Highpoint Church Helps Communities With Bags Of Groceries

BOLINGBROOK, IL — The Highpoint Church is helping members of the Bolingbrook and Romeoville communities during the coronavirus pandemic with its mobile Care Center every Tuesday.

The Get a Bag or Give a Bag initiative, started in February, helps residents either collect a bag of groceries and other essentials or donate such bags at one of the drive-up Care Centers on 1251 Windham Parkway, from 6 p.m. until the supplies run out.

“We’re just impressed by the generosity of the community,” said Pastor David Ludwig.
“They don’t even need to get out of their cars to take a bag back home with them.”

The church has always operated its Care Centers where people could come in to discuss various issues, as well as for job referrals. But with social distancing and stay-ay-home order in place, Ludwig said they had to devise other ways to make a difference.

“We were seeing people losing their jobs and going without food,” he said.
“So we saw this was a need. And just last week alone, we served about 270 families.”

Apart from groceries, the bags also have toiletries and essentials such as diapers and wipes. Everyone is required to stay in the car and all the volunteers are following all safety measures such as wearing masks and gloves.

“We’re making sure our people are protected,” Ludwig said. “We’ve had people ask us about wanting to help but for now, they are mostly just members of our church. We actually have volunteers that sign up each week, but we kind of limit that to the bare minimum of what we need, you know, to be able to run this.”

He said the mobile care center will be available for “as long as there's a need in our community and as long as we can continue to get food that we can keep passing out.”

The church is looking for more people to donate as at present, the members are buying most of the food items. However, Ludwig said it has been an overwhelming experience so far, watching the residents come together to help the less fortunate.

“We're seeing people drive up that we've never met before. But they just heard about the center and wanted to donate,” he said. “It’s been pretty incredible to see all this aid coming in from the community. I encourage more people to donate and bless our communities.”
For a list of items you can donate, or for more information about the church’s initiatives, visit the website.