Smooth Sailing for Delivery Day

With delivery day approaching, the end of the week couldn't be better at HSP thanks to our many wonderful volunteers. There has been a lot of focus on our seniors this week, but we would like to thank the volunteers from Redbox who wrapped gifts from the Children’s Birthday Project for about two and half hours yesterday.

            We also enjoyed the hard work of our regular volunteers in our CBP program. Kristin, Pat, Alice, Bill, Sue and Katie put together over 30 March birthday boxes and pulled gifts for the children in the project. Larry and Evelyn joined the team as well, bundling books for the children to enjoy on their special day.

            Today, we had another spectacular group of eight volunteers from UPS supply chain solutions that have been longtime supports of HSP. They helped us sort bread and produce that will be delivered tomorrow to all of our seniors enrolled in the Senior Citizen Project. All of the food was packaged with good care thanks to our diligent volunteers.

            Delivery day is almost here! Tomorrow we will provide more than six tons of groceries to needy seniors within Dupage and Kane County. Once again, this would not be possible without the assistance of our thoughtful volunteers who help make that a reality.

            All of us at HSP genuinely appreciate your help. Thank you again!

Love and Service Through Lotion and Shampoo

The contents of each Personal Care Kit 

Not only do the 123 seniors served by the Senior Citizen Project struggle to purchase healthy and nutritious groceries for themselves, but they also cannot afford other necessities like toiletries. Once every three months, each senior’s delivery also includes a Personal Care Kit. On Tuesday, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva generously donated 123 Personal Care Kits for each and every one of the seniors we serve. The church compiled each kit, which contains: soap, shampoo, conditioner, lip balm, toothbrush and toothpaste, hand sanitizer, floss, lotion and body wash. As a bonus, they also included fun items that typically do not come in the kits, like candy, activity books, and a fleece blanket. The Unitarian Universalist Society has been doing this project every winter since 2009.  We are sure that the seniors will enjoy the warmth and care that has been put into each of the kits. Thank you, Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, for your faithful service to the Senior Citizen Project!.

123 Kits for 123 seniors 

If you belong a group that would like to donate to the Humanitarian Service Project, you can email us at hsp@humanitarianservice.org or call us at 630-221-8340 to find out about any needs that we might have.

Waubonsie Valley High School Paper Drive a Huge Success

Yesterday, Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora gave the Humanitarian Service Project two-cargo van full of paper products for our Senior Citizen Project. This very generous donation was the result of a school wide drive that was sponsored by the Student Council. The students and staff at the school collected an amazing amount of paper towels, tissues, and toilet paper for the needy seniors we serve. Two of our volunteers, Dean Senne and Larry Erven, picked up these products, and drove fully packed vans back to the Humanitarian Service project. They couldn’t believe the size of the mound of paper products WVHS collected, and it took the help of several Student Council members to get it all to fit in HSP’s two vans.

            This is the third year in a row WVHS has run a successful paper drive for our seniors, and HSP is grateful for their support. We greatly appreciate all the students and volunteers who helped make the paper drive a huge success. If you are interested in donating or volunteering for Humanitarian Service Project, call us at 630-221-8340, or visit our website at http://humanitarianservice.org. 

Boy Scout Brings Joy to 51 Kids on their Birthdays

Connor, center, with fellow scouts and the party bags he contributed

Becoming an Eagle Scout, which is the highest ranking a Boy Scout can receive, is no easy accomplishment. Among other troop-related activities, an aspiring Eagle Scout must also do service for his community. Connor McNamara, of Troop 926 at Immaculate Conception Parish in Chicago, chose to serve the needy children that are a part of the Children's Birthday Project for his Eagle Scout requirements. Connor collected and compiled a whopping 51 "Party in a Bag" kits, which will be distributed to children for their birthdays. He accomplished this massive undertaking with the assistance of fellow scouts, his community, and his mother. Connor wanted to serve the under-privileged through his Eagle Scout project, to uphold part of the Boy Scout oath: "To help other people at all times."

