Black Panther Event

Photo Credit: Ross LaSalle

On October 15th at the Fred Hampton House, people from all across Proviso Township celebrated the 55th anniversary of the Black Panther Party. This event was hosted by The Hampton House, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. and Akua Njeri. This event was not only to celebrate the 55 years of the party but also to unveil the new “People’s Bench”(the refurbished Hampton family bench), official Little Free Library, and the updated Community Fridge & Pantry via ribbon cutting ceremony.

The hopes for the new space is to teach the younger generation of the impact of Fred Hampton’s life and legacy had and continues to have in Maywood, the Proviso District, and American History.

The collective of organizations involved included Save the Hampton House, Black Panther Party Cubs, Best of Proviso Township, Engaged Berwyn, Suburban Unity Alliance, Maywood Fine Arts Association, Immanuel Lutheran Church and No Child Goes Hungry.

We sent a spring mentee, Ross LaSalle to document this event through photos and video. What an honor it was to be a part of such an inspiring ceremony. We can only hope to continue to grow in our partnership with The Hampton House, and Fred Hampton Jr.

“It was inspiring and amazing being in the presence of such historical black individuals.”

- Ross

Photo Credit: Ross LaSalle

Video Group Project

Photo Credit: Mentees

This workshop led by Jeremy, is a collaboration with the Quinn Center in highlighting stories of the seniors within the community. The Quinn Center is a community partner that TFD has the opportunity to collaborate with from time to time. The mentees learned how to prepare for a video shoot and interview. They also had the chance to film and lead the interviews themselves. One of the best ways to grow and learn is by doing, which the mentees did a lot of in this project. We can’t wait to share with you the completed project, and stories of our in our community!

Photo Credit: Mentees

Maywood Haunted Trail Walk

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Today, the Village of Maywood had a Haunted Trail and Trick-Or-Treat Walk, hosted by the Maywood Park District. At this event, different organizations within Maywood came together to bring awareness to their specific organization and to interact with the community. The Firehouse Dream had a section where we took photos of families and kids in their costumes. We sent out a few past mentees; Mya, Ross, and Kevyn, along with Liz, to speak to the families and to take photos and videos to document this event. It was a lot of fun and a great chance for the kids to have nice fall photos taken, as well as getting some candy! Overall, it was a great turn out and we hope to have the chance to work with some of these people again!

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Food Distribution 10/16

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

This past Saturday, Mya, a previous mentee, went to God’s Heritage Full Gospel Church in Maywood for a food distribution event led by Impact Church. They provided bags with hand sanitizer, cereal, bread, cookies and more! Everyone also had the opportunity to be prayed on if they chose to. This was a drive-thru type food drive to promote health and wellness and keep everyone safe. This is something the churches accomplish every third Saturday of each month. It is a great opportunity for people in the community who may need extra assistance or get groceries locally since there are no grocery stores in the area.

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Proviso East Prayer Walk

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Today, Mya from summer mentorship, got the opportunity to join Impact Church in a prayer walk. Impact Church holds a prayer walk each month at various locations of the Maywood community to pray for healing and growth within and to bring awareness to the challenges Maywood faces. This month, it took place at a local high school, Proviso East. In this walk we got to pray for the school and it’s students as well as cleaning around the parking lot to keep the area nice and clean.

Photo Credit: Mya Rose