There is Still Time to Sponsor the North Lawndale Arts Festival!

Posted on by North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council

Thank you for your ongoing support of the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council. Because of your generous support, we have been able to successfully produce our first annual North Lawndale Community Planning Conference back in April. We are now winding down the planning and fundraising efforts for our next big event–our First Annual North Lawndale Arts Festival, to be held on August 6, 2016, from 10 am – 7 pm at Douglas Park Cultural Center, located at 1401 South Sacramento.

We need your support as we enter the final stretch. If you, or a local artist, small business or representative of a public or nonprofit agency are interested in showcasing your artwork, business or organization, please contact Shiela McNary, our Arts and Culture Subcommittee Chair, at sjmcnary1@aol.com and she will forward you a registration packet that outlines the fees and requirements. I have attached sponsorship packets for individuals and organizations wishing to sponsor the festival, as well as a jpeg file of the promotional flyer. A copy of a message from Sheila is found below.

Please, share this email widely. We still need to cover costs for equipment and furnishing rentals and light refreshment.

In closing, we thank the following North Lawndale stakeholders for their generous cash and in-kind contributions:

Alderman Michael Scott-Cash donation and technical assistance with event planning, marketing and outreach
Country Financial-Cash donation
Foundation for Homan Square-Cash donation and strategic partnerships with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Mia Gamble-Cash donation
Corry Williams-Cash donation
Mary Ellen Dragon-Cash donation
Kevin Sutton, Vice President, The Foundation for Homan Square-Technical assistance for event planning
Alysia Slusser,Graphic Artist-Logo deign and assistance with collateral material/social media design
Alexie Young, Visual Artist-Community Canvass (workshop in which participants will all have an opportunity to complete a painting during the event) and assistance with collateral material design
Reneau Diallo, Quilt Artist-Facilitation of quilt workshop in which participants will have an opportunity to design and complete a quilt block, to be fashioned into a community quilt

Sheila McNary
Sheila J. McNary, 

Dear Friend of North Lawndale:

The North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council (NLCCC) cordially invites you to be a sponsor of our first annual North Lawndale Arts Festival. The Arts Festival will be held at Douglas Park Cultural Center, 1401 S. Sacramento Ave., on Saturday, August 6, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be no charge to patrons of the Festival and sponsorship proceeds will be used to offset the cost of the event.

The Arts Festival will showcase the works of local artists and talents of local entertainment including blues musician Larry Taylor, jazz musician Ronnie G. and tap dance group M.A.D.D. Rhythms. The NLCCC plans to use the Festival to bring the already rich culture of North Lawndale to a broader audience. We expect over 1,000 people to attend including elected officials, heads of public agencies, leaders of community-based organizations and local residents.

Your investment in the Arts Festival is a win-win for you and the community. Your organization will have the opportunity to establish and nurture relationships with a broad base of influential North Lawndale stakeholders that have access to even broader networks that would be beneficial in strengthening your brand. The Arts Festival will unify the community around arts and culture, attract more arts and cultural activities, encourage economic development and help make the case for improving the entire community.

In closing, we invite you to review our sponsorship packet and respond with your tax deductible donation and print ready logo no later than July 15, 2016. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at 312.907.7701 or sjmcnary1@aol.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Sheila McNarry,
Chairman, NLCCC – Arts and Culture committee

NLCCC Submits Letter of Intent to LISC in Hopes of Facilitating Quality of Life Planning in North Lawndale

Posted on by North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council

Exactly a year ago today, (June 24, 2015) NLCCC submitted an application to CMAP for technical assistance to complete a comprehensive plan for the North Lawndale community. On June 15, 2016, we submitted our letter to LISC, expressing interest in becoming the lead agency to facilitate continued Quality of Life Planning (QLP) in North Lawndale. If we are successful, the QLP process will be done in tandem with our comprehensive planning process. This will allow us to focus on developing the physical environment while strengthening our ability to improve the capacity of local residents, organizations and businesses to take advantage of the changes the plan will bring. The QLP process will highlight those areas that are not currently emphasized in the CMAP comprehensive community planning process, including education, public safety, arts and culture, technology and health care.

