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500,000 Meals...and Counting!
This month, Roberti Community House served its 500,000th meal since March 2020!
And our mission to provide emergency food continues with:
- Weekly food distribution pop-ups at multiple locations in Lake County,
- Prepared meals delivered to the medically fragile,
- Daily lunches handed out every afternoon from 12 – 1 pm.
Pictured is the Wednesday morning team at Roberti Community House's backyard pop-up food distribution site. It takes a mighty team to get so many meals out to the community! Here are 15 of the hundreds of individuals who make this work possible!
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Meet Flor and Her Family
Due to the pandemic both Flor and her husband lost their jobs and needed for food for the first time in their lives. They had never accessed social services before and did not know where to turn. A friend told them about Roberti Community House and we provided them with lunches and meal kits. Because it is important to Flor to give back, she volunteered at RCH helping to distribute lunches every Friday.
Flor has recently been able to return to work part time but the family budget is still stretched thin. The lunches her family receives help them get through each day.
Click here to register for the Run for Roberti 5K Walk/Run. For just $35 you can provide food to families like Flor’s: www.roberticommunityhouse.org.
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Running to Feed Families
 Katherine Najjar signed up for RCH’s Run for Roberti because she loves running and is happy to have another avenue to help feed families in need. “I’ve always had a passion to do something I love and pair it with an organization that means a lot to me. I am so glad that I can do something simple to help our neighbors.”
Katherine first visited Roberti Community House in April 2020 to deliver extra cookies from her Girl Scout troop. “I knew that kids abruptly got pulled from school last March and no longer had school lunches each day. It was clear that there was a huge need for food.”
That one simple trip to RCH inspired Katherine to expand her commitment to help.
First, Katherine rallied her Girl Scout troop into making lunches each week to support RCH’s daily lunches. Next, she quickly recruited another Girl Scout troop, the Boy Scouts, and many friends to meet the skyrocketing need for food.
Katherine shares, “Every time I drive up to RCH, you visually see that need. There are so many families that do not have enough food. Just knowing that one kid will have a lunch is amazing. Obviously, there is a tremendous need and something as simple as putting together a bag is an easy way to help.”
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Kudos to RCP!
The Roberti Culinary Pathway kitchen had the honor of preparing food for Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor's inaugural event! The delicious quiches, sliders, fruit kabobs and veggie cups prepared by our staff and RCP graduates got rave reviews!
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Ready, Set, Plant!
Q: How many days does it take to prep and plant Roberti Community House gardens during a pandemic?
A: Three!
Thank you to all the volunteers and community members who donated their time over several days to get RCH, RCP, and our community garden ready for a summer of sharing!
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Increasing Access to Vaccines and Food
Since February 2021, Roberti Community House has helped hundreds of individuals get vaccinated.
Roberti Community House has five Illinois Public Health Association-trained Community Health Workers (CHWs) who help hard-to-reach communities and impacted populations.
Short-term grant funding from the Illinois Public Health Association and the United Way of Lake County allows RCH to address unmet community needs, providing COVID 19 education, vaccination, resource coordination and food support to impacted residents. This is so important since 74.31% of the Lake County population is not fully vaccinated (AllVax Portal VaxFacts, 4/23/21).
RCH volunteers and partners have been going door-to-door to dialogue with community members and address their fear of the unknown, resistance to getting the vaccine, and lack of awareness about available resources. RCH then helps them overcome barriers they face such as language, transportation, and technology so that they can get vaccinated.
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Volunteer Opportunities
Summer will be quickly upon us and Roberti Community House is excited to be able to offer in-person volunteer opportunities again! The benefits of having a safe, welcoming gathering place is more important than ever after this year of isolation!
This summer we will offer the following programs, all of which need plenty of volunteer support:
- Community Garden – Tuesdays and Thursdays 10-12 beginning May 11th
Let's grow together! Volunteers, neighbors, and kids are welcome to tend and nourish the three Roberti Community House gardens together.
- Kids' Outdoor Fun – Fridays 10:30-12 beginning June 11th
Crafts, science experiments, activities, and games! In small groups, local kids can have fun and connect with others again! Volunteers are encouraged to bring their smiles and ideas.
- Adult Exercise – Fridays 11-12, beginning June 11th
Come join the fun! Walking, stretching, and light yoga – but most of all, connecting with neighbors!
With safety in mind, all programs will maintain safe group size and social distancing, require masks and frequent hand washing/sanitizing, check temperatures upon arrival, and thoroughly disinfect all equipment. As we will only be meeting outdoors, programs will be called off in inclement weather.
For more information, please email volunteerRCH@gmail.com or call 847-623-4221.
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Help Us to Keep Going Strong for Another 10 Years
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 Roberti Community House gratefully accepts:
Checks - payable to Roberti Community House,
P.O. Box 65, Lake Forest, IL 60045
Paypal donations
Venmo (@Roberticommunityhouse, phone number ending in 4552)
Your donation allows this life-changing work to continue!
E-mail Laura.RamirezRCH@gmail.com for more information on donations.
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Encouraging the best in ourselves,
our neighbors, and our community.
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We want to connect with you on social media,
as we share stories, pictures and special moments from our community.
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919 8th Street, Waukegan, IL 60085 l (847) 623-4221 l www.roberticommunityhouse.org
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