Kids Who Care

By: Kristen Lindholm, Intern

While 5th grader Noah Paras was reading last month's e-newsletter, the request for paper products for our Senior Citizen Project caught his eye. Noah decided to enlist the help of his neighbors in Aurora and organized a paper drive, attaching letters to paper bags and leaving them on neighbors doorsteps. His efforts resulted in a whopping 250 rolls of toilet paper and 80 boxes of Kleenex!

Not to be out done by his brother's efforts to give back to those in need, Noah's brother, 9-year- old Jack, brought along three boxes full of building sets and Legos for the Children's Birthday Project. Jack asked his friends to bring unwrapped toys to his birthday party, which he passed on to HSP. What's more, this is the fifth year in a row that Jack has done this. His mother, Jen, said "Jack started giving his birthday toys to HSP at the age of four - he was pretty insightful for a four-year-old!" Jack's generosity will make birthdays more fun for many children in CBP.

The Paras family came by last Friday to drop off their donations. Even soon to be four-year-old Joey did his part to help, unloading the mini van and bringing the donations into the warehouse!
Mother, Jen Paras, said "they truly enjoy helping HSP. Noah even gave a presentation to his classmates about HSP." The enthusiasm that the Paras children have for giving to others is contagious! They are truly a great example for all.

Picture: Top to bottom - brothers Noah, Jack, and Joey help unload donation!

Time to Party!

By: Kristen Lindholm, Intern

It is safe to say that birthdays are a specialty here at HSP - the Children's Birthday Project has shown us how celebrating a birthday is done! But last Friday, February 12th, we celebrated one of our own here at HSP, Jan Thompson - Toy Room Supervisor herself! The pressure was on to throw a quick birthday party at lunch, even though her birthday fell on Valentine's Day! Jan does so much for the Children's Birthday Project that we wanted to celebrate her in style! Staff, interns, and volunteers gathered for lunch - complete with party hats, red velvet cake, balloons, and streamers! The love and care that Jan puts into the Children's Birthday Project changes the lives of children each month. Happy Birthday Jan, from all of us at HSP!

HSP Happenings!

By: Kristen Lindholm, intern

Hi all! Just thought it would be nice to update you with some recent happenings from 2010! So many great things happen each and every day, but I feel it is important to share some highlights!

To begin, HSP received a huge donation from Project Linus in January! Over 300 handmade, fleece blankets were donated to our program from the West Chicago/Wheaton/Winfield Chapter. The variety is just amazing! There are so many different colors and patterns to pick from! Boys and girls of all ages are sure to love these blankets!

Also, February 6th marked another successful Delivery Day for our Senior Citizen Project! The dedication of our volunteers continues to amaze us! HSP is happy to report an expanded branch of our Senior Citizen Project! We are now offering a Holiday Meal Program to our seniors year round. Our seniors can request that a holiday meal be delivered to their home by an HSP volunteer. For example, seniors will be visited by volunteers bringing purchased or homemade meals this Sunday for Valentine's day! We are so pleased that our seniors are so excited for this new addition. It's so encouraging that so many people want to reach out and spend some quality time with our seniors!

In addition, February brought the annual Service Learning Fair at College of DuPage. I was privileged to respresent HSP at the fair and loved the opportunity to share with students what it is we do here! The Service Learning Fair allows students who need to do Service Learning to hear about different organizations they can get join in order to fulfill those requirements. We have some students who joined HSP already!

Last, but certainly not least, here is a photo of Aniya and her new bike that we mentioned last week! An extremely generous sponsor donated a beautiful new bike, which is exactly what Aniya wished for! It was great to see her ride the bike around the snowy parking lot before she took it home! Happy Birthday Aniya!

Well, that just about wraps it up. More updates are soon to come!

Brand New Bike for Little Aniya

By Neethu Elengical


In our January 2010 newsletter, we had asked our patrons for a bike for a little girl. Aniya, who is turning 12 this February 22nd, lives with her grandmother. Her grandmother is her sole provider and caretaker. Aniya's greatest wish for her 12th birthday was to get a new bike and thanks to one of our patrons her wish has come true! At HSP, we are very grateful to help this little girl get her birthday wish and thankful to the generous patron who donated the bike.

In the photo: Nikki, Sarah, and Sheila; HSP staff

New Interns at HSP!!

By: Megan Sturomski, intern

HSP has gotten off to a great start in 2010!! Along with the everday hustle and bustle at HSP the office has welcomed six new interns to the HSP team.


Pictured here are four of HSP's newest interns! From left to right:

Glen Schneider, a student from the College of Dupage, is studying food service administration and hotel lodging service.

Sabina Gal, a student from the Adler School of Professional Psychology.

Kristen Lindholm, a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduated with a degree in communication arts.

Christopher Mills, a student from Northeastern University, is majoring in sociology and minoring in social work.


Megan Sturomski, who is also a new intern at HSP, is a senior at Lewis University and is studying social work and human services.

It's Time for Senior Updates!

By: Kristen Lindholm, intern

HSP is off to a roaring start for 2010! As we continue to tackle daily activities, we have started our annual Senior Updates! The updates are crucial because they allow us to learn more about our seniors and we can then share that information with our wonderful sponsors.

Our updates allow us to learn detailed information about our seniors, such as their health condition, any new specific needs they may have, and about any major changes that have happened since we last spoke. For example, many of the our seniors are diabetic and have specific dietary needs. This information allows us to make adjustments to our monthly deliveries - such as adding more fruit to their produce boxes.

By checking in with our seniors, we are able to learn of their needs and we are often able to help! Many of our seniors have poor eye sight. HSP has a great relationship with LensCrafters and we are able to refer many seniors to receive a new pair of glasses! In addition, one recent interview revealed that a senior has a new crack in her dentures and is only able to eat a soft food diet. This information is extremely valuable because HSP is now able to make adjustments to her monthly deliveries. It also allows us the opportunity to put her in touch with dental services that will solve the denture dilemma!

Our interns are having a blast tackling this project because they enjoy hearing stories from the seniors. One intern, Olivia, has been hard at work on this project in the last few weeks. "I usually talk to people my age, 21 year old. This has allowed me to talk to people who have been through so much, who have families and who have had so many experiences - I have spoken to many great-grandparents! I value the insight I am getting into where their lives have taken them, learning how they deal with their circumstances is enlightening and encouraging."

As the updates are completed, they are sent out to our sponsors so that they can continue to stay informed about their senior. The importance of this project can't be stressed enough - 2010 updates are turning out great!

January 9th D-DAY

By: Megan Sturomski, intern
On Saturday, January 9th many of HSP's volunteers braved the cold weather to ensure that the seniors of SCP received their monthly donation of food. The box included 16-19 assorted fresh fruits and fresh vegetables, 7 frozen meats, 5 bags of nonperishable goods, and paper products. Without the help of these volunteers SCP would not be able to run smoothly. We thank our volunteers for their participation in our last D-Day and for their continued commitment to the Senior Citizen Project.