Community Pulse: Tis the season to give, and receive

We here at the Community Foundation of Grundy County (CFGC) are thankful to be part of the holiday season of giving and receiving – and happy to share the work of others to do our best to assure that no one is left behind at Christmas.

Most importantly - holiday help for Grundy County families with children:

November 1st & 7th are the last days for low-income families to sign up at We Care of Grundy County. November 1st in Braceville and November 7th in Morris. Applications are only received in person and details can be found at https://www.wecareofgrundy.com/christmas-assistance

Please note that the We Care application process is the same for adults without children who need assistance with a Thanksgiving and Christmas meal – We Care provides Aldi gift cards for adults without children who apply by the deadline.

November 13th is the deadline to apply to “Shop with a Local Hero,” organized by Grundy County Heroes & Helpers. This event is reserved for Grundy County children between the ages of 4 through 15 whose families have suffered some kind of hardship and in need of assistance this holiday season. To apply, please follow this link: https://gchhinc.org/upcoming-events/

November 21st is the deadline to apply for Christmas assistance through Hands of Dignity and Hope Outreach. The application can be found on their Facebook page.

December 7th is the deadline to apply for the Will Find Hope annual holiday event for foster, low-income, & families in need. To register, please go to their website: will-find-hope.org

November 4th is the deadline to submit the name of a Grundy senior who can use some Christmas cheer. Please follow this link: https://cfgrundycounty.com/2024-adopt-a-senior-for-christmas/

Starting November 8th, residents who would like to shop for our Be a Santa to a Senior program can get names off Christmas trees at the Morris Library, Minooka Library, Coal City Library, and the BP in Mazon.

If you shop for a senior, please return your wrapped gifts, by Monday, December 2nd, to one of the three libraries or here at the Community Foundation, 520 W. Illinois Ave, Morris.

Another giver during the holiday season is Santa Claus who has created a scholarship fund here at CFGC! This scholarship is for Grundy students who have completed at least 30 college credit

hours in a major relating to first responders, such as fire, police, EMT, emergency management, and nursing, especially in the emergency department.

December 2nd is the deadline to submit a college scholarship application and the application can be found here: https://cfgrundycounty.com/scholarship-application-now-open-for-first-responders/

Lastly, we are celebrating November’s National Philanthropy Month by inviting students in grades 3 through high school to submit essays. Each of the nine winning authors will receive a prize and will be asked to choose a Grundy charity to receive a grant in their name.

Students in grades 3-5 are asked to submit an essay of 100 words on the theme of “Things I like to do to be helpful to others.”

Students in grades 6-8 are asked to submit an essay of 250 words on the theme of “The importance of giving and volunteering.”

Students in grades 9-12 are asked to submit an essay of 500 words on the theme of “Choose a charity serving Grundy County and tell us why you think they are important to Grundy County.”

All essays will be read and scored by a committee of community members. The top prize in each category is a $1,000 donation to a Grundy charity chosen by the winning essay author. Second place is a $500 donation to charity, and third place is a $250 donation to charity. All nine essay winners will receive a $50 gift card. November 4th is the deadline to submit essays via this link: https://cfgrundycounty.com/youth-essay-contest-to-celebrate-national-philanthropy-month/.

Volunteers can also give by ringing the bell for We Care of Grundy County. They can sign up to do that at https://www.volunteergrundy.com/.

Thank you to all the organizations who run these programs, plus a big thank you to the donors who support them.

If your family is facing a hardship this holiday season, please do not by shy about contacting one of the agencies above for assistance. Grundy County is a very generous county – we take care of our own, so please do not hesitate!

Julianne Buck is the Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Grundy County, located in the historic Coleman Hardware Building at 520 W. Illinois Ave, Morris. Their phone is 815-941-0852 and her email is julie@cfgrundycounty.com.