Hearts & Hands at Work

by Dawn Klingensmit

It’s one thing to say your heart belongs to Naperville. After all, home is where the heart is, and what’s not to love about a city that consistently ranks among the best places in the nation to live, raise children, and retire?

It’s another thing altogether, though, to roll up your sleeves and contribute to the good of the community through volunteerism and service. There’s a quickening of the pulse—not only from hard work but also the satisfaction of knowing your efforts make a difference. Perhaps only then is your heart truly in synch with the city’s rhythms and a vital part of its composition.

In honor of all Naperville leaders, boosters, and volunteers, Naperville Magazine spotlights four of you whose hearts and hands are tirelessly engaged in making our community the best that it can be.

The Full-time philanthropist
When Mary Anne Ostrenga worked for an educational toy company, her extraordinary sales figures entitled her to a free trip each year. She and her husband, a cardiologist, traveled to England, France, Hawaii, and China. Out of the paid work force since 1994, she now carries business cards identifying herself as a volunteer. And though she doesn’t earn a cent, she has never felt better compensated.

“It’s so rewarding—I’ve met some of my best friends through volunteering,” says Ostrenga, who chaired the Edward Hospital Foundation from 1997 to 2000 and volunteered on the board of NCO Youth and Family Services, doubling the proceeds from the latter’s annual fundraising gala in her first year of involvement. Countless nights, she stayed up well past midnight writing thank you notes to donors and letters requesting funding for various Naperville nonprofits.

In 2001, something happened that could have stopped Ostrenga in her tracks, yet it hardly slowed her down. At age 47, her doctor told her she had Parkinson’s disease.

There had been signs: noticeable tremors whenever she reached for a water glass, the gradual inability to smell her garden-grown flowers and her own perfume, the falls that left scars on both knees.

When Ostrenga found out the Midwest chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association held an annual walkathon in Naperville, she not only signed up but volunteered to organize it the following year. In the three years she chaired the event, participation increased from 200 to 800 walkers, boosting revenues from $25,000 to $70,000. Last summer, Ostrenga enlisted her neighbors’ help in organizing a garden walk culminating with a sunset reception and silent auction in her backyard. She and her helpers raised close to $30,000 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and another garden walk is slated for June 22, 2008.

Not only is Ostrenga a pro at soliciting donations, but she and her husband, James, consistently dig into their own pockets to support various organizations and causes. “I get a million envelopes in the mail and I save them all in a shoebox, and at the end of the year, we determine what we can spend and divide it up among the charities,” she says.

Naperville organizations that have benefited from their largesse include NCO, the DuPage Children’s Museum, Little Friends Inc. (which serves children and adults with developmental, emotional, and behavioral disabilities), St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church and Friends of Naperville’s Moser Tower & Millennium Carillon.

The committed couple
Growing up on a farm in Iowa, Connie Hankins developed a soft spot for creatures in need. Whenever of lamb or a piglet was rejected by its mother, she cradled the animal and fed it with a dropper.

Her inclination to help others led Hankins to pursue a career in nursing. For 21 of the 43 years she has lived in Naperville, she worked as a surgical nurse at Edward Hospital. Upon retiring in 1985, Hankins delivered food to seniors through Meals on Wheels and, through a separate but related program, drove folks in need of transportation to doctor appoint- ments and other destinations. These days, through the Evangelical Free Church of Naperville, the 65-year-old is involved in a ministry that offers one-on-one support to people in crisis.

When Hankins’ husband, Gordon, 71, retired from Lucent Technologies in 1996, he, too, started casting about for a worthwhile way to spend his time. He joined the West Suburban Pioneer Club of Telecom Pioneers, a social and service club for telecom professionals, and has served as its president. At the club’s monthly luncheons, he collects donations for the Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry in Naperville, as well as a food pantry in Lisle, and personally delivers the items in his Ford F10 pickup truck.

But the club-sponsored project that Connie and Gordon Hankins have thrown their hearts and hands into is the Therapy Oriented Tricycle, or TOT, program. The organization provides modified three- wheelers to children with disabilities and diseases, such as spina bifida and cerebral palsy, who can’t ride normal trikes. The couple took over the program from Naperville resident Lou Wegerer, who started it more than a decade ago and continues to help out.

“I love children,” says Connie, “and the trikes really caught my eye and captured my heart. I couldn’t build them myself—I needed Gordon to help. So I sort of pulled him into it.”

