Volunteer Donors Needed to Serve Local Senior Citizens
The Humanitarian Service Project (HSP) of DuPage County is seeking members of the community to participate as donors in their "Secret Pal" program for low-income seniors. There are currently 24 low-income seniors in need of a Secret Pal donor. Donors in this program will be matched up with a local senior citizen in need, to provide the senior small gifts each month. These gifts may be practical things, or something more entertaining, such as a puzzle or a book.
Donors typically spend between $5 and $25 on a gift for their Secret Pal each month. The gifts are delivered to the seniors along with 100 lbs. of nutritious groceries which they receive from HSP each month. The Secret Pal program not only provides seniors with items to make their lives easier, but the knowledge that they are loved and cared for. One senior told HSP, "I have been so grateful for all that [my secret pal] has done for me. Her generosity has been a blessing and her thoughtfulness has brought me to tears. She is such a special person."
The Secret Pal program is part of HSP's Senior Citizen Project which provides local seniors in need with groceries and products that meets their basic nutritional and personal needs. HSP provides monthly deliveries of groceries to 133 seniors that include: selections of seven fresh fruits and eight fresh vegetables, seven packages of frozen meat, six bags of non-perishable foods and two bags of paper products. In addition to their groceries, every three months the seniors receive a package of personal care and hygiene products.
Contact the Humanitarian Service Project: hsp@humanitarianservice.org.
HSP's website: www.humanitarianservice.org
HSP's blog: humanitarianserviceproject.blogspot.com.
About The Humanitarian Service Project:
HSP's mission is to alleviate the pain and suffering that poverty creates for seniors and children living in DuPage and Kane counties, Illinois. Last year during the Christmas Offering Project, 2,272 children received gifts and over 500 impoverished families received groceries. With the Senior Citizen Project, HSP provides monthly food deliveries and secret pal gifts to 133 low-income seniors. The Children's Birthday Project reaches the youngest underprivileged, making birthdays and Christmas truly memorable occasions for 925 children. Feed the Kids provides 100 low-income families with groceries and fresh produce during the summer months. HSP conducts an annual school supply drive that benefits over 3,000 children by giving supplies to the DuPage Back to School Fair, Kane County's "Project Backpack" and directly to schools with a high percentage of poverty.