Author: Beth

Letter From the Executive Director

Posted on by Beth

Dear Friends:

Greetings from Cornerstone Community Outreach (CCO)! As another adventurous year comes to a close, we are deeply grateful for your support in making it all possible. This year, we’ve seen continued success in housing our shelter participants, thanks to new housing initiatives offered by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services and All Chicago.

A senior Vietnam vet, homeless for over 40 years, finally secured permanent housing. Another story involves a woman who lived on a park bench for months, resistant to help. Through patient conversations and trust-building, she not only moved into her own apartment but also reunited with her daughters, who had been searching for her. Thank you for helping us create life-changing stories like these!

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Giving Tuesday is Here!

Posted on by Beth

It’s Giving Tuesday! Join CCO for a day of giving! Giving Tuesday follows Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. It’s a global event that’s intended to highlight ways to get involved and give to charitable organizations. Please join us in supporting CCO’s mission to “address homelessness, provide shelter, accept people, and help them find a home.”

Here are a few ways you can give…

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We are Thankful for You!

Posted on by Beth

Happy Thanksgiving from the staff and shelter guests at Cornerstone Community Outreach! Today we are thankful for you, our CCO supporters. If you have given financially to the important programs and services at Cornerstone, we thank you! If you have volunteered your time and energy to CCO, we thank you! If you have donated new or gently used items to CCO, we thank you! We can’t do this work without you.

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85 Homeless to Housed & 84,381 Meals!

Posted on by Beth

Please join us in celebrating the 85 households who successfully moved from homelessness to housing so far this year! Families of all sizes, as well as single adults, have continued to find the shelter, support, and care that leads to housing success. Just one person stepping out of homelessness and into their own apartment is a cause for celebration. However, we want to truly rejoice with all the families and single adults who now have a place to call home!

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An Advent Calendar that Benefits CCO!

Posted on by Beth

Ever since Cornerstone Community Outreach opened its doors over three decades ago, we have always sought to be a light in the Uptown neighborhood showing care and respect to those that are in need, whether that be a place to stay, a warm cup of coffee, or fare for public transportation to go to doctor appointments, housing appointments or important meetings.  

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Veterans Deserve Better

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In 2017, Uptown and Cornerstone sadly lost one of their regulars; a veteran of both the war in Vietnam and the mean streets of Chicago. Through all his trauma and tragedy, I will always remember Dan as a peaceful soul who loved to read novels and chill out with a couple of his buddies. Even though it came to him, Dan was someone who make every effort to steer clear of the drama. No matter what was going on, I always loved to bump into him and have a good chat with my older buddy! 

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500 Consecutive Days: An Exceptional Run for Shelter!

Posted on by Beth

Most people would never consider running 500 days straight through snow, heat, rain, and a global pandemic but Tim Necas is not most people. Tim’s desire to break a former running streak of 35 days in a row gradually turned into a personal mission to run 500 consecutive days. He did it while raising funds for those experiencing homelessness at CCO.

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