The New Mount Pilgrim Church recently celebrated securing the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s $10 million community development grant to launch Sankofa Wellness Village. It’s the first major redevelopment in Garfield Park since the MLK riots in 1968. The grant recipient was announced over the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend.
The Sankofa Wellness Village is a $50 million “Garfield Rite to Wellness Collaborative” project. The project includes a Wellness Center, housing, health center, fitness facilities, daycare, a credit union, the MAAFA Center for Arts & Activism, a entrepreneurship incubation hub called “The K,” and a community grocer initiative.
Other collaborative community partners include the Maafa Redemption Project, The Leaders Network, Westside United, Rush Medical Center, Erie Health, the YMCA, The Community Builders, and Project Forward.
“We are creating a place where residents, young and old, have safe, well-resourced spaces. Where life is not just lived, but lived abundantly,” says Rev. Marshall Hatch, Jr., executive director of the Maafa Redemption Project.
“This project is part of our efforts to close the tragic 16 year life expectancy gap between the Loop and West Garfield Park,” states Dr. David Ansell, Senior Vice President for Community Health Equity for Rush University Medical Center. He adds, “This project will lead the nation in demonstrating the power and impact of collaboration between community led development and large anchor institutions.”
Join Garfield Rite To Wellness Collaborative development team and community partners’ celebration and community announcement during services at New Mount Pilgrim Church — the development leader — for the $10 million Chicago Prize for the Sankofa Wellness Village project.
