BLOG: Blackhawks Foundation, Community Goods Unveil 'Open Market Goods'

Community Goods and the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation proudly unveiled a new endeavor with Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School on Friday morning, launching a school store designed and inspired by Community Goods founder Joe 'Freshgoods' Robinson. Together, the organizations hope to help motivate and inspire students for many years to come.
The new school store, Open Market Goods, provides students with opportunities to earn points after exhibiting pre-defined positive behaviors such as good grades, merits and special acts of kindness. These points can be redeemed for school supplies, sneakers and special merchandise and experiences created by Robinson and the Chicago Blackhawks.

"My vision for this store is for every student who visits to be inspired by the principles of bold ideas, strong friendships and community," said Robinson. "I want this space to reflect the belief that anything can be achieved with hard work and perseverance."
The design inspiration comes from Robinson's recent travels to Tokyo, Paris and Accra, as he details his desire to transport students from their West Side school across the globe, showcasing the multitude of possibilities awaiting their futures.
"After working with Community Goods and Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School on successful back to school events and mental health fairs, we wanted to find a way we could further enrich the lives of the students all year long," said Sara Guderyahn, Executive Director of Chicago Blackhawks Foundation. "Our goal with the store is to reward students in an equitable way for their hard work, positive actions and to instill in them a sense of pride and ownership in their accomplishments."

The school store is a unique opportunity for Community Goods, the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation and Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School to take student motivation to the next level by providing students with exciting rewards they will be eager to work for and set the students up for long term success beyond school.
"The partnership with the Chicago Blackhawks and Joe Freshgoods will impact students in their growth and responsibility toward understanding the power they have within themselves to create opportunities for themselves and their community," said Charles Anderson, Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School Principal. "We are looking forward to this partnership creating a new wave of excitement when we look at approaches to self-advocating, empowerment, and impacting students' ability to increase their communication skills."

The launch of the school store is one of many ways the three organizations will continue to work together in their ongoing effort to support the long-term outcomes and better futures for the students on the West Side of Chicago and have already begun their next creative endeavor together.
As part of this initiative and to celebrate the opening of the school store, the Chicago Blackhawks and Community Goods recently hosted a design workshop for students to help design a special warmup jersey that will be worn during the team's Chicago's Birthday Party celebration on March 4 as the Blackhawks face the Nashville Predators. Michele Clark students and their families will be in attendance at the game and see their final design made in collaboration with Robinson and the Chicago Blackhawks creative team.