Chicago Cares

Chicago Cares builds volunteer experiences that mobilize and inspire people to make Chicago a stronger community. Founded in 1991, Chicago Cares creates programs that foster civic engagement by activating and educating people to be agents of change. Over the past two decades, more than 350,000 Chicago Cares volunteers have donated over 1.4 million hours of service to their city.

We believe that the best way to meet the pressing needs of Chicago is through meaningful volunteer experiences that have a proven impact on volunteers and the communities they serve. Through service, we educate volunteers, creating engaged and compassionate citizens. Through partnership, we support local community organizations in achieving their mission goals. Through commitment to excellence, we open the door to philanthropy for corporations. In 2011, over 34,000 Chicago Cares volunteers spent more than 125,000 hours serving at organizations across Chicago.



At Chicago Cares we partner with hundreds of local nonprofit organizations and schools, building programs that meet their immediate needs and support their continued growth.

Our staff researches a wide variety of partners, writing detailed curriculum and developing innovative project models to ensure that all Chicago Cares programs have a positive impact on the people being served and inspire the volunteer to become an agent of change in his or her community.

Volunteers can choose from over 200 projects each and every month. Programs are designed to meet critical needs in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger, health and wellness, senior services, youth leadership development and the environment.

The Chicago Cares Youth in Service program empowers youth ages 8-18 to make positive changes in their communities through well-rounded volunteer service experiences. By educating youth on social issues, engaging them in meaningful service and empowering them to be active citizens, we are fostering a new generation of leaders grounded in the ethic of community involvement. Since 2010 the Chicago Cares Student Service and Leadership curriculum has been offered at select Chicago Public Schools, offering students from all backgrounds the opportunity to participate in service learning.

The issues facing Chicago are so big – poverty, education, health and wellness. Chicago Cares provides a solution by creating programs that greatly impact our city, then recruiting, managing and training dedicated volunteers to staff them. In these challenging times, the work of Chicago Cares ensures that vital services continue for resource-strapped nonprofits, schools and agencies.

People who volunteer with Chicago Cares provide critical services to those in need and gain valuable skills that make them better leaders, employees and all around more compassionate, committed members of the community. Visit Chicago Cares to find out more.