Working side by side, Team Hankins retrofits tricycles with special parts, including wider axels for greater stability, bucket seats with safety straps, and pedals designed to keep kids’ feet in place. Last year, they logged 3,000 miles on their pickup delivering 70 tricycles to children throughout the Chicago area, Northern Illinois, and Wisconsin. The couple made a point of forging relationships with District 203 schools, so much of their hard work benefits Naperville children.

Heading up the TOT program involves a substantial time commitment, though working in tandem, the couple can put together each tricycle in about 30 minutes.

“We have a little two-person assembly line,” Gordon says. “We’ve gotten pretty efficient.”

The businessman with a heart of gold
As a producer of graphics, Shane Beard understands the importance of signs in society. Signs convey information and —more importantly—they offer direction.

When he bought a FASTSIGNS franchise in Naperville and moved his family here in 1996, all signs, in a figurative sense, led him to one good deed after another.

It started when a den mother requested a discount on a banner advertising the Boy Scouts’ annual popcorn sale. Beard obliged, and news of his generosity spread.

Among den moms, “Word of mouth is fast and furious—faster than the Internet,” says Beard, 46, whose sons are involved in scouting. Now, FASTSIGNS offers discounted graphics to just about every major nonprofit in town, joining the cadre of Naperville businesses that consistently donate goods and services to local charities. For the past seven years, Beard has provided all the signage for Ribfest, sponsored by the Naperville Exchange Club to raise money to fight domestic violence and child abuse. He also makes signs for each of the outdoor sculptures that are displayed each year around town and then auctioned off to benefit Naperville United Way.

“It’s my way of giving back to the community, and it comes back in spades,” Beard says. “From a profit and loss perspective, I consider it advertising, but it’s more about doing the right thing. I firmly believe that if your heart’s headed in the right direction, the dollars and cents will follow.”

Besides equating philanthropy with good business, there are other signs that Beard is committed to helping the community. Need a volunteer beer server at Ribfest? An announcer for the annual Turkey Trot? A jolly old Saint Nick to work the crowd on Metra’s Santa Train? He’s your man.

“I blend in with the rest of the volunteers,” Beard says. “I’m not a dignitary. I don’t cut ribbons.” Beard’s modesty notwithstanding, his business savvy makes him stand out from the crowd. Thus, he’s been invited to serve on the boards of United Way, the Lions Club, the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Humane Society, among others. He also mentors business owners and gives presentations on entrepreneurship at area schools.

The Next Generation of Volunteers
Perhaps the surest sign of teenage dedication to volunteer work is a willingness to show up at 8 a.m. every Sunday and work for three or four hours while most other teens are still sound asleep. Despite the early start time, which she says is no problem, 17-year-old Meera Sriram considers it a privilege to report for duty at Animals Deserving of Proper Treatment, or ADOPT, a no-kill shelter in Naperville.

“I’m always eager to go,” she says. “I’m pursuing my passion.”

Every week, Sriram disinfects kennels, empties trashcans, and mops floors with nary a complaint because it gives her an opportunity to work with dogs. “I’ve never had a dog in my life,” she says, “and I always wanted one.”

Ironically, her mother’s affection for dogs is the reason why there’s never been a canine member of the Sriram household. Having owned six dogs in her childhood, and understanding that dogs are inherently social, Sriram’s mom believes it wouldn’t be fair for a family with two working parents and two busy high school students to own one.

Yet in a way, Sriram’s life has been populated by pooches because her mother shares so many fond recollections of her own childhood pets, including an albino German shepherd named Prince. Through those stories,

Sriram developed an interest in dogs that deepened to an abiding affection when a neighbor hired her to pet sit. Later, as a freshman at Neuqua Valley High School, she heard that ADOPT was looking for volunteers and eagerly signed up. Sriram worked in the cat section at first because that’s where she was needed. A year and a half later, she finally got an opportunity to work with puppies. Cleaning the cages is a small price to pay considering she loves their four-legged occupants so much that her e-mail screen name is “doggiefreak.”

In addition to volunteering at the shelter, Sriram, now a senior, is active in her school’s Model United Nations and math club, and she captains the Scholastic Bowl, which competes in Jeopardy-style trivia contests with other schools. She also participated in Interact, the school’s community service organization, through which she tutored middle school students for free.

In September, Sriram heads for Northwestern University, where she intends to take coursework to prepare her for a career as a veterinarian.

Shane Beard, Connie and George Hankins, Mary Anne Ostrenga and Meera Sriram, clearly put their hearts and hands into making Naperville a better place to be. Their heartfelt efforts demonstrate the passion and civic pride of these local leaders… not just now but all year long.