Changing Lives. Strengthening Neighborhoods. Building Communities. Welcome to Woodlawn!

July 2014 Newsletter | sga-youth.org

GED Courses Offered atWoodlawn

Tuesday, August 19th, from 9:00 -1:00pm the Woodlawn ResourceCenter will offer information andregistration for GED courses at

Kennedy King College to youth 18and over.

While only31% of GEDrecipientsenroll incollegenationally,GEDRecipientsfare better onseveraloutcomes -including

future earnings, life satisfactions,levels of depression and substanceabuse - than do people whodropped out from high school.

SGA will utilize GED programs, likethe one in Woodlawn, with social

and emotional support to build outa robust workplace development

program. Stay Tuned!

For more information, call theWoodlawn Resource Center at

773-451-8077.

Make a Gift

Engaging and Transforming Communityin Woodlawn

Jeneen Ford (left) and Kelly Cooper (right) at theWoodlawn Resource Center Open House.

SGA Youth and Family Services has a reputationas a "provider of choice" for critical services,getting results where others fail. SGA's WoodlawnResource Center is a great example of ourgrowing reputation for results. SGA was recently awarded a contract to providecase management, community engagement andsupport services in the Woodlawn community.SGA's Services, provided in partnership with thePreservation of Affordable Housing through aCHOICE Neighborhood grant funded by thedepartment of Housing and Urban Development,will be located at 830 E. 63rd Street. The five-yearcontract with POAH and in partnership with theCity of Chicago, Preservation HousingManagement, Network of Woodlawn, andWoodlawn Childrens' Promise Community hasSGA working to provide services aimed atrevitalizing Woodlawn, a neighborhood with greatpromise, but plagued for decades by poverty,

Kelly Cooper, Site Managerand Coordinator for the

Woodlawn site.

Roseland CommunityHospital Celebrates

Children, families and supporterson the far south side are

celebrating a successful year atRoseland Community Hospital as it

emerges from the crisis stateburdening it in recent years. The

financially distressed hospital (likemany across the country serving

low-income areas) was givenfinancial assistance by the State of

Illinois last year and tasked withcreating a long-term plan to support

its work in the community.

Now under new leadership fromTim Egan, who came to Roseland

from Norwegian American Hospital,things are looking up. "We went

from crisis to survivability tosustainability," he said. Just this

month a partnership with theMobile Care Foundation was

launched so that the hospital couldprovide a full service dental mobileto serve families in Roseland and

the surrounding South Sidecommunities.

Read more here.

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South Side Indoor Facility

A new, 138,000 square foot,$15M indoor sports facility is setto open on the South Side in the

housing issues and under performing schools. Excitement is in the air as SGA staff membersembrace a new opportunity. "I'm thrilled aboutthis," Kelly Cooper, Coordinator and Site Manager,said of this new opportunity. "We get to bring in resources. Weget to promote change. We get to

uplift, rebuild and transform,"Cooper said.

"You have intelligent,driven people living here,"Cooper said of theresidents of Woodlawn,"Where they live, theyaren't always givenopportunities to succeed.SGA will provide thoseopportunities." The Woodlawn ResourceCenter will serve as a"one-stop shop" forcommunity use. TheCenter will offer GEDclasses, computer

readiness training, family, relationship andindividual counseling, health and wellnessclasses, mentoring programs, financial education,community stability and much more. "We are saving lives by providing these skills,"Cooper said. "We can help take people to the nextlevel," she emphasized. The center will be open Monday through Friday,with weekend hours as well, to meet residentneed. Sydnie Monegan, a Family Support Specialist whohas been with SGA for nearly 3 years, said she'sencouraged by how positive everyone has been. "We are building up a neighborhood for theresidents who have stayed through the hardtimes," Monegan said. "I'm excited to be a part ofthat."

Pullman neighborhood in 2015.Pullman, which is adjacent toRoseland and served by the

Roseland Children's Initiative,has been a community lookingfor development opportunitiesfor decades. The building of a

new sports facility will keepyouth involved and active the

whole year round.

Per SGA board member DavidDoig, President of the ChicagoNeighborhood Initiatives, "The

feeling was that there werereally good outdoor park

facilities but there weren't indoorfacilities for families and youth to

enjoy when it gets cold."

Congratulations to David and histeam for this amazing

accomplishment.

Click here to read more.

