On Saturday, June 2, between 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS) will bring together residents, corporate sponsors, government officials and organizational partners for a day of service and celebration at the Park Manor/Greater Grand Crossing NeighborWorks Day event. The neighborhood beautification projects will take place at the North West corner of 73rd & Cottage Grove, as well as 73rd and 74th South Evans in Chicago.
This day of service will bring together neighbors, friends, families and volunteers working together to transform the community. Participants will plant flowers, plants and learn to groom and landscape the lawns. Additional activities include cleaning up vacant lots, painting fences, securing buildings and sprucing up the exteriors of some houses.
Participants will have the opportunity to take pride in their efforts. In addition, neighbors will get the opportunity to know one another and form bonds for their continued mutually beneficial planning – the fundamental element in identifying with and becoming “community”.
After this day of service NHS will be planning ways to get the residents to continue to engage in collective activities, particularly gardening and landscaping. In addition, NHS will expand this initiative to other neighborhoods in the Greater Chatham Initiative (GCI) target service area (Auburn Gresham, Avalon Park, Chatham, and Greater Grand Crossing) to encourage residents to start their own community beautification or garden projects.
NHS is part of the national NeighborWorks network, an affiliation of more than 240 nonprofit organizations located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Over the past 40 years, NeighborWorks and its network have assisted close to 8 million people through affordable housing and counseling. In 2017, the NeighborWorks network provided housing and counseling services to 455,100 people, repaired 71,300 homes, and created and maintained 43,600 jobs. The NeighborWorks network was founded and is supported by NeighborWorks America, which creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities.
Funding for NHS’ NeighborWorks Day comes from a number of valued supporters including lead sponsor – State Farm.
