Sponsor A Child!

Sponsor A Child!

When you think of a child’s birthday celebration, what do you think of? Do you think of party hats, cake, balloons, games, presents, and laughter? So do we! We want to make sure every child enrolled in the Children’s Birthday Project (CBP) has the kind of fun and lighthearted day that we all envision!

Our commitment to helping 700 needy children, ages 3-12, in DuPage and Kane counties wouldn’t be possible without our wonderful and generous sponsors who have the same birthday wishes for those children. Did you know that it only costs $54 a year to sponsor a child and to ensure that he or she has a great birthday? By being enrolled in the CBP, that child will also be eligible for our Feed the Kids Project in the summer as well as The Christmas Offering, through which children receive Christmas gifts and food for the family!

Each Birthday Box is valued between $220 and $260 and contains the following wrapped gifts with ribbon:

• 6-15 New Toys
• 1 New Game
• 4 New Books
• Party Supplies
• Stuffed Animal or Action Figure
• School Supplies
• Filler Gifts

Our CBP Coordinator, Megan Birkey, came up with a great sponsorship idea over the Christmas holiday. While trying to find gifts for a few of the hard-to-shop-for people on her list she thought of the CBP and what a neat present it would be to give the gift of sponsorship! If you’re ever struggling for a gift idea for someone, whether for birthday, Christmas, or another occasion, why not sponsor a child in that person’s name?! How wonderful to share the gift of a child’s birthday. Great idea, Megan!

We are currently looking for sponsors, so if you are able to help a child or children, please let us know. We would love to hear from you!

Dick Adamo

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over we really want to take some time to let you know about some of our great volunteers and how much they do for us. Today we thought we’d tell you about Richard (Dick) Adamo.

Dick has been volunteering for us since the summer of 2005, after he retired. You might find him behind a desk fixing something on one of the computers, picking up food for us and delivering it to the warehouse for distribution, and on occasion he has filled in for the food delivery. Dick really is a Jack of all trades.

Before retirement, Dick had been working at Fermilab for 24 years as a Computer Professional. Previous to that he had done field service engineering and had retired from the Air Force after 4 years of Active Duty and 16 years in the Reserves. What an amazing guy!

Dick wanted to stay busy after he retired, and he had heard about HSP through a friend, Maureen Brennan, the Religious Education Coordinator at Saint John the Baptist Parish in Winfield. The Parish does a lot for HSP and Dick decided that he would too. He started out giving his desktop support talents to us, which he still does, but soon after he started helping out with whatever was needed. When asked what he likes most about volunteering, Dick said he likes “the feeling of community and how the spirit of helping rubs off” from volunteer to volunteer. He especially likes that HSP is a year-round program and feels that volunteering for HSP is a “worthy endeavor.”

We’re so glad Dick feels that way about us. We think he’s pretty great, too. For all you do for us and the families we serve, we say thank you, Dick!!!

Car For Sale!

Have you seen the holiday commercials where someone wakes up on Christmas morning to find a new car in the driveway? Well here at HSP we have gratefully found ourselves in a similar situation! A generous donor has given us a 2002 Saturn SL2 so that we may sell it and use the profit to help fund our organization.

Maybe you or someone you know has been thinking about purchasing a used car. Maybe you know a teenager with a new license who is looking for a first car. If so, please let them know about our Saturn!

Here are the details:
2002 Saturn SL2 - $3,495.00
4 Door Sedan
4 Cylinders
16 Valve Engine
120,000 Miles
Automatic Transmission
Air Conditioning
Power Steering
Dual Airbags
Bucket Seats
Newer Battery
Clean Exterior and Interior
Runs Nicely

A Trip to the Roselle Public Library!

Thanks to two of our regular and wonderful volunteers, we now have a display case up in the Roselle Public Library. The display case will be up for the month of January and is intended to bring awareness to the Humanitarian Service Project and what we do.

Larry and Evelyn Erven primarily run our library of books for the Children’s Birthday Project, but they are always lending a hand wherever needed. When we asked them to head to the library to create the display case they were happy to go. When they weren’t completely satisfied with how it looked they came back for more supplies to “spruce it up.” They always put their all into every task they take on, and for that we thank them!

If you want to check out their work, and see what it is that we want the community to know about us, take a trip to the Roselle Public Library to see Larry and Evelyn’s fantastic display!

(Pictured to the right are Evelyn and Larry as they head out for their second trip to the Roselle Library to finish up the display case).

Help From a Former Intern

Yesterday we were visited by a former intern, Glenn Schneider. Some of you might remember him since he interned with us just last winter. Glenn is currently an employee at Target in Villa Park, and when Target needed to find somewhere to send its surplus of holiday dollar deals, Glenn thought of us!

He came with a car full of Target dollar deals to donate. Our Children’s Birthday Project Coordinator, Megan Birkey, was especially excited to see Glenn because of all the great fillers he brought: slap bracelets, pencils, fun dough, Disney stickers, Slinky Jr. toys, water bottles, and reusable bags for kids. We also received items, such as flavored coffee samplers and calendars, which will make a special treat for our seniors.

We’re glad to know that Glenn still thinks of us and we appreciate having him in our network of friends. Thanks, Glenn and Target!

In Need of Computer Monitors

Computers are a central part of so many of our lives. A lot of us would feel lost without our computers. We rely on them for so much. We send e-mails, write letters or reports, create spreadsheets, check the weather, read the news, and of course, read Blogs.

For a lot of us having a computer is almost a necessity, but computers are expensive and not everyone can afford one.

Luckily for some of our seniors who have requested computers, we received a donation of several towers, each with a keyboard and mouse.

Now all we need is a few monitors and power strips and we can send our resident expert out to deliver and set up the computers for those lucky seniors!

If you happen to have (or know someone who has) an extra monitor or power strip lying around, please let us know and help put a smile on one of our senior’s faces. For some of our seniors, a computer could be a welcome window to the world around them!

After Christmas Sales!

Who doesn’t like a good sale? Now that the holidays are over, a lot of stores are having amazing sales on toys and other items that they have too much of. Some toys at Target are currently half price, and most other stores are having similar sales. If you’ve been thinking about donating something, this might be a great time to head out and get the most for your money!

The Children’s Birthday Project is always in need of new toys for older children (ages 8-12), no matter the time of year. Not sure what to get? The best way to decide is to think about kids you know and the kinds of things they would like to receive. Additionally, we have supplied some ideas below.

Here are some ideas for boys:
Craft Items
• Model Kits (Car/Plane/Animal)
• How-to-Draw Kits
Sports Items
• Footballs (Jr. Size)
• Basketballs (Size 28.5)
• Soccer balls (Size 4)
• Frisbees
Toys and Games
• Lego’s
• Board Games
• Handheld Electronic Games

And here are some ideas for girls:
Craft Items
• Bead or Jewelry Kits
• How-to-Draw Kits
• Design Kits
Beauty Items
• Bath or Shower Gel
• Lotion
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Bath Glove
Miscellaneous
• Journal
• Photo Album
• Picture Frame
• Camera
• Purse