Board of Directors

President & CEOSusana Marotta

Board ChairVictoria Noonan

Immediate Past BoardChairDonald A. Belgrad

Board of Directors

Jack AblinNanette BufalinoJoel T. CooperJohn W. CultraJohn E. DancewiczDavid DoigMary G. FedorakJoe FeldmanElaine FifferSusan Fisher-YellenJames W. ForhanAndrew R. GelmanJohn J. GoodmanMarilyn P. HelmholzDavid H. HoffmanPatricia HofstraKaren Stone Kaplan

The technology room at the Woodlawn Resource Center willhelp teach computer literacy skills to residents of the

community.

Open House Opens Doors for Opportunity in Woodlawn

One of the Johnson sisters at the Woodlawn ResourceCenter Open House on July 16, 2014.

On July 16th, SGA reaffirmed its commitment toChicago's South Region by partnering with thePreservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) through aCHOICE Neighborhoods grant. Together they hosted anopen house full of food, fun and focus on the future tocelebrate the grand opening of the Woodlawn ResourceCenter. "Everyone is excited about the Center opening. There aregreat services here," Patricia O'Neal, a WoodlawnCommunity member, said. At the open house, Woodlawn residents got a taste ofSGA's comprehensive offerings by "speed-dating" theservices, meeting with all the support specialists andlearning which programs fit their current and futureneeds.

Angel Goldman, who arrivedat the open house with hermother and her daughter,

Angel Goldman at the July 16thopen house.

John KinzelbergKathy LeckKatharine B. MannRob MetzgerRobert D. NewmanMatt SchmeltzJeffrey SeamanNeal SeltzerTat-yeung ShiuLynn A. SmallAnne Harlan StrohmPeggy B. SwartchildJeffrey M. TonerMarcus Wedner

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Special Thanksto our 2014 Sponsors

Corporate Sponsors

came in planning to use avariety of the center'sopportunities. "I want to getmore information abouthousing, and I want to find ajob," she said. Talisa Reese, anothercommunity member, agreed,"Ineed a job. I'll take all thehelp and resources I can find.I have good customer serviceskills. I just need to be able touse them!".

Amateur photographer and Woodlawn resident, TerryBrown, came to check out the community buildingopportunities. "My camera was stolen a while back," hesaid, "so now I'm trying to get involved in other ways." Much like Terry, mother and daughter Faith and LoisMcGhee stopped by the open house to see what serviceswere offered and take part in the community being built atthe center. "Woodlawn has good people," Darryl Jones, a contractor,said. "We just need opportunities for the community. Weneed jobs." "This will definitely be helpful for the community. This willdefinitely help people," Angel Goldman said.

Faith and Lois McGhee stopped by the open house to see whatservices were offered and to take part in the community being built

at the Center.

To see photos from the event, visit SGA's flickr page byclicking here or going to www.flickr.com/SGAyouth.

Bright Promises = Big Futures

SGA is proud to share that two organizations with

And our IndividualSponsors:

Karen & Matthew Kaplan Susan & Roger StoneFamily Foundation Schnadig-Belgrad

Foundation Joseph Pedott Memorial

Trust Mr. Mark Stone

Mr. & Mrs. Donald BelgradVicki & Robert NoonanPeggy & Jim Swartchild

Hunt Memorial TrustMills Family Charitable

FoundationRachel & Neal Seltzer

Mr. & Mrs. RobertNewman

Debbie & Jim FranczekKatharine & James Mann

Have a story you want featured?

E-mail us: ShareWithSGA@sga-youth.org

nearly 250 years of meeting the needs of localchildren have come together for an importantproject benefitting youth on Chicago's SouthSide. The Bright Promises Foundation recently awardedSGA a two-year grant to train youth agencies inRoseland on being trauma-informed. For morethan 140 years, Bright Promises has beencreating opportunities for Illinois children to reachtheir full potential by supporting evidence-basedprogramming to meet emerging, unaddressedneeds. Currently, their focus is on reducing theeffects of childhood trauma to provide real andlasting solutions. The Bright Promises grant will allow for thecreation of a trauma informed culture training andassessment network in the south region. Led bySGA, this effort will bring together Roseland-based, youth-serving community organizations toassess current uses and opportunities to furtherincorporate trauma-informed care, provide stafftrainings, and deliver opportunities to sharetrauma-informed knowledge and best practices. SGA looks forward to its partnership with theBright Promises Foundation to move the needleon the South Side.

A community center, a high school diploma, a successful career - a gift to SGA helps us make these possible forthe youth and families that we serve.

Giving is as simple as clicking below, and truly makes a difference.

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