Community Service
All of our members are encouraged to participate in the volunteer opportunities that our agencies have made available to us. We work shifts at the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry and the People’s Resource Center. Members also help out at the Family Shelter Service Holiday Shop in December. Helping out at one of these sites is a great way to see first-hand just why we do what we do. Look to sign up at any General Meeting!
Family Aid
Our Family Aid component helps us give immediate, short-term assistance to families and children referred to us from local agencies. Last year Family Aid provided library cards, gift certificates, gasoline, and car seats, to name just a few examples.
Scholarship
The Scholarship Committee works closely with the counseling staffs at Glenbard West and Glenbard South each spring to award full-time two year scholarships to graduating seniors. These recipients are ranked highly within their class, have solid test scores, have to desire to succeed, and could greatly benefit from the financial assistance. The committee continues throughout the duration of the scholarship to monitor students' progress and act as mentors when and if needed. We hope to support these recipients as they progress toward their academic and professional goals.
Our Agencies
(Download a list of the AGENCIES)
Anima Young Singers of Greater Chicago Anima’s mission is to transform young lives through excellence in music education and choral singing. Predi- cated on the principle that all children are inherently musical and that music vitally enriches the quality of life, Anima strives to discover, nurture and develop the “artist in every child.”
Bridge Communities transforms lives of homeless families by facilitating the change they need to care for themselves and raise their children. Bridge Com- munities provides transitional housing, supportive services, and mentoring for homeless families in DuPage County.
CASA of DuPage County believes that all children have the right to safe, permanent and nurturing homes. The mission of CASA is to recruit, train, and support volunteer citizen advocates to effectively speak in the best interests of abused, neglected, and dependent children in the DuPage County juvenile and family court system.
Central DuPage Pastoral Counseling Center (CDPCC) is a non-profit organization that provides affordable, professional pastoral counseling services to the public in an ecumenical setting. Pastoral counseling relies on theology and behavioral science working together to provide comprehensive insights into life.
Community Housing Advocacy and Development of DuPage (CHAD) provides and advocates for quality affordable housing for low and moderate income individuals and families.
DuPage PADS has provided hope for people who are homeless in DuPage County for 25 years by offering an array of services that build self-sufficiency and helps to stop the cycle of homelessness.
Easter Seals provides outpatient rehabilitation services for children with developmental and physical disabilities. Their services help children achieve maximum independence as well as giving support to the families.
Family Shelter Services provides intervention support to help heal children traumatized by domestic violence. Staff will also assist child victims of domestic abuse by providing a safe shelter and counseling programs to empower them while they begin recovering.
Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center Our mission is to help children from low-income families acquire the necessary skills in academics and social interaction to move successfully through grades K-12 and into adulthood. We do this by providing after school and summer programs which emphasize literacy and community involvement and use the talents of teachers, volunteers and a variety of local support services.
Glen Ellyn Food Pantry provides a resource for families to obtain fresh and non-perishable food items.
Glen Ellyn Park District donates scholarships to offset the cost of summer camp to allow parents who struggle financially with working full-time and providing childcare.
Glen Ellyn Public Library provides a free service, “Bus to Books” summer enrichment program for ESL and financially disadvantaged children. It also provides library outreach staff who go to the Children’s Resource Center with books to read and check-out.
Glen Ellyn Youth and Family Counseling offers affordable, professional counseling services for all residents of Glen Ellyn and for children attending a Glen Ellyn school. Approximately seventy percent of all services are delivered to youth and/or their families.
Glenbard West HS English Language Learners Program serves students with over 15 non-English primary languages. Four levels of intensive English are available to students who demonstrate limited or no English languate profi- ciency. English language immersion focuses on the four domains of: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Over the past few years, GBW has received students from numerous countries including Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, Burma, and Cameroon. These students have never received formal schooling because of a variety of circumstances. As such, the ELL Program provides basic life skills and literacy.
NAMI DuPage provides support, advocacy, and education in order to improve the quality of life for individuals with mental illness and their families. Currently, programs focus on helping children and adults with mental illness and their families through educational programs, advocacy, and community outreach campaigns.
People's Resource Center Since 1975, People’s Resource Center has been bringing neighbors together to respond to hunger and poverty in DuPage County. With a team of over 1,500 volunteers, we offer nutritious food and other basic necessities like clothes and rent assistance for people facing tough times. We connect people with resources— education and tutoring, jobs, technology, art, a caring community—to create a future of hope and opportunity for all.
