The Community House / Charitable Giving

The Community House image

By HM staff

Healing and recovery have been the focus of The Community House staff and board throughout 2021. Despite the pandemic, The Community House remained the center of community involvement and activity as we focused on helping provide safe outlets for individuals of all ages to engage. Even though we are masked and distanced, we are still finding ways to provide human connections and a sense of normalcy when families need us most. Through the arts, athletics, summer camps, science classes, and more, we brought people together to live full and healthy lives. Our community rallied around the legacy and the love for theater of the late Dick Johnson, a Life Trustee, and raised more than $50,000 for theater improvements for the next generation of performer to enjoy. We needed the support of our donors during this challenging time of reduced services and through the annual fund, the Walk for Mental Health, and the Holiday Ball, donors and friends stepped up to support our mission because the pandemic reminded people how important connection and engagement truly can be.

This support allowed us to serve over 100 counseling clients on a sliding scale, with 70% of those clients being under age 23 and without adequate health insurance. The generosity of our donors also allowed us to flex our day care programming to the low-income and unincorporated Willowbrook Corner neighborhood to be full day, half day, or after school as the school schedule rapidly changed. One Willowbrook Corner parent shared, “Without The Community House offering day care when the school schedule kept changing each week, there is no way I could have kept my job.” We’ve listened to the residents in Willowbrook Corner and in 2022 we are planning to expand our services to include equitable access to both youth mental health services and recreation, athletic, and arts programming. All families, regardless of their income level or zip code, want the same things for their families and with the support of donors, we can provide bright futures for our neighbors in unincorporated DuPage County.

*Photo provided by The Community House

Author

IMG_3549

Downers Grove Aviator: Art Chester inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame

Michael_H_2023-11-e1693180782104

Health & Wellness: Dr. Michael Halkias, O.D.

IMG_9894

Health & Wellness: Dr. Karen Wolowick, D.O.

2017-10-30-11.55.08-e1693177408381

The Helpful Hardware Folks

DrVenkat_P4A4990

Health & Wellness: Dr. Sangeetha Venkatarajan

iStock-1294477039 [Converted]

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Copy-of-5-Teague-being-presented-_23-Jersey-Fall-2022

Grand Finale: Downers Grove North band director Brayer Teague will leave a lasting legacy when he retires

4N0A3571alt

A Garden-variety Group: The Garden Club of Downers Grove is anything but ordinary

Chief-DeVries-Pic

Chief of Police Michael DeVries

Photo-1

Downers Grove Junior Woman’s Club

Kelly

A Musical Mentor: Band alumni weigh in on how Teague’s teaching inspired them to pursue careers in music education

Megan-Jacobson-e1693180911629

Health & Wellness: Meghan Jacobson, LCSW