BUILD Virtual Gala 2020

BUILD’s young people are the reason we do what we do. They grow up surrounded by trauma, many never assumed they had a right to a future - much less a dream. 

BUILD helps them find a voice, and build a life. Three BUILD youth agreed to share their stories this month, listen to them here:  

Lilly,  Jerry, and Steven.

An extended conversation between BUILD CEO Adam Alonso and the recipient of our 2020 Community Leadership Award, Deputy Chief Ernest Cato of Area 4, CPD. Listen in to hear what community-based policing truly looks and sounds like.

An unforgettable conversation between Officer Cato and Latee,, a young man who turned his life around at BUILD after being shot. Cato was there on the scene after it happened.  

Listen to a BUILD Radio Podcast episode featuring Max Cerda, a senior Intervention team member from Humboldt Park, talking about his own time on the streets and how it drives his work saving “little brothers and sisters” facing the same desperate choices. 

Watch this short story about how every Intervention story doesn't have a happy ending - but that can't stop the work.

Meet our Clinical and Community Wellness team and its many different kinds of care: from individual and group therapy to 24-7 on-call crisis response. It’s BUILD’s fastest growing team - in 2018 we had one clinical therapist; a year later we had eleven and we’re still growing.

Read about Marshawn Feltus, a BUILD Community Violence and Crisis Response specialist who also brings his skill as a yoga instructor to his work. 

Meet the mentors who work with BUILDing Girls 2 Women, a program designed specifically for gang-impacted females. Girls play major roles in many gangs right alongside the boys, but often have different traumas in their pasts - and need specialized treatment.

And then listen to this WBEZ story about “girls in gangs”, featuring Cristina, a BUILD youth telling her own story of what she has had to overcome. 

Prevention programs start working with youth as young as nine, bringing extra support, encouragement, and enrichment activities like art and science to after-school time. 

And even as they help with homework, BUILD Prevention mentors are also there to recognize when youth need other kinds of help, and connect them - from clinical care to intervention mentoring.

Most of our BUILD youth have never considered college - never thought it could ever be in their future. We help change their minds. 

Whether they first came to BUILD through Prevention, Intervention, Clinical Services, or any other BUILD program, our Education Outreach Specialists help youth imagine, prepare, and BUILD Bigger Dreams.

We both understand what a powerful tool of youth engagement and learning sports can be. In BUILD’s own Strong Bodies athletics program, the Donna Dudley Peace Softball League plays weekly over the summer, as does Hoops in the Hood - pop-up basketball courts across neighborhoods. Our annual touch football Turkey Bowl is a highlight of the year. For many youth, a coach is the best mentor.

BUILD's Art Academy is integrated into everything we do - from mental health to college prep. See pictures from our Annual Art Show.  In 2020, BUILD earned a MacArthur Grant for Arts, Equity, and Culture as a non-traditional arts organization, recognizing our dedication to increasing arts access and amplifying unheard voices. And Meet our Arts Academy Manager Ricardo Miranda, in one of his online art tutorials!

Four long-time and lead donors talk about what keeps them so committed to the work, and to the BUILD family.

Our Lifetime BUILDers, Marcie and Avy Stein, talk about their own 20-year commitment to BUILD. 

Grammy-nominated songwriter and recording artist Justin Jesso gives a musical tribute to BUILD and its youth.