Strides For Peace - 2019 Race Against Gun Violence Fundraiser

The mission of Strides for Peace is to increase the collective impact of community organizations working to stop gun violence, save lives and build a stronger Chicago.

The Advocate Trauma Recovery Center is a health care-based violence intervention program that provides quality services and resources to survivors of intentional trauma with compassion, respect and care. Our purpose is to aid individuals who have experienced trauma in rebuilding, restoring and strengthening their sense of safety by ending the cycle of violence. We provide access to trauma-informed care by acknowledging how past and present traumatic experiences and stress may impact the individuals and families we are serving. Our team is specially trained to support the unique needs of survivors and their families to foster hope for a better future.

After School Matters is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to provide Chicago public high school teens with opportunities to explore and develop their talents, while gaining critical skills for work, college and beyond. In 2017, After School Matters provided more than 17,000 teens with high-quality after-school and summer programs in arts, communications & leadership, sports, and STEM.

Since 1969, BUILD has been a second family for Chicago’s marginalized youth, helping thousands of young people facing the steepest challenges—like poverty, involvement in the justice system, and chronic exposure to violence and other sources of trauma—escape gang violence and become leaders in safer, stronger communities. BUILD reaches over 6,500 youth and families annually in five of Chicago’s most challenged neighborhoods—Austin, East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Hermosa, and Fuller Park, using a model recognized as effective by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Catholic Charities is fundraising for The Peace Corner Youth Center, which is located in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago's Westside. Originally established to provide the neighborhood youth a safe haven from gang violence and drug dealing, The Peace Corner has grown into a community center that provides employment services, GED class referrals, basic skill development, recreational programing, legal counseling, mentoring, tutoring, and hope for all that are willing to take a step in a positive direction. Through the Peace Corner, Catholic Charities offers a wide variety of services to the youth and families of Austin, and hopes to expand their capacity to work with the people there to continue to make it a safer place to live and grow.

The Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation envisions a community free from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual violence, including sexual assault and the commercial sex trade. CAASE addresses the culture, institutions, and individuals that perpetrate, profit from, or support sexual exploitation. CAASE is excited to be demonstrating our commitment to holistic violence prevention throughout Chicago by participating in this year's Race Against Gun Violence.

The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to honoring the lives of fallen Chicago Police heroes. The Foundation provides support and financial assistance to the families of Chicago Police Officers who were killed or catastrophically injured in the line of duty. 

Chicago Run is a nonprofit organization that provides children and youth from pre-K through high school with fun and engaging physical activity programs regardless of age, neighborhood, or athletic ability level. We serve over 18,000 children and youth with high-quality enriching physical fitness programs. Our goal is to improve the physical fitness and social/emotional well-being of all our participants by following a Sports Based Youth Development model and using Trauma Sensitive coaches.

Chicago Survivors is a non-profit organization that provides a range of services for surviving family members of Chicago homicide victims. Chicago Survivors staff members work to ensure families receive early crisis intervention, supportive counseling, advocacy, and referral services from the moment of the death notification for a period of at least six months. Chicago Survivors also supports an ongoing Community of Survivors as a means of peer support and as an avenue for constructive engagement in anti-violence efforts.

At The Community Builders we are committed to achieving positive outcomes for our developments and the people who live in them. We believe that building and sustaining strong communities helps everyone.  Together with valued partners, our work includes award-winning neighborhood transformations and pioneering commercial projects that anchor communities with grocery stores, medical centers and recreational facilities. We build, rehabilitate and sustain developments that more than 4,000 families of all incomes call home in vibrant cities, formerly distressed public housing sites and sought-after neighborhoods across the Midwest.

My name is Greg Zanis. I am a carpenter by trade. Since 1997, I've constructed and placed over 20,000 white wooden crosses and other memorials for the public and the families of crime victims as well as accident victims.

St. Sabina created the Strong Futures Program, St. Sabina Basketball Peace League, Peacemakers Community Outreach to combat senseless neighborhood violence issues through enhanced employment training and job opportunities as well as well as by providing supportive services and innovative programs to bring the community together in peace.  

Gary Comer Youth Center was established in Chicago’s Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood in May 2006. Our mission is to ensure students graduate from high school prepared for college and careers. We provide a safe and supportive environment for youth after school, on weekends and during school hours. We are committed to developing the full potential, talent and skill of young people from 5th grade through college graduation. We offer programming in three primary categories: academics, enrichment and college success.

