Community Corner

Giving Back, Little by Little

Volunteer groups steer kids to "bite-size" community service efforts.

The eleven local moms who've formed the Neighborhood Giving Project aren't looking to stop global warming, repair race relations or end the financial crisis.

They're starting much smaller, because a series of small things can lead to something great. Maybe it's organizing kids to shovel snow or clean up an alley. Maybe it's sending letters to those working on the holidays or raising money for pet supplies.

In short, said co-founder Carrie Summy, the project is a "way of introducing kids to the concept of giving in a bite-size kind of way."

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Formed in fall 2011, the Neighborhood Giving Project was a collaboration between Michele Strimaitis, who heads up MannKind, a student service group at , and Summy, who'd spearheaded a group called Giving Path. The goals of the two organizations were largely the same — small-scale community philanthropy — and after some planning, the pair debuted the group under its new name.

"Now it's a group brainchild," Summy said.

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The goal is to help kids self-organize and carry out one service mission each month. Already, they've organized a campaign that delivered letters to those working on Thanksgiving, and a snow shoveling effort remains underway for the rest of the winter. (Want to participate? Just grab a shovel, print out some of these tags to drop in mailboxes to let homeowners know who the mystery shovelers were.)

They've also started an "idea drive" and received dozens of suggestions for projects in 2012, including the donation of supplies for the Animal Care League's annual "Baby Shower," scheduled for Feb. 26.

"Because a lot of the kids are obsessed with Animal Care League," Summy said.

Parents in the group pay from their own pockets to fund some of the legwork, like printing, copying and mailing. To pave the way for private donations, they've applied for nonprofit tax status.

Summy said the Neighborhood Giving Project is looking for some help with grant writing, and more helping hands — both kids and adults — are always welcome.

To say thanks to those who've participated in projects, and to welcome anyone interested in learning more, the Neighborhood Giving Project is throwing a free Hot Cocoa Party from 3:30-5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4 at in Oak Park.

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