Faith In Action

Almost Home Kids (AHK) provides short-term transitional and respite care in a home-like setting to medically fragile children with complicated health needs, as well as training for their families. Many client families rely on financial donations and state aide in order to receive services. The children are often depending on a ventilator for breathing support, a feeding tube for nutrition and the use of other hi-tech devices. Family members are taught how to operate the equipment before the child goes home.

The facility in Naperville is the only model of its kind in Illinois. Volunteers spend time with the children and represent the organization at special events.  Almost Home Kids welcomes those that are at least 16 years of age to join their volunteer team to help enrich the lives of the children at AHK.  You will need to attend one of the monthly Volunteer Orientations, have a current TB test and seasonal Flu shot. 

Please visit the AHK website and click on the tab How to Help to see a page dedicated to the Volunteer Program.  You can also support AHK by donating items on the Wish List which is also located on the website.

DuPage United, founded in 2003, is an inclusive, non-profit, non-partisan organization whose members are civil society institutions: churches, mosques, synagogues, non-profit agencies, and associations. They have come together to form public relationships and to act together to improve the quality of life for individuals, families and communities. DuPage United engages in democratic action in the public arena.

A group of clergy and lay leaders founded the organization in order to build the capacity to sit at the table with decision-makers to change systems and structures that were unjust. DGFUMC is a member of DuPage United.  For more information, please contact Rachel Brooks (703-955-6401).

Formerly known as the Walk-In Ministry of Hope, Hope's Front Door  provides emergency assistance to those in desperate need who include the unemployed, underemployed, homeless, seniors and disabled…nearly 15,000 individuals and their families in Downers Grove and five neighboring villages. After determining their immediate needs through compassionate conversation, clients are helped with either food, medical, dental and/or transportation vouchers, plus a clear pathway into the network of social agencies that can assist them with the long-term restructuring of their lives. 

For more information, contact Janell Robinson, Executive Director, or Diane Ray, Program Director, or phone 630-241-0187.

Kids Hope USA develops one-on-one relationships through the creation of church-school partnerships that pair church members with at-risk kids in supportive, mentoring relationships. Mentors spend just one hour per week, reading, talking, playing and listening to a child at school. By helping the child feel loved and valued, they help that child to learn, grow and succeed.

The vision of the Northern Illinois Food Bank is for no one to be hungry in northern Illinois and to lead the community in solving hunger by providing nutritious meals to those in need. Across 13 northern Illinois counties, food manufacturers, local groceries, corporations, foundations, and individuals come together to donate food and funds, and evaluate and repack food for distribution to more than 600 network partners – the food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and youth and senior feeding programs that serve more than 60,000 different people each week.

For more information, contact Jenny Orlando (630-443-6910 x 129).

The mission of DuPage P.A.D.S. (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) is to end homelessness in DuPage County.  Building on years of experience, DuPage Pads believes the solution is housing, coupled with support services and employment.   Over the years, the agency has grown to be the largest provider of services to those who are homeless in the county, last year serving 1,451 individuals including 245 children in 140 families.

Our church hosts individuals and families every Tuesday night from October to May. DGFUMC volunteers coordinate the program and work on the first Tuesday of each month, while other churches work on the remaining weeks.  

For more information about DuPage Pads, contact Will Salmon (630-682-3846). For information about the DGFUMC PADS program, contact Sheila Ochoa (630-968-7120 x 205). 

Sharing Connections Furniture Bank provides donated furniture and household items to low-income families, most of whom are coping with crisis like domestic violence, job loss, or financial hardship and include the previously homeless, unemployed and working poor, veterans, victims of domestic violence, immigrants, individuals with mental or physical disabilities, victims of fire, flood and natural disasters, etc. Clients have housing, but are faced with the harsh reality that their “home” is empty or severely under-furnished. The goal of the organization is “tonight, everyone eats at a table and sleeps in a bed.”  The average salary of a client family of four is approximately $12,400 a year. After basic expenses are paid, there’s little if anything left for the common household furnishings most take for granted. 

For more information, call 630-971-0565 or visit the Sharing Connections website.