Solu Campaign: Building a Family Literacy Center in Bronzeville

Join us for our first long-term campaign!

The need:

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the landscape of children’s learning across America. Those who were already most vulnerable are suffering the worst impact. Students in urban, underserved areas are already showing negative learning outcomes as a result of the pandemic’s disruption.

How Solu Can Respond:

Our goal is to help launch a Family Literacy Center in Bronzeville where families can receive the literacy support they need to thrive during this time and beyond. The FLC will support families whose learning has been compromised by the pandemic with free books, literacy resources, homework help, tutoring, and more.

The center will be housed on the South Side of Chicago, in the Bright Star Community Outreach’s Bronzeville center, and will serve the hundreds of families that already use Bright Star Community Outreach’s services. It will be a warm, welcoming and COVID-Safe space that families can book while schools and libraries are still closed and then will continue as a center for literacy support once the pandemic is over. The FLC will also serve as an access point for families to learn about and access other services offered by BSCO and the greater community.

What is Solu’s Role in this Campaign?

Our goal is to get the center launched and operational this year. We don’t plan to run the center beyond its initial opening, but there is a lot of support our community can provide to help execute on the launch. Here are some examples:

• Transforming the space: designing, building, painting and setting up the space to prepare for the launch
• Collecting and/or donating books to be distributed at the center
• Sorting and transporting books to the center
• Support ongoing FLC programming with tutoring; volunteering for e-learning hours
• Fundraising for the launch and ongoing programming

To help with the success of this initiative, Solu is partnering with Bright Star Community Outreach and Books 4 Cause, who will run the center and help collect and distribute the books.

Who Should Get involved?

This program is appropriate for mostly anyone; those who can help with the physical aspects of preparing the space, as well as anyone who is able to either fundraise, collect books, sort books, drive the books to the center, or who can volunteer to get engaged with providing literacy support on an ongoing basis.

Project Overview:

Step 1 — Provide books

Donate, collect, organize and transport books and other FLC materials

Collection

• Drop off books in Ark storage pod in Skokie Valley parking lot
• Volunteers bring books into youth lounge for sorting.
• Sorted books get placed in green room

Description:

• Needs to be good quality, for ages 2–18.
• Do not bring musty or damaged books, magazines, coloring books, encyclopedias, textbooks, ex-library books, ex-school library books, classroom sets, or books for adults. Bringing these books will make it more difficult to successfully set up the literacy center!

Step 2 — Transform the Space

• Designing, building, painting existing BSCO open space to transform it into FLC
• Fundraising

Step 3 — Operations and Support

• Support ongoing FLC programming with tutoring, fundraising, etc.
• Volunteer tutors who can help with e-learning and literacy between the hours of 9:00am-3:30om

Interested in Joining?

Send us a note to avidan@solu.us and we will keep you updated!