Category: News

By: Zeki Salah, Communications Associate Brothers Tony and Sylvester Raggs recently started a youth boxing club in West Garfield Park. The club, Boxing Off the Block, is intended to teach young people from ages 13-18 discipline and the skill set of boxing. The club is located in Bethel Lutheran Church & School, and training is… Continue reading West Garfield Park Boxing Club is a Haven for Youth

By: Sylvia Del Raso, 2022 Chicago Peace Fellow and Board Treasurer, Chicago Youth Boxing Club Inc Almost 15 years ago, I was asked to join the Chicago Youth Boxing Club (CYBC) board, a nonprofit sports-based youth development program serving the North Lawndale and Little Village communities on the southwest side of Chicago. What I started as… Continue reading Chicago Youth Boxing Club: Building Community, Character, and Togetherness

On March 28, the LUV Institute arranged for 60 middle and high school students to travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, to learn about the Little Rock Nine, the group of nine Black students who enrolled at the formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.

By Gresë Sermaxhaj, Communications Associate The girl in this picture is Malia Causey, a nine-year-old from the Austin community in Chicago who lost her brother, Malik, to gun violence in 2016. Her life has not been the same since the loss of Malik, who was 14 at the time of his death. For Malia and… Continue reading Camp Duncan Brings Social Engagement and Smiles to Chicago’s Youth

By: Zeki Salah, Communications Associate A global grassroots robotics initiative, One Team Two Continents, brought thirteen South African students to Chicago in March to participate in a FIRST robotics competition. The project was a joint collaboration between 2019 Chicago Peace Fellow Jackie Moore and 2018 Global Fellow Dieudonne Anumbosi Allo. Funding from the Chicago Peace… Continue reading Teaching the Importance of Pluralism and Social Inclusion through Robotics

By Gresë Sermaxhaj, Communications Associate The community of South Side Chicago will soon have a new center serving them: Spark Center, thanks to the tireless contribution of Jennifer Maddox, Executive Director of Future Ties and 2020 Chicago Peace Fellow. Spark Center will hopefully open in 2024, at 6330 S. King Drive, and provide much-needed opportunities… Continue reading Spark Center: A New Community Resource Center for South Side Chicago

By Gresë Sermaxhaj, Communications Associate 2021 Chicago Peace Fellow, Dr. Dorothy Towns-Thompson and her daughter, Antonette Parker, a teacher, recently co-authored three books on Black history and handwriting for children of all ages. Dr. Thompson has over three decades of experience as an educator, alcohol, and drug prevention professional, administrator, and ordained minister and has used the… Continue reading A Reflection on Black History through Handwriting: An Interview with Dr. Dorothy Thompson

By Munyaradzi Dzimunwe, Global Fellow from Zimbabwe Recently, I have been receiving a wave of requests from women and girls from various places in my country, Zimbabwe. Most of the women have heard of or seen me leading different initiatives designed to empower women here. They are requesting mentorship and coaching support from me. Upon… Continue reading Empowering Women Through WhatsApp in Zimbabwe

By John Kamma, Global Fellow from Liberia It is with great joy that I announce that I have won a €10,000 Euro grant from Catalyst 2030 to pilot a project focused on detainees in Liberia. I have already secured a permit from the Ministry of Justice to visit prisons and start working with detainees to… Continue reading Promoting Justice for Detainees in Liberia

By Gresë Sermaxhaj, Communications Associate To mark this year’s International Women’s Day, the UN has chosen the theme of Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality – an area familiar to Dieudonne Allo (Global Fellow from South Africa) who is leading the Ibali Lam program through his organization Global Leading Light Initiatives. Ibali Lam is an… Continue reading How Ibali Lam is Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa