HCS Family Services / Charitable Giving

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By HM staff

For the past 84 years, HCS Family Services has worked to impact our community by providing groceries to our neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity. During the pandemic, services shifted from in-person shopping to curbside distribution at both our Hinsdale pantry and our pantry at Anne M. Jeans Elementary School in Willowbrook.

There are three significant ways you can help HCS Family Services help those in need.

First, you can donate—every $1 donation buys $8 of groceries. Second, you can host a food drive. Third, you can volunteer—we rely on 100 volunteers per week to distribute groceries to our hungry neighbors. We rely on donations all year long to provide healthy food to those in need. Monthly donations allow you to provide reliable, financial support with minimum administrative work. To donate, please visit our website at hcsfamilyservice.org, click the donate now icon, and choose your amount and payment method. A food drive is a labor of love. We always have a list of our most needed items so please call us at 630-323-2500 to learn how your food drive can have the most impact. Currently, our most needed items are diapers—adult and baby, brown grocery bags, pasta and sauce, and peanut butter. Volunteers are the heart and soul of our organization. We are looking for volunteers to help us pick up food from our retail partners on weekday mornings, but we have many volunteer opportunities to choose from on our website. To be a volunteer, please visit our website at www.hcsfamilyservices.org
This year, we are serving an average of 240 families per week.

*Photo provided by HCS Family Services

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Kristina and Matthew Bailey began reading books to their son, Owen when he was six months old— they haven’t stopped.
Owen turned 4 in June and recently received an award from the Clarendon Hills Public Library for having had 1,000 books read to him before starting kindergarten.

The library’s 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge is one of a few reading challenge programs offered in Clarendon Hills, where the Bailey family has lived for the past 2 1/2 years.
Kristin Bailey said she saw an ad about the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge and decided it was a good fit for Owen.

“He’s always been really into books,” Bailey said. “He had a natural interest in books at nine months old. That’s when COVID started, and he didn’t get out much, so reading books to him worked out very well. He’s a naturally curious kid, and imagination-building is important. The reading allows him to learn and explore new things, and he really wants to learn to read now.”

Krista Devlin, the Clarendon Hills library’s youth services librarian, said there’s a specific reason The Friends of the Library-sponsored 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge was started in 2022.

“Reading aloud to a child is one of the best ways to help develop important early literacy skills, which will prepare them for kindergarten,” Devlin said. “It is also a great way to bond with your child and to encourage a love of reading.”

Devlin said Owen was the second child to reach the challenge of having 1,000 books read to him before starting kindergarten. He was awarded a certificate, a crown, and his picture was taken to recognize his accomplishment.

Bailey, who said she is “a big reader,” said her family usually goes to the library once a week. Reading three books each night to Owen, along with a book before nap time, is the household normal.

“Consistency in our routine has been good and is important,” she said, adding that Owen’s two sisters, ages 2 1/2 and 1

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