Giving DuPage Launches Biggest Service Initiative in DuPage County History

DARIEN, IL — DuPage County and Giving DuPage has launched the county's biggest service campaign – Do GOOD DuPage. The year-long initiative promotes community service throughout the county, aiming to involve 150,000 people, according to the release.

As the county’s Volunteer Center, the Giving DuPage mission is to promote giving and volunteering. According to the release, to commemorate its 15-year anniversary, Giving DuPage wants to take this mission to a new level by inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to do some good.

“I’m inviting everyone to get involved to Do GOOD DuPage,” County Board Chairman Dan Cronin said in a release. “We’re looking for families to create great memories by volunteering together and for schools to make service their motto. We want faith and community leaders to inspire their members to put donation at the top of their weekly list of things to do, whether it be donating their time, talents or treasure. I’d like to see business and civic leaders join me in friendly competition to outdo each other in doing good for our communities.”

According to the release, there are 15 service ideas that people can sign up for in the following categories: Volunteering, Donating Items, Creating Awareness or Celebrating Volunteers. Some of the ideas are easy and some involve more time or effort, with an end goal for each idea. For example, one idea asks 1,500 people to find a new nonprofit organization they didn’t know about before and write an article to create some awareness for that cause. The article can be shared in their school, church newsletter or published on social networks.

“With Do GOOD DuPage there is something for everyone to do,” Paul Feith, Giving DuPage Board president, said in a release. “Each person can donate their time or services and everybody has talents or skills to make a positive difference in our community. Whether you are eight years old or eighty years old, you have a gift to contribute and we want to do our best to connect you to a cause that is waiting to receive those gifts.”

“The process to sign up is easy. Do-GOODers begin their journey by choosing an idea. Then, they do their service project. Next, tell us about it and share their Do GOOD story and the last step is to invite family, friends and co-workers to join us,” Shefali Trivedi, executive director of Giving DuPage, said in a release. “We don’t want to hamper your creativity by telling you how to do good, so the last idea is to ‘create your own’ project. If you’re already a Do-GOODer, skip straight to telling us your impact story so we can share it.”

All year, Giving DuPage wants to hear about volunteer and donor experiences. According to the release, everyone is encouraged to share their Do GOOD stories on social networks using the hashtag #DoGOODDuPage. There will be ongoing community news and a featured blog to capture inspirational stories of the County’s Do-GOODers.

“Do GOOD DuPage will show the state and the country the generosity of our community,” DuPage County Board member and Giving DuPage Board member Robert Larsen said in a release. “It isn’t going to be about what one person did, but how we all can do so much good together. It’s a great way to celebrate 15 years of Giving DuPage and I’m pretty sure we’ll all look back next year with pride on what we will have accomplished.”

To sign up for Do GOOD DuPage, visit givingdupage.org/doGOOD. Follow the initiative and connect to Do GOOD stories at #DoGOODDuPage. For more information, or to support this campaign, email givingdupage@dupageco.org or call (630) 407-6458.