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The Neighborhood Bridge

 

July 2024

Exciting News from The Neighborhood Bridge                                                                                  Welcome to Prentice Butler, Our New Executive Director!

Board President Dan Doody recently announced that The Neighborhood Bridge has hired an Executive Director. “The Board of The Neighborhood Bridge is delighted to welcome Prentice Butler as our first Executive Director. His years of experience working in multiple communities in Chicago and his career-long involvement with social justice initiatives provide a great platform to develop The Neighborhood Bridge as an impactful organization serving the Austin community. We are certain the Catholic community of Oak Park will provide significant support and encouragement to Prentice in his important leadership role.”

“I’m energized to serve as the first Executive Director of The Neighborhood Bridge,” states Prentice. “I’m eager to get to know the families in our partner schools, the many human services organizations in Austin, Oak Park, and the surrounding communities, and the Oak Park Catholic community, which has spearheaded the establishment of The Neighborhood Bridge. It’s exciting to think about the future of our communities as The Neighborhood Bridge begins to actualize its mission.”

You can read Prentice’s complete biography on The Neighborhood Bridge website here.

 

Help Wanted

The Neighborhood Bridge is seeking a part-time, salaried Director of Operation (10 hours/week). This is an exciting opportunity to work with our Executive Director and a team of experienced volunteers to help Austin residents connect to the high-quality services they need and deserve

Qualified candidates must have a business management background, be familiar with accounting practices, and be aligned with the mission of The Neighborhood Bridge.

To see the full job description and instructions for how to apply go to https://theneighborhoodbridge.org/director-of-operations-job

To learn more about The Neighborhood Bridge, go to our website at https://theneighborhoodbridge.org

 

May 2024

THERE’S STILL TIME TO HELP BRIDGE THE GAP!


Many thanks to all who have generously donated to fulfill the mission of The Neighborhood Bridge: “To use the St. Catherine-St. Lucy campus as a base for a powerful ministry outreach to our neighbors on the West Side.” 

With your help, we are focused on meeting the goal of connecting Austin area residents with needed services by the start of the 2024-2025 school year. But we still need funds to fully cover our operating costs and expenses.

This is why we’re thrilled to announce the extension until June 4th of the $50,000
 
A foundation associated with a longtime St. Giles parishioner will match every dollar donated to The Neighborhood Bridge between now and June 4th up to $50,000!
 
This is a unique opportunity to double the impact of your donation!
Donate Today!
 
 
We are counting on you to help connect our Austin neighbors with the human services that they deserve to reach their full potential and thrive.
 

March 2024


EXCITING NEWS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD BRIDGE!
 
We are on track to have an Executive Director of The Neighborhood Bridge in place by July 1. 
 
The Executive Director is key to the success of the mission of The Neighborhood Bridge: to use the St. Catherine-St. Lucy campus as a base to serve individuals and families in the Austin community by connecting them to high-quality human services to help them thrive. The Board is in the process of screening candidates and will be interviewing finalists in the coming weeks. We are gratified by the impressive number of well-qualified candidates who submitted resumes for the position. The Executive Director will be the face of the organization, interacting with Austin area schools, connecting school families and other Austin-area residents with the service providers active in the area to meet their needs.
 
We are planning on renovating the lower level of the rectory by August 15.

Initially, the lower level of the rectory will house adult education classes and a distribution center for needed supplies, as well as current ministries serving residents in the area. Future plans are to house the offices of The Neighborhood Bridge on the first floor.
 
We are visiting each of our five partner schools over the next month to discuss the launch of The Neighborhood Bridge.

Before The Neighborhood Bridge was established, volunteers reached out to five schools in the Austin neighborhood (St. Catherine-St. Lucy, St. Angela, Chicago Jesuit Academy, Catalyst Circle Rock, and Christ the King College Preparatory School) to learn firsthand what the critical unmet needs of their school families were. We’ll be visiting each of these schools to update them on our progress and to finalize a communication plan for each one to keep their families informed about the resources available through The Neighborhood Bridge.
 
We are launching a Spring fundraising appeal to help The Neighborhood Bridge meet the goal of connecting Austin area residents with needed services by the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

With your continued help, The Neighborhood Bridge can fulfill the Renew My Church imperative “to use the St. Catherine-St. Lucy campus as a base for powerful ministry outreach to our neighbors on the West Side.”
How can you help?

Donate: https://theneighborhoodbridge.org/donate
Volunteer: https://theneighborhoodbridge.org/volunteer
Sign up to get our newsletters: https://theneighborhoodbridge.org/
Share the news with your friends!
 
January 2024
 
At our brand-new website (https://theneighborhoodbridge.org/), learn about the exciting progress The Neighborhood Bridge is making in creating a human services connector for our neighbors in Austin based on the campus of St. Catherine-St. Lucy.
 
It’s all happening because of the support of this community, whose donations are enabling the important work to begin on the Renew My Church initiative: “to use the St. Catherine-St. Lucy campus as a base for powerful social ministry outreach to our neighbors on the West Side.” A generous gift of $100,000 from a local family foundation is aimed at the renovation of the lower level of the former rectory to house current ministries as well as services requested by school families. 
 
Meetings with community leaders early in the process revealed that Central West Austin, which borders the St. Catherine-St. Lucy campus, is considered a desert for human services agencies, and service organizations are looking for ways to better connect with these residents. As they noted, proximity matters when someone is looking for help. 
 
Visit the website to meet the extraordinary people behind The Neighborhood Bridge and see who is partnering in this endeavor. Recently, members of the Board met with local service providers and representatives of the five partner schools in the Austin community to update them on the progress of The Neighborhood Bridge. Read about those meetings and learn what the media is reporting about this effort. 
 
Want to learn more? Sign up for our newsletters at the website. Want to get involved? Fill out the volunteer form there. Want to donate to the effort? Donate online or mail a check to:
The Neighborhood Bridge
P.O. Box 1853
Oak Park, IL 60304
 
As Cardinal Blase Cupich said in a brief conversation with Fr. Carl Morello and Board president Dan Doody, The Neighborhood Bridge is an example of one of the main tenets of Renew My Church – living our faith by helping those in need.