Outreach House helps parents provide baby basics
The Outreach House supports low-income families in Lombard and Villa Park by providing them with basic baby items such as diapers, clothing and food through its First Things First program, as well as emergency financial assistance.
As the mother of three young children, the work of the Outreach House is so important to me. I love being a mother, but I know how stressful it can be at times. I can only imagine how much greater the stress would be if I had to worry about whether my children had enough clean diapers for the week or if they had warm enough clothes to wear in the winter.
Each month, Outreach House provides 1,850 diapers for local families. Diapers cannot be obtained with food stamps and cost $70 to $80 per month, per baby. I know from personal experience just how many diapers a baby can go through in a day!
I first learned about the Outreach House several years ago when I was trying to find a place to donate clothing that my twin boys had outgrown. It houses a large clothing closet stocked seasonally in size newborn to 5T. When the opportunity to volunteer some of my time with the Outreach House arose, I was excited to make a tangible difference in my community. The Outreach House believes, like I do, that all babies deserve clean diapers.
The work of the Outreach House shows just how strong our community is. It takes 130 volunteer hours every month to operate, and each month we serve 115 families and 147 children younger than 3.
Volunteers spend countless hours organizing the clothing closet, meeting with families, and connecting families with other service providers in the community. I am grateful to be a part of an organization that does so much good.
This is my first year participating in the DuPage Human Race - and my first 5K. I do not know how well I will do on race day, but I am so excited about how our community has come together to support local families. More than 30 people have signed up to walk or run with us, and more than 40 people have made donations.
The money raised through the DuPage Human Race will go directly to children and families in need in our community.