memory.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

by Sheila Noblitt, HSP staff

Last night when the staff and volunteers left the Humanitarian Service Project center, we hoped we had helped as many last minute families in need as possible. After putting out the message to social service agencies, township offices, a local homeless shelter, and a community crisis center, families called us, and we were able to put together packages of new Christmas gifts for their children.

Earlier in the day, Rita picked up gifts for six families staying at the shelter. Other families with transportation fought nasty winter weather to make it to us in time. One mom said, “I hope I can make it. My car’s tires are bald and I’m afraid to drive.” She did make it in time. We witnessed many moms fighting back tears while others just let them flow. Another mom said, “When a neighbor realized we didn’t have anything, he brought over a tree. Now we have gifts to put under it.” We heard our share of sad stories like the mom who fled domestic abuse and was left with nothing for her children.

However, despite their individual situations, the families we saw shared one thing and that was thankful hearts—that someone could help them in their hour of need. Their children would at least have gifts to open on Christmas when other more fortunate children were opening presents. They would have a Christmas after all. They knew someone cared.

We don’t expect families to express gratitude—can you imagine how hard it must be to have to ask for help—but when it comes our way, we feel proud to share it—like this voice message we found on our phone when we returned to work last Monday after Saturday’s food and gift Christmas Offering distribution:

“This is Dana. We just picked up. You guys are amazing! It was above and beyond. You guys are enough to make a mother cry. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for the generosity. Thank you for listening to what the kids wanted. Thank you for being so efficient. Thank you for the people loading our car. Our Christmas is way different because of you.”

This last week we helped more than 200 additional families from our waiting list over and above those already in our programs. We were too tired to tally the exact number, but we figure well over 1,000 children have something to look forward to this Christmas.

We are thankful for the outpouring of support from the community for HSP’s mission to help needy seniors and children. Thankful for all of those who donated new toys and gifts, for those who sponsored families and made financial contributions, for those who delivered gifts and meals to our seniors, for those who came into the center to volunteer, for our drivers who drove all over Chicagoland picking up donations, for the good will we are so fortunate to witness. All of us at HSP are proud to continue the tradition of the Christmas Offering which Karole and Floyd Kettering started 31 Christmases ago.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

A Crafty Christmas Idea

by Sheila Noblitt, HSP Staff

Aurora crafter Stephanie found a creative way to help HSP. She's donating one craft item for our new Arts & Crafts Kits for each Etsy sale she made through last Saturday, a total of 48 items. Her shop QuintessentialQuirks specializes in poptop mini-pin cushions among other cute items. Stephanie and her husband Brian are also planning to donate their time during our upcoming Boxing Party next Sunday.

I marveled at last year's Boxing Party, my first, as a small army of volunteers tackled a mini-mountain of presents, carrying huge bags of toys into the warehouse. Much like a symphony conductor, our Founder and Executive Director Karole took the stage to orchestrate the production. With 30 years under her belt, Karole and company pretty much have this day down to a science much like Santa and his Elves must.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Humanitarian Service Project.

How to Help: Host a Toy Drive

by Karleen Hubbard
HSP Intern

This Christmas season, we hope to give the children of low-income families the opportunity to experience the joy of waking up to presents under the tree on Christmas morning. HSP's goal this holiday season is to serve over 800 children in the area, each of whom will receive at least three Christmas gifts.

There are several ways in which our volunteers can make this happen for the needy children we serve. The first is the Giving Tree, a way to fulfill the wish lists of the children in our program. When sponsoring a Giving Tree child, you will be given a name and age and asked to fulfill at least one gift on the list. After wrapping your gifts, you may bring them to HSP, where we will give them to the child.


Toy drives are another helpful way to give these children a happy holiday, and a great fit for larger groups. Toys can be collected for ages 3-15, with our age group of 8-15 (we help brothers and sisters up to 15 at Christmas) being our biggest need. You may narrow your collection by choosing a specific age group or gender. The collected toys may be dropped off at our site in Carol Stream, where they will be sorted by our volunteers to fit a specific age, gender, or fulfill a wish list item.

Any additional toys we receive can be put away and used in future months for the Children's Birthday Project, which gives a needy child a 25 pound package of gifts each year on their birthday.

So don't be shy in collecting!

For more detailed information, or to let us know you would like to participate, feel free to contact us.

Karleen & the HSP Staff