We are very fortunate to have received 36 letters of support from various stakeholders to back up our letter, including: Alderman Michael Scott Jr., New Covenant CDC, Lawndale Christian Development Corporation, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Valerie F. Leonard, Chicago Youth Centers, Congressman Danny K Davis, Commissioner Robert Steele, Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Frank Bass, BBF, Celestial Ministries, CCA Academy, Jane Addams Hull House Museum, Deer Rehabilitation Services, Inc., DRW College Prep, Free Spirit Media, Foundation for Homan Square, HSI, JPA, Kathy Powers, Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, K-Town Historic District Association, Chicago LAMP, New Age Services Corporation, The Night Ministry, NLEN, State Senator Patricia Van Pelt, Sankofa Safe Child Initiative,Sinai Health System, St. Agatha Family Empowerment, The Learning Center, Theresia Thurman, UCAN, WestCare, St. Anthony Hospital.

We thank you for your support to date, and the support you will provide. Because of your efforts, and those of people who have laid the foundation for this work, North Lawndale has hit the “reset button”, and is turning the corner. The work is not easy, but every effort is valued and moves us closer to realizing our vision of North Lawndale as a healthy, vibrant community with a diversified and innovative economy, competitive work force, engaged citizens and infrastructure that supports long term, sustainable growth. A copy of our packet has been embedded below.

NLCCC Potential Funding Opportunities/ Upcoming Meetings and Events

Posted on by North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council

Good afternoon, everyone. I just wanted to share a few important updates of which you should be aware.

Steering Committee Meeting with the Chicago Community Trust

The Steering Committee is in the process of setting up a meeting with the Chicago Community Trust to discuss the Benefit Chicago initiative, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust and the Calvert Foundation. This initiative will fund social enterprises. We will also discuss the range of products and services provided by the Chicago Community Trust, and the needs of our membership, as outlined on the North Lawndale Community Snapshot survey. We will keep you posted of the outcomes of the discussion.

Chicago Community Trust On the Table/Acting Up Awards Application Video

A number of our members participated in the Chicago Community Trust’s On the Table conversations on May 10th. The Trust will be providing fifty $1,000 grants to various participating groups to ensure that some of the ideas that were discussed to bring about community unity are implemented by the end of the year. Here is the video from the NLCCC application. If selected, we will use proceeds towards the first annual North Lawndale Arts Festival in Douglas Park, to be held August 6, 2016, from 10 am-7 pm. We should know the outcome of the competition the first part of July, 2016.

LISC Quality of Life Planning

NLCCC will be applying for LISC Quality of Life planning funds to strengthen our comprehensive planning process, currently under way with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). CMAP is currently facilitating the comprehensive planning process, with a focus on land use around housing, transportation, infrastructure, economic development, health care and arts and culture. If we are successful in securing this, we will use the funding to help us strengthen initiatives in those areas that are not being emphasized in the CMAP planning process, such as technology, education, public safety, workforce development and capacity building. We will submit our letter of intent by June 17, 2016, at 6:00 pm.

New Covenant CDC, the fiscal agent for the NLCCC comprehensive planning process, will also serve as the lead agency in this application. Lawndale Christian Development Corporation was the lead agency for the North Lawndale Quality of Life Plan completed in 2005. We thank Richard Townsell, Executive Director of LCDC, and the chairman of the NLCCC housing subcommittee, for supporting this effort.

Please let us know if you are interested in participating in this planning process. If so, we ask that you provide us your contact information so that we may include it as an attachment to our letter of intent to LISC. Ideally, we would also like you to include a letter of support as well. We will provide a model letter under separate cover to those agencies that have expressed an interest in participating.

Upcoming NLCCC Meetings

Please find attached a PDF file of our meetings flyer outlining the meeting schedule for NLCCC subcommittees, as well as a copy of our brochure. A link to the electronic application is found here.

Please Support our Members’ Upcoming Events:

Grand Opening of North Lawndale Peace Parks

HOST: Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center 773-542-9126
SUNDAY, JUNE 5 FROM 12:00 PM
TO 5:00 PM
1st North Lawndale Peace Park
2101 South Spaulding Avenue
Chicago, IL 60623

For more information, please click here.

An Evening Affair With the Board of Directors of HSI

Please join the Board of Directors of Habilitative Systems, Inc. (HSI) on Monday, June 13th at 6:00 pm at the South Shore Cultural Center for an evening overlooking Lake Michigan, enjoying appetizers and cocktails while learning more about this dynamic organization. For more information, please click here.

Please share these announcements widely. Your assistance, as always, is most appreciated!