Strides For Peace - 2019 Race Against Gun Violence Fundraiser

Our vision is a Chicago where all can thrive and live free of the fear of gun violence. Our mission is to increase the collective impact of community organizations working to END gun violence, save lives and build a stronger Chicago.

To do this, we seek to address investment and proximity gaps in efforts to end gun violence, by funding and seeding growth for a diverse collaborative of organizations throughout the city. Strides for Peace intentionally engages different sized organizations with a spectrum of interventions and responses – gun violence is too complex to be solved by only one or two approaches: we must work together.

Our partners, who are trusted and respected in communities most impacted by violence, inform all our work. We listen to and learn from them and they listen to and learn from each other. Together, we build individual and collective capacity so we all grow more effective in addressing the impacts of, and ultimately ending, gun violence.

A Project for Us from Strides For Peace on Vimeo.

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 2019, After School Matters provided nearly 19,000 teens with high-quality after-school and summer programs in arts, communications & leadership, sports, and STEM.

Through intensive mentoring and teaching the restoration of classic cars, the Automotive Mentoring Group (AMG) equips young people who are involved in, or at risk of involvement in neighborhood violence, with life skills, social and emotional coping strategies, and trade skills that create positive opportunities for them.

The mission of the BASE Chicago is to leverage the power and passion of sports to empower youth (ages 8 to 18) on Chicago's west side to achieve their full potential by choosing to stay in school, graduate and get assistance to enter college or other career based training. BASE Chicago will prodice the city's best baseball and softball players, most importantly BASE Chicago will build some of the best citizens in Chicago.

Our mission is to empower residents to share in the responsibility of building community through resource development and collaborative partnerships. We will accomplish our mission by developing innovative performance-based practices and programs to address the need for Violence Prevention, Community Engagement, Economic Development, Education, Healthy Children/Youth and Families.

BUILD’s mission is to engage at-risk youth in the schools and on the streets so they can realize their educational and career potential and contribute to the stability, safety and well-being of our communities. 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 now reaches 6,500 youth and families annually in six challenged Chicago neighborhoods—Austin, Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Belmont Cragin, and Fuller Park.

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.

Through our members in the Everytown Survivor Network, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America gives a voice to survivors and victims of gun violence. The Survivor Network works to build communities of support around the country, and many of our survivors live in the Chicago area and lead our work with community partners to stem gun violence.

The Example Setters is a community of leaders, youth, and adults who have been on the frontlines in the Chicago peace movement for 7 years. Block by block in the parks, churches, and schools. Through spoken word poetry, CPS leadership/mentoring programs, and health/wellness workshops, we have seen first hand the pain and power poverty has over this city's most underserved communities. Despite the staggering statistics, and against all odds The Example Setters found the youth of Chicago are an invaluable asset to breaking the cycle of poverty and they are key to a peaceful Chicago. We are seeking an investment in Chicago's future.

Friends of Kenwood Academy, aka FOKA, is a 501(c)(3) charitable membership organization of the community, school parents, family, and friends who support education and community excellence at Kenwood Academic Center and Kenwood Academy High School.

Please join Northside College Prep (NCP) High School by making a donation, running or walking for the Thursday, June 6 Race Against Gun Violence. We are running to honor our friend and Northside family member Emanuel Gallegos, who we lost tragically on February 25 this year. As a Strides for Peace Community Affiliate, Northside strives to augment the crucial voice of education in the ecosystem critical to achieving peace and tackling the challenge of gun violence in the City of Chicago.

As an institution for young adults, Northside uses this race as a means of fostering a productive outlet for NCP students, faculty, families and its community to do what they can to raise awareness, have constructive, peaceful dialogue and collaborate with other organizations in the race against gun violence.

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.

Guitars Over Guns aims to empower youth from Miami and Chicago's most vulnerable communities through a powerful combination of music education, public performance opportunities, and mentoring relationships. Our mentors are all local, professional musicians who are trained in Social Emotional Learning best practices designed to help youth overcome hardship, find their voice, and reach their potential as leaders. During the 2019-20 school year, our team of 55 mentors served nearly 1,000 students across 20 school- and community-based sites in Chicago and Miami. 

Healing Hurt People-Chicago (HHP-C) is a hospital-based violence intervention program (HBVIP) launched in August 2013 as a collaboration between the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County (Stroger), The University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital (Comer) and the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice at Drexel University in Philadelphia (Drexel).

HelloBaby from HelloBaby NFP on Vimeo.

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 creates local leaders, involved community members, engaged businesses and at-promise young adults through leadership of impact initiatives.

