Alt Chicago

Photo Credit: Jasmine

We did it again! We went on our second field trip with our 10 mentees! This past Saturday we took a trip to the city to learn how to build sustainable waste bins. Also, our mentees learned about reducing waste and having more sustainable options. Did you know that black and brown communities have fewer garbage bins throughout their town than white communities do? Alt Chicago is a black-owned, non-profit led by Jordan and Jon who specialize in building these waste bins out of wood from old pallets, this way everything is being reused and there is less waste. We cannot wait to partner with even more amazing non-profits and organizations like this one! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @thefirehousedream to see more behind the scenes from our mentorship.

Photo Credit: Jasmine

Progress, Progress, Progress

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

This past Saturday, our mentees continued their work on their projects. They have been working hard the last few weeks to create their own brands, as well as new merch for TFD! This week they began creating their websites, ordering the clothing for the shops, turning their artwork digital and much more! Our mentees have made so much progress and are coming closer and closer to the end everyday. They will be sharing with everyone once they are done! You can continue to check in on our blog to keep up with their progress!

Photo Credit: Mariah & Mya Rose

November Food Distribution

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Saturday morning Impact Church hosted their monthly Food Distribution held at God’s Heritage Full Gospel Church in Maywood. The two churches come together every third Saturday of the month to provide for families in the community and to pray over those who choose to be prayed over. For each of these distributions, it is a drive-up event to keep everyone safe and distanced due to the pandemic. This month they had a great turn out, with cars lined up around the block. There was plenty of food to be given, like cereal, cookies, snacks, different meats, and even a turkey for Thanksgiving! Within 30 minutes we had given out most of the food and everyone was so happy to help those in need and make a positive impact in their community. We are so grateful for these two churches and to partner with them to document a great event such as this one. TFD will be joining them for next month’s Food Distribution as well as the upcoming Toy Drive!

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Thanksgiving Meal Giveaway & Prayer Walk

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

This past Saturday, Impact Church hosted their monthly prayer walk, as well as Thanksgiving meal giveaway near the Maywood Peace Garden on 17th & Madison. Impact Church does this prayer walk every month at different locations to pray over the community of Maywood for growth and a successful, healthy future. It is a very important part of what the church aspires to do to help their community and to support people within. TFD sent out Mya Rose and Saffron to document this through photo and help support the community. This prayer walk was a little different since they also had a food giveaway. They provided food and supplies that can help families for the upcoming holiday. They had a great turn out and were able to provide for so many people within Maywood. Even with the cold weather, everyone was bundled up and ready to help their community as well as being there for those in need. We can’t wait to join them for the next one!

Photo Credit: Mya Rose & Saffron Hurt

Branding, Sketches, Mood Boards And More!

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

After our Breathwork Workshop, this past Saturday, our mentees began to work more on their own brands. They started to create mood boards and sketch out different designs that will appear within their brand. Some of our mentees are working on businesses such as clothing lines, stickers, baking, and so much more! Those who want to create clothing lines learned about different materials that can be used, how they compare, and different ways of printing photos or words onto a piece of clothing. There are various ways branding can be done, all with a different finish, so this was a great learning experience. Some mentees sketched out different designs for stickers and also planned out some other great content!

There is still so much to be done, like website creation and ordering/making the products that will be featured in these brands. Our mentees have made a lot of progress and we are so proud of how far they have come in this short period of time. We are so excited to see how everything turns out and are here to support our mentees every step of the way!

Photo Credit: Mya Rose