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Cheng delivers holiday cheer
Updated: January 9, 2013 11:48AM
Sunday, Dec. 16 was a special day for Carol Cheng, a Northbrook resident since 1998. Nearly 500 families signed up for the Youth Services Holiday Gift Program collected their bags of Christmas gifts at NIPSTA, a public safety training facility in The Glen on Patriot Boulevard.
Generous others provided the holiday cheer. Meet Carol Cheng, Northbrook mom of three: Mason, a Glenbrook North High School senior, Martine, a Northbrook Junior H.S. eighth-grader and Davis, a Meadowbrook School third-grader. Her husband is Russell Fulling. She has been a development associate at Youth Services for nearly five years.
Q. What’s happening here Carol?
A. What’s happening is, it’s going to be a really good day. People in our community that need resources are coming to pick up their Christmas gifts provided by other members of the community who are generous and sponsor families with gifts for Christmas.
Q. And what is your role here?
A. My role today is that things go smoothly but (also) behind the scenes and in the months of preparation before this. Part of my job is to match the sponsors to the under-resourced families.
Q. How does this day speak to your soul?
A. Oh, it’s a great day. It’s a really great day. It speaks loud and clear to my soul, a really great program that helps a lot of people. And it’s really great that it’s within our community and it’s not something that the resources leave and maybe go downtown or something like that but they’re (services) really needed right here.
Q. What is your shout out to the Northbrook/Glenview community?
A. On this day I would say it’s just a really great opportunity that the community comes together on so many different levels to make this happen, the people that sponsor the families, the people that come the days prior to wrap all of the presents and just the great outpouring of generosity that it is that makes this program happen.
Q. Why is volunteerism so vital?
A. Youth Services as an agency wouldn’t exist without volunteers. Everything from stuffing envelopes to the study buddies homework help program would not happen without volunteers, and gosh, anything we do, especially this program (Holiday Gift Program) wouldn’t happen without volunteers.
Q. Are busy hands, happy hands?
A. Absolutely (big smile here). Absolutely. Of course, of course…there’s a lot of joy, there’s a lot of joy that comes with not only volunteering, but (also) my opportunity that I have to work for Youth Services.
Q. And now, Carol, here’s your chance to thank the community.
A. Wow … it would be a very big thank you, all in caps. You know, It’s a big thank you because there are so many hands and good and generous hearts that come together …
