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Naazneen Vhora and Sakshi Sharma have won first place in the University of Illinois at Chicago's Earth’s Remedies’ Community Consulting Competition. The pitch competition, organized by Earth's Remedies and sponsored by Net Impact, gave graduate students real-world experience by connecting them to Crystal Dyer, founder and CEO of the Austin-based travel agency Gone Again Travel.
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Austin is home to 25 community gardens where residents are encouraged to volunteer during planting, growing and harvesting season. “It helps beautify the neighborhood,” said Cindy Schneider of the Austin Garden Collective, noting that many of the gardens are located in empty lots that were previously abandoned.
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Students across the country can participate in a virtual debate camp next month. Hosted by Chicago Debates, the summer institute will be held via Google Meets for students in 5th through 12th grade Aug.
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Multiple events were held throughout the Austin community on June 19, just days after President Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday. U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis stood on stage in Columbus Park and held up one of the pens used to sign the bill into law.
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Dozens of West Siders gathered last week on the southeast corner of Chicago and Lockwood avenues to celebrate the official opening of a new community space dubbed the Pop Courts. “I have a smile on my face, because this is a blessed day … But why I'm really smiling is to see all of you,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot told a crowd of residents and reporters at a press conference before the ribbon cutting last Thursday.
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Devanshi Kothari, 16, is empowering young girls through chess with her nonprofit, fittingly called The Chess Queens. The Neuqua High School junior found her passion for the game when she was in elementary school, competing in her first tournament in the 2nd grade.
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Takeout 25 has included Austin in its third installment of Taste the Town, an initiative started during the pandemic to support local restaurants in Oak Park that has expanded to the West Side. Taste the Town 3 will be held June 24th in partnership with New Moms, an Austin organization dedicated to providing services to young mothers and their children.
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It is great that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed House Bill 3922, making Juneteenth an official state holiday. The bill was passed with bipartisan support in both the Illinois House and Senate, and it was great to partner with my senator, Senate Majority Leader Senator Kimberly Lightford, to pass the legislation after I and many others have worked for years to make Juneteenth a holiday in Illinois.
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By the end of the month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign legislation backers say will finally open the door for Black and Brown business owners to break into the state's billion-dollar cannabis industry. It won't come a day too soon, say a key lawmaker who pushed the legislation and West Side ministers who are still upset about the way the original state law has kept Black and Brown business owners out of the lucrative industry.
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With Juneteenth fast approaching, events are popping up all over the city - including on the West Side - to commemorate the end of slavery in Texas. Black Culture Week runs through June 20th and includes a black culture wellness festival in Garfield Park and a worship service at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church.
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Seeking to help bridge the racial wealth gap, the Austin United Alliance will sponsor a wealth-building webinar – “A Blueprint for Accessing the Capital We’ve Been Waiting For” – 10 a.m. June 16. Wednesday's event will focus on the racial wealth gap impacting Austin and other West Side neighborhoods.
