Our Mission and History

The Outreach House’s reason for being is simple – to provide compassionate and effective assistance to individuals and families in need with dignity and without judgment. 

Following a long and successful community presence addressing urgent needs for food, clothing, infant/toddler essentials and emergency financial assistance, our four programs – First Things First, Food Pantry, Clothes Closet and Walk-in Assistance - merged as one organization under The Outreach House. 

Our Strategic Plan

Throughout this past year, the Board and Executive Director have been developing a Strategic Plan for The Outreach House. We are excited to share this with you, hoping that you will feel the excitement for the ways in which we plan to improve and expand the execution of our Mission. It is both ambitious and, with your support, achievable! Please click the button below to view the online “flip book” version of our published plan.

Our History

Serving our neighbors in need since 1981

In 2021 the The Outreach House merged its two existing programs housed at First Church of Lombard, First Things First and Walk In Assistance, with two programs housed at the First United Methodist Church, the Clothes Closet and Food Pantry. In 2022 the four programs under the umbrella of The Outreach House moved together under one roof at 805 S Main Street in Lombard. 

The growth in the number of people we have been able to serve since our move has been extraordinary and only possible because of the support of our community: the support of our volunteers, our donors, our suppliers, our many community partners and, of course, those we serve, our guests.

We are so proud of what we have accomplished together, and we know there is so much more to do. The more people we reach, the more we understand how great the need is and how many more people need our services. Low wages, unpredictable work hours, high food and gas costs and the rising cost of housing in DuPage County all contribute to families having to choose between purchasing food, diapers and hygiene products and paying essential bills for housing, transportation and medical expenses.

Our strategic plan provides a road map and commitment from the Board and staff of The Outreach House to strive towards our vision of providing needed assistance to individuals and families in our community when they need it most. We invite you to join us on this journey in any way you can so that all of our neighbors have access to food, clothing, diapers and emergency assistance and, most importantly, know that they live in a community where the dignity of each person matters.