West Side church hosts Valentine's ‘Loveday Celebration’ for people experiencing homelessness

Tony Polk has been living at Franciscan Outreach, a homeless shelter in East Garfield Park, for two months, ever since leaving a recovery home. When he saw a flyer advertising the “Loveday Celebration” at the church down the street, he decided to check it out.

When he arrived, a Valentine’s Day meal of ribs, green beans and more was waiting for him, in a room adorned with festive decorations.

“I didn’t wake up in the best mood today. So this helps a little bit,” Polk, 30, said. “Some people don’t have a partner or whoever to spend Valentine’s with, so it’s nice to have something like this to go to.”

Good Hope Free Will Church in East Garfield Park hosted its annual “Loveday Celebration” on Wednesday, providing people experiencing homelessness a hot meal and a place to find community on Valentine’s Day. The menu included chicken, ribs, mostaccioli, green beans, rolls, dessert and what Pastor Cornelius Parks called the event’s “secret ingredient” — love.

Parks joined Good Hope Free Will Church only three years ago, but he started Loveday at First Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Greater Grand Crossing 10 years ago. He’s seen the event grow each year since. This year, he estimates it provided meals to nearly 500 people.

The church partnered with Aetna Health, which provided hygiene bags and fresh produce, and DoorDash, which provided funding and volunteers. The organizations let the church help not just individuals who walked through the front door, but also veterans, seniors and others in the community who lack transportation.

“They go through so much on a daily basis. We don’t know what was the last time they had a meal or even been in a place to sit down and relax,” Parks said. “My main objective is that those that come from the outside, when they come in here, they get love, they feel loved, and they leave out of here with a smile,” Parks said.

Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times

DoorDash donated $4,000 to Loveday, which Parks said went toward food costs. The company also gave $2,000 in gift cards as part of their Community Credits program, which provides nonprofits with gift cards they can then distribute. The church used the DoorDash money to buy food from local restaurants No Sauce Boss BBQ and MacArthur’s Restaurant.

Cassandra Allen, 50, arrived at the Franciscan Outreach shelter about three months ago after leaving an abusive relationship in Michigan. She decided to attend Loveday after a news alert popped up on her phone.

“I wanted to come here to see if maybe I can find me a Valentine, too,” Allen said. “It means a lot to me. I really appreciate the loving and caring.”

Parks referred to East Garfield Park as a food desert, an area with limited access to nutritious, affordable food. He views events like Loveday as a way to address this need.

“There’s no grocery stores, there’s no restaurants. There’s no pantries in this community. So now we have to come together as a church,” Parks said.

Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times

Volunteers came from all across the Chicago area to help out, including members of Makom Solel Lakeside Synogogue in Highland Park. Parks said their congregations bonded over the shared trauma of mass shootings in 2022 — one in Highland Park on July 4 killed seven, and one in East Garfield Park on Halloween killed one — and the ensuing work to get an assault rifle ban passed.

Parks said seeing all the volunteers working together is part of what makes Loveday so special.

“It lets me know that there’s love everywhere,” Parks said. “We’re all here under the same umbrella, the same roof for the same purpose, and that’s to give back to the people that need love.”