Philip J. Rock Center and School (PRC) serves two distinct functions in providing services to individuals who are deaf-blind. First, the residential school offers one of the most intensive, comprehensive educational programs available for children who are deaf-blind in the 3-21 year age group. Second, the Center provides a wide range of services on a statewide basis. Services are provided in schools, medical settings, early intervention centers, and homes. The combined Center and School concept makes possible a program which provides a continuum of services to children who are deaf-blind and their families, as well as limited services to the adults who are deaf-blind.
Supplies 4 Success serves school age children in the Glen Ellyn area. Over 500 children* are likely to start this school year without basic school supplies and winter outerwear. This puts them at a great disadvantage and limits their opportunities for educational success. Supplies 4 Success hopes to change that by providing children in need with an assortment of basic school supplies and a backpack
The Garden Works Project is a volunteer led organization working to relieve hunger in Chicago's western suburbs by providing families in need of food assistance with home vegetable gardens and coaching. They help families who would otherwise be unable to grow their own food because of financial need, disability or advanced age. Their families, all clients of local food pantries, range from toddlers to grandparents.
Teen Parent Connection serves the community through education on the realities and responsibilities of teenage pregnancy and through long-term assistance to adolescent parents for the development of self-esteem, parenting skills, and empowerment toward self-sufficiency.
Western DuPage Special Recreation Association’s (WSDRA) mission is “the development of individuals through recreation”. It offers cultural, social, and recreational programs to individuals with disabilities. Programs range from Special Olympics training and competition, athletic leagues, art programs, cultural events, social clubs, community outings, and inclusion services. The overall goal is to provide opportunities to its special needs audience which will enrich their lives and allow them to maximize their potential.
World Relief DuPage (WRD) is a refugee resettlement agency that partners with local churches, volunteers, and community groups to provide services, friendship, and support to refugees and immigrants from all over the world. The people we work with have been driven from their homes in Bhutan, Burma, the DR Congo, Iraq, Sudan, and many other countries by persecution, poverty, torture, slavery, and war, and they have come to our community looking for a new start. WRD and its partners help these families move into apartments, learn English, find jobs, access needed health care, and much more. About 35% of the refugees that WRD works with are under the age of 18, and they are especially in need of support as they adjust to new schools, a new country, and a new way of life. WRD’s Children and Youth Services facilitates the school enrollment process and provides parent orientations, after-school programming, and summer programming. Additionally, Children and Youth services provides an Early Childhood Program that offers a place where refugee adults can send their children free of cost while they attend WRD’s adult ESL classes. The program therefore provides more adults with the freedom to improve their English skills, while also giving children the opportunity to develop their English abilities and prepare for the formal learning environment of local schools.
YWCA’s vision is to eliminate racism and empower women. Its mission is to provide women and girls with the support and tools needed to transform their lives, be confident in their choices, and make valuable contributions to their communities. YWCA services are available to all women, children, and other victims of sexual abuse. Last year, the YWCA provided direct counseling and advocacy services to 380 adults and children from Glen Ellyn, and violence prevention programs to more than 23,000 DuPage County children and their parents, with 1,423 students from Glen Ellyn.
Bridge Communities transforms lives of homeless families by facilitating the change they need to care for themselves and raise their children. Bridge Com- munities provides transitional housing, supportive services, and mentoring for homeless families in DuPage County.
CASA of DuPage County believes that all children have the right to safe, permanent and nurturing homes. The mission of CASA is to recruit, train, and support volunteer citizen advocates to effectively speak in the best interests of abused, neglected, and dependent children in the DuPage County juvenile and family court system.
Central DuPage Pastoral Counseling Center (CDPCC) is a non-profit organization that provides affordable, professional pastoral counseling services to the public in an ecumenical setting. Pastoral counseling relies on theology and behavioral science working together to provide comprehensive insights into life.
Community Housing Advocacy and Development of DuPage (CHAD) provides and advocates for quality affordable housing for low and moderate income individuals and families.
DuPage PADS has provided hope for people who are homeless in DuPage County for 25 years by offering an array of services that build self-sufficiency and helps to stop the cycle of homelessness.
Easter Seals provides outpatient rehabilitation services for children with developmental and physical disabilities. Their services help children achieve maximum independence as well as giving support to the families.
Family Shelter Services provides intervention support to help heal children traumatized by domestic violence. Staff will also assist child victims of domestic abuse by providing a safe shelter and counseling programs to empower them while they begin recovering.
Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center Our mission is to help children from low-income families acquire the necessary skills in academics and social interaction to move successfully through grades K-12 and into adulthood. We do this by providing after school and summer programs which emphasize literacy and community involvement and use the talents of teachers, volunteers and a variety of local support services.
Glen Ellyn Food Pantry provides a resource for families to obtain fresh and non-perishable food items.
