Love Elgin and Heal Elgin offering free goods & services this weekend
Thanks to the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, people in need will be able to get all kinds of free goods and services this weekend in Elgin, including food, clothes, eye glasses, massages, haircuts, bike repair, chiropractic, blood tests, dental cleanings and fillings, and more.
Love Elgin Day
Pastor Jeorge Holmes is founder of Love Elgin Day, whose mission "is to demonstrate the love of Jesus to our city," he said. That includes praying for people and sharing the Gospel and providing people with free clothes, shoes, food and an array of services and referrals for help.
The main site is 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday along Division Street between Center and Spring streets, with a Northern Illinois Food Bank mobile unit, music and face-painting for children.
Guests will be provided with a map of nearby sites offering various services, including at Vineyard Church of Elgin, First Congregational Church and Iglesia Carismatica Puerta De Sion Church. Free bike repairs will be offered at The Responsive MailRoom, 441 Dundee Ave.
Spanish-speaking services will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Love Revival Church, 1580 E. Chicago Street, and from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Evangelical Covenant Church, 1565 Larkin Ave.
A youth event called "Unmasked" for high school juniors and seniors is at 6 p.m. Saturday at Herrick Chapel, Judson University, 1151 N. State St. There will be music, dance and faith testimonials, with a focus on helping and praying for youth dealing with anxiety, depression or self-harm behaviors, Holmes said.
Heal Elgin Clinic
Elgin-based physician Terri Dallas-Prunskis is the main organizer of Heal Elgin Clinic 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Lords Park Pavilion, 100 Oakwood Blvd.
The inaugural event took place last year at Elgin Adventist Church, which contributed some of the $15,000 funding to organize a much larger event this year. "We have volunteers that are willing to come back again," she said. "They enjoy the feeling of giving, of servicing, because it does something to you. It's contagious."
There will be dental care, including dental exams, cleaning, X-rays, fillings and extractions and cleaning; vision care, including eye exams and free eye glasses; medical care, including blood pressure and glucose screenings; plus free clothes, chiropractic and legal advice.
The Chicago Dental Society Foundation gave a $5,000 grant, the city of Elgin gave a discount on the rental of the pavilion, and numerous local businesses and medical groups contributed as well, she said. Adventist Medical Evangelism Network is providing medical equipment and technicians to install it.
The event combines the needs of the community with the resources of the church and the passion of its leaders, said Elgin Adventist Church Pastor Gabriel Bardan.
Bilingual volunteers will register people and will not ask for IDs, proof of insurance or immigration status, Bardan said.
There will be a "quick prayer" in the morning but the event is not religious, he said.