$150 to bring Christmas and hope to children

Today's recipients of $150 through the Believe Project want to help a caregiver buy gifts for her children and to give hope to a child in foster care. Through the contribution of an additional donor, the Believe Project award has been increased to $150 since the recipients shared their stories.

• Lisa Struhart of Bloomingdale:

"I would like to give $100 to my sister, Heather. My sister is the mother of two small children. She left her job to take care of my mother 24 hours a day for 10 months. My mother had a very rare terminal cancer and she passed away Nov. 3. Heather has not been working, so she has no money to buy her two children Christmas gifts. The $100 would help her buy some gifts for her children."

• Rachel Curran of Mount Prospect:

"As a school social worker in Prospect Heights, I can think of several needy students and families in my district. One in particular is a fifth-grade boy currently in foster care who was recently informed yet again that there is a delay in him moving back home. He needs some hope this holiday season, and I would love to be able to give him just that."

• The Believe Project is awarding $150 daily in December to 48 people with good ideas for how to use the money to do a good deed for someone else.