New Home Starter Kits

One of the many really cool things that Breakthrough does is to give New Home Starter Kits to individuals that are able to get their own place.

The kits are different styles and usually have donated items in them - but they all contain at least the following items:

• 2 plates
• 2 cups
• 2 saucers
• 2 bowls
• 2 knives
• 2 forks
• 2 spoons
• 2 placemats
• 2 dishtowels
• 2 dishcloths
• 1 bottle of dish soap
• 2 towels
• 2 washcloths
• 2 bars of soap
• 1 body lotion
• 1 toothbrush
• 1 toothpaste
• 1 shampoo
• 1 conditioner
• 1 deodorant
• 2 rolls of toilet paper
• 2 boxes of facial tissue
• 1 can opener
• 1 all purpose cleaner

Point being? Donations of the above items are always welcome and used for the New Home Starter Kits. If you have some of the above items or find a good deal on them while out shopping, pick 'em up! Just bring them by the Breakthrough Ministry Center then next time you come out to volunteer. It'll be much appreciated! :)

Who said February is horrible?

February was a great month for Willow Chicago at Breakthrough! Our dinners at both the men's and the women's facilities were delicious and provided true community for several guests and volunteers alike!
Thanks again for all the hard work. We seriously have the best volunteers around! :)

Also - there are so many exciting and new things happening because of Willow Chicago's support of Breakthrough. As you've probably already heard - we're going to host 2-3 "drives" each year to help supply Breakthrough with items that they desperately need. The first drive (currently timeframed between March and April) is to help furnish SRO rooms - so stay tuned for further information on that wonderful project.

Upcoming Events for Breakthrough!

Hey everyone!
There's some really exciting stuff coming up at Breakthrough Urban Ministries in this coming year.

In particular, Willow Chicago is going to head up a few initiatives. Here's just a few:

• Furnishing the SRO Rooms - Breakthrough has 5 SRO rooms, these rooms are set aside for 18-24 year old males to have single room occupancy. Meaning? Young adults just starting out get a chance to have their own place while getting on their feet. This is a great program and an awesome opportunity for any Interior Designers out there! :)
• More meal leaders! If you have a passion for cooking and want to lead your own night or meal at Breakthrough, let us know! We have tons of wonderful volunteers that we can coordinate for you and will help you with anything you might need. You only need to plan the menu and make the initial groceries purchase. Time commitment? 3 Months. (One meal/month).
• Run the Chicago half-marathon to benefit Breakthrough! We're in the process of growing our running team and would love to have you join too! Even if you're a brand new runner - I promise, it'll be a great time. And you can definitely run 13.1 miles while raising funds and awareness for the great work that Breakthrough Urban Ministries is doing.
  

Just let me know if you have interest in ANY of these great opportunities!

Need a Soccer Coach!

Do you know of anyone who is really into soccer and who may be interested in starting a homeless men's soccer team? Breakthrough Urban Ministries is considering teaming up with ChiTown soccer to try it out. Just need the coach/manager!

Tribune Article - from 2/3/09

Women's Dinner, 1/16/09, was full of BLESSINGS!

Rebecca blessed us all with some wonderful home-style Irish cooking. :) It was fantastic and the women loved it too, though some were a bit pensive at first.

Jana also blessed us with some guitar playing and songbooks. It was a really sweet time and the ladies seemed to really enjoy it - most of the guests even requested some of their favorites. We hope to keep music as part of our dinners there.

If you play the guitar and would like to join us, please just let me know.

Thanks! :)