The dream of having a mural finally came to fruition thanks to the help of an anonymous donor and grants awarded by NW Homestart and the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, The Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Rockford Area Arts Council, and Rockford Art Deli. The mural has beautified the neighborhood and now you can’t miss Rock House Kids if you are going south.

The “mom and pop” warming kitchen has been in need of update for some time and the upgrade to a commercial-grade kitchen is refreshing and long overdue. This would not have been possible with the generous support of the Bradley and Georgann Gummow Family Foundation, Kiwanis Charities of Rockford, Inc. and The Mill Foundation.

The roof on our large building is very old and in need of replacing. Heavy rains continually send damaging water into our classrooms and storage areas. Years of repeated patching has reached its limits. Contractors are telling us its time to tear off the old and put on new, but this huge repair will be expensive for us. 

With the help of grants received from Club Blue and Woodward Charitable Trust, Rock House Kids opens another new section that includes more classrooms and cafeteria space for our Pebbles (1st & 2nd graders), additional office space, a new entry way, and a new volunteer center!

An enclosed playground and basketball area on the south side of our building is added so the kids have a place to play in nice weather. Our volunteers watch over them while they are in the playground area.

Tuesday nights for Teens begins. Our Teen Leadership program is growing by leaps and bounds so to make more space for everyone. We also made Tuesday a Teens Only night. It follows the same format with a hot meal, leadership training, and giving out essential items, but adds mentoring and teaching subjects specific to teen boys and girls. Many of the teens volunteer as helpers with the younger kids on Monday and Wednesday evenings - serving meals, helping pass out seasonal giveaways, and helping our teachers in their classrooms.

Rock House Kids accepts donation of additional space right next door. This expansion gave us four additional classrooms, two more bathrooms, and a chapel/large group area! We believe God provided more room for more kids and we will continue to expand as it becomes available.

With the help of financial contributions, donation of building materials and hours of hard work by our volunteers, Rock House Kids opens seven new classrooms, allowing us to separate the children into age groups. Kitchen and bathrooms are also updated, and our assembly room was modified to accommodate larger numbers of kids.