Welcome to West Humboldt Park
Hey there!
For those of you who are new, Arise Creations has served middle and high school youth in the neighborhood of West Humboldt Park since 2009. West Humboldt Park is located on the west side of Chicago and is directly west of the amazing Humboldt Park (actual park). The neighborhood is home to mostly Black, Puerto Rican & Mexican residents who are faced with many challenges. Some know Humboldt Park for some of the negative things they have heard or seen, but we know Humboldt Park as the place where we celebrate, neighbors have block parties, where the Puerto Rican Fest sounds and smells linger in the streets during the summer, many incredible individuals who support and believe in the community, and a home to many beautiful souls who crave access to so many resources that they have been denied.
Arise follows the model of New Life Centers, “life together makes a difference.” We believe that walking alongside the girls in our community can change the direction of our youth. As a youth-fueled creative business, Arise seeks to empower, encourage and educate youth through the vehicles of entrepreneurship and discipleship. Our hope is to see the youth achieve these goals through creating and selling handmade jewelry. Each participant that enters the program learns, creates and sells their pieces, equipping them with job skills while giving them a safe space to express themselves and grow. The girls are daily encouraged to be agents of change in their community.
Our purpose in starting a blog for Arise is two-fold: to further empower our students and to allow customers and supporters to get to know our girls through their own words. We want our students to gain more ownership of Arise, the making, selling, and now customer engagement and marketing. We hope this equips them to be bold in what they say, share their faith with supporters and further their writing skills. Students will be able to create their own entries (in whatever form they choose…you may see some poems!), receive feedback and choose photos that correspond with their post.
For all you readers out there, we hope to allow you to see more closely our hearts and program through the posts of our students. Check out the photos of some familiar sights in our neighborhood. We hope you are excited as we are. If you want updates via email when we post, please subscribe on the blog home page.
