Mike Robinson, Opus Foundation Support Loaves & Fishes

“I was looking for a volunteer opportunity in my community, and my wife mentioned her company volunteered at Loaves & Fishes," said Mike Robinson, Senior Director of Real Estate Development in our Chicago office. “I tried volunteering at a few different places. I ultimately chose Loaves & Fishes because I love their mission: to provide healthy food and impactful programs to promote self-sufficiency."

Like many Opus associates, Mike is committed to stewardship and giving back to our communities to make them better places to live, work and raise families. Mike has been volunteering – delivering groceries to clients' cars, stocking shelves or clearing snow – most Saturday mornings since November 2018.

For over 35 years, Loaves & Fishes Community Services has been serving DuPage County. What began in 1984 by helping eight families has grown to a multi-program organization that served 19,800 individuals in 2019. That same year, Mike was one of 1,435 people volunteering 100,377 hours, or the equivalent of 50 full-time employees!

Loaves & Fishes provides food and nutrition services and a multi-faceted Cares Program, which includes services like a car program, computer training, job search assistance, legal support and public benefit assistance. According to their website, “The people who come to Loaves & Fishes are our neighbors and friends: the single parent who just lost her job, low-income families with children, the unemployed and underemployed, disabled individuals, seniors, the chronically ill, at-risk teens and the homeless."

“If someone is having trouble making ends meet," Mike said, “Loaves & Fishes is there to help them through their tough time. I love being part of the very generous services they provide."

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The Opus Foundation has awarded two grants to Loaves & Fishes Community Services, one in 2019 and one in 2020.

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Always committed to making our communities better places to live, work and play, the Opus Foundation quickly mobilized a COVID-19 emergency response. See the full list of recipients here.