Operation Helping Hands 2010 June-21-2010

JOIN HANDS. OPEN YOUR HEART. LEND YOUR MUSCLE. Operation Helping Hands 2010!

Over 450 volunteers tackled clean up, painting and landscaping projects at eleven different Kane County sites as part of "Operation Helping Hands 2010"! Operation Helping Hands, a collaboration between Fox Valley United Way and Ginger Creek Community Church encourages volunteers to lend a hand to Fox Valley social service organizations that serve families and individuals who need support. Additional supporting organizations included; The City of Aurora, Main Baptist Church, Warehouse Church, Community Christian Church, Next Level Foundation, Sow a Seed Outreach and the Aurora Housing Authority.

Operation Helping Hands projects include:

· Landscaping at Aid for Individual Development

· Landscaping and general clean up at Eastwood Housing Facility, Aurora.

· Clean up at the Elderday Center, Batavia.

· Clean up, Painting and Landscaping at Hesed House, Aurora.

· Window washing and entertainment at Jennings Terrace, an Aurora nursing home.

· Landscaping at Marie Wilkinson Child Development Center , Aurora .

· Clean up projects at Mooseheart

· Landscaping at Mutual Ground, Aurora

· Clean up at Senior Services, Aurora

View our photos from this years Operation Helping Hands

Domestic Violence Shelter Reopens Its Doors - United Way's Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund Provides the Key!

Mutual Ground announced the immediate reopening of its domestic violence shelter after a nearly two week closure. The shelter was closed due to a significant decrease in funding from the State of Illinois precipitated by the current economic downturn. The reopening was made possible by a contribution from the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund started by the Dunham Fund, an Aurora area private foundation, and administered by the Fox Valley United Way.

"We have reopened our shelter doors and the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund has provided the key" said Linda Healy, Mutual Ground's Executive Director. "Since the shelter closed on July 1st, the agency has turned away 24 women and 32 children in dire need of emergency shelter from life-threatening emotional and physical abuse." Mutual Ground has provided over 102,000 nights of shelter since 1997. It is the only domestic violence shelter serving southern Kane and Kendall Counties and the Aurora portion of DuPage County . The closest shelters are in Elgin, DeKalb, Glen Ellyn and Joliet and are not easily reached by public transportation and many domestic violence victims do not have access to an automobile. Hesed House, an area homeless shelter, has accepted emergency referrals from Mutual Ground for the past two weeks, but cannot sufficiently provide the kind of specialized security necessary for domestic violence victims.

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To Learn More about the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund click below:

Donors may continue to make contributions online to the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund or send a check to: Fox Valley United Way at 40 West Downer Place, Aurora, Illinois 60506.