Donations have been delivered!

This year we raised a total of $2,468.36 for our charities. Thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets, participated in the bake sale and brought items in for the charities!!

On Tuesday December 16th, Santa's elves (Christa, Crystal, Christian and Julia) delivered the donations to Hesed House. The snow was just starting but we all made it there in one piece and began our tour. We were able to donate $1,249.18 in cash and a box full of miscellaneous food and personal items along with 2 shopping bags of clothes. The thing that struck us all the most was when we were in the food pantry. The pantry was about 1/2 full - last year it was completely full. We were told it is because of the poor economy and also a bigger need for food this year. It really is quite sad that some people are unable to get one of their basic needs met - food. We went into the cafeteria area where residents are fed warm meals. There are a couple television sets and many tables and chairs. Some people were napping with their heads resting on the tables. Some were eating. Some were playing cards, reading or visiting. And some were just sitting there staring. I was curious to know what was going through their minds. When we got into the transitional living area, there were families watching television and visiting and children playing. The transitional living area is where families live for a certain period and try to get back on their feet. Hesed House then finds them an apartment to live in. In transitional living, the only time a man can sleep in the same room as a woman and kids is if they are married. If they are not married, they have to sleep in separate areas. Each door has the name of the people who live in the rooms - there were quite a bit more 2 parent families this year than there were last year. As we were walking through the other areas of Hesed House, it was interesting to see the lockers. On the lockers, they have name tags with the guests picture and the date of when they came to Hesed. I was surprised (I guess I am naive) to see that there were so many that have been coming there for so many years.

Due to the inclement weather, we had to cancel our visit to Hope Haven on the 16th. Crystal was able to go there on her own on the 17th. We were able to donate $1,219.18 plus a box of miscellaneous food and personal items and a big box of diapers. Here is what Crystal had to say about her visit:

Yesterday I dropped off the donations to Hope Haven. Betsy (the Emergency Shelter Coordinator) was in tears over the printer that was donated. The children have recently been given the opportunity to do their homework online through a donation from a cable company. However they had no resources in house to print the homework on.

Betsy was able to give me a tour of their facility. It was set up much like Hesed House in how the areas were split (emergency, women & children, men & children, and transitional). The emergency area was shared with the dining area, after dinner the tables were folded up and set in the corner and cots are taken out of the closet and set out for the people in need. The cots kind of remind me of the kind that we had in Kindergarten, they stand up higher than the ground and are made of mesh material. They have separate rooms for the families, like Hesed where they are divided by gender. The children, however, have the choice (if they are old enough) to sleep with which ever parent they choose. These rooms were probably no bigger than at Hesed, however they had bunk beds with actual mattresses. Also Betsey was saying that they have been hoping for baskets to go underneath of the bunk beds for their storage space. They don’t have lockers or anywhere else that they keep their personal possessions. At any given time there is anywhere from 15-60 people in these rooms. They also lay cots out here as well. Last year in February she told me that they had over 60 cots on top of their rooms full, but that was the most people she had ever seen.

The kitchen was set up a lot different. The residents are to prepare their own breakfast. She says a lot of the time families will prepare for the whole emergency side themselves. They receive a sack lunch. Residents are required to be out actively looking for a job during the day (except the elderly or sick). Dinner is prepared hot from 6:00pm - 8:00pm.

The transitional living is set up much like Hesed House each family has chores throughout the week (these chores rotate weekly), they all share the same restroom with a shower, and the same dining room and living room. They were blessed with donations a few years ago of tables so that all 12 families have their own dining tables. They were small, but they were more private. Each of these families had their own room and while I was there they were having a competition as to who decorated their room doors the most unique. So the hallway was most decorative. They require that once a person in transitional living receives income, 30% of that income go towards room and board. Hope Haven has a connection with some housing facilities in DeKalb where they can help a family in transitional living find affordable housing.

I asked about the failure rate in the transitional living, Christa had mentioned at Hesed that there is an 80-85% success rate, and Betsy informed me that she didn’t have a definite number, however she has only seen 1 maybe 2 people come back. However, there are people who try to leave too early and about 90% of those people do come right back.

Betsy was very grateful for our donations.

After our visits, it truly makes you feel blessed and lucky for what you have. We all complain when we have to go to work in the snow and bad weather - be thankful you have a job to go to. Be thankful for what you have - nothing is guaranteed and could be gone in a flash.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2008 Holiday Charities successful!

Raffle winners

Congratulations to the following winners:

MT paid day off: Crystal Brown
MG paid day off: Heather Davis
Sorrento's: Sarah Nickence & Nina Herrmann
Al's Cafe & Creamery: Rob Knapp & Bruce Zierk
Smitty's On The Corner: Sally Jones & Nikki Kaulich
Holiday containers: Bob Cenar (he won 4!!) & Roberta Hoxie
$237 cash pot: Kevin Donnelly

Tomorrow Julia, Crystal and Christa will deliver the donated items and the money raised for the charities. We are certain that they will be very happy with what we have to give them.

Thank you again to everyone who supported the 2008 Holiday Charities!

Raffle

You are now able to purchase raffle tickets. You may purchase your tickets from Julia Kelly in St. Charles or Crystal Brown in Virgil. Ticket prices are:

$1.00 each
OR
6 for $5.00

The containers to put your tickets in are located in the lunchrooms of the main STC office and the main MT office.
The raffle prizes are:

Paid day off Midwest Groundcovers - only MG employees are eligible
Paid day off Midwest Trading - only MT employees are eligible
Cash
$50 gift certificate to Al's Cafe & Creamery in Elgin - 2 winners
$25 gift certificate to Sorrento's in Maple Park - 2 winners
$10 gift certificate to Smitty's On The Corner - 2 winners
Decorative Holiday containters - 5 winners

The raffle winners will be announced on Friday December 12, 2008.

Good luck and thank you for your support!

Bake Sale reminder!!

Please remember to sign up for the bake sale if you haven't done so already. The bake sale starts on Tuesday December 2nd and ends Thursday December 4th. Please contact either Julia at extension 2016 or Crystal at extension 5004 if you have any questions.

Thank you for your support and happy baking!

Hesed House wish list update

I was given a newsletter from Hesed House today and there are some new items that they have added to their wish list.

Jeans: Mens and womens (all sizes)
T-shirts: Mens and womens - not white and not dressy
Payless Shoes gift cards to purchase boots for the winter and tennis shoes for the summer
Wal-Mart and Target gift cards for $4.00 prescriptions
Socks: Mens, womens and kids
Bras
Thermal underwear: men and women
Sweat pants and shirts: all sizes adult small to 4xl
Watches
Batteries
Wallets
Towels
Twin sheets
Ear plugs
Bus passes - 1 ride to 10 ride
CD players
Fast food gift cards

Greens sale change

The greens sale will start on Tuesday December 2nd instead of Monday December 1st. This is for St. Charles only. Virgil's sale will start on Monday December 8th as previously stated.

Thank you for supporting the 2008 Holiday Charities Committee!

Bake sale packaging

Please package your baked goods the following ways:

Cookies & brownies: by the dozen
Breads, cakes & coffee cakes: whole items

If you are baking something that is not listed, please contact Julia at ext. 2016 or Crystal at ext. 5004.

Please have your items available starting at 8:30am on Tuesday December 2nd. The bake sale begins on Tuesday December 2nd and ends Thursday December 4th.

Thank you and happy baking!