Fill a Heart 4 Kids works to help homeless and foster children build a brighter future.
Fill a Heart 4 Kids founder, Annie McAveeney says they work with teachers, social workers, and children’s advocacy centers to help homeless and foster children get the support and supplies they need to increase their school attendance, knowledge, and dignity.
“Every year we host MLK Day of Service to inspire awareness and compassion and to empower those children with the greatest need,” McAveeney said.
This year’s Fill a Heart 4 Kids Martin Luther King experience took place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20 at The Gloria Dei Center, located in the Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, on Westleigh Road in Lake Forest.
This youth-centered event encouraged kids to help kids, and McAveeney says offers teachable moments to allow families to instill compassion in their children, which in turn, helps to reduce peer bullying at school.
The event brought together, area families, High School students, Girl Scout troops, and members of the Northshore chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc., an organization of mothers dedicated to raising the next generation of African American leaders while enhancing the lives of children.
Eight fulfillment stations provided children the opportunity to create specific We Care packages — stations like, I am a Superhero journal station with pens and notebooks and pencils and crayons, a Valentine filling station to help children feel loved and remembered on Valentine’s Day, a remembering me on my birthday station which included a cake mix for birthday cake preparation, and many others.
Related program activities included designing a life blueprint, MLK Bingo, and art station painting and drawing.
According to the Fill a Heart 4 Kids website, over 25,000 homeless and 3,350 foster kids are fighting for survival in Illinois alone. Vulnerable children and teens are exposed to a world of couch-hopping, living in abandoned buildings, cars, garages, or living in under-funded foster care facilities and group homes.
McAveeney says this hands-on experience creates compassion and strong communities that help restore children’s dignity and provide essential resources, while raising awareness about the challenges at-risk, homeless, and foster children face.
Jeff Glazer of Highland Park attended on Monday.
“We took advantage of a day off from work and school to get away from screen time and to give something back,” Glazer said.
Tia Miller of Beach Park also attended on Monday with family.
“This MLK day of service offers an important opportunity for us to celebrate Dr. King and to teach our kids about how much of an impact they can make with their own lives,” Miller said.
McAveeney says, Rev. Martin Luther King’s teachings align with Fill a Heart 4 Kids’ mission to volunteer to improve children’s lives and improve communities.
“We hope to reach our goal this year, to sponsor 1,000 We Care packages to help our most vulnerable children receive the support they need to go to school feeling safe, confident, and ready to learn,” McAveeney said.
Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
