Hope Center of Blue Island

We are thrilled to welcome our latest board members, Catalina Nava-Esparza as Vice Chair and Kathrine Wunderli-Bastian, CFP® as Secretary, to The Hope Center family! Their dedication, expertise, and passion for our mission will undoubtedly strengthen our efforts to create a lasting impact in the community. Together, we are committed to Doing Good, Fostering Hope, and Change Lives! Please join us in congratulating Catalina and Kathi on their new roles! We are excited to see the incredible work we’ll accomplish together.

I’m thrilled to share that The Hope Center has won the Faithenomics Judges' Award for the Doers Pitch! This recognition highlights the incredible work we’re doing to address critical needs in the Chicagoland area, including: - Combating food insecurity through sustainable solutions, - Providing job readiness skills in auto mechanics and 3D design and printing - Offering micro-loans to empower local entrepreneurs and small business owners. We believe in creating tangible change, building hope, and strengthening our community every day. If you’re interested in learning more about our impact or exploring ways to collaborate, I’d love to connect and share more about the incredible journey we’re on at The Hope Center. Together, we can do more!

❄️ Even in Chicago’s single-digit weather, the Hope Center is hard at work, harvesting and packaging fresh produce straight from our indoor hydroponics farm! 🌱 We believe access to nutritious food shouldn’t depend on the weather, so we’re committed to providing our community with healthy, locally grown food year-round. Thanks to the dedication of our team and the power of innovation, we’re able to bring fresh greens and more to those who need it most. #DoGoodFosterHopeChangeLives

Our final fresh food delivery of the year with our mobile farm stand!

In 2025, we’re excited to expand our efforts to educate and provide fresh food to our community by adding a food forest and increasing our growing space by 50%. This expansion will help us empower more individuals with the knowledge and resources to grow their own food, fostering a stronger, healthier community.

Once a violent gang member, Julio Mercado has transformed his life, using his hands not to harm but to heal. Through his dedicated volunteer work with our chickens and aquaponics farm at The Hope Center, Julio is helping to feed and educate our community on sustainable food growth and chicken raising. His journey inspires us all—thank you, Julio, for planting seeds of hope and change! #Transformation #HopeCenter #CommunityImpact

A huge shoutout to Bob’s Auto Body & Auto Repair in Blue Island for your continued partnership in driving change in our community! 🚗✨ Our Hope Garage mechanics are putting the final touches on our 13th car giveaway! In the past 4 years, we've had the honor of gifting 13 individuals with reliable transportation. This time, we're thrilled to give back to one of our dedicated volunteers, who has faithfully served with us for 4 years! #CommunityImpact #HopeGarage #CarGiveaway

Do you know any seniors living within one mile of The Hope Center who could benefit from fresh, healthy greens? We're delivering FREE veggies to local seniors on November 16th, and we’d love your help connecting with those who could use them!

Exciting news! We're prepping our seedlings in the hydroponics system for our big harvest sample giveaway on November 16th. Get ready for fresh produce—grown with care for our community!

🎉 Huge congratulations to the incredible women from our community who have received microloans to kickstart their small businesses! 👏 At The Hope Center, we are beyond proud to support and empower these talented entrepreneurs as they chase their dreams and create opportunities for themselves and their families. 💼✨ Your success is a shining example of the impact that investing in our community can have. We encourage all aspiring entrepreneurs—especially women—to take that first step, dream big, and build the future you want to see. Together, we rise! 💪 Thank you Royal Business Bank for your amazing partnership in helping us make this dream a reality!