Don’t say it! Not many kids are ready to hear the words back to school. The residents at Belmont Village of Oak Park are ready – and that’s a good thing for Hephzibah foster families. Belmont Village is helping us host a Back-to-School pizza party to help ease the inevitable end to summer and equip foster families and other families in our programs with the school supplies kids will need this fall.
Belmont Village residents and team members are busy making brightly colored gifts bags for the children and families who attend the party. They’ll set the stage with festive Crayola colors, pizza and decorations, and some Belmont Village residents will attend the August event to help hand out gifts. This is not the first time Belmont Village residents have been involved helping Hephzibah; members of the Memory Care unit have done several projects with our Group Home kids, such as making birthday treat bags that the children can bring to school for classroom celebrations.
“Our relationship with Hephzibah has been an enriching, rewarding experience for everyone involved,” said Patricia Porter, Community Relations, Belmont Village. “Our residents love doing projects that keep them engaged in helping others, and have enjoyed meeting the kids from Hephzibah when they visit.”
To make the party even better, volunteers from Your Children’s Bookshelf, a division of House of Light, LLC will bring a selection of books so kids can choose several titles to keep.
At the Back-to-School party, foster families will have a chance to “shop” for free school supplies from a selection of items collected by groups such as Red Hen Bread, Oak Park, IL, and GES Global Experience Specialists, Hodgkins, IL. In addition, The Mattress Firm has donated school supplies as part of its Foster Kids program.
“A great network of donors and supporters like these allow us to provide important resources to children and families who need help,” said Marissa Grott, Donor Relations Manager at Hephzibah. Thanks to everyone for making it more fun to head back to school.