“Building Our Community—Supporting the Promise of Tomorrow!”
PACE Route Saved
The East Chicago Community Development Foundation worked with the city administration to leverage financial resources to retain bus service between East Chicago and the UPS facility in Hodgkins, Illinois.
The opportunity to save the service came about through a unique set of circumstances: continuation of the PACE service between June and November, East Chicago ridership agreeing to reduced service to maintain the route, and the city and Foundation assessment of their resources to continue the route.
The continuation of the route meant that many hardworking East Chicagoans were able to keep their jobs. A hardy thanks was sent to those who worked to keep the route going. With Teamwork, everything is possible.
Twin City Education Foundation Investment
Veronica Garcia Chavez is a community hero to parents and students of St. Stanislaus School. Her name is synonymous with love and caring: as in child care. In 2004, Chavez was in charge of the St. Stanislaus After School Care Program, developed to offer parents quality childcare in a safe, secure, and familiar environment.
Community Improvement Initiatives
In 2004, the Foundation evaluated many proposals, and assessed an organization’s ability to establish and implement programs. Large programs, such as roof replacements, required additional resources in order to complete. Property improvement means that East Chicago was a better place for additional investment. Churches, Boys and Girls Club, public and private schools, and centers where the community gathers have all benefited from grant dollars.
Diverse partnerships worked because the community knew where investments were needed to stabilize the community. We are blessed to have the funds to invest, and we are also blessed to have great partners who got the job done.