‘An inspirational story’: Beds for Kids founder steps down after 30 years
Ancient Egyptians are generally credited with creating the first known beds around 8,000 B.C., essentially taking what was used for a mattress and elevating it. Centuries later, Romans made them more extravagant and comfortable.
Yet, in modern times, a bed is not a guaranteed fixture in a home, especially for children. For some, it means having to do without what most people consider an accepted necessity and part of growing up.
Such a notion caught the attention of Daniel Sergi, a Batavia resident at that time, when he overheard a co-worker talking in 1994 about a child without a bed.
Thousands of children can be grateful that Sergi, who operated the Wine Sergi Insurance office in St. Charles, would not let such a conversation slip by without action.
It turned into a passion for Sergi and his creation of the Beds for Kids Fund — and more than 30 years of purchasing beds or cribs for more than 3,600 children in the Fox Valley area. The fund has resulted in about 120 beds each year, with 95% of them going to Fox Valley families.
The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley staff is reflecting on this generous donation of time and money because Sergi, who retired 10 years ago and moved to Wisconsin with his wife Barbara, recently made the difficult decision to close the fund, ending the Beds for Kids program.
His main hope now is that someone else may hear about the fund and pick up where he left off in working with the Community Foundation, which administered the Beds for Kids process.
“It became a little too much for me to continue on, as it was a bit more time consuming than I wanted,” the 71-year-old Sergi said. “But I am definitely hoping for someone else to carry the torch from here.”
The Community Foundation does most of the heavy lifting for the Beds for Kids process in terms of finding and working with nonprofit organizations that cite the need for beds in their service areas.
The funding, which comes solely through Sergi, with limited donations, goes to the recommended organizations. Money never went directly to a family, and Sergi never knew the names of those benefiting from his kindness.
“I was respecting their privacy,” Sergi said. “For a lot of people, it is hard to ask for help when they have kids without beds, sleeping on floors or pallets. I didn’t see a need for me to know who they were.”
However, the Community Foundation worked with Sergi to develop a form to obtain feedback from families.
The anonymous responses on the form allowed Sergi to read about the gratitude of recipients and possibly see a photo of the beds or happy children standing next to their first bed. Such feedback was uplifting for Sergi.
There was a bit of a challenge as the program grew, Sergi noted.
The increase in scams these days carried over to the beds program, which meant there was more time involved in vetting requests.
“The website said it was for the Fox Valley, but we’d get requests from all over the country,” Sergi said. In an example of an apparent scam, one note requested 1,000 beds with the assurance that the recipient could pick them up in a truck.
Legitimate requests go through the not-for-profits, which obtain the beds, deliver and set them up for the families. “In that way, we knew the money for beds or cribs was being spent on beds or cribs,” Sergi noted.
Sergi came to Batavia in 1978, after about five years in the insurance business in Houston, Texas. He bought into an insurance company, got a partner and opened Wine Sergi Insurance with eight employees and expanded it quickly.
Beds for Kids was self-funded, Sergi explained, making it important “to be careful about where the money was going.”
In that regard, he has been thankful for the help of the Community Foundation, which has nearly 700 funds it oversees and helps administer.
“Some might wonder why we wanted to give Daniel recognition at this time with the fund being closed, but we would be doing a disservice to the community and Sergi family if we didn’t do this,” said Cathy Schwieger, vice president of marketing and communications for the Community Foundation.
“The purpose is bigger, because it’s an inspirational story of giving and caring for the community and a call to action,” she added. “It’s an example of somebody who heard something and decided to take action, as a way to get involved in philanthropy.”
Often, people think that one person can’t make a difference, Schwieger added. “But you look at the impact of this one family saying we are going to do something, and our life is something bigger than just us. It inspires others to discover their own passion.”
It’s all very much at the core of what Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley does, starting with talking to people about their passions, and then determining what type of fund or cause they could focus on.
“We can take the administrative burden off your plate,” Schwieger explained, encouraging people to learn more about the foundation through its website at cffrv.org. “We take care of that for you so you know you are making an impact and leaving a legacy.”
Leaving a legacy is like hearing about a child without a bed and turning that into thousands of children in needy Fox Valley families eventually getting what has been part of most lives since ancient times.
And it’s best to hear it from a parent whose child received a bed through kindness and compassion and filled out a feedback form:
“Words can't express how you have made my boys feel. They are so grateful for the bed. It is truly a blessing to know that some people still care. Thank you.”
Pajamas and pet adoption
It’s not too late to remind folks interested in adopting a pet that the Anderson Humane Animal shelter in South Elgin is hosting a Paw-jama Party adoption event from 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, June 27.
No appointments are required for this event, so you can just stop in during the evening and, as the shelter notes in a news release, “We’re staying up late so you can meet your perfect match.”
Anderson Humane is at 1000 S. LaFox St. in South Elgin.
At this event, there are no adoption fees for adult dogs 9 months and older, and 25% off those fees for puppies and kittens. Treats and games are part of the night as well.
Ladies building strength
It’s a retail spot that had been empty since a mattress company left more than five years ago, making one wonder if anything would ever replace it.
But based on a “Coming Soon” sign on the building, it appears something has found a good fit — for women and fitness.
LadyStrong Fitness, first opened in Schaumburg in 2015, is expanding to a Geneva location at the 1575A S. Randall Road site.
The fitness facility offers strength training, nutrition education, semi private 60-minute classes and other services for women. It will be next to the National Tire and Battery service station.
An appealing band
After watching so many good bands play during the Swedish Days festival since the late 1970s, I have to say one last weekend may qualify as an all-time favorite.
If a band was to perform my Apple Music playlist, The Gregory Hyde Band did just that. This alternative rock band, with a mix of classic rock and country rock, hit all of the right buttons.
It didn’t hurt, of course, that Hyde is a tremendous vocalist and guitarist. He’s earned plenty of accolades in the Chicago area, whether in doing solo shows or performing with his full band.
His solo schedule usually includes a few performances at local restaurants and bars, but his band can also crank out the blues in the right setting.
Did you know?
The St. Charles History Museum holds most of the city’s key historical artifacts, photos and documents, but it carries a history of its own well beyond the current building at 215 E. Main St.
Col. Edward Baker decided in 1933 that the community needed a place to display its early settlement photographs and Native American artifacts.
A fire at the museum’s first location, in the former Colson’s building on Main Street, destroyed most everything being stored or displayed.
By 1940, Baker reopened a museum in a space in his newly designed Municipal Center along the Fox River.
For the next 46 years, the St. Charles History Museum was essentially a large room at the municipal center. And it struggled financially most of the time.
The St. Charles Historical Society approached a new resident, Barb Martin, to become its director in the early 1980s. She revived the museum with good ideas and a more organized approach in storing and displaying documents and artifacts.
It set the stage for the museum to eventually relocate to the larger setting in the former McCornack Oil and Texaco Oil gas station building on East Main Street.
dheun@sbcglobal.net