Stories
Tag: Community Service
Family Matters’ Free Little Library
Family Matters has enjoyed a longstanding partnership with Sacred Heart Schools in Chicago, and was honored to be a recipient of the SHS Goal Award for the 2014-2015 school year. We are happy to welcome a group of 8th grade boys from Sacred Heart monthly throughout the school year. The boys volunteer time at Family Matters through their Service Learning Program, while also learning about our programs and mission.
On Justice Day, 2014, Sacred Heart Schools celebrated Family Matters, inviting Dan McNeil (then-Director of Teen Boys Programs) and Ashaki McClain (Director of Teen Girls Programs) to speak to SHS students. Dan presented the Family Matters Teen Boys program to Hardey 8 students and showed a video made by the young men, highlighting the similar piece of SHS and Family Matters’ missions in teaching the importance of making wise choices and responsible decisions.
Sacred Heart has Buddy Benches and Peace Tables. Stemming from these, 8th grade boys were given the task of building a Peace Bench for Family Matters and finding a way to connect Family Matters, Sacred Heart and the community. For this, they constructed the little libraries, born from the Free Little Library initiative. The Teen Boys at Family Matters helped to paint the libraries and posts to symbolize each organization.
Students at Family Matters worked together to decide where to place the library, thinking through where it would be most visible and best utilized. After the post was secured, the group of 8th grade boys who visit Family Matters each month as part of their Service Learning program attached the library to the post, officially planting Family Matters’ first Little Library in our garden.
The final step was filling the library with books! Youth in our Family Connections program filled the library, while also taking some time to enjoy the stories themselves.
Once the ground thaws, another library will be planted at Sacred Heart on Kenmore and one at Howard Area Family Center. Sacred Heart students will leave and take books from these libraries as well.
Family Matters is incredibly grateful for our partners at Sacred Heart. Please stop by 7731 N. Marshfield to leave or take a book for yourself!
Teen Boys Program partners with Ten Thousand Ripples
At the bequest of community resident Helen Carlock, and in association with the Ten Thousand Ripples project, Dan McNeil, Director of the Teen Boys Program, and the young men of Family Matters, B.O.N.D Team, met Helen at Triangle Park on May 21st for a beautification project involving a Buddha head. The Buddha head was placed in the park by Ten Thousand Ripples—a multi-platform public art project involving the installation of 100 Buddha sculptures. Serving as symbols of peace and solidarity in 10 neighborhoods around the city of Chicago, the Buddha heads strives to highlight public art and create community responses to peace and contemporary social issues.
Working together with community members, the teen boys cleared trees and weeds to beautify Triangle Park and to create a revered space for the Buddha Head. In addition to removing trees, tree roots and weeds, the team from “The Roots”—as their space is affectionately called—realigned the 300 pound Buddha Head back to its original setting—east facing on Juneway.
Community response to the beautification project was affirmative. John Lamping, a Rogers Park resident and member of the project, offered his thanks to Helen, Dan and Family Matters Teen Boys “for your community support and great company… at Triangle Park. Your “lumberjacks” did a great job.”
