Lemont Sertoma, Hope And Friendship Foundation Support Lemont Families

LEMONT, IL — The decade-long partnership between United Sertoma Lemont Charter and the Hope and Friendship Foundation continues after Lemont Sertoma's recent $2,000 donation to the nonprofit.

"Sertoma has been a supporter of Hope and Friendship for at least 15 years," Founder Terri O’Neill-Borders told Patch. "I have been blessed to be invited to share with the group the mission of Hope and Friendship so often at their meetings, and they have offered amazing donations to help me continue to make 'something wonderful' happen."

The United Sertoma Lemont Charter supports a variety of causes in Lemont and nearby communities, and has raised over $700,000 in the past 25 years for local causes.

The Hope and Friendship Foundation provides year-round crisis assistance to Lemont families in need.

O'Neill-Borders said the most recent donation has already been put to use, just two weeks later. The funds went to families with crisis needs, including helping to keep the water from being shut off for a family, helping a single mom who lost her job with the electric bill, and paying rent for a single mom who lost a week of work due to her hospitalization in fighting cancer.

"The needs are constant," O'Neill-Borders said. The Foundation hosts outreaches of food, supplies, clothing, yard work days and youth events, which are appreciated for emotional and physical support.

"But all too often the only thing that can put hope in what appears to be a hopeless situation is funds," she said. "I am so completely blessed to be in this corner of the world with the Sertoma group who care to meet those needs."