Outreach Opportunities
In Our Community & Beyond
Upcoming Opportunities
- Holiday Gifts for Foster Children. Provide holiday gifts to foster children through Lutheran Social Services. Gifts are due December 11.
- Holiday Gifts for FUSION families in need this holiday. Sign up HERE.
- Prayers for Israel & Gaza and how to help. See below.
- For our World, incredible results. See below.
- Mission Trip interest form
- Join our local Mission Leadership Team, details are below.
- DuPage Care Center – Serve with our team at DuPage Care Center on the third Sunday of each month between 9:30 – 11:45 AM. Want to get connected? Contact Karen Fegley.
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES
Holiday gifts for Foster Children!
Help bring joy this holiday to children in foster care with Lutheran Social Services. We have adopted a list of 50 children, many from difficult
circumstances, to foster love in their hearts this Christmas! At this time all names have been sponsored – thank you!
1. Select a tag with a specific child. Each tag should include a short wish list with their gender, size, and requests. If no suggestions are provided, select any age-appropriate gift you think they will enjoy.
2. Please sign out the tag including the name of the child you have selected and your contact information in case we need to follow up with you.
3. Please place all items into a single gift bag (do not wrap them)
When possible, include the gift receipts for items purchased. For items too large for a gift bag, make sure the child’s name is clearly marked.
4. Please return all gifts on December 3 & 11 (or sooner!) to the Foster Love table across from the connect center. Thanks for putting a SMILE on the face of a child this holiday!
FAMILIES IN NEED
Join us in sponsoring some of our Fusion Families for the holidays!
We have a few FUSION families who could use some help this Christmas. Help us show love and support this Christmas to these precious families in need. Gifts are due by December 15th. View wish list HERE
Hesed House | January 10 & 11
Hesed House is the second-largest homeless shelter in Illinois and a long-time mission partner of Good Shepherd. Helping the most vulnerable among us remains one of our highest priorities.
Our team serves breakfast and dinner to the guests at Hesed House six times a year. Our next serving opportunity is in January. Sign-up links will be posted two weeks prior.
Prayers and Support
We stand in prayer for the innocent civilians in Israel and in Gaza. Our mission partner, Lutheran World Relief, has boots on the ground to deliver urgent support and care. When you give to Good Shepherd, you are supporting LWR. For those desiring above and beyond donations in this time of need can be made directly to LWR.
We did it!
2,039 school kits and 216 quilts are boxes and ready to go!
What a day! We did it, Good Shepherd! Celebrating with joy the 398 participants who helped pack 2,039 school kits on Sunday for Lutheran World Relief. The estimated cost of the supplies donated is $33,000 the largest single donation of its kind to LWR. In addition, 216 handmade quilts are also destined for LWR distribution. We are grateful for your generosity of time and resources that helped provide these tangible gifts of God’s love and warmth to vulnerable children and families worldwide!
What’s next? This weekend Good Shepherd will be a Regional Collection Site for LWR. Our team will welcome churches from the Chicagoland and surrounding area dropping off quilts and kits they have prepared. We help load these boxes on the semi-truck in our parking lot, along with the 294 boxes of Good Shepherd quilts and school kits, all destined for Lutheran World Relief’s main distribution warehouse.
Where will our kits and quilts go? Lutheran World Relief will ship resources to wherever the greatest need is. They could be war-torn nations like Ukraine, areas where natural disasters have struck like Syria, Libya, and Morocco, or countries in Asia or Africa caught in the horrible cycle of extreme poverty. These school kits and quilts provide hope, normalcy, and needed resources for our neighbors in need around the world.
Chicago Marathon|Team World Vision
Congratulations to our runners: Audra Diehl, Robert Duncan, Linda Elaine, David & Greta Hanson, Lauren Howarth, Emma Huntley, Ram Kariya, Jeff & Tara Beth Leach, Petra & Rachel Lachenicht, Laura Jean Martin, Jyoti Mishra, Vivian Parrish, Mayur Sedani, Emily Smith, Melissa Sogavo, Kristi Sur, and Emily Tonon.
We are thankful for people who will now have clean water because you said “YES, I can”! You can support our Good Shepherd team here!
DuPage Care Center
3rd Sunday of the Month from 9:30 – 11:45 AM
Do you know that Good Shepherd provides an off-site worship service once a month for residents living at DuPage Care Center? It’s an important way that we serve our community. Every third Sunday we provide a team to worship with residents physically unable to go to church. Pianists, musicians, vocalists, and anyone with a smile who can push a wheelchair are invited to join our team in this impactful service! Just a few hours, once a month, helps to bring worship and joy to grateful residents!
Email our leader for more details here.
Mission Trip Interest
Join us on an incredible journey of faith and service! God’s transformative work happens through His people, and a mission trip is a powerful way to be part of that work. Whether you’re an experienced traveler or just beginning to consider short-term missions, we invite you to complete our interest form today. By doing so, you’ll help us discern the when, where, and how of our mission trips for the remainder of 2023-24.
As we hear stories of the tremendous impact that mission trips have on both those serving and being served, we’re excited to see what God has in store for us. By taking this step of faith, you’ll have the opportunity to deepen your relationship with God, connect with fellow believers, and make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. So why wait? Complete the interest form today and let’s discover where God is calling us to serve together.
Local Mission Leadership Team
Do you have a heart for local missions? We are growing our leadership team with individuals who can help us plan and execute local serving events like Hesed House. This will be a joint effort, amongst passionate people, doing kingdom work right in our own backyard. Together, joyfully, we can make a difference.
Contact Jeannine Allen to learn more.
Loaves and Fishes Community Services
Volunteers Needed
Due to difficult economic circumstances, Loaves and Fishes Community Services is currently serving 5,500 families or more each week and could use our help! They have an immediate need for volunteers on M-TH from 1-3 pm to do produce sorting for distribution. This is at their Distribution Hub, 580 Exchange Court, Aurora, IL. The only requirement is that you wear close-toed shoes and can stand for 2 hours while sorting.
Email Shelly Schmitz at sschmitz@loaves-fishes.org with additional questions or to volunteer.
Feed My Starving Children
Aurora Packing Site
Each day FMSC distributes meals in schools, orphanages, clinics, and feeding programs around the world to deliver hope and break the cycle of poverty. Kids and adults of all ages hand-pack nutritious MannaPack® meals specifically designed to assist in reversing and preventing undernutrition. FMSC is a long-time mission partner of Good Shepherd. We are a premier supporter of Feed the Need every February, and sponsor several group packing sessions throughout the year. Outside of that, you can sign up directly to serve at the Aurora site. It is a fun, impactful way to help with the world hunger crisis.
Sign up and full details here.
Thrivent Action Teams
If you are a Thrivent Member, you are eligible for a $250 gift card to support community-involved service projects. Please consider partnering with Good Shepherd to put this money into action with our current community outreach efforts! Together we can make an impact! We will walk you through the easy process step by step.
Email us to learn more.