Every year, our church and community roll up their sleeves to pack Christmas gifts for every incarcerated person in the state of Illinois and beyond. The gifts are full of hope and encouragement with items like a devotional book, snacks, and activities.

Come to services on November 17 and be part of this meaningful volunteer opportunity. View additional packing opportunities at each campus below.

Hope Packs are one aspect of our Prison & Jail ministry that enables our church to build relationships with local prisons and jails. Hope Packs pave the way for long-term transformation through ongoing serving opportunities.

Interested in serving opportunities throughout the year within our Prison & Jail ministry? Here are some of the opportunities Willow offers:

• Help lead a Bible study: We currently have teams at Cook County Jail and McHenry County Jail who lead weekly Bible studies. Volunteers build relationships with those who are incarcerated to help bring hope and share the love of Jesus. Click here to sign up.
• Become a pen pen pal and correspond with people behind bars. Click here to sign up.
• Join a serving group next term that dives into the root causes of incarceration and focuses on learning more about the prison and jail system in the United States. Click here to learn more.
• Serve with a local organization that is working to prevent incarceration through violence prevention, providing quality education opportunities at a young age, and keeping children safe and off of the streets.
• Breakthrough Urban Ministries – Volunteer opportunities 
• By the Hand – Violence prevention work

Additional resources:

Here are some additional resources to learn more about the prison & jail system and some of the injustices people face:

• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
• Rethinking Incarceration by Dominique DuBois Gilliard.