I’ve highlighted a few here that I’ve learned about in the last few months, just to help you see some of the many places you may serve.

I look forward to participating in some of these together. If you do volunteer to do service somewhere, please send me a note and let me know about your opportunity. Just send me an email explaining what service you did and what you got out of it. Send it to Mrs. Knott at a.knott@st-raymond.org.

What is it? The Discovery Retreat is for teens, put on by teens. It’s a 24-hour overnight experience of exploring faith and friendship with God and other Catholic teens. It’s a chance to discover who God created you to be and how to begin living out that dream. See form for details!

Journeys is a shelter program that provides a range of counseling services for those who are homeless as well as those on the verge of losing their homes. These services include counseling for domestic violence, mental health and substance abuse, housing preparedness and vocation and job search. In addition, in their facility in Palatine, they provide food, clothing, laundry facilities and bathing services to those in need.

At The Hope Center, they say that one of the most difficult trends they have noticed over the last few years is the rise in families experiencing homelessness and housing instability. Last year in 2012, they serviced 316 children.

Check out their website to learn how you can help.
www.journeystheroadhome.org

Timothy’s Ministry

Timothy’s Ministry—a local church that holds Sunday lunch and prayer services for the homeless. Luncheons for the homeless are held every other Sunday at The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights. We could volunteer as a group of St. Raymond’s teens or a Branches group could volunteer to host a luncheon, which includes setting up the room, preparing and serving food, and cleaning up. In addition, individual volunteers are always welcome to show up on any luncheon date to help out. Volunteers are needed to help set up, clean up, serve food, visit with guests, and help in the clothing room.

My family and I went a few weeks ago to participate; we had a wonderful time serving food, visiting with the guests, and meeting other teens and families that had come to volunteer.

Hand’s on Chicago

The mission of Hands on Suburban Chicago is “to inspire, equip and mobilize people to volunteer and take action that builds vibrant and prosperous communities.” This is also part of a Catholic mission to serve others—feed the hungry, visit the lonely, and serve the poor.

This website provides an extensive list of hundreds of local volunteer opportunities. You can search by your age, what kind of volunteer work you want to do (with children, poor, homeless, elderly), and your area. I spent just 15 minutes on this website and found a bunch of wonderful opportunities that we as groups could do, everything from packing food at the Northern Illinois Food Bank to working with the elderly at different nursing homes. Take some time to check it out. The site makes it very convenient because it gives you contact information for many places, right in one spot.

Hands on Suburban Chicago
volunteer@volunteerinfo.net
2121 S. Goebbert
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(847) 228-1320

Teen Leadership