We were proud to join the Illinois Department of Human Services, the Westside Justice Center, and The Resurrection Project as we announced the 60 non-profit organizations selected as recipients of the Access to Justice Grants Program (A2J). Access to Justice is an Illinois statewide program that seeks to mitigate the devastating consequences of incarceration and…

We want to send a special thank you to Chicago Bulls point guard Ryan Arcidiacono and agent Joel Bell for coming out to BUILD and providing our youth with first-hand insight into different types of careers in sports! (Stay tuned for the podcast our youth led with Arcidiacono as well!) We also want to thank the Chicago Bulls Community…

We are proud of our Bridges to Pathways youth for writing, directing, acting in, and shooting their own short film! Their piece speaks out against bullying, and will premiere in April. Thanks to our friends International Children’s Media Center for inspiring BUILD youth with this awesome program!

Our BUILDing Futures team recently hosted a youth wellness session at BUILD Headquarters. Youth were able to enjoy a peaceful 60 minute yoga session and learn about mandalas and henna tattoos. The group also created their own ‘stress-less’ self care boxes that included chocolate, stress balls, face masks, silly puddy, lip balm, smooth rocks, and positive reflective messages, and…

BUILD’s female focused program, BG2W, recently hosted their first midnight mingle social. This was the first time that participants from all five cohorts got to meet for a night full of activities. From DIY lip gloss, body scrubs, face masks and bath bombs, to jewelry making, nail painting and an eyebrow bar! They ended the…

There was a lot of focus, excitement and intense conversation recently as organizations in Austin, Humboldt Park and North Lawndale came together to hear more about the Mayor’s plans to bring $750 million to the South and West Sides in Chicago. BUILD was there connecting with city leaders and making art with our community. Learn more about this unprecedented…

BUILD staff, youth, neighborhood residents, the Chicago Police Department and several volunteers from Starbucks and Playworks came together on January 20 in celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through service to others. We came together in an effort to reconnect, transform, uplift, and inspire youth, staff, and community. In honor of Dr.…

As long as anyone can remember, the Finance Team at Rush University Medical Center have had an amazing annual tradition: an internal holiday giving drive that starts nearly at Labor Day and extends all the way through December, featuring weekly fundraisers as varied as chili cook-offs to raffles to food truck days. Each year the…

Fall is such a beautiful time of year in Chicago, but it seemingly goes by in the blink of an eye. On October 19, we had a great opportunity to stop and soak it in with members of the community at our Fall Harvest Fest.   Healthy living was the theme of the day with…

Kirsten Mallik comes to BUILD with over fifteen years of experience supporting non-profit organizations, from communications and messaging to annual, major gift, and capital campaign fundraising. She joins an active team of writers, advocates, and fundraisers working to sustain the rapid growth of BUILD’s violence intervention and youth development programs. Prior to joining BUILD, she…