Lincoln Park Community Shelter

great spot to volunteer, the dinner program is great & a fun way to spend a few hours. the guests always seem to be very happy with our meals. i look forward to making dinners here!

The best interim shelter in Chicago, hands down! Dedicated staff, wonderful structured programs, high success rate & beautiful facility! The guests are incredible as well. Anyone that has any question as to what homeless people or a shelter is really like should volunteer here.

They have an orientation program held once in a blue moon. At first they’re quick to get you involved, but then they just fall off the radar. Even after following up asking for a chance to volunteer, they don’t respond…

Volunteering here was one of the best experiences of my life. I got together with a group of people and we cooked dinner for a packed house!
We cooked breakfast for dinner and when we were done we got a standing ovation from our guests which brought tears to my eyes. When I was serving the food one person stopped me and thanked me for looking him in the eyes and smiling at him. He said they dont get that very often on the streets and it made him feel human.
If your ever debating taking the time, even just once a month to do this, I strongly suggest it. Giving back can be a life changing experience.

This is a great place to do volunteering. I strongly agree with their mission statement and their actions to support it.
They have useful metrics to measure their progress and they publish it in their annual report on their website. They have an orientation program at the last Wednesday of each month so that you can learn all the aspects of their program — from food preparation to teaching classes to help the homeless get off the streets.
Their graduates also come back and volunteer. Also, it’s a requirement that the homeless in the program also perform community service and take 20 hours a month minimum in self-​improvement classes.
The food preparation program is so popular that there is usually a 1 month wait for dinner preparation (prepare dinner for 35 – 40 people and usually groups volunteer but individuals can join pick-​up groups too). Their sack lunch program can always use more people though.
The management is very devoted and they do a great job. I’m grateful that
pointed me to such a great organization. This lets me bring my company in as a group to prepare dinner at the shelter. Great team-​building and fun event.
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