The Power of Community
The western suburbs of Chicago are increasingly becoming home to low-income families in search of safer neighborhoods, better schools, and affordable housing; yet, they are finding that a lack of employment opportunities and public transit are blocking their path to self-sufficiency. With the help of Loaves & Fishes, these families are connected to the resources… Read more »
Finding Solutions that Stick
The Client Engagement Model has been going strong for a little over 90 days now. We have learned a lot about our clients as a result. Poverty has many faces, names, stories and cultural backgrounds, but our clients have so much in common. They want the best for their families, whether they have been struggling… Read more »
The Battle for Employment
What is the true unemployment rate in Illinois? Are you accounted for in the true unemployment number? According to recent reports, the Illinois working-age population has grown by nearly 300,000 since the recession; however the Illinois workforce has shrunk 226,000 over the same period. This indicates there’s a gap of more than 500,000 working-age Illinoisans… Read more »
Campaign Makes Program Evolution Possible
The Power of Community Campaign was created to help Loaves & Fishes achieve the goals set forth in our strategic plan, including programmatic growth. Thanks to our community’s support to date, Loaves & Fishes is piloting the Client Engagement Model, which will benefit more low-income families by focusing on food, prevention, education and wellness. What… Read more »
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Results
The VITA team, headed by L&F volunteer Tom Wcisel, held their final session at Loaves & Fishes on April 13. At the end of the day, the volunteer tax team had completed 362 returns for the community, yielding $576,000 in Federal refunds and $54,000 in state refunds. That’s an increase in clients of 19% over… Read more »