Since 2014, GOGO has shown a commitment to curbing violence by providing over 600 youth each year between Miami and Chicago with productive options for creative expression - namely, music education, performance opportunities, and mentoring. Our mentors are local, professional musicians who use music as a vehicle for facilitating social-emotional development in middle school-aged youth, while providing a stable relationship with a caring adult. By the end of the 2016-17 school year, our team of 11 mentors served nearly 350 students across four school- and community-based sites in Chicago.

HelloBaby is a not for profit organization whose mission is to support, empower and inspire families raising young children in underserved neighborhoods in Chicago.

The mission of I Grow Chicago is to grow Englewood from surviving to thriving through community connection, skill building, and opportunity. 

Once abandoned and up for demolition, I Grow Chicago's Peace House now serves as a community center with events, after-school tutoring, summer camp, community yoga classes, Peace Garden, and a food and donation pantry. Nearly 15 different programs assist every generation of West Englewood with every aspect of their lives, from learning to take a deep breath before reacting to learning how to use computers. Since the Peace House opened, what was previously one of the most dangerous blocks in West Englewood has become a symbol of hope and transformation.

The Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence (ICHV) is the oldest and largest statewide organization in the U.S. working to prevent the devastation caused by firearms. Founded in 1975 by four suburban Chicago women concerned about the tragic consequences of handgun proliferation and availability, ICHV works on a variety of fronts to educate, raise public awareness, and build coalitions to enact change in laws and behavior.

Through the teachings of Dr. King, Nonviolence Chicago infuses high doses of nonviolence through community members and role models to change the prevalence and status quo of violence.  Using a collaborative community-based approach founded on the theories and practices of nonviolence and relationship building, Nonviolence Chicago works with the highest risk ("in-risk") individuals and the communities in which they live.

Kids Off the Block (KOB) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2003 by Diane Latiker who opened her home to youth in her community to help them steer away from the negative influences they saw daily.  KOB works with youth, teens, and young adults ages 12-24 years old, offering homework help, mentoring, activities and a “safe place."

The Kindness Campaign empowers people, which makes a strong community, through service, stewardship and selflessness.  We believe in the power of the people to build strong communities.

Lost Boyz Inc. is a non-for-profit, grass-roots organization engaged in community development within Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. We serve youth ages 4 to 24 and provide our programs from January until October of every year. Our organization originated in the South Shore neighborhood during the summer of 2008 as a direct response to the need for the revitalization of organized youth baseball in the community. However, an organizational vision and mission greater than providing baseball developed as a result of the spike in adolescent violence, increased criminal activity, and other astonishing deteriorating social conditions of the youth in the community.

NeighborScapes is a non-profit organization with a mission to strengthen the physical and social fabric of neighborhoods, and to create a covenant of care, enrichment and development for young people.

New Community Outreach (NCO) actively supports youth and families in Chicago’s Bronzeville community. We do this through our partnerships with Jackie Robinson Elementary School, the Bronzeville Community Action Council, The Urban Resilience Network, and other local and city-wide organizations. Building on the relationships of our leadership and board of directors as well as the ministry of New Community Covenant Church, we have built community gardens, hosted back-to-school fairs, and organized with our strategic partners to reduce violence in our neighborhoods for God's glory. We are guided by a vision of thriving Chicago communities led by neighbors of all ages. We work collaboratively with residents of the South Side of Chicago to reduce the causes of physical and emotional trauma and raise the opportunities for community equity and individual flourishing.

The Greater Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church's "Paving The Way Project” serves as a voice for the Washington Park community, as an outreach program for violence prevention, and as a bridge between public service personnel and the public in hopes of building a safer and stronger community. 

Peace Call is a violence reduction program focused on public health. Since one of our biggest public health issues is the violence on our streets today, to help lower the rate of violent incidents, we have created a new program called Peace Call. It's sole purpose is to stop violent acts from occurring.

Strengthening Chicago's Youth (SCY) is Chicago's largest violence prevention collaborative and a catalyst for innovation convened by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Our mission is to connect and mobilize our community around a public health approach to violence prevention. We encourage partnerships that strengthen existing efforts so our youth can reach their full potential.

West Town Bikes aims to promote bicycling in the City of Chicago, to educate youth with a focus on under-served populations, and to foster and serve Chicago’s growing bicycling community. Year-round bike based youth programs offering instruction in bike building and mechanics, bike safety and nutrition and active lifestyle choices. The program also teaches science concepts, environmental awareness, personal responsibility and citizenship.

At Youth Guidance, we believe that no matter what challenges a young person faces, they are more likely to succeed when they have many caring adults in their lives. Our highly trained staff works directly with schools, parents and families to meet kids where they are—physically within schools, socially and emotionally—and help them break cycles of violence, overcome life and academic obstacles, make positive choices, and remain on the right path towards life success.