News

Saret provides some light in families' dark times

Posted December 07, 2009 10:00 pm

By Christie Willhite

Jewelry, it turns out, can work magic beyond making an outfit sparkle and making the wearer feel glamorous.

Baubles, bought from a certain shop in Glen Ellyn, have the power to help women support their families and provide money to help people in financial tight spots.

Saret Treasures of Hope, a store run by the Saret Charitable Fund, sells jewelry and gift items handmade by artisans in developing nations as well as pieces made by local residents in need who learn the art of jewelry making through the charity's program.

The store itself is a teaching facility where Saret clients in need of job skills learn the ropes of retail management.

And proceeds from the store support Saret's efforts to provide emergency financial assistance to those in and near DuPage County.

Saret, founded in 1985 to help a single family, now aims to help indigent refugees, single mothers, elderly and disabled people in economic need.

Chana Bernstein, president of Saret Charitable Fund, discusses the organization.

Q. What is your mission?

A. To prevent homelessness and hunger in the Western suburbs, to provide hope when hope seems impossible, to restore dignity to individuals or families facing a current economic and life crisis as the organization seeks creative tools to help move the family toward economic stability.

Q. How do you work toward accomplishing that goal?

A. We divide our assistance into several aid categories: rent and mortgage, utilities, transportation issues including car repairs, referrals to other aid programs such as food pantries, alternate agencies and churches that can partner with us when funds are insufficient.

In addition to the aid program, we set up a gift store two years ago that is intended to provide extra income and train primarily women facing severe health challenges in store management and or jewelry making.

Q. Who do you serve?

A. Geographically we serve primarily needy families in DuPage County. We also serve residents of Kane, Will and Western Cook counties.

The aid we provide is divided between two main programs, the general emergency fund and the Barbara K. Brent disability fund.

Q. When and why did the Saret fund start? How has it grown?

A. Our organization was started in 1985 in Glen Ellyn in response to witnessing the growing number of single mothers without job training or income, minimal state aid programs, and the influx of refugees from war-torn countries such as Cambodia and Ethiopia. We'd adopt one family at a time and help it through a crisis, then add more families with temporary aid needs. Over the past seven years, we have been serving 400 to 500 families a year.

We also have expanded our operations from volunteers working out of their homes to setting up an office and a store. We have interns, two part-time case workers and a store manager, and we want to expand into the Internet.

The store offers crafts and jewelry made by our disabled clients as well as crafts from developing nations such as Guatemala, South Africa, India, Thailand.

Q. What kind of successes have you had?

A. We have provided emergency aid for 25 years, initially to the general population and in 2005 we added an additional fund called the Barbara K. Brent Disability Fund that attempts to adopt individuals or families impacted severely by the illness or injury of a family member. We attempted to get grants for this fund from local foundations but have failed, so we rely solely on caring individuals to support this fund and we must build a larger network of supporters for this fund, which is the only one of its kind in this country.

We have helped thousands of families reconnect to electric, heat and water when those families could find help no where else.

We prevented homelessness by paying rents when clients faced evictions; we provided housing to several homeless families and helped them get back on their feet; we gave hundreds of unemployed residents gas cards to get them to job interviews.

We have repaired hundreds of cars that clients could not afford to repair with the help of only two car clinics. We hope to expand this program if we can find more mechanics willing to help. Nearly every year, we have donated more than 12 cars, although this year we donated only three cars due to the economy. We would like to donate 30 to 40 cars a year if we can get the word out about our transportation program to more people and car dealerships.

Q. What challenges does Saret currently face?

A. We are facing the worst crisis in our existence. Our store, a bit off the beaten path in Glen Ellyn, draws only a few shoppers, making it very hard to build our program to train disabled women in store management and jewelry making.

Our second challenge has been that donations have decreased by about 20 percent in 2009, making it difficult each month to meet the needs of those calling us for help whom we deem qualified for aid.

Q. What do you wish the community at large knew about Saret?

A. We'd like people to understand our unique, flexible and wholistic model that we use to help families in crisis. We don't limit the aid to only one area but examine the general situation facing a family and help determine how they can best use limited funds.

Q. What would surprise most people if they spent a week with the organization?

A. If people spent a few days at our office and store, they'd be amazed by the never-ending things that happen at the store - the calls for aid, intakes, financial challenges for both our clients and ourselves, the people who come in seeking aid, the creative process that takes place at our beading tables.

People would learn how money can create such amazing miracles and bring such relief to people facing such harsh challenges because the job market is so weak right now or an illness strikes, impacting income. People who only recently could keep their heads above water are now drowning with the little help available, since those who could help are tightening their budgets and also worried about their imminent economic failure.

Lack of donations is debilitating and, at times, paralyzing our work as we can help only a fraction of the people we truly believe deserve help. Our hands have been tied this year, creating much sadness among the volunteers and our small staff.

Q. How can readers get involved?

A. 1. Host a "Have A Heart" luncheon for 10 friends at your home and invite us to display a sampling of the items we manufacture or purchase from fair-trade sources and share some of our stories.

2. We ask everyone to join the "adopt a family program," which focuses on building the Barbara K. Brent Disability Fund that sees a family in a health crisis through by helping with rent and utilities and reducing the stresses facing such families and individuals.

To adopt a family they would pledge a monthly donation, which allows us to better plan our budget for this fund and the people selected to receive aid.

Vital statistics Number of requests for help: 10 to 20 calls a day, 60 to 100 a week, 300 to 400 a month Budget: $60,000 for charity; $35,000 for store Funding: Store, monthly pledge program, periodic donations, matching grants from supporters' employers, Have a Heart luncheons and home parties Employees: We have two paid part-time employees: store manager and case worker Volunteers: Two part-time interns, full-time unpaid director, three volunteers who work part-time each week Wish list • Volunteers for the store and the charity • Increased income. With $10,000 a month we would be able to meet the needs of most callers; current monthly allocations are $2,500 to $5,000 To volunteer Phone: (630) 790-4602 or (630) 790-4600 E-mail: chanabern@aol.com To donate 866 Roosevelt Road, Glen Ellyn IL 60137 Saret Treasures of Hope Location: 878 Baker Hill, Glen Ellyn Phone: (630) 790-4602 Info: (630) 790-4602 or <a href="http://saretcharitablefund.org" target="new">saretcharitablefund.org</a> Get involved Saret will celebrate its 25th anniversary in the fall of 2010. Volunteers are needed to help plan a celebration and fundraiser, which organizers hope will feature a comedian, dinner and a documentary on the agency. To join the planning committee or for information, call (9630) 790-4600 or (630) 790-4602 or e-mail <a href="mailto:chanabern@aol.com">chanabern@aol.com</a>.

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