Dear Matan Or,

I pray all is well with you and yours. I am writing to invite you to the Greater Bronzeville Family Fest, hosted by Bright Star Community Outreach, in conjunction with other community partners and stakeholders.  In years past we have hosted 5,000+ residents at our annual event. Instead of our annual gala, we wanted to take a day to serve community residents by providing resources and blessing families. This year’s event will take place on September 11th from 12pm to 6pm in Armstrong Park located 4433 S. St. Lawrence in Bronzeville.  As we reflect on one of the darkest days in the history of our country, that created fear and trauma to those affected both directly and indirectly, we acknowledge the consistent trauma and violence that is faced by Chicago residents daily, especially in communities of color.  Our communities have and continue to experience daily violence, the crippling effects of the pandemic, social unrest, continued decline in police and community relations and unemployment just to name a few. This is BSCO’s “friend-raiser” and the re-launch of our annual fundraiser, where we endeavor to continue our work to rebuild resilience, restore hope and healing to our great city.

BSCO has a rich 14-year history of bringing holistic wrap around services to our residents. Our impact has translated to:

• Employing up to 450 employees annually including FTE, PTE and seasonal
• 1145 Students in the Out of School/ After School Programs
• 4068 Families served through the Family Advocacy Center through the Department of children and family services
• 1,240 Youth served in the Summer Work Programs
• 3,500 Clients (on average) served annually through our safety initiatives, including Safe Passage through Chicago Public Schools
• 951 Clients received financial literacy education, increasing their credit score by 79 points on average and increasing their savings by $100
• 4,193 Employment Placements into livable wage jobs
• 12,260 Calls through the trauma helpline based on the Israel model of NATAL, serving 1,189Callers
• 42,197 Residents reached through Trauma Awareness Activities
• Distributing approximately $1,400,000 in COVID relief funds in 2020 and 2021
• Nearly 3,000 Residents served through COVID Relief efforts with food distribution, Rent and Utility Assistance
• 1400 COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots
• $624,000 of $1,000,000 granted to local partnering non-profit organizations through funds awarded by MacArthur to support the Greater Bronzeville Community Collaborative and Community Action Plan
• The work of our 70+ partner collaboration has resulted in data from the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago

• 14% reduction in robberies,
• 10% drop in aggravated assaults, and 
• 17% drop in shootings in the specific catchment area that we serve

As you see we have been busy. It is my hope that you will be able to join us to celebrate our past success as we position ourselves for future victories for our community.  The Greater Bronzeville Family Fest will provide free food for all attendees, provide entertainment both local and national talent, make available fun games and activities for our babies up to our senior citizens, and most importantly, we will begin to repurpose the former Carter G. Woodson Charter School right behind Armstrong Park.  Woodson (my alma mater) has been vacant for over 5 years, will become the temporary home of BSCO’s TURN (The Urban Resilience Network) Center which will house all the programming of BSCO, including but not limited to, workforce development, health education, youth and family programming, trauma-related care, and new business incubators.  Additionally, this space will be the home of some of the partners within the 70+ organization collaborative that we have built to address the needs of the community.  

So far, we have confirmed that Mayor Lightfoot will be present as well as Speaker of the House, Emmanuel Welch, and many others will be in attendance.  I would be honored if you would attend and support. BSCO’s team is prepared to provide any additional information that is needed to make your experience meaningful. Thank you for your concern for our city.  Your presence and your voice in support of our work, in person on September 11th, would mean a lot and would provide hope to the residents. I thank you for your consideration as we continue to support the Greater Bronzeville Community and beyond. We have various sponsorship levels and ways to donate available via this link, and I would love for you to choose one that works best for you. Also, please spread the word within your networks and share the attached flier. We need volunteers for this special day and feel free to invite your family and friends to come hang out with us on this special day of fun, games, sports, food, entertainment, great music, dancing, and community unity. I hope you will consider being present and supporting. If you are interested in sponsoring or volunteering, please email Cilvia Osborne COsborne@BrightStarCommunityOutreach.com who is cc’ed in this email.  Thank you in advance.

“Doing What I Can; While I Can; With What I Have; Within HIS Will."

Pastor Chris Harris, Sr. (PCH)

BrightStarChurchChicago.com (Greater Bronzeville) – Pastor

StJamesMinistriesChicago.com (West Pullman/Roseland) - Pastor

BrightStarCommunityOutreach.com – CEO

(773)373-5220 - Church

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Who Is PCH? Click Here To Learn His Story

Check Out PCH’s Song “Destined To Win.”