Operation Chi-Town Salute

Maria Saucedo Academy | August 12, 2022 

Day 1 and 2, (Friday, August 12, and Saturday, August 13), consisted of serving at Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy. Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy is a city-wide magnet school for Math, Science, and Technology serving a 96% Latino population and doubles as a community space opening their doors nights, weekends, and summers to provide access to multiple indoor activities. 

Together with our partners, we spent the day: 

• Transforming several under-utilized rooms into versatile, welcoming community spaces that could be used for a wide variety of purposes.
• Updating and improving the break room spaces for the school’s essential workers, the building engineers and chefs, and recognized those employees as the unsung heroes of the school. 
• Adding murals and artwork to the walls, stairwells, and community spaces.
• Creating a dance room with full paneled mirrors and improved flooring for the students to utilize.
• Laying the groundwork for an outdoor space for the community.
• Demoing and clearing out an entire old locker room to make space for a new gym.

Maria Saucedo Academy | August 13, 2022  

Day 1 and 2, (Friday, August 12, and Saturday, August 13), consisted of serving at Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy. Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy is a city-wide magnet school for Math, Science, and Technology serving a 96% Latino population and doubles as a community space opening their doors nights, weekends, and summers to provide access to multiple indoor activities. 

Together with our partners, we spent the day: 

• Transforming several under-utilized rooms into versatile, welcoming community spaces that could be used for a wide variety of purposes.
• Updating and improving the break room spaces for the school’s essential workers, the building engineers and chefs, and recognized those employees as the unsung heroes of the school. 
• Adding murals and artwork to the walls, stairwells, and community spaces.
• Creating a dance room with full paneled mirrors and improved flooring for the students to utilize.
• Laying the groundwork for an outdoor space for the community.
• Demoing and clearing out an entire old locker room to make space for a new gym.

Englewood Veterans Garden & Hermitage Community Garden

August 14, 2022  

Day 3 was spent serving two partners in the heart of Englewood: Hermitage Street Community Garden and the Englewood Veterans Garden.  

The Hermitage Street Community Garden provides opportunities for residents to learn about gardening and harvest fresh food, where all excess produce is donated to area senior centers in an amount of up 10,000 pounds.  

Across the street, the Englewood Veterans Garden serves as a space in Chicago specifically created and designed for veterans and their families; 100% of the clients it serves are veterans, family members or caregivers.

Together with our partners, we spent the day: 

• Installing roofing on the existing pergolas 
• Building new garden beds 
• Constructing a greenhouse to help extend the growing season 
• Building compost bins
• Painting a large flower mural
• Upgrading the kids’ play area to give them a designed place to play 

Hope Manor II & Kennedy-King College | August 15, 2022  

Day 4 was spent serving two partners in the heart of Englewood: Hope Manor II and Kennedy-King College.  

Hope Manor II is one of the first large-scale, supportive housing developments in the country specifically designed for the head of household Veterans and their families, and with the impending closure of Whole Foods, the garden at Hope Manor II will be providing the primary access to fresh foods, education, and a calming space where people can improve their mental health. 

Kennedy-King College, who serves the largest predominantly Black student body of any college on the list, was ranked eighth in the country by Academic Influence on their list of 50 best community colleges of 2022 and was named the top community college in Illinois by Forbes in 2021.

Together with our partners, we spent the day: 

• Transforming the youth center space into a welcoming environment with seating, bright colors, and storage space 
• Complete outdoor landscaping including laying mulch and native annual plants 
• Creating a new pathway showcasing individually painted blocks