Local Students Lead Volunteer Efforts to Benefit Palatine Township Residents
Palatine Township has recently benefitted from local students donating their time and talents to the community through garnering donations for the township food pantry, assisting seniors and the disabled with home maintenance and improvement projects, and through volunteering for outreach programs offered by the township.
Below, efforts by the Youth Hunger Opposition in Palatine, the Catholic Heath Workcamp and volunteers working to qualify for Harper's Promise are featured.
Youth Hunger Opposition in Palatine (YHOP):
Youth Hunger Opposition in Palatine (YHOP) is collecting food from the community for the Palatine Township Food Pantry now through the end of September. This group is comprised of teenagers from Fremd and Palatine high schools, and led this year by teen Director Jamie Henning. YHOP has been supporting the Palatine Township Food Pantry for the last 10 years, by hosting fundraisers, reaching out for donations from local businesses and appealing to private donors for needed supplies. The group was founded by Kellie Kinsella, a former Fremd High School senior in 2007. After Kinsella learned about the pantry's summer food shortages, she teamed up with her father Kevin, and built the group into what is now a yearly supporter of the food pantry.
Meadows Credit Union recently partnered with YHOP to help stock the shelves of the food pantry. Food and monetary donations can be dropped off at Meadows Credit Union, 2401 Plum Grove Road, Rolling Meadows, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. until Sept. 30, 2017. Needed items include bottled water, juice, coffee, tea, canned fruit, cereal, condiments, crackers, granola bars, jelly, oatmeal, pasta sauce, peanut butter, tuna, laundry detergent, liquid dish soap, shampoo, toothpaste, baby wipes and diapers.
Visit yhop.org, the YHOP Facebook page at facebook.com/YHOP.Fund or the Meadows Credit Union's website at muconline.org for more information.
Catholic Heart Workcamp: Catholic Heart Workcamp (CHWC), a Catholic faith-based ministry that aids those in need with tasks such as painting, yard work, indoor and outdoor cleanup, and additional projects, gathered at Holy Family Catholic Church in Inverness in July, and included 200 volunteers. These individuals were divided into smaller groups as they aided seniors and disabled individuals living in Palatine Township with cleaning, painting and assisted in building wheelchair ramps at local residences. CHWC provided all of the needed tools and labor for the projects. Volunteers also visited the homeless and elderly in Palatine Township. Established in 1993, CHWC sponsored 50 service camps this summer in different cities across the United States, and abroad. For more information, visit heartworkcamp.com.
Harper Promise: Palatine Township provides opportunities for local high school students who need volunteer service hours to qualify for the Harper Promise Scholarship, an opportunity to earn tuition-free education at Harper College for participants who meet certain requirements. Many of these students volunteer in the Township Food Pantry or help to inventory and sort school supplies for the Apple Tree Program. Palatine Township has made volunteer opportunities available to student advisers at Fremd, Palatine and Rolling Meadows high schools. Students are required to contact the Harper Promise Coordinator for additional details and specifics required by Harper College. Freshman are required to provide five volunteer hours, sophomores need to volunteer 10 hours, and juniors must work 15 hours to qualify for the program. For more information about Harper Promise, visit goforward.harpercollege.edu/about/promise/policies.php.
If you know of any student who wants to learn more about volunteer opportunities in the community, please contact the Palatine Township at (847) 358-6700.