Although this year is like no other, there is still time to bring holiday cheer to the community.
This week, boxes were stacked all over the Marks family living room in Normal ready to be dropped off.
The Marks children took it upon themselves to help Home Sweet Home Ministries that runs a shelter in Bloomington for those experiencing homelessness.
Cai, 9, and her brother, Christopher, 6, started their journey by looking for organizations to help during the Christmas season.
“I was looking for someplace that had homeless people to help because this year’s been hard, so me and my mom came up with a math-a-thon,” said Cai.
The kids only planned on raising $200, but they exceeded the goal within an hour. With the help of their parents, Courtney and Chris, word quickly spread via Facebook. Co-workers, family, friends and more together accumulated $2,956.75.
That money will help cover the basic needs for many families.
“Of course, you hear kids and fundraisers and donations especially to Home Sweet Home mission—a lot of people jumped on board very quickly,” said Chris.
Items were ordered from Amazon then reorganized to create space in the family’s living room. Purchased items include razors, diapers, shaving cream and other toiletries. Courtney and her kids will pick up perishable goods before dropping them off.
“We contacted Home Sweet Home because we wanted to coordinate with them and let them know what was going on. They have been very supportive, very excited—and just with the amount of items that we were able to get almost everything on all of their needs list whether it was the urgent needs or the Christmas needs,” said Chris.
The Marks family are no strangers to HSH. Chris’s older brother, who passed away in 2016, lived at HSH for a couple years.
“(The kids) understand the importance of giving back, and they really actually enjoyed doing that. So that's why this was really fun for them and a way for them to impact the community even at their young ages,” said Chris. “Teaching the kids the value of giving back, so that's part of their DNA now. I think that this is something that they will always continue to try to do as they get older.”
Cai and Christopher agreed that giving back to their community felt good. Christopher said he was excited to participate in helping.
Chris says that 2020 has been a difficult year for numerous of reasons and there is value in giving back.
“We need to bring kindness back to what we do, put aside petty differences and make sure that we are there for those who need us,” said Chris. “Those things come back to you in different ways, so that's probably the biggest message that I would share is if you can give, give especially around the holidays.”
The family planned to drop off all the items Friday afternoon.
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