Glen Ellyn Park District donates scholarships to offset the cost of summer camp to allow parents who struggle financially with working full-time and providing childcare.
Glen Ellyn Public Library provides a free service, “Bus to Books” summer enrichment program for ESL and financially disadvantaged children. It also provides library outreach staff who go to the Children’s Resource Center with books to read and check-out.
Glen Ellyn Youth and Family Counseling offers affordable, professional counseling services for all residents of Glen Ellyn and for children attending a Glen Ellyn school. Approximately seventy percent of all services are delivered to youth and/or their families.
Glenbard West HS English Language Learners Program serves students with over 15 non-English primary languages. Four levels of intensive English are available to students who demonstrate limited or no English languate profi- ciency. English language immersion focuses on the four domains of: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Over the past few years, GBW has received students from numerous countries including Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, Burma, and Cameroon. These students have never received formal schooling because of a variety of circumstances. As such, the ELL Program provides basic life skills and literacy.
NAMI DuPage provides support, advocacy, and education in order to improve the quality of life for individuals with mental illness and their families. Currently, programs focus on helping children and adults with mental illness and their families through educational programs, advocacy, and community outreach campaigns.
People's Resource Center Since 1975, People’s Resource Center has been bringing neighbors together to respond to hunger and poverty in DuPage County. With a team of over 1,500 volunteers, we offer nutritious food and other basic necessities like clothes and rent assistance for people facing tough times. We connect people with resources— education and tutoring, jobs, technology, art, a caring community—to create a future of hope and opportunity for all.
Philip J. Rock Center and School (PRC) serves two distinct functions in providing services to individuals who are deaf-blind. First, the residential school offers one of the most intensive, comprehensive educational programs available for children who are deaf-blind in the 3-21 year age group. Second, the Center provides a wide range of services on a statewide basis. Services are provided in schools, medical settings, early intervention centers, and homes. The combined Center and School concept makes possible a program which provides a continuum of services to children who are deaf-blind and their families, as well as limited services to the adults who are deaf-blind.
Supplies 4 Success serves school age children in the Glen Ellyn area. Over 500 children* are likely to start this school year without basic school supplies and winter outerwear. This puts them at a great disadvantage and limits their opportunities for educational success. Supplies 4 Success hopes to change that by providing children in need with an assortment of basic school supplies and a backpack
The Garden Works Project is a volunteer led organization working to relieve hunger in Chicago's western suburbs by providing families in need of food assistance with home vegetable gardens and coaching. They help families who would otherwise be unable to grow their own food because of financial need, disability or advanced age. Their families, all clients of local food pantries, range from toddlers to grandparents.
Teen Parent Connection serves the community through education on the realities and responsibilities of teenage pregnancy and through long-term assistance to adolescent parents for the development of self-esteem, parenting skills, and empowerment toward self-sufficiency.
Western DuPage Special Recreation Association’s (WSDRA) mission is “the development of individuals through recreation”. It offers cultural, social, and recreational programs to individuals with disabilities. Programs range from Special Olympics training and competition, athletic leagues, art programs, cultural events, social clubs, community outings, and inclusion services. The overall goal is to provide opportunities to its special needs audience which will enrich their lives and allow them to maximize their potential.
World Relief DuPage (WRD) is a refugee resettlement agency that partners with local churches, volunteers, and community groups to provide services, friendship, and support to refugees and immigrants from all over the world. The people we work with have been driven from their homes in Bhutan, Burma, the DR Congo, Iraq, Sudan, and many other countries by persecution, poverty, torture, slavery, and war, and they have come to our community looking for a new start. WRD and its partners help these families move into apartments, learn English, find jobs, access needed health care, and much more. About 35% of the refugees that WRD works with are under the age of 18, and they are especially in need of support as they adjust to new schools, a new country, and a new way of life. WRD’s Children and Youth Services facilitates the school enrollment process and provides parent orientations, after-school programming, and summer programming. Additionally, Children and Youth services provides an Early Childhood Program that offers a place where refugee adults can send their children free of cost while they attend WRD’s adult ESL classes. The program therefore provides more adults with the freedom to improve their English skills, while also giving children the opportunity to develop their English abilities and prepare for the formal learning environment of local schools.
YWCA’s vision is to eliminate racism and empower women. Its mission is to provide women and girls with the support and tools needed to transform their lives, be confident in their choices, and make valuable contributions to their communities. YWCA services are available to all women, children, and other victims of sexual abuse. Last year, the YWCA provided direct counseling and advocacy services to 380 adults and children from Glen Ellyn, and violence prevention programs to more than 23,000 DuPage County children and their parents, with 1,423 students from Glen Ellyn.