HELPING HANDS CAME TOGETHER AND BUILT Howard & Evanston Community Center.

HECC began as a food pantry in 1967 after parishioners from St. Jerome Roman Catholic Church in Rogers Park saw their neighbors living in poverty.

PEOPLE WHO CARED—PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOU—CREATED HECC AS A SAFETY NET.

HECC still feeds thousands every year, but now also offers resources to families from birth through old age.

The mission of Howard & Evanston Community Center is to assist low-income individuals and families in the Greater Rogers Park and Evanston to stabilize their lives and to develop the social skills necessary to become effective community members. In order to accomplish this mission, the agency’s programs provide emergency intervention, family stabilization, and promote developmental growth.

Howard and Evanston Community Center's story starts in 1967 when neighbors organized to give out food and clothing to lend a helping hand.