The Hope Center was birthed in 2017 out of a vision to inspire hope in Blue Island – an under-resourced community, that once excelled in finance, medicine, and the arts. The work at the Hope Center began with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the birth of our food pantry. In 2019, I assumed the role of the Executive Director for the Hope Center and began to evaluate our goals and needs. As someone who was raised in Blue Island, I began to shift the philosophy of the Hope Center from “giving people fish” to “teaching our community how to fish”. Shortly thereafter I began to develop a team that would focus on skill-based resources for our community and provide a point of reference within proximity to the community’s needs and serve the demand for local, high-paying jobs. 2020 was a great year to resource close to 10,000 individuals with resources and services. 2021 has been focused on remodeling and building our programs and volunteer team to serve our community.
We are fortunate to have a team of volunteers who are high-capacity leaders who are trained in their areas of expertise. For example, Samuel Ramirez has an earned Masters’s degree in Agricultural Sciences Rocio Arevalo has her certificate in. They both lead our efforts for our agricultural department. Vale Barrera, Luis Barrera, and Hugo Frausto are ASE, EVT certified mechanics, and the Barrera brothers both have their credentials as Master Mechanics. All 3 mechanics volunteer under the guidance of Len Stallworth, our Hope Garage Director. Nathan Zwarts has an earned degree in engineering and did the work of a patent attorney. Nathan is the Director of our Technology department, which is focused on 3D printing and entrepreneurship.
Details of Programs, Services, and Projects: Our programs are designed to meet individuals on 3 different levels.
1. Agriculture: Our main goal is to tackle to problem of food insecurities in our community, which is considered a food desert. We begin our program with monthly events, drawing anywhere from 10 to 35 people (in person and online, due to COVID) to participate at each event as we teach everything from germinating seedlings to canning and selling products from the collective vegetation of your garden, such as our Hope Center’s signature salsa. We begin our program in March and end our outdoor programs in mid-October. Our Hydroponic machines, however, operate all year round. Each growing machine grows 25 lbs of vegetables in 28 days, using 95% less water and 98% less land. This year alone, we have harvested and given over 500 lbs of organic vegetables to our community.
2. Auto Mechanics: The Hope Center is furnished with a heated garage that was recently renovated over the summer in preparation to serve and equip the community. We stocked it with tools, added epoxy flooring, tool boxes, refrigerator, and remodeled the bathroom and slop sink. many car mechanics in the neighborhood who serve as exemplary leaders for a field in high demand and a lucrative salary.
3. Technology: Our motto for the technology department is, “to explore the limits of our creativity and imagination” Our goal is to do more than just print 3d models and commodity them, we want to change culture by changing the way people think about problem-solving their way through a business idea they can create and commodify.