Answering the Call to Serve
At Catholic Charities, our purpose is to partner in witness, as we bring a message of mercy and hope to our world. Each day, we bring this purpose to life in two important ways:
Our direct service programs accompany thousands of people and families experiencing poverty, displacement, and social isolation
Our mission engagement activities welcome members of more than 200 parishes and thousands of people from a variety of faiths to work alongside us
All are welcome to serve with us, regardless of your faith. Please:
- visit our volunteer website
- contact volunteer@catholiccharities.net
- call (312) 948-6324 to speak to Joshua Fulcher, who leads our volunteer outreach
Volunteer Spotlights
Lupita (Maria) and Julie Macias
Former Volunteer, Current Community Fellow, Lord of Mercy, Harvey
Read morePutting Faith into Action
As Pope Leo IV reminds us in Magnifica Humanitas, our faith calls us to put the needs of vulnerable first — “the poor, migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, victims of violence and people living in urban or existential peripheries.”
In serving at Catholic Charities, that means that we are called to put the people who come to us for help at the center of all that we do. What are their needs? How do we serve them in a manner that respects and elevates their human dignity and long-term well-being?
This calling asks to be deeply intentional in how we serve, including how we create and staff our volunteer work. We seek volunteer roles that:
- Deliver substantive impact for the people we serve, being truly of use to those in need.
- Support and complement the hard work of our staff, collaborating to expand and deepen the impact of our overall mission and strategy.
- Are open to all. Financial means should not determine who serves or is served, or with whom we partner.
- Foster spiritual growth, recognizing that the mission of charity is a lifelong calling.
Exploring opportunities to serve
We encourage you to visit our volunteer website to learn more about our opportunities to serve. Examples include:
Help us foster community and good health, as we provide a welcoming, sit-down dining experience for our dinner guests at one of our sites across Cook and Lake counties.
Help us address diaper insecurity as we collect, sort, and distribute diapers to hundreds of families in need each month, so that their babies may receive the tender care their parents long to give them.
Help us make bagged lunches and deliver them to locations across Cook and Lake counties, where they are given out to people who can’t afford their next meal.
Help us welcome and support our guests who need food, as they shop for groceries — stocking shelves, bagging groceries, and loading cars —with joy.
Serve as the first point of contact at our Community Centers, making sure that each guest feels deeply welcomed, offering beverages and snacks, and directing them to services.
Help us deliver nourishing meals, social connection, and encouraging conversation to seniors of limited means who live alone.
Celebration of Giving supports children and families throughout Cook and Lake counties, giving to those who otherwise would not have gifts for Christmas. Learn More.