Kolbe House is the jail ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago. By supporting our ministry, you are supporting faith-sharing groups for men and women in Cook and Lake county jails, pastoral and material support for families affected by incarceration, and transitional support for men and women returning to the community from jail or prison. We provide a listening, nonjudgmental presence to these men, women and children, and we walk with them as they build communities of support that help them achieve stability and a sense of belonging. Located just blocks from Cook county jail, we are often the first stop for men and women getting released from jail and meet them with kindness and hospitality. We thank you for being a part of this ministry.

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.

The mission of M.A.S.S. is to ensure our children are able to go to school, play outside their homes, and return safely without fear of being a victim of gun violence.

The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) serves as the conscience of law enforcement by being committed to justice by action. NOBLE has nearly 60 chapters and represents over 3,000 members worldwide that represent law enforcement officials of all ranks from federal, state, county, municipal law enforcement agencies, criminal justice practitioners and concerned citizens.  The Chicago Chapter focuses on promoting positive interactions with the community in the greater Chicagoland area, providing educational, recreational and social outlets, especially for youth and the elderly.  From skating parties; athletic events; senior brunches; father-daughter dances; poetry slams; plays and golf outings to training sessions for those hoping to become police officers and our Law in the Community program; NOBLE CHICAGO is there to fill the need where we find it while offering guidance and support to our members who seek advancement in their careers.

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 is a community based, non-profit organization committed to the healing, reconciliation, and building up of Chicago’s greater Bronzeville youth and community through restorative justice. We work collaboratively with residents and organizations of the South Side of Chicago to mitigate the impact and reduce the causes of physical and emotional trauma and raise the opportunities for community equity and individual flourishing. Our work prioritizes partnerships with organizations and schools, such as Jackie Robinson Elementary, Dyett High School, the Bronzeville Community Action Council, Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention, 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 lead restorative justice programing for high school students, maintain a community garden in order to provide fresh produce to our neighbors through distributions, and host a community-wide back-to-school fair annually among other neighborhood initiatives! We remain present at the intersection of trauma and hope, working collaboratively with our community, to achieve a more just society.

We are neighborhood based centers that connect youth and young adults with Christ and Community through mentoring, education, sports, street outreach, and food distribution.

New Life Centers of Chicagoland was established in 2005 to provide mentoring and advocacy to guide youth toward a new life and a new direction, out of the school to prison pipeline and providing meaningful paths to lives of nonviolence. We walk with about 5,000 families across 4 historically disinvested neighborhoods of Chicago. We aim to see youth and families transformed by hope, becoming young adults of character creating a flourishing, unified neighborhood.

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.

Our mission is to end violence in Chicago by refining those at its core through integrated, trauma-informed Passages.

Purpose Over Pain is a nonprofit advocacy and support group for parents who have lost their children to gun violence.

SaveMoneySaveLife aims to provide vital resources to those who need it most. Our mission is to foster civic action through arts and entertainment, facilitating sustainable change.

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.

Storycatchers is participating in the Run Against Gun Violence because not one more of our young people should lose someone they love to a bullet. Chicago's youth have so much to offer, and gun violence is a public health epidemic that drastically affects their paths to success. It's tragic, unacceptable, and must change.

The mission of Timothy Community Corporation (TCC) is to strengthen the community by Connecting, Sharing and Serving; providing the individual opportunities to grow physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Timothy Community Corporation will be an incubator for resources. This incubator will serve as a warm, inviting environment that drives individuals to impact the community. Those touched by TCC will be strengthened through a process of learning, healing, and serving.

Urban Alliance empowers underserved youth to aspire, work, and succeed through paid internships, professional training, and mentoring.

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.

Gun violence is a reality in our city and it's important that, as a community and a team, that students of Whitney Young support a good cause.  As the students reflect on how this may have directly (or even indirectly) affected our lives, we will use this race to bring this issue to the forefront of our minds and decide how we can be responsible citizens of Chicago and lend a hand in ridding our community of violence.

The Youth Safety and Violence Prevention initiative (YSVP) of the Young Men’s Christian Association of Chicago (the Y) serves youth ages 13-18 who have been exposed to community violence by providing prevention, intervention, and re-entry services in safe, supportive, and trauma-informed environments. YSVP combines mentorship, case management, family engagement, and restorative justice programs to reduce the cycle of harm caused by past exposure to trauma.

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.

We believe the needs of individuals and families- even those with high risk- can safely and most effectively be met within a home and community setting.

We believe that every individual possesses strengths, potential, interests and talents that make them unique and can be built upon and shared.

We believe that everyone needs access to positive people, places and activities within their community to develop their natural potential and live full, productive lives.

We believe that partnering with families to identify their needs and preferences preserves dignity and improves outcomes.

We believe that investing in community-based programming is a cost-effective, responsible alternative to out of home placements.