MOOSEHEART, IL - Like so many people, Jeffrey Peters has been past the front gate of the campus pf Mooseheart Child City & School many times on his way to work in Naperville at the corporate offices of BP America.
And also like many, Peters only had a vague idea of the stories of the children of the Child City as he passed the front gate.
But unlike many, Peters has now been on-campus, and has a very clear understanding of the good work being done by the Moose fraternity on behalf of the 240 students being cared for at Mooseheart.
What's more, Peters brought friends when he arrived on campus on Dec. 6: the staff of BP America's Indirect Procurement Group, the department of which he is the Director of Global Travel Services at the company's Naperville offices.
“We’ve driven past and looked in wonder,” Peters said. “It is really profound. It is very professional. And we were all anxious to meet the children.”
The BP America employees arrived spreading holiday cheer, which was appropriate because they were celebrating their Christmas party as well as playing Santa for the Mooseheart children.
In past years, Peters said, his department organized a holiday party at a fancy hotel, complete with food and other high-class amenities. This year, they opted to incorporate charitable giving into their holiday party.
“We wanted to give back to the community locally,” Peters said. “We wanted to contribute to some organization that represented children who were less-advantaged than us. We wanted to minimize our celebration in terms of where we would go and what we would do.”
Peters and his team decided to come to Mooseheart and have their party at the student recreation center. A group of Mooseheart students was invited to the party.
Prior to the gift-opening, the Mooseheart children painted a small ornament as a craft. They then had a snack. Finally, it was time to open the packages, and the children of the Child City went about their tasks with equal vigor. Each child had received a large shopping bagful of presents.
BP America also donated eight laptop computers, in addition to projection units which turn each laptop into a potential multimedia device.
“We’ve been looking to improve how we interact with our kids with regard to technology on campus.” Mooseheart Executive Director Scott Hart said. “We’re always looking to interact out kids with technology and enhance an already positive learning environment.”
Hart said Peters’ interest in Mooseheart was in large part spearheaded by Peters’ personal assistant Linda Betz. That interest came completely out of the blue, Hart added.
"It was a pleasant surprise to hear from Linda Betz at BP America and learn that they wanted to learn a little more about Mooseheart," Hart said. "She wanted to know if they could come and provide a little Christmas cheer for the kids. It wasn't a relationship we had formulated."
Hart said efforts are underway to establish an Internet hookup that will enable the Mooseheart school to fully utilize the laptops to their full potential.
“We would love to expand in the future and have projection units and laptops in every classroom,” Hart said. “But this is a great step forward for Mooseheart and we are very thankful for the thoughtfulness and generosity of the people at BP America."
“This was a departure from what we had done in the past,” BP America Director of Global Travel Services Jeffrey Peters said.
Without making promises, Peters said the open doorway between Mooseheart and BP America may stay wide open.
“You never know, but given the proximity, our interest and the fact (Thursday) was great, it may be something that we will sustain,” Peters said.
Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia, IL, between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road.
Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,900 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Bermuda. Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.
Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.
Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.
Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 250 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a branch of Fifth Third Bank.
In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.
Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.Mooseintl.org and www.Mooseheart.org or call 630-966-2229.
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