Outreach at All Saints
The Outreach Committee is proud help All Saints share our love with communities nearby and across the world. The outpouring of love, volunteerism and generosity of our parish has been nothing short of astounding, and we are very excited to involve the greater Western Springs community in our efforts. As committee member Cari Stables said, “I think we are becoming known in Western Springs as the church that serves the community, and maybe that’s what God is calling us to do.” Here are some of the partner organizations we’ve served over several years:
Off The Street Club, Chicago’s oldest club for boys and girls, in West Garfield Park/Chicago, has been a partner since the 1990s. They serve over 3,000 kids in a neighborhood known for gangs, drugs and violence. This past June 2020, after the Memorial Day rioting and looting destroyed many food stores in the neighborhood, All Saints partnered with 1st Congregational Church in Western Springs to provide food every week through June and July until the OTSC management asked us to stop in mid-July. All Saints has raised money and collected goods every year for camp scholarships and Christmas Day Out packages (movie passes and money for lunch and popcorn) to help bring “Casual Joy” to these wonderful and deserving children.
Morton Freshman Center in Cicero has been a partner since 2011, when we heard the families were so poor, kids were coming to school during Chicago’s frigid winters wearing only hoodies! So we started a community coat and winter outerwear drive to help called “GIVE WARMTH.” We involve friends and neighbors, local retail stores, the Theatre of Western Springs, elementary schools, the Junior High, and more. Cicero families are invited to the Morton Freshman Center to shop for free gear. It’s been a remarkable success – last year, we collected over 1,000 items! And this year, even during Covid-19, we plan to GIVE WARMTH to Cicero’s neediest families.
BEDS Plus (Building Ecumenical Discipleship through Sheltering) in La Grange serves the area’s homeless and has been the recipient of lunch bags packed on Maundy Thursday by All Saints members for several years. In 2019, laundry kits were also packed and delivered the next day.
Feed My Starving Children has as its mission the provision of food packs, called MannaPack meals, which are distributed across the world. Several All Saints members and Youth Groups have participated in many packing events, which are fun and worthwhile.
Soles4Souls is an organization which provides gently used footwear to people in the 3rd third world counties, many of whom wear “water bottle sandals” or nothing on their feet. One of All Saints younger members brought this project to our attention and we have collected and shipped off several loads of shoes for many years.
Memorial Day Water Ministry has been going on in partnership with the local VFW Post #10778 for several years. The All Saints team hands out bottles of chilled water at the Western Springs Memorial Day Parade and service with specially designed labels, which include a prayer for fallen heroes.
And many others over the years, including Almost Home Kids, Constance Morris House, St. Francis Food Pantry, Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief, Iraq Soldier Benefit, Teddy Bears for hospital patients, Toys For Tots, Southern Illinois Tornado Relief, and many more.
But sometimes our best service is just to open our doors to our neighbors and let them use our space for their needs. All Saints has founded and hosted a Boy Scout Troop 3 since 1993 with over 60+ Eagle Scouts to date; a tutoring service; a spiritual mentoring service; and starting in 2019, two recovery groups: Sisters in Sobriety, a women's Alcoholics Anonymous group of 25-30, and smaller AlAnon and AlaTeen meetings weekly until COVID-19 stopped us from allowing gatherings. We have also hosted the local school district 101’s kindergarten screening for many years. We look forward to welcoming all back as soon as it is safe.
If you or someone you know has a need we can help fill, please call the church office at 708-246-0030. We are always looking for our next opportunity to share our love with the community and beyond.
But sometimes our best service is just to open our doors to our neighbors and let them use our space for their needs. All Saints has founded and hosted a Boy Scout Troop 3 since 1993 with over 60+ Eagle Scouts to date; a tutoring service; a spiritual mentoring service; and starting in 2019, two recovery groups: Sisters in Sobriety, a women's Alcoholics Anonymous group of 25-30, and smaller AlAnon and AlaTeen meetings weekly until COVID-19 stopped us from allowing gatherings. We have also hosted the local school district 101’s kindergarten screening for many years. We look forward to welcoming all back as soon as it is safe.
If you or someone you know has a need we can help fill, please call the church office at 708-246-0030. We are always looking for our next opportunity to share our love with the community and beyond.