Just in time for Thanksgiving, a team of volunteers led by HSA senior vice president Josephine Thomas-Hoytt, worked together with the firm’s long-time partner Chicago Commons to provide toys, winter coats, hats, gloves, and scarves to families-in-need. Participants—both inside and outside of the company—offered monetary contributions for HSAwareness volunteers to shop with, while others chose families to sponsor and did the shopping on their own. After raising an impressive amount in donations, volunteers took to the stores, choosing warm winter clothing, toys, and other gifts for each individual on our list. They returned with a variety of items, from mobiles and stuffed animals for the babies on the list, to art supplies and Legos for the older children.

In the end, team members packed up bags of holiday gifts and necessities for 19 families, totaling 70 individuals in all. These gifts will be distributed throughout Chicago Commons’ four child development centers, Taylor Center for New Experiences, Nia Family Center, Guadalupano Family Center, and Paulo Freire Family Center, which serve to improve the math, language, emotional, and cognitive skills of over 800 at-risk children in the Chicagoland area.

HSAwareness has previously worked with Chicago Commons at its facility renovation projects, and Bob Smietana, HSA Commercial’s CEO, is a long-time Governing Board member at Chicago Commons.

The team at HSAwarness would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to our winter clothing and toy drive, and we look forward to working with all of our friends and colleagues to continue to make a difference in the lives of others through our future endeavors.