Some of the typical contents of a party in a bag

The Children's Birthday Project serves 935 needy children whose families cannot afford to throw them a birthday party. Each "Party in a Bag" contains birthday cake mix, frosting, candles, streamers, balloons, and plates, cups, and napkins--all the essentials for throwing a fantastic birthday party! Thanks to the support of Connor and his family and friends, 51 children will be able to celebrate their birthdays with a fun party that they could not otherwise have. We wish to thank Connor for his contributions and wish him luck on becoming an Eagle Scout!

If you are interested in supporting the Children's Birthday Project, like Connor, or learning more about our other programs for the under-privileged in DuPage and Kane counties, please visit our website at http://www.humanitarianservice.org, or contact us at hsp@humanitarianservice.org.

Happy Birthday, Jan!

All of us at HSP would like to send a little love to Jan Thompson, in celebration of her birthday. Jan works part-time as our toy room supervisor, guiding volunteers and keeping the large book and toy area neat and organized. She devotes so much energy to making children’s birthdays special and we hoped to share some of that joy with her today. With all of her hard work here at HSP, this birthday definitely had to be a special one.

Everyone gathered for lunch in our café, which was festively decorated for Valentine’s Day. Our Administrative Assistant, Bridget Dooley, once again graced us with one of her fabulous cakes. The cake was pink and heart-shaped with a rainbow interior. It was super colorful and delicious! Please join us in wishing Jan a very happy birthday.

“Race Against Hunger” Brings in 8 Carts of Food for HSP

Luanne and Ryan prepare to race!

Last week on the blog, we introduced the DuPage County Farm Bureau’s annual “Race Against Hunger” event in conjunction with National Food Check-Out Week. Today, HSP was grateful to be one of the beneficiaries of the race through the aisles of the Carol Stream Jewel-Osco supermarket. In this ten-minute race, participants aim to grab as many items containing wheat, corn, or soybeans as they can within the time period. Luanne Triolo-Newman, Executive Director of the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce, once again chose HSP to benefit from her participation in the race. This year, Luanne raced against Ryan McPherrin, the Community Relations coordinator at Community School District 93, representing the Neighborhood Food Pantry at the Lutheran Church of the Master in Carol Stream. Luanne collected 397 items in eight shopping carts for HSP! She was able to grab a lot of much-needed items like peanut butter and jelly, pasta, cereal, and more. The groceries will be used for HSP’s Senior Citizen Project and Feed the Kids Project.

            By holding this event during National Food Check-Out Week, the Farm Bureau hopes to increase public awareness of local hunger needs and promote support of local food pantries. The groceries highlight crops grown by Illinois farmers. All the groceries gathered in the event have been donated to both HSP and the Neighborhood Food at the Lutheran Church of the Master Pantry by the Farm Bureau. We are excited to receive the many groceries that we will be able to use to benefit needy seniors and families in DuPage and Kane counties. Thanks, Luanne and the DuPage County Farm Bureau, for your continued support of the Humanitarian Service Project!

Attention: Fantastic Fundraiser Announcement

Humanitarian Service Project would like to take this opportunity to let all of our supporters know about an upcoming charity event that is sure to be a fun way to give back. Our friends from the Naperville Junior Woman’s Club are hosting a Mardi Gras Fundraiser to benefit the needy children and seniors in HSP’s programs. The event will be held on March 1^st from 7-10pm at Aurelios Pizza at 1975 Springbrook Square Drive in Naperville. The event will feature such fun as a raffle, celebrity bartenders (including our favorite celebrity HSP Executive Director Maxwell,) and a performance by local group The Acoustiholics. You can purchase tickets for $25 at: https://www.tix4cause.com/donations/tickets/2441/  or for $30 at the door. Tickets include admission, 1 free drink, pizza, a raffle ticket, and, of course, beads.

This March event is sure to thaw us out of our February deep freeze. This Mardi Gras Extravaganza is the latest in a number of ways the Naperville Junior Woman’s Club has generously helped us serve the needy seniors and families in our programs. We wish to thank them for hosting this event, and we hope many of our supporters will be able to attend.