Giving Back

"You cannot go through life with two catcher’s mitts on."

With each of our Project Play books, we feature a charity dedicated to making the lives of children better. We are proud to introduce you to each of them and ask you to take a moment to learn about their incredible efforts.

Misericordia Heart of Mercy

Operating in Chicago, by the Sisters of Mercy, Misericordia has been providing services for persons in need since 1921. Today, Misericordia is proud to support 550 children and adults with developmental disabilities from all racial, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Misericordia has a wide range of programs on their campus and in the community at-large to meet the diverse needs of persons with developmental disabilities.

The residents of Misericordia live in an environment that allows them as much independence as possible. On any given day, you can find them serving guests in the on-campus restaurant, creating beautiful paintings that are offered on greeting cards, creating tasty treats in the bakery or working through a variety of vocational programs.

Their residents operate a bakery program that ships packages of sweets and other bakery items across the country. We invite you to learn more about Misericordia at www.misericordia.com and, if you can, give back to this wonderful organization.

Misericordia Heart of Mercy
6300 North Ridge Avenue
Chicago, IL 60660-1099
www.misericordia.com

 

Friends of the Orphans

The Friends of the Orphans support a network of orphanages called Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH), Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters.”

Father William B. Wasson founded NPH in 1954 to meet the needs of children in Mexico. His mission of love has spread and today, NPH is home to over 3,400 orphaned, abandoned or disadvantaged children with homes in nine countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Friends of the Orphans have been supporting NPH homes for over 40 years, helping children break the cycle of poverty.

Friends of the Orphans has a wonderful “godparents” program in which families can sponsor a child and communicate with them throughout their life, watching them grow and thrive in their NPH home. It is a wonderful way to show kids how they can help and to give them a new friend and family relationship for life. We invite you to learn more about Friends of the Orphans at www.friendsoftheorphans.com and, if you can, connect with this wonderful organization.

Friends of the Orphans
National Headquarters
85 West Algonquin Road, Suite 330
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
847-690-1700
www.friendsoftheorphans.com

 

The Henry Schueler 41&9 Foundation

Henry Schueler was diagnosed with a rare subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or "ALL" in November of 2006 at the age of 13. Henry loved sports- in fact his football number, 41 and his baseball number, 9 are represented in the foundation. Henry displayed an uncommon maturity and courageous countenance in the face of overwhelming medical odds. Unfortunately, he contracted a deadly fungal infection, resulting in his untimely death on December 14, 2007.

The 41&9 Foundation is dedicated to honor the memory of Henry and to provide funding toward innovative, leading edge research in the field of pediatric high risk leukemia and the fungal infections children are at risk for contracting while their bodies’ immune systems are compromised during chemotherapy treatment. We invite you to learn more about this foundation and give if you can.

Henry Schueler 41&9 Foundation
www.henryschueler.org