Community Changer: Kells Park Community Council
Even with limited means, positivity and dedication can take you far, as the team behind Kells Park Community Council can attest.
The organization has no formal meeting room. No proper center or programming support. Yet still, they’ve been making a significant impact in Chicago for over 15 years.
The nonprofit provides free public recreational events and Farmers’ markets to underserved neighborhoods. It launched as a way to promote positive, educational activities, but has since become a resource for basic necessities.
“We’re trying to bring safety and peace,” Nita Hailey-Gamble, President of KPCC, tells Replate. “There are so many negative challenges in the area…We don’t want violence around us.”
Each month, KPCC puts on events ranging from Fortnite contests, where the team sets up TVs and game consoles, to Senior Bingo Night. It hosts movies in the park, and back-to-school parties, where youth receive free school supplies.
Often nearly 200 people attend!
And every week, Hailey-Gamble wakes up at 5am on a Saturday, drives around to various Farmers’ Markets in the city to purchase produce, and brings it back to her neighborhood to offer at a discount through a city grant. The marketplace has been going strong for 13 years.
“We serve a lot of seniors, who are less likely to be able to get out of their home and get food because they have trouble traveling, or they’re handicapped,” she notes.
Replate brings meals from local food donors to supplement KPCC’s efforts. The partnership began during the pandemic, when Hailey-Gamble established a food pantry, and would host drive-by food handouts to maintain social distancing.
The food became so popular, people were driving from 45 minutes away to participate.
“After COVID ended, nobody offered us food anymore, but Replate,” says Hailey-Gamble. “It helps me tremendously because it all goes to our senior citizens. They get it first, but usually there’s a lot left, so I reach out and hand it to others around us.”
She adds, “Once, we received pepper steak and rice, I must have had 500 people here to get those meals.”
KPCC operates without structure, utilizing a local park as their homebase. They’ve been campaigning for more resources or facilities, as they want to establish a community center and create an intervention program.
Regardless, they have no plans of stopping.
To support Kells Park Community Council, visit their FB page.
Learn more about Replate here.
Check out another post about Replate’s longtime partner!