Eighty-nine children from families experiencing homelessness in DuPage County received backpacks, school supplies, new clothing and a hot lunch Aug. 20 as volunteers and donors gathered at the DuPagePads Interim Housing Center for the nonprofit's annual Back to School event.
The gathering at the Downers Grove facility, held on a rainy afternoon, drew volunteers from four organizations: the DuPagePads Young Professionals Council, Community Presbyterian Church of Clarendon Hills, Mercy Worldwide Church and YMSL Naperville & Hinsdale.
UBS Oakbrook Terrace donated backpacks filled with school supplies for every child in DuPagePads programs. The DuPagePads Young Professionals Council provided juice and snacks. Wheaton Meat Company supplied hot dogs for lunch, and the Take Care Volunteer Corps brought buns and helped staff the event. Anonymous donors covered new, well-fitting clothing for each student.
DuPagePads, headquartered in Wheaton, serves families from across DuPage County, including Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Carol Stream and Glendale Heights. A former resident named Samantha, whose last name was withheld for privacy, described the relief of arriving at the IHC with her daughter Lillian in a March 2026 profile published by DuPagePads: "It felt good to be able to get into the room, shut the door. I felt safe."
The two now live in Glendale Heights.
Scale of family homelessness
The IHC, the first hotel-to-interim housing conversion in Illinois, sits at 1113 Butterfield Road. DuPagePads purchased the building in 2022 and now shelters roughly 300 people each night. One-third of its guests are children, most under age 5, according to DuPagePads. In its most recent fiscal year, the center served more than 120 families, including 227 children.
About 8,000 people call DuPagePads' Access Line each year seeking help, according to president and CEO April Redzic. In December 2025, the organization received a $5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund, the largest private gift in its 41-year history, to expand family shelter capacity and sustain education supports for children.
Year-round, IHC education teams work to keep all children enrolled in school and provide tutoring, mentorship and extracurricular activities, according to the organization's blog post announcing the Aug. 20 event. That programming continues as the new school year begins across DuPage County.
