FEATURE: One West Side Celebrates Inaugural Year of Impact in Chicago

Generous financial support and timely assistance from socially-invested stakeholders can change individual lives and eventually transform communities.
Chicago's underserved West Side youth have been the benefactors of such nurturing through various programs supported by the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation, including
One West Side
, a partnership with A Better Chicago supported by United Airlines.
The initiative, launched last fall, will invest a total of $2 million over a three-year span in those who know their communities best: leaders from the West Side, creating opportunity for the West Side. Through the first year alone, over 800 young residents have already been impacted.

All the organizations involved came together outside the United Center last weekend to celebrate the early work with a One West Side Block Party ahead of the new school year.
"This past year has been challenging to say the least," A Better Chicago's Chief Marketing and External Affairs Officer Becky Betts said. "But our One West Side grantees have stepped up in extraordinary ways. We have seen their impact first-hand throughout the pandemic. From launching food pantries to provide critical emotional support for communities impacted by violence, to new program highlights and to documentary story-telling."
"We want to make sure there are life-changing opportunities for all of the youth in Chicago," Betts added. "One West Side is our mission in action and we couldn't be more proud to support the exceptional leaders with the funding and strategic guidance to grow their organizations. We have already invested over a half million dollars in this inaugural co-effort. And we look forward to bringing more organizations into this group."

West Side leaders have come forward in a major way to encourage participation and offer genuine emotional investment, as touted during the event by Blackhawks President of Business Operations Jaime Faulkner. Their cooperation with the financial support groups is gradually paying dividends.
"It is great to see the community partners that we have who have stepped up, to be in one place with them," said Jamyle Cannon, who owns and operates The Bloc, a nonprofit boxing program on the West Side and one of the five first-year grantees. "The Chicago Blackhawks, A Better Chicago, United... they have been instrumental to our growth and success over this past year."
"To not only be with them but the other partners that they support... in my view there is a palpable energy which that creates. It gives us a sense of optimism for where we are all headed as individuals and also where the West Side is headed in general," Cannon added.
Cannon and the other local leaders of One West Side have long been stewards of hope and optimism in their West Side neighborhoods. With the resources provided through the partnership, they can continue to grow their hyperlocal impacts in the areas that need it most.
"There are so many kids on the West Side who don't have a place to call their own. So many kids on the West Side who have been told that they are not good enough, that they don't have what it takes. And they come to the Bloc to prove those people wrong," he said.
"They come to the Bloc to become their absolute best self. Getting support for them is an incredibly fulfilling feeling. Because when we support young people, when we give them the tools and resources to succeed, they pay us back with their success. We are seeing that with our kids with the increase in support from the Blackhawks, United and Better Chicago."

The other worthy grantees include the Austin Childcare Providers Network under the leadership of Ruth Kimble; Cluster of Care Community Hub (West Side United) under the guidance of Ayesha Jaco and Tenisha Jones; the VIP Program (Firehouse Community Arts Center) directed by pastor Phil Jackson; and MAAFA Redemption project under the leadership of Marshall Hatch.
Pastor Jackson, originally from Kansas City, says his organization targets high-risk, possibly violent individuals who need urgent intervention in terms of mentorship and skill training. "We want to make a difference," he said.
"In order to lift up our neighborhoods and our residents, we need initiatives like these that bring a partnership between the public, private and philanthropic sectors in our community-based organizations," said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot during the event.
"Our community-based organizations in particular are a significant valuable asset in this work and mission. The bottom line is that we can't get things done without partnership from people who are on the ground in the neighborhoods, making sure that we understand the experiences of the people in our neighborhoods. And that we get things done in response to our residents' needs. No one knows our residents better than the individuals and organizations who serve them every day."

A wry smile on his face signals the sincere gratification Cannon feels when he gives back to the West Side community through his program.
"I feel two things when I see kids' success. It's an incredible warmth that I get from knowing that I played a role in a person's life. And there is a responsibility to do more," he said.
"If you have a good thing that is not fully in existence yet, I feel a responsibility to bring it into existence to the fullest extent that it can be. I want to grow this program as long as we stay successful. We have 120 kids now. We are going to go to 300 kids. If we stay successful with 300 kids, we are going to 500 kids. If we are successful with 500 kids, we will go to 1,000 kids. We will keep growing from there as long as we are a team of success. I feel that responsibility to grow. It feels good to do this work."
To learn more about the five One West Side grantee programs and their respective leaders, click here.