Dear Growing Home Friends & Family: | |
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We’re thrilled to share the exciting activities and achievements from July!
The month began with a feature story in the Chicago Sun-Times, highlighting Growing Home's $5 million grant from the city of Chicago for our capital campaign expansion. Our Executive Director, Janelle St. John, and Community Engagement Coordinator, Laqundra Fair, shared insights during their interview.
We proudly welcomed five new board members: Taryn Williams Clark of Bel Brands, Wendell Harris of CCLF, Norm Jeddeloh of Avocado Strategic Partners, Dominique Price of Scharf Banks Marmor, and Felicia Slayton-Young of the Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce.
We wrapped up July with the 3rd Annual Grill N Chill Farm Stand Celebration. Attendees savored delicious dishes prepared by our very own resident Chef, LaQuandra Fair and our guest Chef Jai of Imagine Englewood IF. Many of the dishes featured fresh produce from our farm. The event also included farm tours, dancing, and a fun game of Jenga.
Here’s to continued success and impact!
—The Growing Home Team
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Applications OPEN for Cohort 4 | | |
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Cohort 4 begins August 26! This 12-week training program builds skills for job readiness and success through a comprehensive, engaging and supportive workforce development curriculum. Based in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, Growing Home combines lessons on work readiness, environmental literacy, psychological self-sufficiency, and ongoing post-graduation career success. Program participants also have opportunities to earn professional certifications, access to free legal consultation for record sealing and expungement, and the support of a case manager available to provide referrals for supportive services.
Info sessions take place Growing Home’s Training Center (5814 S. Wood St.) every Monday at 11am.
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Tomatoes Are in Full Swing at the Farm Stand | | |
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Tomatoes are in full swing! Our annual crop review noted that by the end of the season harvest and maintenance was taking too long, because the tops of the plants were 30 feet high. We've adjusted to using hooks to lower and lean the plants and keep them easily accessible.
Come by our Englewood Farm Stand on 59th and Honore on Thursday to pick up some of the ripest tomatoes you'll ever find. Open every Thursday from 11 AM to 5 PM.
Also stop by our tents at Green City Market in Lincoln Park and Experimental Station's Market on 61st and Dorchester in Hyde Park on Saturdays.
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We accept Link and double your Link value via Link Match! | |
AUGUST 15, 2024: Grow With Us Celebration | |
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Join us for our Grow With Us Celebration at Growing Home’s Farm Stand!
Local vendors, delicious produce and free snacks and meals, learn-to-grill workshops, activities for families, tours and more!
August 15, 2024
Growing Home Farm Stand
1844 W. 59th Street | 11am-2pm
| Interested in being a vendor, resource table, sponsor or volunteer group for the event? Reach out to LaQuandra at lfair@growinghomeinc.org. | |
2024 Urban Ag Crawl is Almost Here! | |
A celebration of community, green spaces and urban agriculture in Chicago Sunday, September 8, 2024.
Back for a third year! Join Growing Home Inc, Grow Greater Englewood and Urban Growers Collective for the Annual Urban Ag Crawl & Backyard BBQ on September 8, 2024 in our own farm backyards!
Local chef-prepared food, drinks, games, raffles, tours and live music along multiple farm trolley stops. Proceeds go to Growing Home, Grow Greater Englewood, Urban Growers Collective & local urban growers.
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Get Involved with the Urban Ag Crawl | |
Now is your chance to get involved with Growing Home's 3rd Annual Urban Ag Crawl & Backyard BBQ. There is something for everyone to help make this amazing community event one for the books! Check out a variety of opportunities below: | | |
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BE A CHEF PARTNER! Chef partners are a core part of this charitable event, helping to create a fun atmosphere around food and community to raise crucial awareness and funds for our collective impact in Greater Englewood.
- Create 300 tasting plates
- Access to FREE Growing Home produce
- Ingredients stipend
- Reach supporters and Growing Home's network of over 23K followers, with an expected 400 people in person
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BE A FARM PARTNER!
The Ag Crawl features urban farms, community gardens and neighborhood block gardens in one festival to celebrate and support local urban agriculture in Chicago. Our farm site partners make this event possible! Event proceeds benefit each organization and our local urban farmers.
- $500 stipend to help prep your site
- Site Visibility from all of our partners, friends and attendees
- Signage Provided
- Volunteer promotion (for pre-clean up)
- Chance for internal fundraising at your sit
- Guaranteed 15 min trolley stop where sites share their stories
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BE A VOLUNTEER!
Be a part of it all! Volunteers are essential to the functioning of our farm, our food access programs and our events.
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BE AN EVENT SPONSOR!
Help us make the third Annual Urban Ag Crawl the best one yet! Varying sponsorship levels and In-Kind sponsor opportunities available!
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From helping out on the farm to our community events, we need your help! Especially on the farm, it's a great way to help your local nonprofit and pick up some vegetable growing skills yourself.
We are now scheduling corporate groups for 2024 as well.
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Each month we select an organization, foundation, or corporation to highlight in our monthly e-newsletter section, Supporter Spotlight of the Month. | |
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Growing Home would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Accenture
for their consistent support of our CompTIA-certified IT training program.
As a steadfast supporter since 2016 and a member of our Circle of Change Giving Circle, their partnership has been invaluable. We look forward to strengthening our collaboration with Accenture as Growing Home continues to expand in the Information Technology workforce development sector.
To learn more about the Circle of Change donor community, please go to growinghomeinc.org/circle-change.
Supporter Spotlight Special Mention
We would also like to highlight our new partnership with the Chicago Jewish Teen Foundation as the proud recipient of their Voices grant for 2024. Their support for our Food Access program is invaluable, and we look forward to more collaborations and partnerships in the future. They are known in philanthropy, teen education and grant making.
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For 30 years, Growing Home has been a nonprofit leader in urban agriculture & workforce development, serving the Greater Englewood community in Chicago with our innovate paid employment training and local, healthy fresh food. We believe Everyone deserves access to a Good Job and Good Food! | | | | |
