Instead of Giving Up Something for Lent, Give to Others

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of covering the at Downers Grove South High School, where nearly 60 students and faculty members shaved their heads and raised more than $42,000 for kids cancer awareness. To see all those students happily and willingly shave their heads for such an important cause was a feel good for everyone there.

With the Lent and Easter season upon us there’s been a lot of talk about what we can do about improving ourselves and becoming better people. As children, many of us were taught that we needed to “give up” something for Lent. I can remember giving up pop, chocolate and bubble gum over various Lenten seasons and then always having the debate as to whether or not you could indulge in what you gave up on Sundays.  

While I believe that teaching kids about "giving up" is important, I think it is more important that we use this time to give to others and help those in need.

Below are some local organizations that are always looking for help:

• : Every Easter, each client receives a ham as well as an Easter basket for each child under the age of 12. Consider donating money for the hams, goodies for the baskets or your time to help assemble the baskets. 
• : On select Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings each month, the church is committed to providing food and volunteers to feed and house the homeless at First United Methodist on Maple in Downers Grove through the P.A.D.S program. Volunteers are needed to help with set-up Tuesday afternoon from roughly 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm and with clean-up on Wednesday morning from roughly 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. 
• Sharing Connections Furniture Bank: Located in Downers Grove, Sharing Connections provides furniture and household items to low-income families, helping them transform a bare apartment or house into a home. They need volunteers to work on site, donations of furniture and other household items, and groups looking for service projects.
• Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry: Loaves & Fishes, located in Naperville, serves more than 3,650 families and more than 15,000 individuals, half of them children, are currently enrolled for services. Last year, they distributed 2 million pounds of food to area families. Volunteers are needed to help with food pick-up, sorting, stocking, distribution and other responsibilities.

If you need more volunteer ideas, check out our directory listings of Community Resources that includes associations, charitable & civic organizations and religious institutions, or check out our Volunteer page.