Schaumburg employees support needy families for holidays

Seven of the departments that make up Schaumburg's village government are each sponsoring a different family in need this holiday season to fulfill their wish lists for items such as clothes, cribs, blankets, toys and books.

"We've been doing this a good 15 years," said DuRee Bryant, the village's supervisor of human services. "It may be longer than that."

Thanks to the different departments' donations, eight adults and 15 children will enjoy brighter holidays this month.

Each year, families from Schaumburg are nominated by the village's Family Counseling Center and police department social workers. This year, one family was identified by the village's nursing division.

Even after the nominations, though, the village checks in with each family the be sure their help would be welcome. The families are kept anonymous, with members being identified only by their first names, ages and genders.

Larger families are assigned to larger employee groups, but they pick up their donations anonymously, Bryant said.

The program truly demonstrates the selflessness of village employees, she added, because they've never received any recognition for their generosity - not even the ability to see the looks on the families' faces when they receive the donations.

The only department that doesn't participate is the police department, which conducts its own chili cook-off fundraiser to support local families in need, Bryant said.