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"Recently I volunteered for the Hesed House in Aurora. For a school project I had to give five hours of my time and give back to any place of my choosing. "I am not going to lie I was not looking forward to it at all. When I got there they had me folding laundry… Read More

By Kalyn Belsha, Aurora Beacon-NewsApril 21, 2015 Around 9 p.m. on Saturday, just under 80 East Aurora High School seniors tried to keep busy on their school's football field. Some bundled up in sleeping bags, blankets or tents, while others sprinted on the grass in a game of cops and robbers. Each senior wore an… Read More

By Stephen Madison, Associate Program Director, PADS If someone approached you and said in order to accomplish our goal, we need to assemble a large group of people that will work for free, every single night, of every single week, of every single month, of every single year, how would you respond? Most people would… Read More

By Denise Crosby, Aurora Beacon-NewsMarch 27, 2015 at 6:48 p.m. Kevin Harmon lives in Aurora and works in West Chicago. Which doesn't sound like a bad commute, until you consider it starts off with a four-block walk at night to catch that last bus of the day to the Metra station in Geneva. From there,… Read More

As the Aurora University Spartans men's lacrosse team hosted the visiting Blue Jays of Elmhurst College on Wednesday, March 18, 2015, a young fan base, new to lacrosse, was in the stands cheering them on. As part of a senior project, three AU communication students, Loretta Johnson, Lorelei Ritzert and Brittany Roydhouse, organized the event, "Kids in… Read More

By Kalyn Belsha, Aurora Beacon News http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-homelessness-st-0322-20150320-story.html In mid-April, about 120 East Aurora High School students will arrive at their school's football field with nothing but the items they can carry on their backs. There will be no food after 5 p.m. or electronics on the field, where they'll sleep overnight. The "sleep out," which… Read More

Hesed House was awarded a complete room makeover (valued at approximately $10,000 to be used in our Transitional Living Community) from our generous friends at the IKEA store in Bolingbrook! Thank you to everyone who voted for Hesed House! Each year, IKEA receives many inspiring proposals from IKEA co-workers as candidates for the campaign. Then… Read More

  The Rev. Greg Schiller searched Chicago last spring, hoping to find one of the guests who had spent nights last winter at the Matthew 25:40 Ministries shelter in downtown Elgin. The young woman, who seemed to disappear from the Elgin streets she had been living on, had a court date in Cook County. Schiller… Read More

By Al Lagattolla, alagattolla@shawmedia.com SUGAR GROVE – When Kaneland High School junior Andy McFarlin decided to put together a coat drive to benefit Aurora-based Hesed House, he said he saw an opportunity to turn it into a cooperative project. McFarlin last year was the president of Kaneland’s Gay Straight Alliance. He also has been involved in the Greater Fox River… Read More

As I have pursued stories of those who serve others in the Fox Valley, the many and varied journeys that those servants have traveled have been most interesting. When I recently met Tom Zimmerman, assistant development director at Hesed House, I found that the path he followed before arriving at the comprehensive Aurora center for… Read More