People with Disabilities Equip over 8,000 Chicago-area Students

Eight thousand school children would not have the supplies they need to attend school if it weren’t for over 200 adults with disabilities from the southwest suburbs. Elim adults, who have also been delivering these packs in person to area schools and schoolchildren, were equipped to assemble these School HOPE Packs by generous community donations and through the fundraising efforts of over 70 Chicago-area churches.

Over the ten years of its existence, Elim’s HOPE Packs program has provided over 32,000 HOPE Packs to children in the Chicago area. Each HOPE Pack is assembled by adults with developmental disabilities that participate in Elim’s programs, meaning each HOPE Pack impacts two lives: that of the recipient and that of the Elim participant that packages it.

In addition to school supplies, HOPE Packs, including military care packs have been distributed throughout the world to men and women serving our country, and Food HOPE Packs have been sent wherever there is great need (here in the Chicago region and in other parts of the world).

Elim Christian Services is a 501(c)(3) designated charity, with its main campus in Crestwood, Illinois, and its south campus in Orland Park, Illinois. Elim serves over 450 children and adults with disabilities through its Illinois campuses and impacts the lives of hundreds more through national and global partnerships.

For more information, contact Glenn Spoolstra at 708-293-6510 or Glenn.Spoolstra@elimcs.org.