WHEATON – Since 1975, the People's Resource Center has been helping neighbors get back on their feet.
The center at 201 S. Napervillle Road in Wheaton provides basic needs assistance and empowerment opportunities for thousands of people in DuPage County. It recently was named the Not For Profit Organization of the Year as part of the Best of Wheaton awards presented by the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce.
The People's Resource Center, which also has a center in Westmont, wants to help people get out of the situation they are in. As such, the center offers a variety of services, including a food pantry, clothes closet, emergency housing assistance, computer training, job search assistance and adult learning and literacy.
"We have some folks who have experienced something difficult and unanticipated in their life, such as losing a job or a health crisis," People's Resource Center Executive Director Jenifer Fabian said. "They get back on their feet, and sometimes those folks become volunteers with us afterwards. Because we include kind of crisis-focused services and empowerment services, we also see clients who once they stabilize their basic needs in their lives, then they turn to us for things like helping them get a job or a better job or helping learn some new skills."
Fabian said she was pleased to see the community choose the People's Resource Center as the Not For Profit Organization of the Year.
"The community votes for the Best of Wheaton awards, so to have the community support us in such a strong way is wonderful for us," Fabian said.
In 2017, the People's Resource Center served about 30,000 people through both of its locations and all of its services. Fabian said the center wants to help its clients in any way it can.
"It means a lot to us to be part of people's lives in multiple ways because then we can be there for whatever that next support is and that next thing they might need to strengthen their lives and put their families on better footing," she said.
Fabian started at the center in June 2017. Prior to coming to the People's Resource Center, she was executive director of The Community House in Hinsdale, an organization that provides residents with recreation and social services including counseling, youth literacy and autism support, and educational opportunities.
Fabian said she decided to come to the People's Resource Center because of its mission.
"When I met the team here at PRC, I was immediately sold," she said. "Every day, we're here to open our doors and welcome people with a smile and say, 'We want to help you.' That inspires me, and that's why I'm here."
The People's Resource Center receives little government funding and relies heavily on its more than 2,500 volunteers.
"Because so much of our work is volunteer driven, we get a lot done for every dollar that someone gives to us," Fabian said. "We can really stretch that as far as possible, so we get the most out of it that we possibly can. Volunteers are what make it all possible. They inspire me and all of us every day to bring that same kind of dedication to what we do."
People can help support the efforts of the People's Resource Center through its monthly Dine Away Hunger program. This month is pizza and pasta month. From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 16, participating restaurants will donate 10 percent of sales on that day directly to the organization's food pantry.
A list of participating restaurants can be found on the People's Resource Center website, peoplesrc.org.
Lynne Chandler of Winfield is among the more than 2,500 volunteers at the center. She has volunteered in the food pantry for the last several years.
She stocks shelves and helps clients as they are going through the pantry.
"I really feel strongly that this is preventing homelessness," Chandler said. "That was my motivation to come here, and I think they do amazing work."
---
How to help
To volunteer, donate or learn more about the People's Resource Center, go to peoplesrc.org.